6o 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Mane 

 combs. 



Sweat 

 scrapers. 



Sponges. 



Rubbers. 



A wisp. 



Rough 

 coir gloves 

 and 

 leather 

 pads. 



most useful in any stable. On light horses their use is as a rule limited 

 to the removal of hard caked dirt, the rest of the grooming being 

 performed with the body brush, but in commercial stables they are often 

 the only brush used, and are employed in conjunction with a free use of 

 the curry comb. Their use saves time and labour and they are most 

 efficient instruments of grooming. 



Mane combs are made of horn or metal, with deep, broad teeth ; 

 though convenient, they are not actually necessary and, if they 

 are not very carefully used, tear out and break the hair considerably. 

 Sweat scrapers are long flexible blades of smooth metal, with a handle at 

 each end by means of which the lather of a sweating horse may be 

 conveniently and quickly removed. Another variety has a central handle 

 with a rigid curved blade, but the pattern is not so good as the flexible 

 one, since the rigid blade does not adapt itself to the curves of the 

 body so well ; they are not necessary in troop stables. 



Sponges are commonly used during grooming for the eyes, lips, 

 nostrils and dock. Though the convenience of sponges for this purpose 

 is undoubted, they should invariably be prohibited on the appearance of 

 any contagious disease, as they are one of the commonest channels by 

 which infection is spread. 



Rubbers are generally used to give the coat a final polish after the 

 rest of grooming is completed, and a damp rubber may, with advantage, 

 take the place of a sponge whenever possible, since it can be easily 

 disinfected and cleaned by boiling, a process which ruins sponges. 



A wisp is a pad of hay or straw, made by twisting the material into a 

 rope and doubling it into a convenient-sized pad as described below. Its 

 proper use, which is really a form of massage, is a most valuable 

 method for improving the condition of the skin and coat. To make a 

 wisp, soft hay or straw should be twisted into a convenient-sized rope 

 about eight to ten feet long ; two loops are then formed at one end, one 

 being very slightly longer than the other. Each of these loops in turn, 

 is then twisted beneath the remainder of the rope until the end is 

 reached, when it is passed through the extremity of each loop, and 

 tucked under one of the twists. A really good wisp should be no 

 wider than can be conveniently grasped by the hand, about a foot long 

 and two or three inches thick ; some little practice is necessary to make 

 one really well. 



Rough coir gloves and leather pads stuffed with hair are sometimes 

 used for the same purpose, the latter (tappees) being in common use as a 

 grooming tool in India. 



