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"When breaking a horse, use as light a break-wagon as possible. 



Make your lessons short. 



Never lose your temper. Always have plenty of patience. 



Never drive fast down hill. 



Let your horse walk up hill. 



Let him go on the level. 



When you are coming from a drive and your horse is very warm, 

 let him stand five minutes and steam before you put a blanket on 

 him. 



Before leaving him for the night, change blankets — a dry one for 

 the wet one. Nine-tenths of the diseases of horses are caused from 

 their not having the proper care. 



If you have a heavy horse, sell him. 



Never put a horse to hard work until he is five years old. 



Packing and Soaking Horses' Feet. 



It is the practice among many horse owners, and especially trot- 

 ting horse trainers, throughout the country, to pack and soak their 

 horses' feet. This I do not approve of, and believe it is wrong, and 

 that it has ruined thousands of our most valuable animals. AYhy ? 

 Because it is carried to extremes. When you soak a board and dry 

 it, the second time it is soaked it is much drier than it was at first, 

 and every time you soak it the drier and more brittle it will be each 

 time. Why does not the horse's hind feet become contracted ? Be- 

 cause, whether it be a horse or a mare, it spatters more or less of its 

 urine upon its feet, the ammonia drives all diseases from the hoof, 

 and the water keeps them soft. In the summer time, as I have al- 

 ready mentioned, I recommend that the horse be led early in the 

 morning through the dew. Let the reader stop for a moment and 

 think of some time when he was out walking in the early morning, 

 with good, thick boots on, and he will remember that in a very few 

 minutes he began to feel the moisture of the dew penetrating through 

 to his feet. Dew passes through the boot when water would not. 

 This works the same upon horses, nature having provided this sim- 

 ple preventive and cure for diseases of the hoof. It cleans the feet 

 and causes them to soften and expand. If your horse has hurt his 



