462 EXERCISING. 



should be insisted upon for both carriage and saddle horses, 

 and a bridle with winkers used on the former when exer- 

 cised under saddle. 



The middle of the day in winter and early in the morn- 

 ing in summer are the best times for the airing. Only a 

 reliable and competent man should be allowed to exercise the 

 horses, as such work affords opportunities for inefficient 

 stable servants to get into no end of trouble. A good deal of 

 watchfulness is required to prevent the time given for exer- 

 cise being transferred to personal visits, etc. Defects in the 

 horse's manners and the fear of certain objects should be 

 corrected during these outings. 



" The best stables, the best food and the best grooming will not secure 

 condition — that is, the highest degree of horse health — without sufficient 

 and regular exercise. The degree will depend on how long the horse has 

 been in use. 



*' When hunters are wound up to high condition, if their daily exercise 

 is stopped by a heavy fall of snow or any other cause, they must be imme- 

 diately put on bran mashes, most of their corn and all of their beans stopped, 

 otherwise the effect of large feeds of stimulating food is almost sure to pro- 

 duce attacks of inflammation, ending in roaring, ophthalmia, fever of the 

 feet, and a host of diseases which will be still more dangerous if, to keep 

 thin coats sleek and shining, the stables are deprived of supplies of fresh 

 air, and turned into the groom's paradise — a sort of hothouse." — S. Sidney, 

 "The Book of the Horse,'' pp. 4J3 and ji^. 



"Another very great mistake is made by many persons in considering 

 that old horses should be indulged by an extra allowance of rest compared 

 to that which is permitted the young ones of their stud. The incentive to 

 such practice is an amiable, but it is at the same time a mistaken one. Old 

 horses cannot bear entire rest ; they may be favored as to the frequency of 

 calling forth great exertion from them, but a couple of days of entire rest 

 brings on all their old aches and pains arising from work, blows and falls. 

 Exercise is life to them ; it keeps the vital functions going ; and limbs that 



