GROOMING. 71 



The principal working of the brush should follow the natural direction 

 of the hair. It will not penetrate it as deeply and thoroughly when 

 worked against it as with it. To remove, however, external dirt or sweat, 

 which may have caked in the coat, it may sometimes be necessary to 

 brush against the hair. 



lOSa. Dandy Brush. 



Where labour is scarce, as in very many stables, the dandy brush will, 

 in a rough sort of way, do its work in cleaning quicker than the horse 

 brush, and from the friction it produces, it has a very beneficial effect on 

 the skin. 



109. Neglect of grooming. 



When grooming is neglected, the horse, for the reasons already given, 

 soon loses flesh and condition, and generally deteriorates in health ; 

 whilst eventually actual disease of the skin may be the result. 



Among the more common diseases arising from neglect of grooming 

 are those which are caused by the presence in the skin of parasitical 

 insects, such as mange and lice. The insects inducing these dis- 

 orders, when not disturbed by the action of the brush, breed rapidly. 

 All such diseases are the sure and certain sign of neglect. These insects 

 will not attempt to obtain a lodging in skin where the pores and glands 

 are in healthy action, and where they are constantly disturbed by the 

 use of the brush. 



110. Subsidiary uses of grooming. 



Whilst good grooming is necessary for the maintenance of the health 

 of the domesticated horse, it is also needed for several subsidiary ends. 

 It is essential to the glossiness, and also to the shortness of the coat, 

 which horsemen so much love to see, and to the development of the 

 highest powers of the animal. 



Glossiness of coat is due partly to the absence of dirt, debris of worn- 

 out materials, and particles of perspiration among the hairs, partly to the 

 mere mechanical effort of friction in polishing the hair, but mainly to 

 the increased secretion drawn forth from the oil glands of the skin under 

 the friction of good grooming. 



Short coats are due partly to the warmth produced in the skin by the 

 frequent friction of grooming, and partly to the maintenance of an even 

 and moderately warm temperature in the stable. Increase in the length 

 of the coat is indeed a provision of nature against cold. If such increase 

 is not required, the winter coat is scarcely longer than that of summer. 

 In some tropical climates, for instance, where the warmth in winter is 

 little less than that in summer, or in deep coal mines where the changes 

 of the season are not felt, or even in well-managed stables, where an 

 equal temperature is maintained and the warmth of the skin is assisted 

 by clothing and good grooming, we find but little difference between the 

 length of the summer and winter coats, 



