736 VETEEINAKY HYGIENE 



An animal left ungroomed or turned out in the rough, 

 collects in the coat the shed epithelium, the salts of the 

 sweat and other dirt collected from without. This con- 

 dition of skin can be readily ascertained by rubbing the 

 coat up the wrong way, a fine grey powder escaping which 

 rests on the surface of the hair. Such a condition of skin 

 is believed to produce both mange and lice, and though 

 both, especially the latter, may be found in animals not 

 groomed, it is not the absence of grooming which produces 

 it, but exposure to infection, which with the condition of 

 skin finds a suitable soil and the disease gets a hold. 



We certainly do not know where both these parasites are 

 obtained from, but there is reason to believe. they may lead 

 a saprophytic existence apart from the body, probably in 

 the soil, and become parasitic on gaining the skin. Whether 

 this is the case or no it is certain that animals kept clean 

 in their bodies do not suffer from either, and that both 

 affections are associated with neglect. 



Mange is one of the scourges of armies in the field, and 

 though the absence of grooming no doubt contributes to 

 the life of the parasite, it cannot produce it. 



Working horses living in the open require very little 

 grooming, on this point there is a consensus of opinion 

 and its explanation is simple ; the removal of the whole of 

 the shed epithelium exposes the body to a certain amount 

 of cold, but the effect of grooming is more particularly to 

 remove the actual fat which so largely exists in dandruff. 

 This fat is protective, it prevents to an extent the penetra- 

 tion of rain, and assists in preventing loss of heat. 



All that horses require in the open is one grooming a 

 day to remove the actual dirt from the coat, but not to so 

 freely stimulate the skin as to cause it to produce epithelium 

 at too great a rate. The body brush should be lightly 

 applied, and the grooming finished with a ' wisp '; both 

 mane and tail, however, require thorough cleaning, not that 

 either of the skin affections mentioned begin there, but for 

 the comfort of the animal. 



Animals in regular work living in the open, are nothing 



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