The Skin of the Horse.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 160, 28 August 1886, Page 2

The Skin of the Horse.

W.HO does not admire the spirited horse with a thin, soft skin and glossy coat? Who is not displeased wiHi the dull horse, having a thick, hard skin, and coarse, harsh hair ? Who, that has observed, has not noticed that the qualities here indicated always go with the kind of skin with which we have coupled theih ? The thick hided norse is a dull, plodding beast, often very stupid, and caring little for any sort of urging, including the whip. The thick cuticle and coarse, stiff hair, so deaden the sting of the lash that an ordinary blow has little effect on the nerves, and when the nerves are reached the impression is faint and tranaitoiy. Goad one of these rhinosceros hided horses into a brisk trot, and the gait will subside into a slow walk or a monotonous shack in less time than it took to get the beast under extra motion. I On the other hand, strike a thin-skinned horse a sharp blow with a whip and he will ! jump as if suffering the greatest torture, and become almoat frantic. The memory of the blow will linger for half a day, and perhaps longer, for the animal will act as if in constant apprehension of another cut from the whip, until you have restored his confidence by kind treatment. The veins w ill show through such a skin like whip-cords, and the twitching will show that it is full of sensitive nerves, corresponding to the manifestations of lifeandspirit by thehorse. The skin is, therefore, a e-ood index to the character of the horfce, so far as the exhibition of life and energy are concerned. The old adage that " beauty is but skin deep," though containing something of a sneer at beauty, is an acknowledgment of the high office of the skin, and of the fact thcit it is an expi*ession of life, health and beauty. It is most emphatically a tissue of nerves and blood-vessels, which hnd in it their final and minutest ramifications. In consequence of its highly nervous and vascular character, diseases of the skin are among the most stubborn and difficult that physicians have to encounter, and several to' this day defy all medical skill, whether calling for treatment on man or beast. It is subject, to derangement from impurities of the circulating fluids, and sympathises with all the other organs of the body. It is to the outward animal organism what the mucous membrane is to the internal, and indeed the one is a continuation of the other, modified in its character by its position and the office it has to fill. \ This is why the skin is an index to the life, health and character of the horse. The hair is really an appendageof theskin, and corres ponds with it in quality. So it is v\ ith the mane, tail and hoofs, andafeverish condition of the skin quickly shows itself in all these appendages. It is important therefore, to see that a horse has a fine, pliable skin and glossy coat. For these, in combination, are to the character and condition of the horse what the thermomctei and barometer are to the temperature and hydro-meteorological condition of the atmosphere. Allowances, may be made for local and transitory states of the weather, but the underlying principles remain the same at all times. Proper care, grooming, feeding and the use of the horse will keep it in good condition which will be indicated by the expression of the skin. — Live Stock Journal.