40 STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



Tonics. 



It is a common supposition, deeply rooted in the 

 minds of horsemen, that, when a horse loses con- 

 dition, he at once requires a tonic ; and an im- 

 mense number of these and " condition powders " 

 are advertised. There is no better paying specula- 

 tion in the world than the sale of these articles, as 

 the majority of them consist of a few cheap and 

 simple ingredients, that are retailed to the public at 

 a hundred per cent, their original cost ; and the best 

 that can be said about these nostrums is that some 

 of them are innocent and do no harm, while they 

 serve to amuse the owner. The action of a tonic is 

 to stimulate the appetite, and if the horse is feeding 

 well they are certainly useless, if not actually harm- 

 ful. If the horse feeds, and continues to fall off in 

 condition, the chances are that there is something 

 wrong in the stable management, which should be 

 carefully inquired into. If this only occurs once 

 with one animal, the inference is that medical advice 

 is required, but if several are in the same state, or 

 it is a matter of constant occurrence, then in most 

 cases a change of " syce " is required, and it will be 

 usually found better and cheaper than having re- 

 course to any of these various advertised " cure-alls." 



