GROOMING, STABLE GEAR, ETC. 91 



and be continued upwards, not in the reverse direc- 

 tion, which is tlie usual practice. The limb should 

 be lifted up, and the fingers worked with a kneading 

 motion behind the tendons. 



Washing. 



The feet, mane and tail are the only parts that 

 should ever be washed, unless specially ordered, and 

 then as seldom as possible. When the feet are 

 washed, great care should ])e taken that they are 

 carefully dried afterwards, and bandages put on, as 

 leaving the legs wet is one of the chief causes of 

 cracked heels, more especially in the winter months, 

 if there is a dry cold wind blowing. If soap is used, 

 it should be soft-soap; or, better still, the soap 

 nut, or " reita." This is a berry, the shell or outer 

 covering of which, when soaked in water, swells up 

 into a sticky mass, that lathers like soap, and by 

 natives of India is used for washing purposes. 



Uneven Manes. 



When the mane gets ragged and uneven, it should 

 be carefully brushed down four or five times a day 

 with a damp water brush, to make it lie flat. The 

 long hairs on the under side next the neck should be 

 pulled out, so that the mane is thinned, and the 



