THE GROOM 119 



advocates always swear it is not. A man's hobby 

 never costs anything. 



" Nimrod's " letters on condition did a great deal of 

 good, though perhaps he was rather in the extreme, 

 at all events induced men to run into the extreme, 

 who lost sight of the fact that "Nimrod" took 

 Leicestershire for his standard, and that what might 

 be necessary there might be superfluous elsewhere. 

 Besides, it is evident that with the variety of constitu- 

 tions, tendency to lameness, and infirmity of horses, 

 no general rule can be laid down for their manage- 

 ment. Treatment adapted to each case seems to us 

 a sounder and more sensible system. We advocate 

 clipping, a practice " Nimrod " never could bring 

 himself to hear of, though there is no doubt that all 

 who have tried it will admit its wonderful efficacy. 

 "Nimrod's" objection seemed to be its cheapness, 

 and its tendency to make Grooms idle : but the 

 former is an objection that poor men will readily 

 pocket, and the latter is easily remedied by giving 

 each man three horses instead of two to take care of. 

 As times go, anything that tends to diminish the 

 expense of hunting establishments ought to be adopted, 

 and certainly clipping is a thing that not only saves 

 labour to the servant, but also needless annoyance 

 and irritation to the horse. A Groom never knows 

 when he is done with a woolly-coated horse, for after 

 he has strapped him, and rubbed him, and got him, 

 as he thinks, after much toil and labour to himself, 

 and plunging and kicking and wincing on the part of 

 the horse, all right and comfortable, very likely, on 

 going into the stable an hour or so after, he finds the 

 horse all broke out again into a cold clammy sweat, 

 and all the rubbing and whisping to do over again. 

 Take the animal's pea-jacket of a coat off, either by 

 clipping, shaving, or singeing, and he not only looks 

 five-and-twenty per cent, better, but he thrives to the 

 extent of five-and-twenty per cent, more, and does a 



