Is one of the greatest improvements ever introduced into stable management. It is a blessing not only to the horse, but to every one who uses and attends to him. A horse clipped or singed will not only do double the amount of work on the same amount of food that a horse with his natural winter coat will do, but in the one case he will be fresh, cheerful, and full of vigour; while in the other, he will be dull, out of condition, and seldom or never dry and clean. I have seen horses (hunters particularly) that no care or food could get into condition till clipped or singed, immediately change for the better, and get big in their ivork.

The best time to clip or singe a horse must depend principally upon the state of his coat. Some shed their coat so much earlier than others, while in some horses it is much thicker and coarser. About the end of September is the best time for singeing, and three weeks or a month later for clipping.

Clipping requires much practice and very neatly doing to look well; it is far more difficult than singeing, and consequently is not so frequently used. The effect of both is the same - to shortern the long rough winter coat to the length of the short summer one, thereby preventing that extreme sweating which is always consequent on a long winter coat. It is performed with scissors and a comb. The former are generally curved, and of various sizes, to suit the different parts of the body of the horse for which they are used.

Singeing is performed with a lamp made for the purpose, burning naphtha or some spirit of the same description, and which is passed lightly over the whole body till the hair is reduced to the required length. It may be commenced as soon as the winter coat is partly grown, and must be repeated about every ten days or a fortnight till the coat is set and done growing, by which means the coat will not only be kept short but the hair will better retain the natural colour. After Christmas, about once in three weeks will generally be found sufficient to keep down the long, rough hairs.

In some horses the coat is of so thick, coarse, and woolly a nature, or has been left so long, it is impossible to singe it without burning it into holes, and making the horse look worse than before. In this case he must first be clipped close, and then the singeing-lamp run lightly over him; it can then be kept down by singeing, as in other horses, but his colour will be changed, as the part exposed, or rather left, will be the under part of the hair next the body, which is always of a different shade to the top hair, which, in horses that are begun early and singed frequently, from being never burnt quite down, retains its colour. After clipping and singeing, the horse should have a gentle sweat, be well washed, rubbed dry, and well clothed, after which he is fit and ready for his usual work.

Some few very well-bred horses have in winter so fine a coat that beyond removing the few long, ragged hairs about their flanks and quarters. no singeing is necessary.

Shoeing

Several different plans have at various times been suggested for shoeing the horse, but none have as yet superseded that in general use, all the others having one or more great disadvantages. The horse must be shod according to his size and the amount of work he has to perform. The shoes ought to last at least three weeks or a month, as it is detrimental to the feet to have them removed oftener than once in three weeks; while on the other hand, they should never be on more than a month without removing. Care must be taken that, except where the horse has very strong feet, the horn is never cut away when shod; all that is necessary is to have the rough, ragged parts removed and the foot just rasped round the toe. If this were well attended to, there would not be so many lame horses; as, when left to themselves, farriers invariably cut away more horn at each shoeing than will grow before the horse has to be shod again, consequently they have but little left to hold the nails and bear the weight of the horse.