342 GROOMING. 



entirely replaced by that of the dandy brush. In these cases, 

 the merits of a straw wisp, or, better still, one of unprepared 

 hemp, should be borne in mind. The washing of horses on 

 which little labour can be expended, is particularly objection- 

 able, on account of the impossibility of thoroughly drying 

 them. Of course these remarks do not apply to valuable cart 

 horses (Shires, Clydesdales and Suffolks, for instance), many 

 of whom are groomed with great care. 



CARE OF LEGS AND FEET. 



The alleviation of " filled legs," is one of the most common 

 problems given to grooms to solve. This condition is a 

 chronic ailment which is brought on by stagnation of blood 

 in the limbs from want of sufficiently continued exercise, 

 and from food of too " heating " a nature. It occurs 

 in both fore, both hind, or in all four legs ; and presents 

 no acute symptoms, as would be present in sprain, which 

 nearly always takes place, only in one limb at a time. 

 As the hind limbs are farther from the centre of circu- 

 lation than the fore, they are more liable to become 

 filled than the front pair. This passive tendency of the 

 legs to fill comes on, as a rule, very insidiously. At first 

 it is a temporary sign of confinement to the stable, and 

 quickly passes off during exercise ; but in the large majority 

 of cases, it becomes increasingly difficult to dissipate, and 

 impairs more and more the working capacity of the animal. 

 As the defective state of the circulation, of which " filled 

 legs " are a symptom, interferes with the due nutrition of 

 tendons and ligaments, its manifestation by " filling " is 

 usually " the beginning of the end," which is generally 

 attained by means of a sprain or series of sprains. The 

 only proper treatment is removal of the cause, which we 

 can best effect by cotton wadding bandaging (p. 306) and 

 attention to feeding and watering. Suppose we have a 



