TREATMENT OF YEARLINGS. 121 



a few old beans or peas, require to have free access to their 

 paddocks ; they will run back to their hovels fast enough 

 for shelter from wind or wet. If fed regularly they will eat 

 up their corn before going out again, and thus not over-do 

 themselves with common grass, while taking thorough exer- 

 cise in the search for their favourite food, the white or Dutch 

 clover, a herb which is indispensable in paddocks, and which 

 can generally be brought up by a light sprinkling of bone- 

 dust. 



The same rule applies to yearlings, except that they should 

 be shut up and fed four times a day instead of three, and 

 early in spring the man in charge should even tie them up 

 during feeding-time, so as gradually and carefully to accustom 

 them to the various treatments to which they will be subjected 

 in their future career. When the weather gets fine about May, 

 cavessons and lunging reins come into requisition. The 

 yearlings should be led about the high-roads in order to accus- 

 tom them to the sights and sound of everyday life, and it is 

 wonderful how soon the thoroughbreds arrive at a state of 

 comparative indifference to external objects, though of course 

 everything depends on the gentleness, temper, and skill with 

 which they are handled. Perhaps the less lunging that is done 

 at home the better. Hocks are often sprung, and back- 

 sinews strained, by slipping. 



Even delicacy of constitution, hereditary as it undoubtedly 

 is, may often be counteracted or palliated by acclimatisation — 

 that is, by giving plenty of liberty to the young ones. Breeders 

 are naturally nervous about accidents, but the soundest and 

 most lasting horses on the turf are those that have early been 

 taught to take care of themselves. 



It may indeed be an alarming sight to see from six to eight 

 colt foals loose together in a twenty-acre paddock, for they 

 fight like bulldogs, and many a nasty rap is inflicted ; but as a 

 rule the master in the meadow is the champion on the course, 

 and though occasionally a serious mishap may occur, it is 

 remarkable how soon, and how well, they learn to take their 



