30 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
giving a vigorous, sure service,” is cited by Gay, 4 who also advises that 
in case the stallion is gaining over his normal weight the exercise 
should first be increased and afterwards the ration must be reduced if 
still further gains are being made. On the other hand, if he is decreas¬ 
ing the weight below normal and is receiving sufficient exercise the 
proper course to follow is to increase the ration first and if this does not 
suffice reduce the exercise. 
Burkett 64 desires a large box stall where the stallion may be free to 
move, but besides the stallion should be taken out half an hour each day 
for additional exercise. According to Henry and Morrison, 62 ordinarily 
a draft stallion should have a daily walk of five miles, but exercise 
could be obtained in the form of work. It should be remembered though 
that judgment be used in bringing soft stallions to hard work. Similarly, 
Shamel 65 expresses his opinion that real draft work is the most ideal 
exercise for the draft stallion, and even during the breeding season he 
should be worked. The least that could be done is to walk him three to 
five miles every day. But during stormy, or very cold days, Starr 66 believes 
that exercise should rather be dispensed with, although in large box stalls 
with ground floor the stallion will get sufficient of it. On the contrary, 
Axe 38 states that stallions are better in the open than in the average 
stable no matter if it be in the cold days of winter. He directs that as 
February comes the stallion should commence taking exercise with six 
miles a day and later to be increased to ten miles. 
10. Grooming 
Paton and Orr 67 state that the importance of grooming is due to the 
fact that “it removes salts of the sweat, shed epithelium, and loose hairs 
and dirt. It prevents the development of mange and of lice, and it acts 
as a form of massage to the skin and subjacent muscles.” Fitzwygram 51 
advocates that every horse should be groomed at least twice a day. After 
exercise he should not be allowed to cool down undried but grooming 
should immediately be resorted to. Besides grooming the body of the 
horse, Kennedy 61 brings out the necessity of cleaning the sexual organs 
of the stallion. One method by which this may be accomplished is to get 
warm water and castile or ivory soap and the sheath and attachments 
may be cleansed by these. The other consists in packing the sheath with 
wet bran. The bran will carry a large part of the dirt and filth out. 
According to Dimon, 40 with an old and dull curry-comb, a root or broom 
brush, a bristle brush and a flannel cloth, these should be all the tools 
that are necessary to clean and polish the horse’s coat. These are to be 
used every day and in the order mentioned. But Dadd 68 indicates that 
certain parts of the body should be spared from the curry-comb. These 
include the inside of the thighs, flanks, chest, and face because the skin 
in these parts are thinner and more sensitive. 
According to Shaw, 60 “A superficial rub with the body brush is of no 
real use; the entire body requires to be thoroughly gone over with the 
body brush if the coat is short, or with the dandy brush if it is long. 
The curry-comb should not be applied to any part of the horse, its use 
being to remove the scurf and dandruff from the body brush, the bristles 
of which soon become clogged unless they are brought into contact witb 
some rough, hard substance such as the ridges of the curry-comb, but the 
latter are liable to injure the skin of a horse. After the brush is over 
a linen cloth should be used for imparting the final polish, plenty of 
time being devoted to the work. The face and ears should be lightly 
gone over with a damp sponge and then thoroughly dried on a soft 
towel, as also the parts on which no hair grows. If necessary, the mane 
and tail should be combed, but too much of this sort of thing is apt to 
