94 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



self, giving directions to his groom to ride him quietly 

 after the hounds to prepare him for the next day. On 

 coming to a check, after some slow hunting, this 

 celebrated sportsman observed to a friend, in a jocular 

 manner, " Here he comes, roaring away : who can he 

 be ? " Who was it but his own horse, which had 

 become a roarer in the stable during the long-continued 

 frost, and from no other apparent cause ! Thus was 

 a horse, worth at that time one thousand guineas, 

 spoiled by doing nothing. 



The instances which I have now mentioned are 

 only two among many which I have met with of a 

 similar kind ; and I have always guarded against 

 them in my own stable by precautionary measures 

 — by lessening my horses' corn at least one feed per 

 day, taking their beans from them, and invariably 

 giving them a dose of physic, followed by a mild urine 

 ball, if time will permit, or, what may be better, a 

 few carrots chopped into their morning and evening 

 feeds. Carrots have a particularly cooling property, 

 and act as an alterative by the kidneys. Bran mashes, 

 cold, are also useful, but they must not be too fre- 

 quently given, as they are of a very lowering nature. 



Although I object to the frequent use of bran mashes 

 with horses that are to follow hounds, yet I have 

 always made it a rule to give each horse one large 

 lukewarm mash in the course of the week, taking care 

 that he do not have it within two days of his turn to 

 hunt. Bran mashes, made thin, expel the contents 

 of the bowels without increasing the secretions, and 

 are great preservatives of general health. 



