184 THE HORSE. 



off through :he woollen rug or serge, leaving the salts and animal 

 matters behind, as is apparent on examining the internal surface 

 of any clothing which has been worn for any length of time with- 

 out washing, when it will be found to be lined with scurf, and 

 matted with oily animal matters. There are many drugs which 

 will give a gloss to the skin, but they will diminish instead of 

 increasing its capability to bear exposure, and hence their use is 

 altogether forbidden by those who know their injurious effects. 

 The horse which is little used requires dressing to take the place 

 of exercise, and if he has plenty of good strapping, his coat will 

 look like satin; but the hunter and the hack or harness-horse, 

 exposed to all weathers, must be carefully groomed and receive 

 plenty of elbow grease, or his coat will look hollow and stand out 

 like "the quills of the fretful porcupine," whenever he is allowed 

 to stand for a few minutes in a cool wind. 



THE FIRST THING WHICH THE GROOM does in commencing his 

 morning's task is to turn the horse round in his stall, and fold the 

 quarter piece back upon itself, so as to expose the whole of the 

 fore quarters. Then, taking his brush in the hand nearest the 

 head, whichever side he begins with, he works away at the head 

 and face till he has thoroughly cleansed those parts, carefully 

 clearing out the dust and dirt from the roots of the ears, where it 

 is very apt to lodge, and continually cleaning his brush with the 

 curry-comb held in the other hand. Next proceeding to the neck, 

 he works at that part in the same way, turning the mane over to 

 the other side, and then going to the shoulders, bosom, and legs, 

 and finishing off with a whisp of hay slightly damp, instead of the 

 brush. Having thoroughly worked at this half of the body, the 

 horse is turned round in his stall, and the hind quarters and flank 

 treated in the same way, the clothing being removed entirely while 

 this is going on. In the spring and autumn, when the coat is 

 being shed, the brush should never be used, and the whisp alone 

 should be depended on. Nothing spoils the look of the new coat so 

 surely as the brush, except perhaps the currycomb ; but this latter 

 should not, under any circumstances, touch the skin of a horse 

 when it is in proper order, and it is scarcely necessary to forbid its 

 use when the coat is being shed, at which time it would be posi- 

 tively cruel, as well as injurious to the appearance. The brush 

 and whisp having effectually cleansed the skin, and given the hair 

 itself a certain amount of polish, the finishing stroke is put to the 

 dressing by means of the linen rubber, with the addition, in well- 

 managed stables, of the leather. Either or both of these in suc- 

 cession are steadily passed over the surface in the direction of the 

 hair of each part, and then the quarter piece or rug, as the case 

 may be, is replaced, taking care to throw it lightly in front of its 

 proper place, and then to draw it steadily backwards, so as not to 



