74 TilE FAMILY HORSE. 



dull and look wiry ; the suminer growth is soon replaced by the 

 long, thick winter coat. During the season of moulting, fever, more 

 or less, is present. Horses become languid ; the appetite is morbid ; 

 and the ability to work is much lessened. These symptoms seldom 

 continue for more than a few days. Under good care, which com- 

 prises a change of diet, warm drinks and mashes, with moderate 

 work, horses come out all right in from fifteen to twenty days. If 

 a horse on recovering his spirit and showing himself equal to his 

 usual work grows a heavy coat of hair, the safest way is early in 

 November to reduce its length one-half ; then in the middle of Jan- 

 uary again pass the singeing lamp over the horse and reduce the 

 growth to one-half its natural length. After the first singeing a 

 stout woolen blanket should be put on the horse ; then if the weather 

 is severe in January, as it usually is, a light under-blanket should be 

 added. But how are horses generally clipped? The defenseless 

 creatures are shorn close to their hides early or late, as their sense- 

 less owners take the whim. Then they are either left to shiver and 

 contract lung or throat diseases, or they are thrust into close hot sta- 

 bles where there is no proper ventilation, and blood poisoning ensues. 

 Early in the spring the horse-owner finds his horse complaining 

 with cracked heels, chipped feet, sore eyes or troublesome coughs. 

 He vows never again to have a horse of his clipped. It was not the 

 taking off of the animal's winter growth of hair that produced these 

 woes ; it was the want of proper care afterward that brought about 

 bad symptoms. When old horses are clipped and a good stable 

 treatment is not observed, the animal may preserve his appearance of 

 good health, that is, he may appear cheerful and work well up to his 

 best form, but his coat will look rusty, feel harsh, and should any 

 thing go amiss, danger will be close at hand. 



" When farmers decide to clip their horses, let them first provide 

 due protection ; at least one thin and one heavy blanket for stable 

 wear, one water-proof quarter blanket, and one water-proof chest 

 protector. These covers can most profitably be made at home. 

 Coarse unbleached cotton sheeting, if oiled and allowed to dry, then 

 oiled again, will be water-proof. These can be readily cut to fit the 

 individual horses for which they are needed ; then lined with old 

 blankets or even under the pressure of economy with old pieces of 

 carpeting ; the sole requisite is that the lining be made of wool. A 

 quarter-cloth should fit snugly and go over the harness pad with 

 holes cut in for terrets, and when that obnoxious engine of cruelty, 

 a check-rein, is used, room must be provided for the hook. When a 

 quarter-cloth is placed under the back-pad galled backs result, as the 

 pressure is severe. All outside clothing should be fitted over the 



