94 STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



Trimming Tails. 



The tail should be grasped close to the root with 

 one hand, which is run down so that the hairs are all 

 gathered together, and a string or tape tied round 

 below the fleshy part at the tip. The tail should 

 then be drawn out straight, and the hair cut off with 

 a single sweep of a sharp knife just below where the 

 string is tied. The blade of the knife must be long 

 enough to give a drawing sweep, which an ordinary 

 pocket-knife will not do. There is nothing better 

 for this than a sharp native sword, or " tulwar/* as it 

 is long enough to cut through all the hair at one 

 stroke ; or, failing a sword, a sharp carving-knife will 

 do, the longer in the blade the better. Any uneven 

 ends of hair that remain can afterwards be trimmed 

 off with a pair of scissors ; or, better still, by a pair 

 of sheep shears. Tail-cutting machines are sold with 

 an arrangement to fix the hair of the tail with a 

 clamp, on which there is a sliding cutting-blade. 

 These cut the hair off very smoothly and evenly ; 

 the only drawback is that they are somewhat ex- 

 pensive, costing about Ks. 16 in Calcutta or Bombay. 



Clipping. 



Arabs and many country-breds carry such fine 

 coats that they do not require clipping, but most 



