648 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



the atmosphere of the stable, settles into the manger and through 

 the feed, and the poor animals are compelled to feed on their 

 own excremented matter. 



The horse appreciates cleanliness, and abhors filth in his 

 feed more than any other of the domestic animals. His sense 

 of smell is acute, and he will suffer intense thirst before he will 

 drink from a vessel that has about it an offensive odor. This 

 trait of his nature tells us to be cleanly in the food we provide 

 for him. The carelessness of men and boys who trample over 

 the hay and grain with filthy boots, is an offense to the decency 

 of the horse. If the groom does not care enough for his own 

 cleanliness to take the horse out of the stable to curry and 

 brush, then for the sake of the horse and stable we bespeak it. 

 The cleaning of the farm horse is not generally such, however, 

 as to liberate a great amount of dirt from his skin, and for this 

 reason it may be true that, " there is no dust to hurt," as we 

 once heard a farm hand say. 



If the farmer will remember that the skin of his horse per- 

 forms an office more essential to life and health than even diges- 

 tion, he will surely see that it needs to be cleaned and freed from 

 the vast accumulation of excremented matter. In nature the 

 horse rolls often and relieves the surface and pores of impacted 

 matter. The presence of the pure soil taken up by rolling even 

 acts as a disinfectant and absorbent of impurities. 



Where the horse runs at large, the sunlight, fresh air, and 

 rains, and rolling, disinfect the skin and absorb and remove the 

 refuse of the system. When confined to the stable and at the 

 service of man, the horse depends for these offices on the faith- 

 fulness of his groom. 



The horse is not properly groomed when the filth and sweat 

 have been scraped off so that the neighbor and passers-by can 

 not see it across the field. Many a farmer simply cleans or cur- 

 ries his team enough to prevent the neighbors making fun of 

 him. It is well that owners of horses like to have them look 

 well, and they clean the coat for appearance sake. Let it 

 be kept in mind, the skin needs to be regularly cleaned for 

 health's sake. 



