OPERATIONS OF DECORATION. 115 



cart-horses. Grease, and the other skin diseases of the heels, 

 have been of most frequent occurrence where the horses were 

 both trimmed and washed ; they have been common where 

 the horses were trimmed but not washed ; and there have 

 been very few cases where washing and trimming were for- 

 bidden or neglected. I do not include horses that always 

 have the best of grooming; they naturally have little hair 

 about the legs, and some of that is often removed ; their legs 

 are always washed after work, but they are always dried be- 

 fore they have time to cool. 



If, then, the horse have to work often and long upon wet or 

 muddy roads, and can not have his legs completely dried im- 

 mediately after work, and kept dry in the stable, and not ex- 

 posed to any current of cold air, he must not have his heels 

 trimmed. In most well-regulated coaching stables, this opera- 

 tion and washing are both forbidden. 



Hand-rubbing the Legs. — This is not altogether an 

 ornamental operation, but as it is performed chiefly or only 

 where decoration is attended to, this seems to be the proper 

 place for taking notice of it. I have said that the hair of the 

 body is anointed by an oily kind of matter, which serves in 

 some measure to repel the rain. The long hair of the heels is 

 anointed in the same way, but these parts are more liable to be- 

 come wet, and the oily or lubricating fluid is secreted in greater 

 abundance here than elsewhere. It is produced by the skin, 

 and has a slightly fetid smell, which becomes intolerable when 

 the skin is the seat of the disease termed grease. This fluid 

 is easily washed off, but it is soon replaced ; the greater part 

 of it is removed by brushing and washing the hair, especially 

 with soapy water, and it is some time ere the hair and skin 

 are again bedewed with it. Dry friction with the hand or a 

 soft wisp stimulates the skin to furnish a new or an extri 

 supply. This is one good reason for hand-rubbing, an opera- 

 tion seldom performed by untrained grooms. " Take care of 

 the heels, and the other parts will take care of themselves/'' 

 is an old saying in the stable, and a very good one, if it mean 

 only that the heels require more care than other parts. In 

 some horses, particularly those that have little hair about the 

 legs, the hollow of the pastern is very apt to crack ; the 

 anointing fluid is not secreted in sufficient quantity to keep 

 the skin supple ; it is always dry, and whenever the animal is 

 put to a fast pace, the skin cracks and bleeds at the place 

 where motion is greatest. Lotions are applied which dry the 

 sore, but do not prevent the evil from recurring ; hand-rubbing 



