176 



animal was lame ! but he never mentioned the 

 cause, nor should I have discovered it, had not 

 the same stupidity left the stone and the picker 

 lying in the litter. 



The clothing of the horse must depend upon 

 habit ; if he has always been accustomed to heavy 

 cloths, they must be continued ; but my own 

 practice has been, to Hmit them to a light rug, 

 except in the severity of winter, and then I allow 

 them two. It is customary, when a horse comes 

 in, to cover him with his cloth long before he is 

 cool. I do not condemn this habit if the roller is 

 not put on ; if it is, the horse will not be cool for 

 some hours. It is scarcely to be expected that a 

 groom will go on with the dressing till the hair is 

 perfectly dry ; and especially if the coat is very 

 thick. It is a work of at least two hours to rub a 

 horse dry after a long sweat. After half an hour 

 of fair rubbing, let the cloths be put on ; in a very 

 short time the horse will " break out" again, and 

 then he should receive a second rubbing ; he may 

 after this be covered with a different cloth, (the 

 first will have become damp,) and may be left to 

 himself with safety. A custom of clipping horses 

 has sprung up within the last five years. It cer- 

 tainly appears, at first sight, a barbarous system, 

 thus to deprive a horse of the warm covering that 





