122 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



pends, though neither the value of the blanket nor the 

 principle upon which they act is fully understood by the 

 best of grooms or horsemen, outside of the fact that blan- 

 kets will keep the horse warm. 



Blankets are a necessary article of stable appliance, at 

 least where a high condition of horse is necessary. With- 

 out a certain degree of heat in cold weather, horses could 

 not be easily kept in flesh and condition. This heat is in 

 part supplied by the application of blankets to the body 

 and in part from the feed. The colder the animal is kept 

 the greater the amount of feed required to supply caloric. 

 The blanket not only prevents the evaporation of heat from 

 the body of the horse, but at the same time forms a barrier 

 between the pores of the skin of the animal and the cold 

 air. Blanketing should be just sufficiently heavy or light 

 to insure comfort^ by allowing insensible transpiration, but 

 not so heavy as to produce sweating or sensible transpira- 

 tion. It should never interfere with a free exhalation from 

 the surface of the skin, which is eminently necessary to 

 health. 



Blankets of coarse wool should only be used, and not be 

 lined with anything other than woollen material, if lined at 

 all. To blanket with water-proof or rubber cloth while the 

 horse is in the stable, without harness or saddle on his 

 back to elevate the covering from immediate contact with 

 the skin, would be injurious, because it would in great 

 measure prevent the natural transpiration. The same 

 objection may be applied to the buffalo and other robes 



