— 6 — 



prudence of violating the laws of his nature, in which case he is 

 not in fault, but the violator. You will learn that he may be 

 taught to perfectly submit to anything, however odious it may 

 have been to him at first. 



As the value of the horse is daily becoming more manifest, it 



is presumed that any attempt to reduce into a system the art of 



)reserving him in health and removing disease will not be unac- 



^•eptable. 



It is certain that at no period in the history of this country 

 has the horse stood so high in general estimation, or by the dis- 

 play of his various powers rendered himself an object more 

 worthy of our consideration. As greater attention is now paid 

 to the breeding of horses, for the different purposes of the turf 

 and the road, so should our anxiety for their education increase. 

 The object of this publication is to render as plain and familiar 

 as possible a subject that has for a length of time remained ta 

 obscurity. The want of a work advancing practical facts and 

 illustrations has long been severely felt and acknowledged. 



In the suggestions offered in this book I have preserved sim- 

 plicity in describing diseases, and have prescribed such remedies 

 as are accessible to all. For obvious reasons an extensive article 

 on telling the age of the horse has been included, as well as easy 

 directions for detecting unsoundness and vice in a horse. 



Under this conviction I am induced to lend my aid in bringing 

 forth the present volume. 



To remove long standing prejudices, I am aware, is a difficult 

 task, still I venture to hope that a careful perusal of these pages 

 will excite, in some degree, the feelings of humanity in respect 

 to the many sufferings to which the generous animal is frequently 

 liable from unmerited cruelty and injudicious treatment, and 

 that mankind may be induced to view his sufferings with an eye 

 of sympathy and tenderness, and have recourse to a rational 

 i.iode of practice when accident or disease may require it. 



I am not aware that any publication has been issued from the 

 pv^as of any country in which the science of horsemanship has 

 betn laid down in such a manner as to be clearly understood. 

 The present work is so familiar in its composition as to render it 



