132 



ANIiMAL MANAGEMENT. 



To obtain 

 " con- 

 dition." 



A gradual 

 process. 



EflFect of 

 over- 

 exertion. 



Cumula- 

 tive power 

 of condi- 



tion. 



Amount 

 and class 

 of exer- 

 cise. 



are soft and flabby, unable to stand severe exertion and rapidly fatigued. 

 Not only his muscles, but every other structure in him is in the same state; 

 his blood-vessels soon lose their elasticity ; his heart fails in driving- power ; 

 his lungs cannot sustain rapid breathing, nor his joints constant bending; 

 and although he is jumping out of his skin at the beginning of the day, 

 a very moderate amount of work makes you wonder if he is the same 

 horse that started so gaily. To quote a sporting writer, " You cannot 

 believe that the heavy-headed, labouring brute between your legs is the 

 same animal that devoured the ground like a tiger and jumped the first 

 fence like an indiarubber ball." 



There is only one way to get animals into condition, whether they be 

 required for light cavalry or heavy transport — sufficient good food and 

 sufficient healthy exercise, judiciously combined, and continued over a 

 long period, is the sole recipe. The transformation of fat, flabby flesh 

 into hard, tough muscle is a gradual process, it cannot be forced ; a regular 

 course of graduated exercise is the only way to accomplish it. This work 

 should never be so severe as to fatigue the animal ; the soft muscles will 

 suffer from the reaction of over-exertion to such an extent that an actual 

 loss of flesh will result. Working tired animals when unfit is a most 

 fruitful cause of accident and disease, and the worst possible horsemaster- 

 ship ; this is the time when they sustain bad falls and severe sprains ; the 

 muscles do not act in absolute unison, and extra weight is thrown on the 

 tendons, which naturally sufler. But, once good, hard, muscular develop- 

 ment has been attained, any work within reason will not only be performed 

 without great effort, but will continue to add to the quality of the condition 

 already acquired. It is important to recognise this "cumulative" power 

 of condition ; it means that you can not only demand a good amount of 

 work from a seasoned horse, but that it actually does him good, and while 

 performing it he will at the same time run less and less risk of accident 

 and disease ; but throw him entirely out of work for any considerable 

 period, and you will have to repeat the conditioning process over again, 

 though not perhaps to quite the same extent. This must be particularly 

 borne in mind when animals are again taken into work after a run at 

 grass or a long bout of sickness. 



Anioimt cmd class of Wo7'k. — At first the work should be light, but 

 spread over a considerable time, and indeed the longer the time which 

 can be spent outside the stable the better. This is always a difficulty in 

 an army ; there is so much else to do besides exercising horses that it is 

 not always easy to give as much time as we should like to devote to this 

 essential, and the regularity of the work may be occasionally upset ; but a 

 minimum of two hours daily should be enforced, Sunday, of course, being 



