STABLE MANAGEMENT. 
427 
Another important point is the misdirected zeal which we often see 
in the use of the curry-comb to tender skinned horses ; the curry-comb 
should never be applied to the skin at all, but merely used to clean the 
brush. 
The manes and tails should occasionally be well washed with soap and 
warm water, as it is very difficult to cleanse them thoroughly with the 
brush on account of the mass of thick coarse hair. 
Horses under treatment in the infirmary stables frequently appear 
to be insufficiently groomed, but it must be remembered that there are 
very many cases of sickness which render the process of grooming 
absolutely impossible. Ho horse, however, should be returned to his 
troop stable from the sick lines in anything but a thoroughly clean 
condition. 
The system of washing horses legs is discountenanced in the Army, 
and very rightly so, for unless the stable arrangements admit of their 
being thoroughly dried and warmly bandaged the wet and cold will 
probably produce irritation of the skin, and that troublesome affection 
cracked heels. In private stables, where labour and proper appliances 
are plentiful, the legs may-be washed, but even in this case I do not 
recommend it. It is better to thoroughly rub the legs, up and down, 
with loose dry stra"w until the mud is removed and they are fairly dry. 
An old set of bandages should then be rolled on, and after the groom 
has dressed the horses' body these should be removed, the legs well 
brushed and hand-rubbed, and a fresh set of bandages applied. This 
is, of course, impossible in a troop stable, but the system can be 
carried out to a certain extent by the aid of loose straw and the men's 
rubbers. The friction not only assists the drying process, but also 
stimulates the circulation. White fetlocks should be washed for the 
sake of appearance, but care must be taken to dry them—and especially 
the heels—properly. If bandages can be provided for these cases so 
much the better. The habit of washing and improperly drying horses 
legs is a fruitful cause of that eruptive condition of the skin commonly 
termed “ mud fever," with which most of you are doubtless acquainted. 
I recollect some years ago, when stationed with my regiment in Tip¬ 
perary, a very considerable number of cases of this affection occurring 
amongst our officer's chargers and private horses from this cause. In 
the Army horses are very rarely allowed to return to their stables in a 
heated condition, but sometimes this is unavoidable as, for instance, 
the case of an orderly being sent on an important message and told to 
return as quickly as possible, he probably comes back at a gallop and 
his horse enters the stable with the heart, arteries, and lungs excited, 
and in a state of profuse perspiration. In such cases the horse should 
be immediately taken out of the stable again and walked about with a 
blanket on for a short time until he has cooled down, otherwise he will 
probably break out again into secondary perspiration, and congestion 
of the lungs may result. Another point is that a horse in this heated, 
excited condition should never be fed or watered till he has cooled 
down, because the stomach of this animal is a small one and easily gets 
out of order, and under these conditions it is not in a fit state to per¬ 
form the functions of digestion. I do not wish it to be understood 
