88 OH APT Eli 9. 



Apart from any questions connected with grooming, which were dis- 

 cussed in the previous chapter, the practice of exercising horses in the 

 early morning is objectionable. During a great portion of the year the 

 air at that time is generally cold and raw. It is injudicious to pull a 

 horse suddenly out of a warm stable into the chilly air of early morning. 

 Nine o'clock is quite early enough to take the horses out. When they 

 return from exercise, they can then be cleaned at once ; whereas if they 

 are taken out in the morning, they are always left to stand for nearly an 

 hour, whilst the servant gets his breakfast. Again in the early morning 

 the owner is seldom up and about, and in consequence the regulated 

 period of exercise is often cut short by one half. Other abuses, such as 

 a resort to the public house and tying the horses up outside, are more 

 likely to occur at an early than at a late hour. On the other hand, when 

 the horses are taken out at nine o'clock, the owner has the opportunity 

 without trouble to himself of checking the time of going out and 

 returning. 



159. Training of race horses. 



The treatment and training of race horses is a somewhat different 

 subject, and one which is beyond the scope of the present treatise. The 

 condition of race horses is not, as in other horses, cumulative. The con- 

 dition in which they are required for racing is the very highest. The 

 system cannot for long be sustained at an extreme pitch. The object of 

 the trainer is to bring his horse to the very highest pitch of condition on 

 a given day ; whilst the object of the owners of hunters and other horses 

 is to have their powers fully developed and sustained for a lengthened 

 period. 



CHAPTER 9. 



STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



160. Introduction. 161. Temperature of staoles. 162. Artificial warm- 

 ing of stables. 163. Of stables in summer. 164. Registering thermometer. 

 165. Stables, both cold and close. 166. Damp stables. 167. Change of 

 stables. 168. Horses brought from grass into stables. 16Sa. Horses from 

 the country. 169. Horses to be cleaned immediately after exercise. 170. 

 Best time for exercise. 171. Of drying horses, when very hot or wet. 172. 

 Warm baths. 173. Artificial removal of coat. 174. Singeing. 175. 

 Clipping. 176. Shaving. 177. Hair not to be removed from legs in rough 

 hunting countries. 178. Manes and tails. 179180. Bedding. 181. Of 

 horses ivhich eat their bedding. 182. Bedding to be taken outside every 



