RECORDS 20I 



At range stables where there is a dust bath 

 one unsaddles on arrival to let the horses roll. 

 At town stables where there is no dust bath one 

 slacks the girths, removes the bitts, gives half 

 a drink, and some hay. An hour later when 

 the rider is fed he comes back to cool horses 

 who can be unsaddled without fear of any 

 blisters which might turn into sores. Then 

 comes full watering, and grain. While the 

 horse is busy eating, pick out his feet, dry 

 out wet heels, scrape off mud, and wisp down. 

 After the stall is cleaned, and bedded, and the 

 manger filled with hay for the night, the horse- 

 man is off duty ; but a range m_an prefers to 

 sleep in the barn loft in order to save his 

 horses in the event of fire, and be up early with 

 the morning grain. 



IV. RECORDS. 



Writing without notes or books, it is difficult 

 to recall the records of long distance riding 

 which form the best tests of endurance, and so 

 give one a standard of value for man, equip- 

 ment and horse. Driven to rely on memory I 

 note first that the historic records are vague, 

 giving but scanty data. Everybody knows 

 for example that Bucephalus (Ox-head) the 

 Thessalian charger of Alexander the Great was 

 a horse of notable endurance, but the question 



