146 THE HORSE 



plowing or mowing (a mowing machine is particularly 

 hard on a horse's shoulders), lift up the collar now 

 and then to cool the shoulders, wipe off the sweat and 

 dirt, and smooth down the skin. At noon take off the 

 harness and sponge off all the harness marks with clean 

 water; and do the same at night. If the skin is 

 wrinkled, showing that there Is inflammation, bathe it 

 with witch-hazel. Examine the shoulders for sore spots, 

 and, if you find any, alter the pressure of the collar 

 so as to avoid them the next day. Some horses have 

 naturally a very tender skin which can be toughened 

 considerably by bathing it three or four times a week 

 with salt and water to which a little vinegar has been 

 added. Salt water — not too salt — is also an excellent 

 antiseptic and healer for cuts and wounds. 



It is hard for a tired man to spend any time over 

 his horse at night, but he should remember that the 

 horse is tired also. Give him what he has earned — a 

 good cleaning, far more important at night than in 

 the morning — a good, soft bed to lie on, and all the 

 water he wants after eating his hay.^ That man is 

 not to be envied or respected who can go to his own 

 rest without first making comfortable the animal whose 

 labor he exacts, and who is wholly dependent upon his 

 care and mercy. 



With these preliminary remarks, let us now take 

 up the pleasant task of buying a pair of farm 

 horses. It Is hardly necessary to say that no one kind 

 of horse is suitable for all kinds of farms. On the 

 western prairies, where hills and rocks are unknown, 



1 See page 33. 



