94 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 



spring by slow degrees with safety. The physicking and 

 sweating sometimes recommended, and often resorted to, are 

 mischievous, in my opinion ; and I know that any thing like 

 rapid work and hurry at the beginning, with a horse over- 

 fed during the winter, and very likely infirm in his legs, 

 will be apt to knock him off before he has got the use of 

 them, or the muscles and sinews have recovered much of 

 their tone. There is another way of wintering trotting- 

 horses, which, having engagements in the spring, are to be 

 prepared at an early period to fulfil them. When such a, 

 horse is found to be clean and strong upon his legs at the 

 close of the season, and the trainer knows that he was then 

 all right and in fine health and freshness, as well as in hard 

 condition, an intermediate way of wintering may be wisely 

 adopted. Instead of being driven on the road as was first 

 mentioned, or turned into the loose box with run of the lot 

 as was next described, the horse may be kept in the stable 

 all the winter, which is to say in a loose box. His clothing 

 is to be reduced to a thin sheet ; and the food, according to 

 his constitution and heartiness, will be regulated pretty 

 much like that of the one that runs in the box and lot. 

 He may have soft food enough to cool him out, such as a 

 few carrots every other day, and a bran-mash now and 

 then. Large quantities of carrots are not to be given; 

 and car 3 is to be taken that he has stout feed enough to 

 keep h's flesh firm and elastic. Exercise, every day that 

 the weather will admit of, under saddle or by leading, is to 

 be given ; and his coat may receive a nice little dressing 

 once or twice a day. 



This horse being directly under the trainer's eye all the 

 time, and treated with a view to his early preparation and 

 trotting, will be kept much nearer the mark of condition 

 than those before mentioned, and will be apt to take his 

 work in the spring of the coming year with better pluck 

 and less risk than any of them. It remains to be added 

 here, that horses turned out into the field should have a 



