14 ^ HAY SEED, OR HOW TO 



■drive upon, and you are situated so you can give tnis 

 horse all the attention he needs to develop the latent 

 speed he is expected in the near future to exhibit. I will 

 say a few words respecting the quarters you give the horse 

 to occupy, A box stall twelve by fourteen feet, with a 

 plank floor not too tight to prevent the urine from run- 

 ning through, will answer, and the floor should be far 

 enough from the ground not to be damp. Arrangements 

 should be made to properly drain the grounds in the 

 vicinity of barns and stabling, as horses are, in my judg- 

 ment, susceptible to malarial disorders, as well as the 

 human family. I do not like an underground barn with 

 stalls for horses over the basement, as there is always a 

 draft through any aperture there may be in the floor, and 

 horses' feet dry up when kept in such a place, and require 

 a great deal of attention. A clay or earth floor is not 

 desirable for horses doing fast work and sweating consid- 

 erably, as they are liable to contract colds, coughs and 

 rheumatic troubles from lying on these ground floors with 

 nothing but straw between them and the earth. Don't 

 let your horse lie on the ground if you are working him 

 for speed. 



It is understood by you, of course, that proper venti- 

 lation is desirable, as is also light. The windows for 

 ventilating the stable should be about six feet from the 

 floor, so that any draft through these windows will not 

 strike the horse. We will suppose this horse as yet has 

 not shown any disposition to interfere or cut himself any- 

 where ; ..this being the case, you have not got to worry 

 yourself about the shoeing, a very great relief, I assure 

 you. Now you want to make a firm resolve not to speed 

 this horse, either for your own or any other person's grat- 

 ification or amusement, until he has had some work 

 and got strong, and has learned something about going 

 along— if you expect to make a trotter out of him. Walk- 

 ing exercise has been found not absolutely necessary, as 

 formerly indulged in. Old time trainers used to begin 

 by giving horses walking exercise in the spring tor two or 

 three weeks before they even thought of driving them in 



