GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF HORSES 21 



either " doped " or " thrown " before they will allow the 

 clipping machine to touch them. When the coat is being 

 shed, viz. in the spring and the autumn, it is not advisable 

 to clip, but to leave it for the time being. All classes of 

 horses are clipped, but horse owners differ in their views 

 as to the manner in which to clip ; moreover, there are 

 different views in different localities. Some prefer to 

 clip the v/hole of the body and the Hmbs ; others will 

 remove the hair only " trace-high," leaving the whole of 

 the hair on the limbs and lower portion of the belly, 

 believing that the hairy covering thus left on affords 

 protection against mud rash, grease, and cracked heel. 

 That it may do so against the last-named is a reasonable 

 assumption, but to leave the hair on above the fetlock is, 

 in the author's opinion, quite a useless procedure. There 

 is nothing to be gained by it, and a great deal to lose in 

 the economy of labour. A clipped horse can be groomed 

 in one fourth the time as compared with that of an un- 

 dipped one, excepting in the case of horses which have 

 never been clipped, and whose coats are in a short and 

 fine condition through being clothed and stabled all the 

 year round. When the hairy covering is long it causes a 

 horse to sweat too freely, and the result is that it loses 

 flesh. It is much more economical to forage a clipped 

 horse than one with a long coat. No man can properly 

 groom a horse Vv^ith a superabundance of hair upon it, 

 and nothing can be more disheartening to the groom than 

 seeing his labour wasted. Hand in hand with chpping 

 should be singeing, and the singeing lamp, when properly 

 applied, is an invaluable aid to the toilet. All the long 

 hair beneath the jaw, around the throat, the back of the 

 jaw, inside the forearms, on the brisket, along the floor 

 of the belly, between the thighs, etc., should be removed 

 with the aid of the singeing lamp. For the removal of 

 the nits of lice and the eggs of the warble fly the singeing 

 lamp is invaluable, and it also can be made to play a 

 significant part when deahng with cases of mange. 



