588 HUNTERS AND HUNTING. 



on your saddle is kept clean and pliable ; a small stone in 

 your shoe is about as pleasant as a hard dry spot in the 

 lining of the saddle on the back of a thoroughbred. 



If you get him from Canada or Virginia do not put him 

 in your stable and wonder that he is sick ; rather put him in 

 an open box, somewhere, where he can get God's fresh air 

 and plenty of it, and accustom him slowly to the fact that 

 he has got to breathe bad air two-thirds of the time, as most 

 swell stables have bad air. Watch him eat, have his teeth 

 looked over, both for the sake of his mastication and his 

 bitting ; see that he is watered before his meals, and find 

 out how often in a week he can stand a mash ; the oftener 

 the better if he can stand the work until the hunting season 

 commences. 



Have some one lead him, trot him away from you and 

 then back towards you ; remember that possibly it is a little 

 necessary for you to know how many ounces of iron you 

 are tacking on that foot ; you would not care to waltz 

 with a brogan on, neither attempt to go shooting with 

 a patent-leather slipper. Treat him with every mark of 

 respect as becomes a gentleman, and if he is sound and 

 right you certainly will be prouder of him than any acquaint- 

 ance you have. 



If he is a heavy-weight and you want to put him in 

 wheel of four, by all means put him in. It did not hurt old 

 " Justin Morgan " to out-pull all competitors at the country 

 fairs in Vermont, and then out-trot them all over the half- 

 mile tracks. The more you use him the more you know 

 him and the more he knows you. The Arab Sheik and 

 his Bird of the Desert are the sweetest combination of man 

 and horse ; be as near like to them as you can. 



