202 ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 



and the freedom will combine to produce most beneficial re- 

 sults. Every horse should be turned out in an enclosure of 

 some sort every day, if only for an hour or two, whenever pos- 

 sible. Horses brought in hot from work and turned loose will 

 cool out slowly with no damage to themselves. They will take 

 enough exercise to keep from getting chilled. 



Pasturing is especially good for diseases of the tendons, 

 ligaments, and bones, and of the breathing apparatus. A horse 

 with a docked tail should not be turned out to grass or in a 

 paddock during fly-time; he must be given his exercise in an- 

 other way. He will be so tormented by the flies that no benefit 

 will result from his freedom. 



The condition of a horse — that is, its state of being gen- 

 erally — is the result of stable management. In a good stable, 

 where clean stalls are the rule, where good forage is fed, where 

 the water is pure, where the horses are thoroughly groomed, 

 and which is kept dry and fully ventilated, where the doors are 

 wide and high, and all the stable fittings are arranged so that 

 there are no projections to injure the horses, there will be need 

 of the veterinary surgeon but rarely. 



A horse is said to be in good condition when he is in vig- 

 orous health and strength, and in hard condition when, by 

 proper care and exercise, he is in shape to make his supreme 

 effort, as should be the case before a race. 



Exercise is just as necessary to the well-being of a 

 horse as to man. Every horse that is kept in a stable should 

 be exercised at least two hours a day to keep him well. Lack of 

 exercise will weaken a horse as much as overwork. The amount 

 of work expected of a horse should depend upon his condition, 

 and this depends as much upon the exercise he has been getting 

 as upon his diet or sanitary surroundings. A horse that has 

 been turned out to pasture will take enough exercise to keep 

 well, but will not keep in working condition. So a horse that 

 has been convalescing on grass, after a month or two, may seem 



