WASHING 35 



The contents should now be removed with no more than sufficient force 

 necessary to accomplish the end in view, and the operation may be repeated 

 from time to time, as may be required. 



WASHING 



When washing is undertaken as a curative measure in skin diseases, or 

 as a sanitary process, there are certain precautions to be observed to make 

 it effectual, and others to prevent the animal from taking cold. 



Parasitic diseases, as mange, may have to be treated with greasy appli- 

 cations to the skin, which must be afterwards removed by soap and water 

 for appearance and comfort, or washing may be prescribed to cleanse the 

 skin preparatory to the application of remedial agents. 



An abundant supply of warm water should be secured before commencing 

 the operations — a "water" or "dandy" brush, a sponge, scraper, straw wisps, 

 and a sunny morning should be selected if possible. In nearly every case 

 it is well to begin with the face and head, as in any skin affection due to 

 living parasites it is essential that no "cities of refuge", such as the ears 

 and eyelids afford, should be left unassailed. If the washing begins at the 

 head, the parasites are forced backwards and are effectually cut off, or they 

 are washed off the body. The forelock and mane require to be well soaked 

 and brushed down to the roots of the hair, as there is always, even in 

 well-groomed animals, a good deal of desquamated cuticle and other debris 

 accumulated here to harbour the offender. Soft soap, with its excess of 

 alkali, more readily " lifts " this material than the ordinary soaps. If, for 

 this purpose, the soap is rubbed in first, there must be very copious rinsing 

 with warm water afterwards — and a free use of the brush. The same 

 remarks apply to the tail. The neck, shoulders, and front legs are partially 

 washed during the time the mane is receiving attention, the back and loin 

 being wetted last to avoid unnecessary exposure of the body to cold. The 

 belly and legs require the least manual labour, as they have become 

 saturated by the lather running down them from other parts. When the 

 cleansing process has been efficiently performed, a cold douche should be 

 given and the scraper freely applied, to relieve the coat quickly of the 

 greater part of the fluid; then the sponge should continue the work. 

 Exercise should then be given to establish a glow, and the dry wisps 

 should finish the operation when the horse is brought back to the stable. 

 Clothing should not be replaced until the skin feels warm as well as dry. 



