SKID — SLA UGHTERING 



Skid. — (a) a name for the brake which acts on the 

 wheels. 



(b) a vehicle is said to skid when it suddenly moves 

 sideways, owing to the wheels failing to get a proper hold 

 on a greasy road. 



Skin. — The skin consists of two porous layers, of which 

 the cuticle or upper one is insensible to pain, whilst the 

 lower one is very sensitive, being a mass of nerves and blood- 

 vessels. The skin is thicker in some places than others, and 

 for the most part the outer one is covered with hair, which 

 requires a regular course of grooming in order to remove 

 the scurf which forms and checks the action of the glands. 

 (See Grooming.) 



Skirt. — The skirt of a saddle is the loose flap of leather 

 in front of the seat beneath which the girths are fixed. 

 (See Saddle.) 



Slate Roof. — Slates form an excellent roof for stabling, 

 and in places where they can be procured cheaply are to be 

 recommended for the purpose. Their expense, however, 

 Is against them, but in their favour their durability must be 

 mentioned. (See Roofs, Thatch.) 



Slaughtering. — The most common methods of destroy- 

 ing a horse is by either pole-axing or shooting him. The 

 former is the act of a professional slaughterer ; the latter is 

 usually that of an amateur, and the result is often a terrible 

 fiasco. The best way to shoot a horse is to blindfold him 

 and fire from a short distance right into his forehead above 

 the eyes. He will not fall forwards on to his executioner, 

 who should stand close to him. When a horse is down he 

 can quickly and painlessly be despatched by pithing, which 

 consists of driving the blade of a small knife into his vertebrae 

 between the atlas and axis, which see, also Pithing. 



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