76 CHAPTER 6. 



123. Time required to clean a horse. 



A good grooin ought to be able to clean a horse thoroughly in the 

 morning or after ordinary work, when his coat is short, in half an hour. 

 Fifteen or possibly twenty minutes more may be required after work, if 

 the horse returns very hot or very muddy. If the horse has a very thick 

 or long coat twenty minutes more may be added to the above periods. 

 Not only ought the groom to be able to do it within these periods, but 

 the master ought to insist that he does it thoroughly in that time. 



Some exceptions, however, must be made to the above general rules. 

 There are some thick woolly coated animals, which cannot be dried after 

 work in winter by any amount of time or exertion which a servant can 

 be expected to give. Such animals ought, however, to be clipped or 

 singed. 



124. Breaking out after cleaning. 



Some horses break out again and again into a cold sweat after they 

 have been dried and cleaned after exercise. They must be dried again, 

 at least the first and second time, after which it is generally safe to put 

 the clothing on. 



Breaking out is usually connected either with a thick woolly coat, or 

 with debility, or perhaps with both combined. The remedy in the first 

 case is removal of the coat, and in the latter it will consist in good 

 feeding, good grooming, and regular exercise in addition to removal of 

 the coat if need be. 



125. Conclusion. 



The effect of daily good grooming is readily recognised in the bright, 

 clean, and healthy appearance of the coat. If the fingers are run through 

 it, no trace of soil will be left on them. 



On the other hand, if the skin is not clean, the fingers will be soiled, 

 and white streaks of dirt and dust will be apparent in the parts through 

 which they have passed. Scurf and debris of the perspiration will also 

 be seen about the roots of the hairs. If the groom has absolutely 

 neglected the horse, encrusted sweat and mud from the previous exercise 

 will probably be found on the coat, especially under the belly and be- 

 tween the legs ; and the mark of the saddle, on account of the horse 

 having perspired more freely under it than in other parts, may still be 

 apparent ; or stains from where the horse has been lying down at night 

 will be left. With a view of testing the cleanliness or otherwise of the 

 skin, the hollow of the side of the hocks, the knees, the points of the hips 

 and shoulder, and the head and neck, may be more particularly examined. 



Every owner ought occasionally at least to run his fingers through the 

 coat of his horse before he mounts, or when he visits his stable after 

 the horse has been cleaned on his return from work. He will also do 

 well to see that the feet are properly washed out in the morning or after 

 exercise. It is in vain to expect that servants, however good they may 



