Definition - Necessity of Grooming - Chief Objects of Grooming - Shedding the Coat - Grooming Horses Kept in the Open - Hours of Grooming - Washing Horses - Hand-Rubbing - Grooming Tools and their Uses - Wisping - Time and Help required for Grooming - Details of Grooming - Care of the Legs and Feet - Protection against Flies - Testing the Efficiency of the Grooming.

Definition

GROOMING is the process of mechanically cleaning the skin and coat, and of applying friction and massage to them.

Necessity Of Grooming

The necessity of grooming, as we shall presently see, is created only by the new conditions which are imposed on a horse by civilisation.

Chief Objects Of Grooming

1. To Prevent Chill For The Time Being

To prevent chill for the time being, as for instance, when a horse returns hot from work. For this end, the stimulation of the surface of the body by means of friction should be vigorously carried out, though without hurting or irritating the animal in any way, and, if practicable, by at least two men, so as to enhance the efficacy of the grooming. In our own cases, the manner in which shampooing after a Turkish bath, and brisk rubbing-down after a sweat, fortifies the body against cold, are convincing instances of the good effects of the stimulation of the skin by friction in the prevention of chill.

2. To Clean The Skin And Coat

To clean the skin and coat, so as to favour the escape of perspiration and oil from the skin, and to improve the appearance of the horse. We have seen (p. 18) that the scarf-skin, which acts as a protective covering to the true skin, consists of horny scales that peel off as time passes on. From a health, and especially from a training, point of view, we must regard an excess of scarf-skin as so much dirt. The cleansing effect which perspiration, induced by exercise, has on the skin, is well shown by the fact that the skin of a wild animal is as a rule much cleaner than that of a captive specimen of the same species. For instance, a wild pig is one of the cleanest of beasts. A horse in a wild state is not only obliged to take a large amount of exercise in search of food, but has also to use his powers of flight as his chief defence against his enemies.

When the skin, owing to prolonged inactivity, becomes thickly cased with cuticle, the escape of its secretions is proportionately diminished, and the general health will suffer in consequence; to say nothing of disorders in the skin itself, and the increased strain which will be put on the lungs, in the event of the horse being worked. The removal of this unseen dirt, if I may be allowed the expression, is of far greater importance than that of superficial dirt, such as dandruff. As grooms know but little of physiology, and as they find that "eye-wash" generally satisfies their still more ignorant masters, it is not surprising that in the large majority of hunting and other private stables, grooming consists merely in the removal of superficial dirt, and in the straightening of the coat and long hair. This method of slurring over work which is highly conducive to health and bodily vigour, should of course be tolerated only when economy of paid labour is one of the first considerations. An entirely different practice is carried out in good training stables, where the importance of applying an abundance of friction to the skin when a horse returns hot from work, is fully recognised. This intelligent view which our best trainers take of grooming, has probably originated, or at least been strengthened in their minds, by the knowledge of the good effect produced by brisk rubbing down, in the similar case of men who are in athletic training, or who are "wasting" for race-riding. Besides, in high-class training stables, the welfare of the horses is not sacrificed for the convenience of grooms or strappers.

3. To Give A Polish To The Coat And To Lubricate The Skin

The oil which confers this gloss and pliability, is secreted by glands that lie in the true skin close to the hair follicles, from which the hair springs. As a rule, each hair is accompanied by two of these glands, the oil of which is discharged by the opening that gives exit to each hair. Some of these glands open on the surface of the skin independently of the hair. As this oil is brought in the first instance to the surface, its softening action on the scarf-skin will be greatly promoted by friction, which will cause it to penetrate into the scarf-skin more or less deeply. Friction also distributes the oil through the coat. The usual idea that friction brightens the coat and lubricates the skin by stimulating the oil glands, appears to me to be incorrect; because, although exercise brings much more blood to the surface than friction, as we see when a horse sweats from work, it is not nearly so effective for performing the duties in question.

4. To Stimulate The Action Of The Skin

The two great natural stimulants of the skin are exercise and atmospheric heat; thus we find that the skin of a horse can be stimulated so highly by fast work, that it will become bathed in perspiration even in the Arctic Regions. The same thing habitually occurs in the Tropics by the influence of atmospheric heat, which is a subject we need not consider here. When a horse performs work which is sufficient for health, but which does not fatigue his lungs, the stimulation of his skin by grooming is of no great importance. If, on the contrary, his work demands the highest possible efficiency in his organs of breathing, as in the case of a racehorse or hunter, any relief, however small, which the lungs can obtain from the functional activity of the skin, will of course be an advantage. When an animal is deprived of a sufficiency of exercise, the lungs will remain more or less inactive, and consequently the skin should be stimulated, so that health may be maintained. As grooming is a useful and thoroughly safe means for stimulating the skin, we should fully utilise it in default of exercise. The richer and more abundant the food, the larger will be the quantity of waste material for the lungs, skin and kidneys to eliminate. Hence, the less the work and the larger the ration of nutritious food a horse gets, the more grooming will he require.

5. To Keep The Coat Short

This can best be done by hand-rubbing (p. 323).

6. To Promote Health

This object of grooming, as we have already seen, has special reference to stabled horses which are highly fed and get too little exercise. Even if the work be sufficiently hard to produce fatigue, it will almost always be compressed within too short a period. Consequently, the unnatural deprivation of exercise which a stabled horse as a great rule has to submit to, during a large portion of the twenty-four hours, and the impurities of the atmosphere which he usually breathes, make grooming a necessity to health in almost all cases. Its good effect in this direction is amply proved by experience. I think we may conclude from the foregoing considerations that friction and not brushing is the most important factor in grooming.