228 THE HORSE. 



while he takes off the bridles and makes his arrangements for 

 dressing. In harness-horses everything but the collars may be 

 taken off, and after turning them to remove the harness and traces, 

 they may be replaced and left as near to the shoulder as the posi- 

 tion of the horse with his head in the manger will allow. This 

 rule should be invariably followed whenever horses come into the 

 stable after having done any amount of work. If they have 

 merely gone out for a short airing, and the skin beneath the saddle 

 or collar is not even damp, there is no occasion for the precaution, 

 and the saddle or collar may at once be removed. The next thing 

 to be done to the saddlery in reference to the horse's comfort is to 

 dry the lining carefully before it is again used. Even the lining 

 of harness-pads should be attended to, and in the winter this cannot 

 be done without placing each before the fire. After the serge 

 lining is dry, it is an excellent plan to beat the stuffing with a 

 stick, so as to remove the powdery particles left by the sweat, 

 which soon clog up the interstices and form a matted cake with 

 the woollen materials used if they are allowed to remain. 



IN ATTENDING TO THE COMFORT OF THE MASTER the groom 



must take care to keep^ all the leather which comes in contact with 

 the hands or legs perfectly supple, yet so clean that no stain is left 

 behind. Nothing is more annoying than to get off the saddle for 

 the purpose of paying a morning call, and find the insides of a 

 light pair of trousers stained all the way down. This is perfectly 

 inexcusable, and its occurrence marks the ignorance and careless- 

 ness of a servant in the most unmistakeable manner. The same 

 remark applies to the reins, which never ought to soil a pair of 

 white gloves. Whenever blacking is applied to harness it is 

 impossible altogether to prevent the tendency to leave a stain, but 

 if it is carefully put on, and well brushed, as long as it is kept dry 

 it may be lightly handled with impunity. If buckles are to be 

 altered, the gloves must suffer, and for this reason, when gentlemen 

 drive their own horses, they generally prefer brown driving reins, 

 which may be treated in the same way as riding reins, and kept 

 clean accordingly. The following directions for cleaning saddles 

 and riding bridles, and also for brown driving reins, or any other 

 parts of the harness made of undyed leather, will serve the pur- 

 pose extremely well. As long as the leather remains dry and 

 clean it needs no attention, but when it is wetted, either by rain, 

 or by the water necessary for cleaning it from road dust, it becomes 

 hard and stiff, and must be softened with some kind of oily matter. 

 Neat's-foot oil is that usually employed, but for saddles it is rather 

 of too greasy a nature, being apt to leave a mark on the trousers 

 if it has been liberally applied. The best application is deer's 

 suet, which should be gently warmed and rubbed in before the 

 leather is quite dry again, after being wetted ; that is to say, while 



