THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 89 



horse has been accustomed to being clothed up, before the 

 cloth is put on, little pieces of straw should be laid 

 right along trje back, from the tail to the neck, then the 

 cloth should be put on the top of that. When this is done 

 the steam from the horse's body goes into the straw, 

 which keeps the back very warm, and naturally 

 causes the animal to dry much quicker. If the straw is 

 not put on first, but only the cloth, the steam from the 

 horse's back goes into the cloth, and while the body is 

 drying, the former is getting damp, which often gives the 

 animal cold when the rug is put on again after being taken 

 off damp. 



If only a little care is taken in this respect it saves 

 a deal of trouble in the long run. Where a man thoroughly 

 understands his work it is very seldom a horse takes cold 

 while standing in the stable, as the animals are looked after 

 as they ought to be, and clothed up with straw on the back 

 in the way I have described. It is very seldom waggon and 

 cart horses are clothed up when in the stable, at the same 

 time they get wet just the same as nag horses. They 

 should be well scraped down, and rubbed with some straw, 

 and, as a rule, they very soon dry as they stand. Many 

 heavy horses catch cold through coming into the stable cold 

 and wet, and never being attended to properly. It must 

 be remembered a horse which has a long coat, and is not 

 scraped down, holds a great deal more water than one 

 which is kept clipped short. The horsekeeper should 

 always bear this in mind, and see that the water is well 

 scraped off the horse. If the animal's ears are cold they 



