944 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



up the horse's head, take a curry-comb, and curry him all over his body, to raise the 

 dandrifF or scurf, beginning first at his neck, holding the left cheek of the head-stall 

 in your left hand, and curry him from the setting on of his head, all along his neck, 

 to his shoulder, and so go all over his body to the buttocks, down to his hocks ; then 

 change your hands, and curry him before on his breast, and laying your right arm 

 over his back, join your right side to his left, and curry him all under his belly to his 

 chest, and so all over very well, from the knees and shoulders upwards : after that, go 

 to the far side, and do in like manner. Then take a dead horse's tail, or a dusting- 

 cloth of cotton, and strike that dust away which the curry-comb has raised. Then 

 take a round brush, made of bristles, and dress him all over, both head, body, and 

 legs, to the very fetlocks, always cleansing the brush from that dust which it gathers, by 

 rubbing it upon the curry-comb. After that, take a hair-cloth, and rub him again all over 

 very hard, both to take away the loose hairs, and to help to lay his coat ; then wash your 

 hands in fair water, and rub him all over with wet hands, as well head as body; for 

 that will cleanse away all those hairs and dust the hair-cloth left. Lastly, take a clean 

 cloth, and rub him all over till he be very dry, for that will make his coat smooth and 

 clean. Then take another hair-cloth (for you should have two, one for his body and 

 another for his legs), and rub all his legs exceedingly well, from the knees and hocks 

 downwards to his very hoof, picking and dressing them very carefully about the fetlocks 

 from gravel and dust, which will lie in the bending of his joints. 



6040. The curry-comb should not be too sharp, or, at least, not used in a rnde and severe manner, so as 

 to be an object of torture and dread, instead of delight and gratification to the horse. It is too often the 

 fate of thin-skinned horses to suffer much from the brutality of heavy-handed and ignorant fellows, who 

 do not recollect that the unhappy animal is suffering, every time he writhes and attempts to escape from 

 the comb or brush, the same tortures that they themselves experience when tickled on the soles of 

 their feet. 



6041. The care of the legs and feet forms a most important branch of stable discipline. The legs must 

 be kept perfectly dry, and so clean that not a speck of dirt be suffered to lodge in any crevice under the 

 knee or fetlock, or around the coronet, and withal preserved cool and free from stiffness and inflam- 

 mation. Dirt suffered to form a lodgment, or wet remaining upon the legs in cold weather, will fret the 

 skin, and cause cracked heels, mallenders and sellenders, rat's-tails, crown-scab, and such a train of stable 

 plagues, as may baffle the most vigorous efforts during a whole winter. From want of care, the best flat- 

 legged horses, whatever may be their condition, will soon become greased. Much care should likewise be 

 taken not to irritate and add to the inflammation of the legs, by harsh rubbing ; and if they be moderately 

 bandaged with linen or woollen, which every groom knows how to perform neatly, it will contribute to 

 cleanliness and the general end. Some gallopers are apt to crack the skin of their heels in exercise : in 

 that case, supple the skin occasionally with simple ointment, thougli, in general, warm-water will be a 

 sufficient preservative. Pains and soreness in the shins and shank-bones are often the consequence of 

 exercise over hard ground in very dry seasons, for which there is no better palliative than frequent warm 

 emollient fomentations. It forms a part of the constant attention of a good horse-keeper, to see that the 

 feet of his iiorses be well-cleansed beneath the shoe with the picker from all small stones or gravel, at 

 every return from abroad. The shoes must be examined, that their ends do not press into the crust, and 

 that the nails be fast , and that the clinches do not rise to cut the horse. In these cases, instant applica- 

 tion must be made to the farrier : horses ought by no means to remain in old shoes until the toe is worn 

 away, or the webs become so thin that there is danger of their breaking, unless in case of brittle hoofs, 

 when it is an object to shoe as seldom as possible. Upon the average, good shoes will wear near a month. 

 Steeling the toes is, in general, an useful practice, but less necessary when the best iron is made use of. 

 Where any tendency to dry hoofs exists, the feet should be stopped with equal parts of clay, cow dung, and 

 chamberlye every night, otherwise, twice or three times a week will be sufficient. A still better stopping 

 is made by adding a little tar to the other matters. It is also prudent, when the hoofs have any tendency 

 to hardness and contraction, to water the front part of the stall a little; and also occasionally, or constantly, 

 to hang around the hoofs an apparatus, made by doubling a circle of woollen cloth over a tape, which 

 .should be tied around the fetlocks loosely : the two segments of the cloth will then fold around the hoof, 

 and correspond to it in shape. This may be dipped in water, and will be found very convenient in keeping 

 the feet moist and cool. Very brittle hoofs are greatly benefited by brushing them over with a mixture 

 of whale oil and tar. It is considered as beneficial, in general, to take off the shoes of a horse who is 

 necessitated to stand long in the stable, and who does no work, and to substitute tips ; thCj growth of 

 the crust, and the enlargement of the heels being thereby promoted. 



6042. The care of the furniture and trappings is another part of the duty of a horse-keeper. These are 

 best kept in order by being instantly rubbed clean after use, and placed in a dry situation; by which 

 method, neither oil nor scouring-paper is often found necessary. Great care should be taken to dry the 

 pads of the saddles after journics, and never to put a hardened and damp saddle upon the horse's back. 

 The same is also necessary with regard to the body-clothes. Tiie pads of the saddles ought to be kept 

 perfectly soft, and free of dirt and sweat ; and, after use, should be dried either in the sun or by the fire, 

 and hung in a dry place : the clothes also should be washed much oftener than they generally are, and ever 

 kept perfectly dry, and in a sweet state. 



6043. The exercisirig of horses is essentially necessary for their health, as it counteracts 

 the effects of the artificial life we force on them. High feeding, heated stables, and un- 

 natural clothing are, particularly the first, counteracted by proper exercise ; and without 

 it, horses become pursive, fat, heavy, and greased ; for, when the secretions do not find 

 themselves natural vents by perspiration, &c., they will find themselves artificial ones. 

 Exercise keeps down the fat, and it also hardens and condenses the muscles by drawing 

 their fibres nearer together ; it likewise enlarges the muscles. Thus the appearance, as 

 well as the feel, when we handle the flesh of a horse in condition by proper exercise, is 

 totally different from those of one merely full of flesh by fat, &c. Exercise increases the 

 wind by taking up the useless fat, and by accustoming the lungs to expand themselves. 



6044. The quantity of exercise necessary for a horse must be regulated by a variety of circumstances ; as 

 age, constitution, condition, and his ordinary work. A young horse requires more exercise than an old 

 one, but it should be neither very long, nor very fatiguing. Some colts are observed to come out of 

 the breaker's hands with tplints and spavins, owing to the severe exercise they have undergone. Wlien 



