[ 54] 



CHAPTER IX. 



Horse-clothing and horses' coats. — Kerseymere clothing. — 

 Colour of clothing.— Making up of clothing. — London and 

 provincial work. — Quarter-sheet and breast-piece. — Fillet- 

 strings. — Pad and roller. — Improper girthing up of rollers. 

 — Evils of girthing up of rollers. — Hoods. — Short hoods. 

 — Fawn striped rugs.— Weight and price of ditto. — How 

 to test woollen goods.— Night-rugs.— Summer clothing. 



The amount of clothing required for a horse must 

 of course be determined by weather. In this 

 climate there are but few months — I may say but 

 few weeks — in the year during which it is possible 

 to dispense with clothing of some kind. 



Horses in stables are compelled to lead a some- 

 what artificial kind of existence. Naturally speak- 

 ing, their coats are equal to the occasion, provided 

 they have a sufficient shelter and litter for the 

 nights and more inclement periods of the year ; 

 and as a rule, if left alone, their coats, if they 

 are healthy, will generally ' thicken' and ' thin' — 

 ' rise' and ' fall,' as it is termed — according as the 

 weather may be cold or mild ; and at these times 



