DETAILS OF GROOMING. 337 



If a horse returns wet from work in clothing, as might 

 happen if he had been given a sweat, he should be watered, 

 and the hood, breast-piece and quarter-sheet or rug removed 

 one after another, while the respective parts covered by them 

 should be successively scraped and dried. A single suit of 

 dry clothing may be put on, and the animal walked as 

 before advised. If a walk for drying purposes cannot be 

 given, he should be well wisped. If a horse in clothing comes 

 back only slightly heated from work, he can be walked about, 

 until he is quite cool, before taking him into the stable. 



A rider or driver will do well to expedite the grooming, 

 and lessen the chance of the horse getting chilled or " break- 

 ing out," by bringing the animal back to the stable cool, 

 which he can generally do by walking him for the last 

 mile or two. 



When the wisping has been finished, it is well to give 

 the horse's head, neck, breast, shoulders, body, and legs 

 down to the knees and hocks, a good hand-rubbing. 



The horse now being thoroughly dry, a groom on each 

 side (supposing that two men can be spared) should go 

 over the coat with a body-brush. As moisture causes the 

 particles of dandruff to become matted together and to 

 adhere to the skin, no attempt to brush the coat should 

 be made until the horse is dry. 



The fore-lock, mane and tail should be cleaned with the 

 body-brush or dry water-brush (p. 330) ; but not with the 

 dandy-brush, which is apt to pull out the hairs. The groom 

 should begin by brushing these hairs at their ends, and should 

 work upwards as each kink or knot becomes opened out. 

 When the hairs are all separate, they can be brushed, by 

 small locks at a time, from their roots downwards, so as 

 to remove the dandruff. The mane-comb should be used 

 only when it is desired to keep the hair thin, because the 

 hairs get broken and pulled out by it. If the hair of the 



22 



