282 THE .HORSE 



as the new growth has attained a length of half-an-inch beyond what is 

 usual. The singeing lamp is then passed lightly over the whole body, 

 and soap and water being used, as I have described under the head of 

 clipping, or a sweat given if that plan is preferred, the coat is left for a 

 fortnight or three weeks till it has grown another half-inch, when the 

 process is repeated, and again a third, and even a fourth time if necessary. 



The lamp now in common use is attached to a wide copper comb made 

 like a rake in principle, and so arranged that the teeth raise the hair and 

 draw the ends into the flame. Where gas is procurable the comb is 

 attached to the gas-pipe by a flexible tube, and the lamp consists merely in 

 a number of holes perforated along the edge of the comb, so that a series of 

 jets of gas are lighted, and burn so strongly, that the coat is completely 

 removed as near the skin as the teeth of the comb raise it. If gas cannot 

 be obtained, a wide wick of cotton is inserted in a flat holder, and the ends 

 protruding to the level of the teeth, while a reservoir filled with naphtha 

 supplies them with that inflammable fluid, a constant flame is maintained, 

 but not nearly equal in strength to that from gas. As the coat is not 

 allowed to grow so long before it is singed, so the clothing need not be much 

 increased after its removal, and, indeed, in well-regulated stables there is 

 little or no change required. Singeing is performed in less than one 

 quarter the time of clipping, and a shilling's worth of naphtha is enough for 

 one horse, .unless his coat is unusually long. 



TRIMMING. The jaws, nostrils, ears, legs, mane, and tail are all more 

 or less subjected to the care of the groom, who removes superfluous hairs 

 from each or all by various means, as follows : 



The jaws, nostrils, and ears are singed, the last-named not being touched 

 inside, as the internal hairs are clearly a protection of the delicate lining 

 membrane of the ear from the cold and wet. There are bristles about the 

 eyes which are generally removed, but it is very doubtful whether many an 

 eye would not be saved from a blow in the dark if they were left untouched. 

 Fashion, however, dictates their removal, and her orders must generally be 

 complied with. The hair which grows an inch or more in length beneath 

 the jaw, being of the same nature as the rest of the coat, can only be 

 singed off with advantage, and it should be done as fast as it grows, 

 especially if the singeing is not universal, or there will be a different colour 

 presented in these parts. Nothing gives a horse such a low-bred appear- 

 ance as a goat-like beard, and the trimming of this part alone will 

 completely alter the character of the animal where the hair has been at all 

 long. The legs are trimmed partly by singeing, and partly either by 

 clipping or pulling out the hairs. Great dexterity is required to manage 

 this performance in a workmanlike manner, so as to avoid the stale and 

 poster-like appearance which is presented by a leg clipped all over (without 

 a corresponding clipping of the body), and at the same time to remove all, 

 or nearly all, the superfluous hair. In the summer, a clipped leg is totally 

 inadmissible, and even from the legs of a badly bred horse the hair may be 

 pulled by gradually working at it for a little time every day with the 

 fingers, armed with powdered resin. This prevents the hair slipping 

 through them, and by its aid such a firm hold may be obtained that, as I 

 said before, perseverance will enable the groom to clear the legs entirely, 

 with the exception generally of a strong lock of hair behind the pastern. 



