OF FARRIERY. 



289 



The fore-legs are the next which present 

 themselves ; the legs are sure to be particu- 

 larly noticed, and consequently must have 

 all pains taken with them. Thorough-bred 

 Horses, kept in the stable, and properly 

 groomed, seldom require trimming about the 

 legs, as all superfluous hair rubs off with their 

 dressings ; but when lately taken up from 

 grass, a little long hair will appear on the 

 back sinews, and on the fetlock-joints, which 

 may be taken off, by using a little powdered 

 »esin between the finger and thumb, which 

 will remove the hair with great ease to the 

 Horse, and facility to the person trimming. 

 Cut the hair that was so con pressed, to any 

 length you please, which will leave no scores ; 

 and if properly done, it will scarcely be per- 

 ceived that they have been touched. The 

 coarser the breed of the Horse, the more su- 

 perfluous hair will be found on the legs, and 

 within the pastern ; and where it is abundant, 

 it must be removed with the scissors, begin- 

 ning next the heel. Clip the hair out clean 

 within the pastern, and under the fetlock- 

 joint. The adjoining part must be nicely 

 tapered, that the sudden break from short to 

 long may not appear, which it otherwise 

 would in scores. For this purpose, put a 

 comb under to raise the hair, and cut in such 

 a manner as to leave the outer hair the lonff- 

 est, whereby the mark of the scissors may not 

 be seen. The soft spongy piece of flesh, at 

 the back extremity of the pastern-joints, may 

 be pared down, if necessary, with a sharp 

 knife, and the hair next above left in such a 

 manner as to conceal it, being nicely tapered 

 off, "lO as to resemble the ]es:s of a thorousfh- 

 brea Horse. The hair, up the back sinews, 

 must be raised with the comb, and cut ir^ 

 equal lengths, tapering the hair next the bone 



towards the sinew, in such a manner that no 

 breaks or scores may appear, the hair next 

 the back sinews being left the shortest. 



Horses, like men, are not all equally 

 straight. Some Horses are a little bent at the 

 knee, and where this happens, the hair within 

 that joint must not be clipped too close, as it 

 would make that defect appear more con- 

 spicuous, and trimming is to make the Horse 

 appear to advantage ; therefore, care must be 

 taken to conceal all the defects you can; but 

 where the legs are straight, all the flossy hair 

 within that joint may be removed, carefully 

 minding to leave no scores with the scissors. 

 Round the coronet of the hoofs the hair should 

 be clipped, making it regular and even. The 

 four legs being thus trimmed, there only re- 

 mains the tail for the further operation of the 

 scissors, as no scissors is ever to touch the 

 mane, unless the mane is hogged. 



Fashion and fancy are ever wavering, and 

 the Horse's tail and ears have been always 

 subject to changes, agreeably to the taste of 

 the times. At one time, a switch tail; at 

 another, a full bushy tail ; then a blood tail ; 

 and several others ; and now, a short switch 

 tail, about a foot and a half long. I suppose 

 that each of these fashions will again prevail 

 at one time or another ; therefore I shall notice 

 each of them. 



The switch tail requires no cutting ; the 

 long hair left on the tail after the end of the 

 dock was broken off, was pulled underneath, 

 and at the sides, with an iron instrument, 

 made for the purpose (but now seldom to be 

 seen but in the carter's stables,) till they ta- 

 pered it to a point, leaving about eight inches 

 below the dock. 



There was much reason in this tail ; for 

 since Nature had accommodated the Hores 

 4 D 



