290 CLOTHING. 



use may not give rise to disease. From neglect of this pre- 

 caution, clothing is not an unfrequent carrier of mange and 

 ringworm. 



Woollen clothing, especially when it is of coarse material 

 and when it is not kept clean, is sometimes a cause of irritation 

 to the skin, in which case it is well to put a cotton sheet 

 between the clothing and the skin. 



Clothing should be as light as the performance of its duty 

 will admit, so that it may not inconvenience the animal. 



AMOUNT OF CLOTHING NECESSARY AS A PROTECTION 

 AGAINST COLD. 



It is evident that the more the skin is stimulated by exercise 

 and grooming, the more liable will the animal be to suffer 

 from chill in the stable. Hence, racehorses, especially when 

 they are " wound up to concert pitch," as a rule require more 

 clothing than other horses. The objection to the use of 

 clothing on account of its tendency to produce increased 

 susceptibility to chill outside, does not apply as forcibly 

 in their case as in that of ordinary working horses ; for during 

 training they are kept constantly on the move when in the 

 open, and besides, they generally wear clothing, though of 

 light material. Even when they are stripped for racing, they 

 are seldom kept motionless, even at the starting post. The 

 case, however, is very different with horses which have to 

 do their work in the open without clothing, and which have 

 often to remain standing for a considerable time in a state 

 of nakedness, exposed to a keen wind, as for instance, at the 

 cover side or in a lady's victoria out shopping. With such 

 horses, we should evidently reduce the quantity of clothing 

 to the minimum required to make up for the loss of warmth 

 caused by enforced idleness in the stable, and by the reduction 

 in the length and thickness of the coat by grooming and 

 clipping. 



