OF FARRIERY. 



87 



i* vvfiat I have recommended to be your con- 

 stant practice ; for if you make it a rule not to 

 give him hay until he comes home from exer- 

 cise, the Horse will not pine or look for it. If 

 you are going a considerable distance to meet 

 hounds, or to covert twelve or more miles dis- 

 tance, you may give the Horse a moderate 

 feed of oats, but if you are going to turn out 

 a deer, or expect to find near at hand, let the 

 Horse go out perfectly empty, and on no 

 account give him any water; if I just washed 

 his mouth, it should be from a bottle, from 

 which I should be certain he could not drink 

 more than a pint ; let him be thoroughly 

 cleaned, and his legs well rubbed, and his 

 saddle on, moderately girthed, at least an 

 hour before going out, this will cause him to 

 empty himself; for if you observe, most Horses 

 when the saddle is put on, relieve themselves 

 by dunging if they can : a quarter of an hour 

 before wanted, put on his bridle, and have 

 him ready, buckling him to the stall -reins, let 

 him stand till wanted, with a cloth thrown 

 over the saddle. 



When Horses come home from hunting, it 

 necessarily follows that all expedition should 

 be used to get them clean, and make them 

 comfortable ; if there has been hard running, 

 and the Horse come home leg-weary and 

 tired, cleaning will be more refreshing than 

 feeding, and therefore must be first attended 

 to, not but the Horse may have a bit of choice 

 hay put into his rack to amuse him, if he will 

 cat while he is dressing ; but when it has 

 been a long day, and hard riding, many 

 Horses will be off their feed, particularly 

 youngand unseasoned Horses; this, as amatter 

 of course, is to be expected, though it is most 

 to be desired that the Horse should feed, 

 which shews a fit constitution for extraordinary 



labour : when you have a Horse of the above 

 description, never leave home without putting 

 in your pocket a ball, composed as follows : 



Sulphate of iron 

 Ginger , - - 

 Gentian - - 



2 drams. 

 1 do. 

 1 do. 



To be formed into a ball with soft soap* ; this 

 ball will act as a toliic, and invigorate the 

 system. Now, on^tlie hounds being drawn 

 off, and the day's hunt finished, if you find 

 your Horse weak, or at all inclined to flag, 

 dismount, and immediately give him the ball ; 

 you will find by so doing your Horse will re- 

 cover his strength, and carry you home plea- 

 santly, even if you have a dozen miles to go; 

 it will also promote his appetite. After a 

 thorough cleaning, in which you must be 

 particular to rub his head and ears well, and 

 get him dry in every part, making him as 

 clean as when he went out in the morning , 

 you should carefully examine him all over, to 

 see if he has received any injuries from stakes, 

 stumps, boughs, brambles, thorns, rails, flints, 

 &c. ; likewise that he has not been galled 

 with the saddle, girths, or breast-plate, if he 

 wore one. When the Horse has been re- 

 freshed with a good cleaning, he will be more 

 inclined 1 3 feed than before ; but if he will 

 not, make yourself easy, for his appetite will 

 return, as his Aveariness wears ofl". 



On returning home from hunting, it is usual 

 to let the Horse drink (for he is sure to be 



* Though soft-soap and the mineral tonic will not unite 

 in a chemical point of view, and may occasion some re- 

 marks from the knights of the pestle ; but I beg to inform 

 them, if the}' did unite, it would destroy the power of tha 

 sulphate, consequently, rendering it of no service at all ; 

 for as medicines unite, so their power is reduced. This ii 

 easily explained : if you drink a glass of neat irandy, 

 mark the difference in diluting it with water. 



