CUB-HUNTING 281 



daily on turf. I admit that this exercise is wearisome 

 to the rider, and few stable boys care to walk their 

 charges round a paddock for three hours; therefore, 

 if the stable boy has proved himself worthy of con- 

 fidence, I see no reason why a portion of the exercise 

 should not be done in grassy lanes. But in either 

 case the lad must ride in the exercise saddle, and not 

 on the clothing alone, as many lads will do if they 

 are left to themselves, simply because they are too 

 lazy to clean the exercise saddle. 



Now, as grass distends the bowels and substitutes 

 fat for muscle, or, in other words, as an unrestricted 

 allowance of grass emaciates the muscular system 

 and substitutes a quantity of fat, it follows that the 

 old system of turning hunters out to grass at the end 

 of the season was wrong. Nor do I believe that it 

 was ever defended from a veterinary point of view, 

 though it was not openly condemned. As far as 

 I have been able to gather, the practice arose from 

 mistaken kindness. It was considered that the horse 

 deserved a holiday, and so he was turned out to fill 

 himself with clover, vetches, and luxuriant grasses 

 during the summer months. The natural result is 

 a superabundance of fat, which has to be removed 

 before the commencement of the season. Now, 

 when a horse has been made very fat, as soon as 

 he is put to work he is apt to "fall off" and lose 

 his muscle, and unless great care be observed his 

 soft, flaccid sinews and joints will give way. In 

 any case, a considerable length of time must be 



