84 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA 



he is fat, the preponderance of the latter a watery appear- 

 ance when he is in poor condition, or when " drawn fine." 

 The effect of friction applied to the skin, is to draw to 

 the surface an increased amount of blood, from which 

 the glands in question obtain materials for forming their 

 respective fluids. 



The inner layer, or true skin, secretes the outer skin 

 in the form of scales, more or less glued together, accord- 

 ing to their distance from the surface. This outer skin 

 lines the openings of the oil and sweat tubes, and sur- 

 rounds each hair. Its presence affords protection to the 

 skin, and checks the outpouring of the oil and perspira- 

 tion. Hence, when horses are turned out in the open 

 without adequate clothing, they should on no account be 

 groomed, which process is intended to remove as much 

 of the outer or scarf-skin as possible, and, by friction, to 

 stimulate the secretion of oil and perspiration. The oil 

 protects the skin from the injurious action of water, and 

 also assists in maintaining the internal temperature of 

 the body by rendering the coat bright and glossy — a con- 

 dition that checks the radiation as well as the absorption 

 of heat. Consequently, a horse with a polished skin ^vill 

 not be as liable to be chilled by wet or cold, nor to be 

 as unduly heated by the rays of the sun, as he would be 

 were his coat dull. This immunity, however, will only 

 last for a few hours, or until the weather affects the hair. 



The skin acts as an assistant to the lungs in giving off 

 carbonic acid gas, and thus aids in purifying the blood. 

 The cold produced by the evaporation of perspiration 

 materially assists in lowering the temperature of the body 

 to its normal degree when it has been raised beyond it 



