PHYSIC 49 



As the system of getting hunters in condition which 

 have been at grass is, in most respects, so well known, 

 it would be presuming in me to attempt to give direc- 

 tions respecting it ; I will therefore merely detail 

 the plan I would pursue had I a horse to deal with 

 under such circumstances. My directions to my 

 groom should be as follows. 



The hunter should be taken up certainly not later 

 than the 20th of July. Soon after this period 

 the nights begin to get chilly, and his coat would 

 receive a check if exposed to them. It would lose 

 that soft, silky feel which it generally has if the horse 

 is in perfect health previously to that time. When 

 first taken to house he should be kept as cool as 

 possible, and, if it can be avoided, there should not 

 be more than one horse in every other stall, be the stable 

 ever so large. We will suppose a man has six hunters, 

 perhaps all kept in one stable in the winter. When 

 his horses are first taken up, he should not put more 

 than two or three at farthest into it, and the rest into 

 a hack-stable or loose house, with the doors or windows 

 open, so as to keep the temperature as low as he can. 

 As time is precious, and, as before observed, physic is 

 nothing more than the means of cleansing by evacua- 

 tion the stomach and intestines, as sweating gets rid 

 of the superfluous flesh and fat, the sooner he has his 

 first dose the better. As his bowels will be relaxed 

 by the grass he has been eating, his physic should be 

 milder than usual ; but that must depend upon pre- 

 vious knowledge of the constitution of the horse. 

 Generally speaking, five drachms and a half would be 



