2S4 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



cleaning in the morning the head should be first dressed. The 

 hair should be lifted and deranged lightly, not stretched or 

 torn with the curry comb ; and then rubbed well, in all direc- 

 tions, both against and across the grain of the hair as well as 

 Kith it, until it is entirely clean from dust and dandruff. The 

 tars should be gently stripped and pulled with the hand from 

 the roots to the points; and the whole head should then be 

 washed snftoothly and evenly as the hair ought to lie. The 

 neck, back, shoulders, loins, croup, and quarters follow, the 

 same plan being used, except that in dressing these parts, while 

 the comb is used lightly and dexterously with one hand, the 

 hrvlkh is employed in removing the scurf with the other. The 

 flexures of the skin at the insertion of the limbs are parts that 

 require especial care, as the dust is most apt to collect in these 

 places. 



" This done the horse must be thoroughly wisped all over with 

 bunches of dry straw till his coat is quite clean and glossy, 

 when it may be gone over for the last time with a fine soft 

 brush or a light duster." When he is broughi m from his 

 daily toil and stabled for the night, the process should be care- 

 fully repeated ; all mud, sand, and dirt must be removed from 

 the legs and belly, and the legs rubbed by hand until they are 

 warm. 



The horse should have a good bed of clean litter, straw, or 

 sawdust, not deep, biit with room for him to lie in any position 

 that stiits him. Most horses should be blanketed in cold 

 weather, but to some horses a blanket is an annoyance and pre- 

 vents rest. As rest is what the horse needs after his day's labor, 

 he should be accommodated by allowing him to go without his 

 blanket. 



The practice of singeing and clipping horses in the fall is 

 abominable and dangerous. Just as his master is about to put on 



