466 HOGGING. 



should be combed out from time to time to guide the opera- 

 tor in the trimmiiifr. The mane should be made about three 

 inches long at the centre and its length gradually decreased 

 toward the ends. The length, however, must vary according 

 to the conformation of the neck. 



The aim should be to make the mane ligrht and lie flat 



O 



with a perfectly even edge. Unruly manes should be dam- 

 pened and weighted either with a rod that is made for this 

 purpose or by plaiting the hair and attaching small pieces of 

 lead to the ends. Devices which make the hair wavy should 

 not be employed. The forelock should be thinned and 

 shortened to correspond with the mane; the objectionable 

 practice of cutting off the forelock and hair which comes 

 under the crown-piece of the bridle should not be allowed. 



HOGGING. 



Hogging, that is, cropping the main and forelock off 

 close to the skin, should be limited to ponies ; if horses are 

 treated in this way, it gives them an ungainly, mulish ap- 

 pearance, and although it was at one time customary to treat 

 the manes of hunters in this manner, the practice has been 

 largely discontinued, owing to a recognition of the value of 

 the mane as an aid when mounting and its appearance to 

 the horse. The mane of a pony which is to be hogged 

 should be cut short with shears and then trimmed close to 

 the skin with a pair of clippers (see Figs. 222, 223), the edge of 

 which should be inserted in the centre of the mane and run 

 down to the hair on the neck. Care should be taken to clip 

 the hair evenly and that the outline of the neck is perfectly 

 smooth. No marks of the clippers should be made on the 

 hair at the sides of the mane. To keep the mane short and 



