FEEDING OF IIUNTEES 61 



You will see by my Stable Rules, given in 

 Chapter IV., that I advocate a mash being given 

 twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday 

 nights. A hunter in hard work is being 

 fed on unnaturally stimulating and heating food, 

 and I think a bi-weekly laxative is the best thing 

 to counteract the evils of this, and to obviate 

 recourse to physic, which is to be avoided if pos- 

 sible. 



I am sure the less drugs either we or our horses 



take the better. Their use was at one time, like 



bleeding and other relics of barbarism, 



Physic 1 „ T 



much too frequent ; and even now most 

 grooms have a sneaking liking for them, especially 

 if expensive. I always discourage them in my 

 own stable, and would never permit their being 

 given without my knowledge. 



A mild dose of aloes is necessary when a horse 

 meets with some injury w'hich requires that his 

 system should be suddenly cooled, and I think it is 

 desirable when an animal is quickly changed from 

 a very high to a very low diet, and vice versa ; but 

 the constant periodical giving of balls is, I am 

 sure, an abomination, and will ruin any horse's 

 digestion in time. 



I need hardly say that the Wednesday mash is 

 not given to a horse if he is for hunting on 

 Thursday. 



