3i6 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



In a small pamphlet on the Diseases of Horses} 

 the writer chiefly attributes what may be termed 

 the indisposition of horses to the improper construction 

 of stables ; and for which he considers the county of 

 Salop to be notorious. " The consequences," says 

 he, "of an ill- ventilated stable are of a very serious 

 nature ; they are not calculated upon until your horse 

 points them out in language not to be misunderstood ; 

 and, unless the most active measures are adopted, the 

 rapid progress of the diseases produced by it will baffle 

 all your endeavours, and your horse become unsound 

 for life. When a stable is too much crowded or ill- 

 ventilated, a very powerful poison is generated there — 

 the pernicious effect of which soon shews itself, 

 especially if you bring a fresh horse within its sphere of 

 action." Mr H. then proceeds : "A hunter is brought 

 from grass in full health ; he is put into a crowded, 

 ill- ventilated stable ; in the course of the night, or on 

 the following day, he is seized with a violent shivering ; 

 irritation in the throat follows, with a cough, difficulty 

 of breathing, and inflamed eyes." Mr H. now produces 

 some cases of horses thus affected, which, however, we 

 can only look upon as the natural consequence of 

 bringing a horse, which for three or four months has 

 been breathing fresh air in his pasture, all at once to 

 respire the hot and stimulating atmosphere of a 

 crowded or ill- ventilated stable. 



Now notwithstanding my conviction of the high 

 temperature in which a horse kept all the year round 



' By Mr Edward Hickman, V.S., etc., published in 1823, and 

 dedicated to John Mytton, Esq. 



