CHAPTER XVI. 



BLANKETING, GROOMING, BANDAGING AND SHOEING. 



THE general care of 

 horses demands the exer- 

 cise of more judgment and 

 thought than is usually 

 bestowed upon the subject 

 by the average stable ser- 

 vant. A precautionary ac- 

 tion at a critical moment 

 or a keen perception of 

 the requirements of some 

 particular case often pre- 

 vents a cold from developing into a more serious complica- 

 tion or similar accidents from occurring. It is in such 

 apparently little matters as the feeding of a proper amount 

 of grain to a horse, the judicious use of rugs and blankets, 

 the regulation of the amount of exercise, etc., which deter- 

 mine the worth of a stable servant as measured by the 

 practical items of the cost of maintaining the stable and in 

 what degree the horses, carriages, etc., are kept in a condition 

 of usefulness. The subjects dealt with in this and the re- 

 maining chapters are those which comprise the coachman's 

 chief responsibility. He cannot have constantly the benefit of 

 the owner's foresight and intelligence, hence, if his mental 

 calibre is too small and the master is a man who under- 

 stands the proper management of his stable, the servant's 



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