THE HORSE'S COAT 103 



the bowels, especially if worked hard more than 

 once or twice a week; others will not stand it at 

 all without scouring. Care in all instances must 

 be exercised not to feed an excessive quantity. 

 In clipping saddle horses the mistake is usually 

 made of including the part covered by the saddle, 

 and a great deal of trouble frequently results in 

 consequence. Newly clipped horses, particularly 

 if they are not thoroughly used to the pressure 

 and friction of the saddle, are very apt to develop 

 an eczematous eruption under it, and even horses 

 regularly used for saddle work are not immune 

 to such injury after clipping. 



The layman is apt to assume that an attack 

 of eczema coming on under the conditions de- 

 scribed is due to derangement of the blood or the 

 digestive organs. While derangement of the 

 blood or the digestive organs may predispose to 

 an attack of this nature, some local irritation is 

 usually needed to determine its development. It 

 is obvious that a considerable amount of local 

 irritation must result when the skin, divested of 

 its coat, is, for an hour or two daily, subjected 

 to the pressure and rubbing of the saddle. The 

 rubbing action is further intensified by the sweat- 

 ing that almost always takes place under the sad- 

 dle. Another contributing cause is the rapid dry- 

 ing and cooling of the skin when the saddle is re- 

 moved from a clipped horse's back. The rapid 



