SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 287 



tion of the horse, wipe quietly his face, eyes, 

 and moutli, and between his jaws; while two 

 others, after having taken off the horse's boots, 

 may be engaged in quietly rubbing the legs with 

 a little soft straw, by which the horses will be 

 considerably refreshed. 



The groom in the mean time is to be looking 

 on, and as soon as he observes the sweat begin- 

 ning to run down the extremities of his horses, he 

 should pass his hand under each horse's clothes, 

 and feel on the lower surface of their shoulders; 

 and if, on drawing the back of his fore-finger 

 with some degree of pressure down these parts, 

 he finds the perspiration passing freely on before 

 it, he may consider the horses as being in a fit 

 state to be scraped. Having ascertained this 

 point, he cautions the boys who are in charge 

 of the horses' heads, to keep their reins strained, 

 and to be sure to keep their eyes constantly fixed 

 on those of the horses they are holding. He 

 then directs the other boys (of whom there 

 should be four to each horse — two to the fore 

 quarters, and two to the hind) to untie the 

 horses' hoods, and immediately to remove them 

 and the breast sweaters; they are then quickly 



