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season, condition of tlie animal, the work done, &c. About 14 

 pounds of insensil:)le perspiration are supposed to pass off every 

 24 hours from a horse, ie., above half-a-pound every hour, showing 

 that the skin is an extensive draining organ. The water excreted by 

 the sweat glands exercises a protective influence over the external 

 surface of the body, and tends to equalise the temperature of the 

 body. Cleanliness promotes the secretions of the glands of the skin, 

 as is readily observed in the sleek coats of well-kept animals, such as 

 hunters, race-horses, army horses, &c. 



653. Hair (Plate XXXVII. , 10, C. D.)—ln the lower animals, the 

 body is covered with hair, or wool, which differs very much in texture, 

 according to the climate, season, and the breed of animal, and it also 

 varies in this respect on different parts of the body. A hair is said to 

 have a. point, shaft, and root; the latter swells out into a bulb, and is 

 fixed in the hair follicle, — a depression in the true skin. The horse 

 casts its coat twice a year, having a summer and a winter covering. 

 Castration, when the coat is being shed or cast, in some cases, tends 

 to make the coat rough. 



654. Clipping in Winter. — In late autumn, or early winter, the 

 coat of the horse becomes very long and rough. Anyone who has 

 driven a horse in this state, must recognise the oppressive effect the 

 long close coat has on the animal, which begins to puff and blow, 

 needing frequent applications of the whip, while perspiration oozes out 

 of every pore. A horse stabled in this condition takes hours to dry, 

 and in many cases, when put in thus at night, it will be found in the 

 morning still wet and cold. This necessarily chills the surface of the 

 body, tending to drive the blood from the skin, and to produce 

 congestion of the internal organs, swollen legs, &c. Clipping makes a 

 wonderful change — the horse becomes an entirely different animal, 

 active on its legs, and eager in its movements ; the depression has 

 gone, the whip is no longer needed, and any little perspiration which 

 may arise is quickly evaporated. The greatest advantage of all, 

 however, is that the coat being off, the animal is more easily dressed 

 and cleaned ; the surface capillaries are thus stimulated in their 



