Exercise. 265 



I forty miles in the space of a few hours, and^ yet appear to be astof- 

 nished if the animal should be in a state of fever, and refuse his food, 

 at the end of the journey, as he would in this case, to use the un- 

 feeling cant lang'uag"e of the jockies, be said to bequite knocked up. 

 Nay more, for in case a Horse so treated, should have been iu the 

 proprietor's possession but a few days it would, then, very proba- 

 bly, be inferred, that there had been some some collusion on the 

 part of the seller, and that the Horse was not sound, at the time of 

 the purchase. The truth is, as has been more than once observed, 

 in the course of this work, that the resources of nature in warding' 

 off disease, are so prodigious, as to ])e incalculable, and people 

 having either heard of, or witnessed many astonishing performances 

 of Horses, that have not been followed, by any palpable ill elfects, 

 seem, in general, to expect the animal shall be proof against every 

 sort of absurdity, in the mode of treating him. And the consecjuence 

 of this is, that they act as if they considered his frame to be exempt, 

 from the operation and effects, of the common laws of nature. 



It is from such injudicious modes of using Horses, coupled with 

 the usual after-treatment, that they are frequently attacked with 

 the most formidable diseases, but more especially with inflammations 

 of the lungs and bowels. For it rarely happens, that the indisposi- 

 tion which takes place after severe exercise, is looked upon in the 

 true and simple light, it ought to be viewed in, namely, that of a 

 feverish affection of the whole frame, arising from (he severity and 

 long continuance of muscular exertion ; which derangement, a pro- 

 per method of treatment would speedily remove; but, on the contiary, 

 the Horse's dispiritedne.ss and want of appetite are, almost always, at- 

 tributed to mere fnintncss and de])iiity He is said to be weak and 



3 V 



