OF FARRIEKY. 



21 



head also need not be touched. Horses are 

 uot ticklish when they are full of the dust oc- 

 casioned by the natural and imperceptible 

 perspiration of the body, but as they get clean, 

 and their coats sh.ort and fine, they are exceed- 

 ingly ticklish, and you must be careful to stand 

 in a secure place. After having curried the 

 near side, proceed in like manner to curry the 

 off side ; but with this difference, it will be 

 necessary to use your left hand, which after a 

 while you will find most handy and con- 

 venient This done, you next proceed to 

 whisp off the dust you have raised by the 

 curry-comb, and to rub and whisp well those 

 places whi(;h were not proper for the comb to 

 touch. For this purpose, you make a whisp 

 of some half- worn straw, but a hay-band is 

 better, which prepare for the purpose by half 

 untwisting it; loosening it thus, you double it 

 to about a foot m length, loosely twisting it 

 to2:ether that it mav not scatter too fast, till 

 you have it as thick as you can grasp : if it 

 be dry and harsh, sprinkle it with water ; this 

 will make it work pleasanter, and the dust 

 you intend to remove will adhere to it, arnd 

 not lly about so much. 



You begin to whisp the Horse at his head, 

 taking the whisp in the left hand for the near 

 side of the horse, and resting the right hand 

 on the most convenient part of the Horse to 

 steady yourself, while you apply the whisp ; 

 you change its situation, beginning first at the 

 top of the neck, down to the shoidders, the 

 under pa>*t of the neck, the chest, particularly 

 between the fore legs, down the arms, knees, 

 and the sinews and fetlocks, and well rub out 

 tlie dirt from the heels, where you could not 

 get your curry-comb : proceed on in the order 

 of his carcase, on the back, sides, belly, croup, 

 and so on to his hind legs, wiiich clean as 



carefully as the fore ones ; you then whisp 

 his off side in the same manner, only chang- 

 ing the whisp from the left to the right 

 hand. 



You now proceed to brush your Horse over, 

 after having first cleaned your brush well Nvith 

 the curry-comb, begin at the croup or rump, 

 and well brush the Horse's body backwards 

 and forwards, the brush being in the left hand ; 

 for the near side, work your way up in all 

 parts as before, and finish at the top of the 

 neck ; then in leaving it, brush the Hor>e the 

 straight way of the hair, and finish at the near 

 fetlock and heel behind : the same operation 

 must be gone through on the offside, changing 

 the brush to I he right hand. Now, many 

 stable-men attend most to those places that 

 are most conspicuous to the eye, such as tiie 

 fall of the neck, the shoulders, and hind quar- 

 ters ; these places shine the most, and they do 

 not fail to point out these to you, and say how 

 well they look, which may satisfy some per- 

 sons, but a judge will not be deceived by 

 external appearances, lie expects the parts not 

 immediately in view to be equally attended 

 to. 



After the brushing, which causes much of 

 the dust to be floating about, and a part of it 

 will again settle on the Horse, you should ha\ e 

 a linen cloth to wipe him over with, the 

 linen cloth being much easier washed than 

 any other article ; with this you wipe him all 

 over, beginning, as with the whisp or brush, 

 at the iiead, and so proceeding to every part , 

 which, being done, > on put on his cloatlis before 

 you finish with his head, mane, tail, and legs, 

 that the Horse may not chill or take cold 

 while you are about them. 



J would have it understood, I am only 

 treating on the method to be pursued in tiie 



F 



