CHAPTER V 



GROOMING AND STABLE MANAGEMENT 



186. The Theory of Grooming the Skin. The 

 functions of the true skin (the dermis) are : To 

 act as an organ of touch ; to remove poisons 

 from the system ; to give off perspiration, and 

 thereby keep the system cool ; to secrete oil, 

 which is essential to keep the hair in good con- 

 dition and to prevent friction on the inner 

 portions of joints ; and to form the epidermis, 

 which includes the outer skin, hair, hoof, horn, 

 etc. 



Perspiration is visible and invisible, the 

 former being what we generally call sweat ; the 

 latter is very thin, and contains about 99 per 

 cent, of water. Perspiration is given off by the 

 blood. The free use of water will increase the 

 amount of blood, and thereby increase the per- 

 spiration given off, and consequently promote 

 good health. When this moisture reaches the 

 surface of the skin it evaporates ; the rate of 

 evaporation increases pro rata with the dryness 

 of the air. 



187. Heat is required to change a liquid into 

 a gas, and therefore this liquid abstracts heat 

 from its surroundings in order to change into 

 a vapour ; hence the skin is cooled down by this 

 evaporation, and the blood in the superficial 

 blood-vessels, just under the skin, becomes 

 cooled, which cools the whole system. There- 

 fore it is clear that the more water given in hot 

 weather the more easily will the horse's system 

 be kept cool. For this reason horses cannot 

 stand damp heat, because, on account of the 

 great humidity of the atmosphere, evaporation 

 will be very slow ; but in a dry heat the air is 

 dry and evaporation very rapid, the skin nor- 

 mally appearing quite dry. Although the per- 

 spiration is invisible, it is going on all the time. 

 Perspiration is caused, as stated above, by an 

 increased supply of blood, and also by the 

 stimulation of the nerves governing the secretory 

 glands (sudoriferous or sweat glands). It may 

 also be increased by emotion, external heat, 

 muscular exercise, poisons, and nervous affec- 

 tions due to ill-health or fatigue. Cold-sweat is 

 a sign of ill-health, because it is produced when 

 there is not an excessive blood supply in the 

 system through nervous derangements, and upon 

 reaching the surface undue cooling down results 

 from there not being sufficient blood in the super- 

 ficial blood-vessels to regulate this cooling. We 



gather, therefore, that with hard work the more 

 water a horse gets the better his system will be. 

 The cleaner the skin of the horse the better will 

 these functions be able to be carried on, hence 

 the necessity for plenty of good grooming. The 

 last-named two functions of the skin, i.e. to 

 secrete oil and to form the epidermis, are stimu- 

 lated by grooming ; in fact, grooming is the most 

 valuable means of keeping a horse in good health 

 and in good condition. 



188. Before dealing with grooming let us con- 

 sider some facts about the horse's coat and hair. 

 The coat has two mechanical functions to pro- 

 tect the body from injury and to keep the body 

 warm. The skin is thickest where it is most 

 likely to be injured, i.e. on the limbs and also 

 on the back, and thinnest in between the limbs 

 and inside the joints. Its appendages are hair 

 glands, horn, and hoofs. As stated above, the 

 true skin produces all these appendages as well 

 as the outer skin (epidermis). The skin is 

 divided into the true skin or dermis, and the 

 epidermis or cuticle. Friction on the epidermis 

 causes the dermis mechanically to produce a 

 fluid, and this is what we call a blister, one of 

 Nature's protections against injury. 



The epidermis is an epithelial structure which 

 is continually growing outwards, the outer layers 

 are always becoming drier and drier until they 

 flake off in the form of dandruff ; good grooming 

 is most essential to remove this. The epidermis 

 is not vascular (supplied with blood) and is non- 

 sensitive. The dermis is highly supplied with 

 blood and nerves, and its glands are of two 

 kinds. Firstly, there are the sebaceous, which 

 secrete sebum, an oily fluid (two of these glands 

 leading to each hair follicle) which keeps the 

 hair lubricated, supple, and glossy. Good groom- 

 ing is essential to stimulate the action of these 

 glands. " Scratches " in horses is the result of 

 dirt being allowed to clog up the ducts of the 

 glands, which arrests the flow of sebum and 

 causes an inflammatory condition ; hence the 

 need for keeping the horse's heels clean. 

 Secondly, there are the sudoriferous glands, 

 which secrete perspiration. Perspiration con- 

 tains salts, water, and impurities. The glands 

 are deeply seated in the dermis, and exist all 

 over the horse's coat. They are most numerous 

 at the base of the ears, on the sides of the neck, 



