320 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 



keted. It is also in some degree cruel, and as I think 

 in a high degree absurd, to clip carriage horses in the 

 city that are seldom required to go long distances. 

 Such animals being kept in warm stables, and being 

 warmly clothed, have short coats ;. and in these natu- 

 ral coats they are far handsomer than in the clipped 

 condition. Nevertheless, the common practice is to 

 deprive them of their hair. Why ? Doubtless be- 

 cause the labor of the groom is thus lightened, and in 

 these matters the man rules the master. On the other 

 hand, horses that are taken out once a day, driven 

 hard and fast, and then brought in again, are usu- 

 ally much better for being clipped, since they escape 

 the profuse sweating which they would otherwise 

 undergo. 



Moreover, especially in early spring, clipping often 

 seems to have a valuable tonic effect. Horses that 

 were thin and run down have been known to pick up 

 with extraordinary rapidity after being clipped. The 

 reason doubtless is, that in the clipped condition they 

 keep a certain amount of flesh which they would 

 otherwise have lost bv sweating. Even when a horse 

 stands in the stable — to say nothing of his work — he 

 perspires ; and if the weather is warmish he perspires 

 a great deal, for his heavy blanket is retained till late 

 spring or summer. By clipping, this loss of flesh is 

 avoided ; and perhaps also the fact that the animal's 

 skin is comfortably cool, instead of uncomfortably 

 hot, has a direct effect upon his general health. 



But again, under certain conditions, I have no doubt 

 that the sweating which a long-coated horse gets is 

 beneficial. A moderate amount of sweating is good for 

 a horse, as it is for a man, and in the case of an animal 



