It is the custom to make the mane lie to the off side; because, as we usually look at a horse from the near side, his neck and shoulders will appear to better advantage than if their lines were broken by the mane. The manes of cavalry horses are made to fall on the near side, with the object of helping the rider to take hold of the mane when mounting. If the mane does not hang down properly, it may be daily wetted, plaited, and small weights attached to its ends; or one of the various kinds of mane-layers may be used. I have found that a thick paste of flour and water plastered over the mane and kept down with a cloth, will make the hair lie flat in a few days. The paste can be washed off before the animal leaves the stable, and it can be re-applied on his return. A plan which is generally successful in removing the irritation which causes a horse to rub his. tail, is to pour on and rub into the part a wine-glassful of paraffin (kerosene) oil, and immediately afterwards to do the same thing with a bottle full of water, so as to remove any excess of oil. The oil would in all probability blister the skin, if the greater part of it was not washed off. For convenience sake, we may put the wine-glassful of oil into the bottle, fill with water, shake the bottle, and apply in the manner described. For further information on the treatment of irritation of the tail or crest (portion of the neck upon which the mane grows), see Veterinary Notes for Horse-Owners.

The eyes, nostrils, lips and dock should be cleaned, preferably with a damp sponge, each time a horse is groomed.

Once or twice a week, the groom should put his hand into the sheath of the horse or gelding, gently draw the animal's yard and sponge it clean. Neglect of this necessary precaution is often the cause of a great deal of discomfort to horses which are unable to draw their yard to stale, owing to an accumulation of hard greasy matter (smegma) near the opening of the sheath. The presence of this source of irritation may be discovered by the fact, that instead of the urine being discharged in the usual manner, it escapes by an irregular flow from the sheath.

If there are any stains on the knees, fetlocks, hocks or other parts, as might be caused from contact with the dung or urine while the animal is lying down, they can be removed with a sponge and water-brush. During the performance of this small operation, which as a rule is necessary only with carriage horses, especially those with white markings, as little water as practicable should be used. When these stains are on the legs, it is well to remove them during the early part of the grooming, and then apply woollen bandages over the damp parts, which will soon become dry underneath the flannel.

For purposes of cleanliness and for the groom's convenience, a horse which is in a stall should be taken off the pillar reins and racked up, before his hind quarters are dressed.

The coat may be finished off with a rubber, before applying which, a slightly damped hay pad is sometimes used to set the coat. The clothing is put on, care being taken to throw the quarter-sheet or rug a little way in front of the withers, and then draw it back, so that the coat may not be ruffled.

The feet can be picked out, and, if necessary, cleaned with a dry water-brush, or hoof-brush. If flannel bandages have been put on, they should be removed, the legs hand-rubbed, and fresh and dry bandages applied.

Trainers often teach their lads to make on the horses' quarters, when the brushing is finished, quarter-marks, of which the most common is the "diamond." This mark is made by brushing the quarter with the body-brush, from front to rear in the direction the hair lies; then drawing a stroke with the brush down the centre of the quarter in a perpendicular direction, so as to ruffle the hair; and finally smoothening with the brush the upper and lower portion of the quarter, so as to leave a "diamond," or rather a rhombus with sides about 4 inches long. The rough hair of the quarter-mark will naturally enhance by contrast the brilliancy of the remainder of the coat of that part. The pattern can be varied at pleasure. Some trainers affect particular kinds of quarter-marks, and others pay no attention to such fancy work.

Supposing that there is only one man to strap a horse which has returned hot from work, he should water the animal, and if possible walk him about until he is quite cool. If this exercise cannot be given, the man should slacken the girths, shift the saddle a little, and leave it on for about half an hour, while he proceeds with the grooming of the other parts. After taking off the saddle, he can examine and dress the back in the manner already described. The reason for keeping on the saddle for the time specified, is that it is difficult for one man to dress the back and the remainder of the body with sufficient quickness to avoid chill, and that his labour in this respect can be considerably lightened by the horse's back being allowed to cool down safely, which it will do if the saddle is kept on. When a horse has carried a rider for a long time, especially over a country, the pressure transmitted by the saddle to the back, will have caused a certain amount of anaemia (bloodlessness) in the bearing surfaces of the back. If these surfaces be exposed to the comparatively cold air of the atmosphere by the removal of the saddle, the anaemia will become aggravated, and a sore back may be the disastrous consequence. In such a case, the best preventive treatment is obviously stimulation by friction, the effect of which will be much increased by the use of a little spirits, as we have seen. Or we may maintain the heat of the part by allowing the saddle to remain on, in which case the blood vessels will have every facility to rectify the disturbance which has occurred in the circulation. We should here note that cold causes contraction of the walls of the blood vessels, and that heat has the opposite effect. The swelling which is caused by pressure, is due to the fact that the walls of the veins are more compressible than those of the arteries. Hence, when a part is subjected to pressure, more blood is carried to it by the arteries than the veins can remove, and consequently there is an accumulation of fluid, which is made manifest by a swelling. After the rider has dismounted, the bearing surfaces of the back can be further relieved of pressure by slackening the girths, which should accordingly be done without delay.

Quartering is an abbreviated form of grooming, in which the roller is not undone, and the body-brush is not used. When the quarter-sheet or rug is turned back on the roller, the head, neck, mane, breast and fore legs are lightly brushed over with the dandy-brush; the eyes, nostrils and dock sponged out; stains removed, and wet parts dried. The horse, if in a stall, is then taken off the pillar reins and put on the rack chain; the rear end of the rug or quarter-sheet turned towards the roller; the hind quarters and hind legs lightly brushed with the dandy-brush, and the clothing straightened. In many stables, this constitutes all the grooming that is done, when horses are not wanted for work.

I hope I have said sufficient to indicate the principles that should regulate the economical grooming of working horses, for which the use of the body brush will have to be largely or entirely replaced by that of the dandy brush. In these cases, the merits of a straw wisp, or, better still, one of unprepared hemp, should be borne in mind. The washing of horses on which little labour can be expended, is particularly objectionable, on account of the impossibility of thoroughly drying them. Of course these remarks do not apply to valuable cart horses (Shires, Clydesdales and Suffolks, for instance), many of whom are groomed with great care.