FEEDING. 217 



A tired animal will be greatly refreshed by having the 

 channel between the buttocks and the inside of the thighs 

 well sponged out. 



If a horse is very awkward to dress, put on knee caps, 

 and strap up one of his fore legs. Do not keep one leg 

 strapped up more than ten minutes ; release that leg and go 

 round to the other side. Many horses make a show of vice 

 when being cleaned, lay their ears back, lift a hind leg, and 

 make pretence of playing the tiger, whereas it is mere 

 " kittleness," or play. A really dangerous brute bites and 

 kicks without warning. 



Thoroughly ivashing horses when home from hunting or 

 in the summer is to be recommended. Nothing, moreover, 

 brings a long-neglected skin more quickly into good order. 

 More than one man is required to carry out this operation 

 as thoroughly and speedily as is necessary, and it should 

 always be performed with warm water, in a loose box 

 guarded against draughts. Very warm water will deprive 

 the coat of its gloss. I always use a lather of good soap, 

 as free as possible from alkalies, and lukewarm rain water, 

 rubbing the lather well in, especially along the roots of the 

 mane and tail, with the cocoanut-fibre glove already men- 

 tioned. If no soft water be obtainable, a big spoonful of 

 Californian borax may be thrown into the bucket. The 

 lather is scraped off with a piece of flat bamboo, or with a 

 blunted toothless, spring-curry-comb (Spratt's patent), and 

 the horse well washed down with a large sponge so that no 

 suds remain. He is then dried as speedily as possible and, 

 weather permitting, is walked smartly about in the sun. In 

 the case of a long-neglected skin, the horse should be 

 freely sweated before being washed, and hotter water used. 

 Hunters must, of course, be dried in the loose box and at 

 once clothed. 



