182 



intirely to tlieir own care. Previously to mounting, observe that the 

 Horse's shoes be fast, i)roperly placed, and tliat he go sound with 

 them. That the saddle lit, be set on level, and in its proper place, and 

 that the pads be not rivelled up in girtliing; that the girths, one 

 exactly over the other, bear eqiialh', and are sufficiently tiglit, without 

 pressing too severely the body of" the Horse. That the curb-chain be 

 fixed below the snaffle-bit, the reins even and not twisted. The recur- 

 rence of blunders here alluded to, ever has been, and is perpetual, 

 among hostlers, and 1 am persuaded will be, to doomsday. 



Reluctant and uneasy action in the Horse should not be treated with 

 neglect or correction, without an examination of the probable cause. 

 I address men of sense, who entertain ideas of justice. Exclusive of the 

 aches and pains from hard labour, a Horse may suffer great uneasiness 

 from being curbed or girthed too tight, from the ill-fitting, or wrong po- 

 sition of the saddle, from a nail driven too near the sensible parts of the 

 foot, or from a shoe bearing upon the soal. If a Horse which is known 

 to be honest, and to ride quiet, stop short, it is most probably to ap- 

 prize his rider of some sudden want or complaint ; it may be merely a 

 pressing want to stale, but it may be also a fit of the strangury, to 

 which some old hacknies are liable, and which may have been brought 

 upon them, by a forcible retention of their urine often repeated. 



Speedy travelling, or great performances, are not to be expected 

 from a hackney, which is not full of hard meat, and in thorough con- 

 dition, whatever may be his natural abilities; nor from Horses which 

 have not ready action, or which strike together and wound their legs, 

 Avhatever be their condition. But Horses with care and good keep, 

 may be gradually ridden into good case, even if taken from grass. 

 In proportion to their weakness, they must, at first, be ridden slow, 

 little beyond a foot pace, and short stages. Ordinary hacks in condi- 

 tion, will travel seven or eight miles per hour, the day through ; the 

 best, ten or eleven. For the fi)rmer, a journey of forty or fifty miles 

 in the day is sufficient, and this they may do, two or three successive 

 days, with the weight of which they are completely masters. Those 

 of high qucdification will travel four-score, during the same time, but 

 all beyond that exertion is a severe trespass on their powers ; and even 



to 



