HOW TO KEEP CONDITION. 139 



hard work, is always gradual, or the digestive 

 organs will be weakened, and the legs will swell. 

 When a horse is suddenly put to work, after being 

 fattened on boiled food, lucern, &c., three mode- 

 rate gallops will often take off all the flesh he 

 has gained in as many months, making him ill 

 besides. 



Dry hard grain and dry grass are as injurious to 

 a horse's body, when standing for weeks without 

 exercise, as boiled food and green grass are to his 

 legs whilst hunting. Turning out to grass, as 

 they do in England, to eat nothing but green 

 grass, or laying up altogether, in India, to eat 

 nothing but boiled grain and green food, has long 

 ago been proved destructive to condition. We 

 have no opportunity in this country of doing the 

 former ; and the latter should never be resorted 

 to, unless sickness or great poverty demands it. 

 Too large a quantity of bran, such as bran mashes 

 in every feed, is also very improper, and very low- 

 ering, if continued even for a fortnight only, to a 

 horse in health. Bran mash is the diet of the sick, 

 or lame horse, or occasionally to give at night mix- 

 ed with the grain, when the dung is in small hard 

 balls ; but the dung in general is far too soft in 

 India. 



Never muzzle at night, unless you have some 

 reason for it, such as preparing for physic ; the 



