64 The Management and Treatment of the Horse, 



causing that terrible complaint diabetes. It is therefore 

 necessary that every groom should be careful about the 

 quality of food sent for the horses under his care. No 

 groom, however skilful he may be, can train horses upon 

 bad hay and fusty oats. It is a great mistake to buy 

 oats for hunters and carriage horses, and certainly for 

 cab-horses, that weigh less than 42 lbs. per bushel, for 

 every pound you gain in weight it is in meal ; the heavier 

 the oat the thinner the husk. Sometimes horses are off 

 their feed from debility after some illness, and require 

 the stomach toning down and the nerves bracing ; for 

 such it is necessary to give a powerful tonic to help 

 nature to reassert itself. For the benefit of my readers 

 who may have horses suffering from nervous debility, I 

 have placed in the hands of Messrs. Perks and Lewellwn, 

 chemists, Hitchin, a valuable recipe, with carte blanche 

 to supply them to their customers with full instructions, 

 having every confidence that they will restore the diges- 

 tive organs and make them fulfil their proper functions. 

 The hunter being the most valuable to the 

 tenant farmer and small breeder — as a good sound and 

 clever hunter is always as good as ready money — 

 therefore it will not be out of place to give a few hints 

 of how to breed them, and also how to train them to 

 make perfect horses in the field. In selecting the 

 mare to breed from, it is necessary to make as much 

 enquiries into her lineage as it is possible to obtain. 

 First examine her carefully to ascertain if she has any 

 hereditary complaints, and if the mare has curby hocks, 

 splints, thick wind, a roarer, or imperfect vision, 

 discard her at once however good she may be, for her 



