426 
STABLE MANAGEMENT. 
horse which necessitates grooming. Troop horses in camp, for instance, 
require grooming quite as much as they do in barracks ; but we know 
that it is often impossible to carry out this doty properly on active 
service in the field, and we also know that the result is the very con¬ 
siderable percentage of skin diseases which occur in every campaign. 
I do not wish it to be understood that insufficient grooming is the only 
factor in the production of skin diseases, but that it is one of the 
chief exciting causes cannot be denied. 
The general process of grooming is so well understood in the Army 
that it is not necessary for me to enter minutely into all the details, 
but there are several important points wffiich may be referred to with 
advantage. In the first place we frequently come across cases of 
neglect in picking out, washing, and drying the horse's feet thoroughly. 
This may seem a very unimportant matter, but in reality it is very 
highly important. I have known many instances where bad cases of 
thrush (disease of the frog) have occurred from neglecting this pre¬ 
caution. Therefore the feet ought to be picked out, washed, and then 
dried with a towel. Another point is the superficial polishing with 
the wisp or rubber and neglecting to use the brush properly. When 
horses return to the stables, especially after a hard field-day in hot 
weather, they are generally covered with dust and dried perspiration ; 
and although they may have been walked quietly for last mile or so to 
barracks and allowed to cool down, they arrive in a condition which is 
very unpleasant to contemplate by the men who have to clean them. 
If, therefore, they merely get a superficial brushing and polishing with 
wisp and rubber, the skin is not properly cleaned and the pores are 
liable to become blocked. The brush should be carefully and well 
applied during the mid-day stable hour. The men have not time in 
the early morning to use the brush properly, and at the evening stable 
hour I am an advocate for a thorough damp wisping, and hand-rubbing 
to the legs. 
It is an excellent plan to dress horses outside the stables on their 
return from drill or exercise, providing the weather is fine and warm, 
but on no account should this be permitted during the prevalence of 
cold winds. The process of grooming opens the pores of the skin, 
and animals accustomed to warm stables are, under these conditions, 
much more liable to take cold if they are unduly exposed to inclement 
weather. The advantage of grooming in the open air is that the 
horses' coats can be cleansed without filling the stables with clouds of 
dust. 
The nostrils should be thoroughly cleansed as soon as possible after 
the horses return to stables, and also during each stable hour, for the 
presence of dust upon the delicate lining membrane of the nose is very 
irritating. This should be performed by turning up the wing of the 
nostril with the thumb and inserting a sponge well saturated with 
water. Men should be taught how to do this properly, and no non¬ 
commissioned officer should pass a horse without satisfying himself 
that the nostrils have been thoroughly sponged. A horse cannot 
breathe otherwise than through his nostrils, and therefore any ac¬ 
cumulation of dust upon the membrane must cause him considerable 
inconvenience. 
