FINAL PREPARATION. 271 
remove them, the blood if circulation must first be called upon to part 
with some of its corresponding materials, whieh it does either through 
the mucous membrane of the bowels, when physic is given, or by means 
of the skin, when sweating is adopted. This sudden drain from the blood 
_ is then made up from the store which has been previously taken from it, 
and laid by in case of such an emergency ; and thus, though the external 
mears employed are very different, the real effect is the same. Both drain 
the blood of large quantities of water, containing certain soluble matters ; 
and this sudden call upon the vital fluid compels its vessels to fall back 
upon the stored-up materials which are lodged around the heart and other 
internal organs, and which it is the grand object of the training-groom to 
remove. 
But THE EFFECTS OF PHYSIC are not always so simple and innocent as 
those to which I have alluded. A strong horse is sometimes over-purged 
by a very mild dose, and a weak one will occasionally die from this cause. 
Hence, this agent should not be idly used ; and not only is it actually 
dangerous to life in some few cases, but it weakens the tone of the 
stomach in many more. Still, in the majority of horses, a well-mixed 
physic-ball, carefully given, and followed by proper management, will 
freshen the digestive organs rather than weaken them, and may be re- 
garded as a most valuable addition to the resources of the groom. 
FINAL PREPARATION. 
To GET A HUNTER THOROUGHLY FIT, he must not only have gone through 
the preparatory work which I have described, but he must undergo a 
further winding up, according to the old-established rule on the subject, 
and irrespective of the vexed questions connected with the Turkish bath, 
which may be considered to be yet in abeyance. Having had a gentle 
dose of physic at the end of his first preparation, he is proceeded with as 
follows :—Every day he is walked out for three or four hours, either at 
one or two periods of the day. If he is thorough-bred, he will bear some 
brisk gallops and one or two sweats, with or without clothing, every week ; 
but half-breds do not stand much fast work, and are better confined to 
walking and trotting exercise, with an occasional spirt of half a mile. 
These low-bred animals cannot bear any liberties to be taken with their 
systems ; and I am told that with them the Turkish bath is far more 
effectual than with the horse of pure Eastern blood. I can easily imagine 
this, as I know how badly the former class bear reduction, and yet how 
important it is to clear their wind. The feeding should be confined to 
oats and hay, with a bran-mash on Saturday night. About five quarterns 
of oats will, on the average, suffice ; but no rule can be laid down, nor 
can it be positively asserted that no beans should be given. In some 
cases the appetite is so bad, that without them enough corn will not be 
taken; and this is especially true with reference to those old horses which 
have been accustomed to beans for many years. When the feet and legs, 
as well as the wind, are all sound, beans may be allowed without fear; 
but when there is a screw loose in any of these departments, they produce 
inflammation there, and should be carefully avoided. Ten pounds of hay 
may also be laid down as the average quantity of this article suited to the 
hunter; but here, also, no absolute rule can be carried out. Some horses 
would “ drop in two,” as the grooms say, if only allowed ten pounds of 
hay daily; while others would look quite lusty with that quantity. A 
nandful of chaff with each feed of corn is all that should be given of this 
