460 EXERCISING. 



EXERCISING. 



Horses in private stables are either not given sufficient 

 exercise or it is not uniform in its amount ; that is, too 

 much on some days and too little on others. To keep car- 

 riage and saddle horses in good condition they should 

 perform between six and twelve miles per day. Horses in 

 the average stable are under-exercised and inconsiderately 

 exposed in cold and wet weather. As horses are luxuries, it 

 is not to be supposed that an owner who merely employs 

 them in being comfortably transported from one place to 

 another will put himself to the inconvenience of using the 

 carriage for the sole purpose of giving the horses exercise. 

 Instead, the all too common practice is to have the horses 

 wait before the house, shop or theatre door from half an 

 hour to an hour and a half, often on the coldest or dampest 

 days in winter. Such treatment, if the horses live, is fol- 

 lowed by leaving the animals tied in their stalls for three or 

 four successive days without work or exercise, but receiving 

 the full quota of fodder. 



Many of the accidents which are blamed upon the frac- 

 tiousness of a horse are due to a lack of a uniform amount of 

 exercise. Being too well fed he is ready to " jump out of his 

 skin " and perform antics which the ignorant coachman does 

 not expect and is unable to control. A diminished diet and 

 an hour's exercise on off days will keep spirited animals 

 within bounds. If the stable is a small one the carriage horses 

 will have to be exercised under saddle, owing to the lack of 

 space for an exercising wagon and harness, but when these 

 can be kept it is advisable to give a horse the same kind of 

 exercise he is accustomed to in work. The same applies to 

 saddle horses, and a saddle for this purpose should be kept. 



