TRIMMING.] 



MODEKN VETERINAEY PEACTICB. 



[teimmino. 



part on the poll, where the head-stall of the 

 bridle, or stall-collar comes, taking care to 

 remove as little towards the node as possible ; 

 or, if the animal is clipped beyond where the 

 head-stall of the bridle comes, it will disfigure 

 the neck. The next point is to trim out the 

 ear, which will be found a little difficult to do ; 

 and few horses will stand quiet to have it done 

 without being pinched with the twitch. 



The scissors most handy for trimming ears, 

 are such as are narrow in the blades, the points 

 not too sharp, but well cut. Begin with 

 clipping the inner part of the ear, going not 

 too near the edges, till the long hair on 

 the inside is cleared out ; then gradually ap- 

 proach the edges, drawing the outside skin of 

 the ear- back, so as not to clip so close as to 

 leave the edge of the ear bare, and thereby 

 disfigure it. The outside skin of this organ is 

 very loose; and as it is held with the left 

 hand, while being clipped with the right, it is 

 :;pt to be drawn so far forward as to deceive 

 the operator, by making him clip too near the 

 edge. Care must therefore be taken that no 

 notches or scallops appear on this part. Having 

 clipped to the edges, and no farther, the out- 

 side hair will stand projecting beyond these, 

 quite even and regular if the operation has 

 been properly done. 



At the bur and root of the ear, a quantity 

 of long flossy hair grows, which must be partly 

 clipped away, and that on the inside must not 

 beieft in scores and notches. You finish with 

 the scissors, by clipping the hair that projects 

 round the edge of the ear, cutting it all round, 

 so as to preserve the exact beauty and shape 

 of the organ, leaving, to be singed at the root, 

 a quantity of hair which the scissors would 

 only score. 



All superfluous hair about the face and 

 beard, under the eyes, and about the nose 

 and lips, should be clipped as closely as possible. 

 Eough horses, lately come from grass, and 

 coarse-bred ones, have a quantity of unneces- 

 sary hair growing very thick under the throp- 

 ple, and about the throat. This must be re- 

 moved. 



The fore-legs are the next parts to be 

 handled, and great pains should be taken with 

 them. Thorough-bred animals, kept in the 

 stable, and properly groomed, seldom require 

 trimming about these members, as all super- 



fluous hair rubs off with their dressings. AVhen 

 lately taken in from grass, liowever, a littlo 

 long hair will appear on the back sinews, and 

 on the fetlock-joints, which may bo taken off, 

 by using a small quantity of powdered resin, 

 say as much as may be taken up between tlie 

 finger and thumb ; and this will remove it with 

 as much ease to the horse, as facility to the 

 person trimming. Let the compressed hairs be 

 cut to any length, provided no ridges will be 

 seen ; and if properly done, it will scarcely be 

 perceived that it has been touched. The 

 coarser the breed of the animal, the more 

 useless hair will be found on the legs, and 

 within the pastern. "Where it is abundant, it 

 must be removed with the scissors, beginning 

 next to the heel. Clip it clean out within the 

 pastern, and under the fetlock-joint. The ad- 

 joining part will then be able to be so nicely 

 tapered, that the sudden break from short to 

 long will not appear, which otherwise would 

 be the case. The soft spongy piece of flesh 

 at the back extremity of the pastern -joints, 

 can be pared down, if necessary, with a sharp 

 knife, and the portions above left in such a 

 manner as to resemble the legs of a thorough- 

 bred horse. The hair, up the back sinews, 

 must be raised with the comb, and cut in 

 equal lengths, tapering it towards the sinew, 

 in such a way as to prevent the appearance 

 of all scores or ridges, allowing that portion 

 next to the back sinews to be the shortest. 



As there are some horses a little bent at the 

 knee, the hair, within that joint, should not be 

 chpped too close, as it will make that defect 

 appear more conspicuous, and defeat the object 

 of trimming, which is to make the animal ap- 

 pear to more advantage than belonged to it 

 before the operation was put in practice. Care 

 must, theretbre, be taken to conceal as many 

 of the defects as exist. Where the legs are 

 straiglit, however, all the flossy hair within 

 that joint may be removed. Eound the coro- 

 net of the hoofs the hair should be clipped 

 regular and even. The four legs being thus 

 trimmed, there only remains the tail for the 

 further operation of the scissors ; for the mane, 

 unless it is what is called hogged, must not be 

 touched with that instrument. 



As fashion and fancy are ever wavering, the 

 tail and ears have always been subject to such 

 changes as are agreeable to the taste of the 



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