STABLE MANAGEMENT. 
425 
liver is a gland, because it extracts from the blood the substances which 
form bile. The function of the sweat glands is to secrete perspiration, 
which is conveyed out of the body by means of ducts, which open 
upon the surface of the skin. These glands and ducts are very 
numerous; so much so that it has been estimated that on the palm of 
the human hand they amount to upwards of 3000 per square inch. 
Perspiration is always going on in a greater or lesser degree either in 
the sensible or insensible form, and, as a horse doing moderate work 
loses upwards of 14 lbs. weight of fluid by means of the skin, in 24 
hours, and as this fluid contains a considerable proportion of the used 
up products of the system, it will be understood that a very large amount 
of the waste material of the body is excreted by means of the sweat 
glands. These glands are fully developed and very active in highly- 
fed, hard-worked, and well-nourished horses, and for this reason good 
grooming is an absolute necessity, because, if under these conditions 
the skin is not thoroughly cleaned, the ducts of these important glands 
may easily become clogged or choked. The sebaceous or oil glands are 
lodged in the dermis or true skin, and, like the sweat glands, are very 
numerous, being more so at such parts where there is much friction, 
such as the bend of the knees. They secrete an oily material which is 
discharged by means of their ducts either directly upon the surface of 
the skin or into the hair follicles or root sheaths. Each hair root is 
surrounded by a follicle into which is discharged the fluid from one or 
more of these oil glands, and it is the substance produced by them 
which lubricates the skin, and which gives that glossy coat and sleek 
appearance which is so often seen as the result of warmth and good 
grooming. A thorough and systematic course of grooming not only 
removes the dust scurf or worn-out cells of the epidermis and dried 
perspiration, but by friction these glands are stimulated to increased 
action, the so-called pores of the skin are kept open, and the coat 
is rendered smooth and glossy. The excretion of waste material by 
the skin, to which I have already alluded, is continually going on, 
both in a state of nature and domestication, but the full development 
of the functions of the skin is only produced by work, high feeding 
and good grooming. The arguments advanced by some people that 
because horses in a state of nature require no grooming, so horses in 
stables require merely sufficient to make them presentable and not for 
any healthy stimulus needed by the skin, is not tenable, as the con¬ 
ditions are entirely different. Horses at grass take but little exercise 
comparatively, their food is of a much more simple and laxative charac¬ 
ter, and as the waste products and the various excretions of the body 
are carried off mainly by the action of the bowels and kidneys, the 
glands of the skin are seldom overtaxed, and grooming is unnecessary 
for the maintenance of health. On the other hand, the stabled horse 
doing regular work, especially hard and fast work, must be fed upon 
highly nutritious food, and from this cause all the secretions of the 
skin are enormously increased, and unless nature is assisted by artificial 
means the pores of the skin will speedily become blocked, and the 
health of the animal will naturally deteriorate. It is not the fact of 
living under cover, but the actual work and feeding of the domesticated 
