98 THE PRACTICAL HORSE KEEPER. 



sluggish and spiritless. With such animals great advantage 

 is derived from the removing as much of the hair as possible 

 by either singeing, clipping, or shaving them. The skin de- 

 prived of the excess of hair is much easier cleaned and dried, 

 and secondary sweating is prevented ; while the animal him- 

 self will do more work, and with much more sprightliness. 

 Singeing should be resorted to whenever the coat begins to 

 lengthen in the autumn, and should be repeated every week or 

 ten days, until the end of winter. Gas singeing is the best, 

 when it can be made available ; the operation should always be 

 performed by a careful groom, as the skin is liable to be 

 scorched or blistered by a careless or inexperienced person. 



Clipping is resorted to for horses with heavier coats, and 

 when these have set it is perhaps more advantageous than 

 singeing, and it is certainly less troublesome ; though it is not 

 unusual to pass the singeing lamp over the skin of the clipped 

 horse several times during the season. With some horses, and 

 especially if they are advanced in years, little clothed, or kept 

 in cold stables, if singeing is not resorted to, a second clipping 

 will be necessary. With hunters, and particularly those ex- 

 posed to " mud fever," or which have to pass through thorn 

 bushes, it is usual to leave the legs, a short distance above the 

 knees and hocks, untouched. It must be remembered that 

 clipped horses feel the cold much more than those which are 

 undipped, and if kept standing for any time out of doors 

 unclothed are certain to be seriously affected by it. It is 

 therefore necessary to keep them moving as much as possible, 

 or, at any rate, not to allow them to stand longer than can be 

 helped. 



For horses which are out the greater part of the day doing 

 slow work, and especially if having to stand for considerable 

 periods, if the back and loins are not protected by a waterproof 

 in cold wet weather, as some horses are, the coat should be left 

 undisturbed ; indeed, the less grooming they receive the better, 



