98 NOTES ON EQUITATION 



large a bellj^ put on two or three blankets. Naturally you 

 should always finish at a walk and see that there is a very 

 good grooming when you come in. Put on good flannel 

 bandages after careful hand rubbing of the legs. 



"By following this course of preparation, your horse 

 should begin to be in condition toward the end of Septem- 

 ber. He is far from being entirely ready, but he may begin 

 to hunt without much fear of injury. By this time he has 

 started to shed and is beginning to suffer from the action 

 going on inside of him, which takes away part of his 

 strength and exhausts him. Redouble your care by cover- 

 ing him carefully so that the heat may hasten the shedding, 

 and above all give him abundant and substantial feed. 

 Accordingly, from the 15th of September to the 15th of 

 October, I recommend a feed of beans everj^ day (two quarts 

 soaked in three different waters) and put iron, nails, horse 

 shoes, etc., in his drinking water. All this gives him 

 strength to support the work going on inside of him, for it is 

 very important that the shedding and sweating in October 

 should not put him out of condition. If it does, you will 

 not be able to get him back in condition again the rest of 

 the winter, and in January he will be completely run down. 

 Consequently it is from the 20th of September to about the 

 15th of November that you should feed a hunter the most. 



"Now your horse is almost in condition and may hunt. 

 In the interval between hunts, exercise your horse or have 

 him exercised a little every other day, taking care to take 

 him out for a short time the day after each hunt to observe 

 his condition and the freedom of his movements. If for any 

 reason you do not hunt for a time, you should put your 

 horse through the same work that you did in the month of 

 August, giving him short gallops and work at a walk over 

 ploughed ground. 



"In this manner you keep him fit all winter, giving him 

 good feed and varying it according to his condition and ap- 

 petite. If he always eats well, continue the oats without 

 overdoing the mashes; the latter should be given only in the 



