194 THE HORSE. 



touched inside, as the internal hairs are clearly a protection of the 

 delicate lining membrane of the ear from the cold and wet. The 

 long bristles of the nostrils may either be cut off, pulled out, or 

 singed off, but the first plan is the easiest and the most humane. 

 There are, also, some bristles about the eyes which are generally 

 removed, but it is very doubtful whether many an eye would not 

 be saved from a blow in the dark if they were left untouched. 

 Fashion, however, dictates their removal, and her orders must 

 generally be complied with. The hair which grows an inch or 

 more in length beneath the jaw, being of the same nature as the 

 rest of the coat, can only be singed off with advantage, and it 

 should be done as fast as it grows, especially if the singeing is not 

 universal, or there will be a different color presented in these parts. 

 Nothing gives a horse such a low-bred appearance as a goat-like 

 beard, and the trimming of this part alone will completely alter the 

 character of the animal where th3 hair has been at all long. The 

 legs are trimmed partly by singeing, and partly either by clipping 

 or pulling out the hairs. Great dexterity is required to manage 

 this performance in a workmanlike manner, so as to avoid the stale 

 and poster-like appearance which is presented by a leg clipped all 

 over (without a corresponding clipping of the body), and at the 

 same time to remove all, or nearly all, the superfluous hair. In 

 the summer, a clipped leg is totally inadmissible, and even from 

 the legs of a badly-bred horse the hair may be pulled by gradually 

 working at it for a little time every day with the fingers, armed 

 with powdered resin. This prevents the hair slipping through 

 them, and by its aid such a firm hold may be obtained that, as I 

 said before, perseverance will enable the groom to clear the legs 

 entirely, with the exception, generally, of a strong lock of hair 

 behind the pastern. When this is very obstinate, it is allowable to 

 use the scissors to clear away the hair below the horny growth 

 which is found there, but there should always be left a slight 

 fringe round this, so as to avoid the sharp and stiff outline presented 

 by the clipped leg. In the winter, the arms and backs of the 

 knees, as well as the bosom and the insides of the quarters, will 

 generally want singeing, whether the body is submitted to the lamp 

 or not; but in the summer, even if any long hairs are left there, 

 they are easily removed by the hand armed with resin. Unless 

 general clipping or singeing is practised, the front surfaces of the 

 legs do not require trimming at any season of the year. 



The mane is not now usually cut, but formerly it was a very 

 common practice to " hog" it, that is, to cut it to a sharp-pointed 

 ridge, sticking straight upwards from the crest, and giving that 

 part the appearance of extraordinary height. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, the mane is very thick, and then for the sake of appearances 

 it is necessary to thin it, which is done by twisting a small lock 



