296 THE IMPROVED ART OF FARRIERY. 



The benefits derived from those airings are nume 

 rous — they purify the blood, teach the creature ho^ 

 to make his breathing agree with the rest of the my. 

 tions of his body, and give him an appetite for his 

 food, which hunters and racers that are kept stalled 

 up are otherwise apt to lose. An hour or more after 

 the horse is come in from his airing, the groom should 

 give him a wisp of clean hay, making him eat it out 

 of his hand ; after this, let the manger be well cleaned 

 out, and a quartern of oats, clean sifted, be given him. 

 If he eats up this with an appetite, he should have 

 more given him ; but if he is slow and indifferent about 

 it he must have no more. The business is to give him 

 enough, oat not to clog him with food. If the horse 

 gets flesh too fast on this home feeding he is not to be 

 stinted to prevent it, but only his exercise increased ; 

 this will wear down his flesh, and at the same time 

 give him strength and wind. 



After the feeding in the morning, the usual method 

 is to shut up the stable, only leaving him a little hay 

 on his litter. He need be no more looked at till one 

 o'clock, and then only rubbed down, and left again to 

 the time of his evening watering, which is four o'clock 

 in the summer, and three in the winter. "When he 

 has been watered, he must be kept out an hour or two, 

 or more if necessary, and then taken home and rubbed 

 as after the morning watering. Then he is to have a 

 feed of corn at six o'clock, and another at nine at 

 at night, and being then cleaned, and his litter pat in 

 order, and hay enough left for the night, he is to be 

 left till the morning. This is the direction for one 

 day, and in this manner he is to be treated every day 

 for a fortnight ; at the end of which time his flesh 

 will be so hardened, his wind so improved, his mouth 

 so quickened, and his gallop brought to so good a 



