86 Animal Husbandry 
ding the hair is a draft on the vitality of the animal, the appetite 
is diminished, and the horse loses flesh. Clipping accomplishes in 
a very short time what nature requires much time to do. 
When horses cannot be protected from the cold and wet, either 
in the stable or outside of it, they should not be clipped in the fall. 
Animals exposed to the weather grow a long coat for their own 
protection. 
149. Bedding the horse. — A horse at hard work needs rest at 
night, and much more rest is possible when the animal is given a 
good liberal bed. The bedding should not be permitted to become 
foul, as this will not only lessen the comfort of the animal but 
promote disease as well. Of bedding materials, straw leads the 
list, but when high in price, it may be replaced by other materials, 
such as shavings from the planing mill, rejected parts of corn 
stalks, tan bark, leaves, and the like. Old straw is preferred to 
new, as it is dryer and more elastic. The more broken and bruised 
the straw, the less its bulk and elasticity and the greater the quan- 
tity that must be used. 
150. Blankets. —In cold climates the use of blankets is indis- 
pensable. The horse will prove more efficient and will endure 
much longer if reasonably protected against sudden changes in 
temperature, the cold rains, and heavy winds. 
151. Stable blanket. — The usefulness of a horse can be pro- 
longed and his efficiency increased by proper blanketing and groom- 
ing. On arriving at the stable very warm and sweating, the horse 
should not be blanketed until he has ceased to steam, nor should he 
be left in a draft. If blanketed at once, little opportunity is given 
for him to dry off, the blanket will become damp, and the hair 
remain so all night. In case the blanket is not used until the ani- 
mal has ceased to steam and is somewhat cooled, which will be in 
a quarter of an hour, the hair will be dry and smooth the following 
morning. Stable blankets may be dispensed with in the hot sum- 
mer months if the flies are excluded by screens or by some ‘other 
means. If blankets are used at this time, they should be of light 
