410 MOULTING. 



MOULTING. 



Twice in the year, the hair of the body of the horse is changed. 

 The short, fine coat of summer would afford httle protection 

 against the winter, and that of the winter would be oppressive 

 to the animal, if it appeared during the summer. The hair of 

 the mane and tail remains. The bulbous root of the hair does 

 not die, but the pulpy matter seems to be removed from the root 

 of the hair, which, thus deprived of its nourishment, perishes 

 and dro j off, and a new hair springs at its side from the same 

 bulb. jChe hair which is produced in the autnmn, is evidently 

 differ^' > from that which grows in the spring; it is coarser, 

 thickcM, and not so glossy as the other. As moulting is a process 

 extending over the whole of the skin, and requiring a very con- 

 siderable expenditure of vital power, the health of the animal is 

 generally affected at these times. That energy, and nervous vital 

 influence, which should support the whole of the frame, is to a 

 great degree determined to the skin, and the animal is languid, 

 and unequal to much hard work. He perspires greatly with 

 the least unusual exertion, and if he is pressed beyond his strength, 

 becomes seriously ill. 



The treatment which the groom in this case adopts, is mcwit 

 absurd and dangerous. The horse, from the deranged distributicn 

 of vital power, is disposed to fever, or he labors under a slight 

 degree of fever, sufficiently indicated by the increased quickneng 

 of pulse, redness of nose, arid heat of mouth. The lassitude and 

 want of appetite which are the accompaniments of this febrD^, 

 state, are mistaken for debility ; and cordials of various kind'i, 

 some of them exceedingly stimulating, are unsparingly adminL"*- 

 tered. At length, with regard to the hunter, the racer, and even 

 in the hackney and the cafriage-horse, the scissors or the lamp 

 are introduced, and a new method is established of guarding 

 agamst this periodical debility, setting at defiance the occasional 

 exposure to cold, and establishing a degree of health and strength 

 previously unknown. Friction may be allowed, to assist the fall- 

 ing off of the old hair, and to loosen the cuticle' for the appear- 

 ance of the new hair, but it is somewhat more gently applied 

 than it used to be. The curry-comb is in a great measure ban- 

 ished, and even the brush is not applied ,too hard or too long. 

 The old hair is not forced off before the young hair is ready to 

 take its place. 



Nature adapts the coat to the climate and to the season. The 

 Sheltie has one as long and thick as that of a bear ; and, as the 

 summer is short and cold in those northern islands, the coat is 

 cough and shaggy during the whole of the year. In the southern 



