32 EXERCISING. 



strict injunctions to his groom on no account to leave 

 it. No master should give his servants the option of 

 going where they please to exercise, their favourite re- 

 sort being often the precincts of a public-house, with a 

 sharp gallop round the most impracticable corners to 

 make up the time. An occasional visit of the master 

 to the exercising ground is a very salutary check upon 

 such proceedings. 



The best possible exercise for a horse is walking — the 

 sod or any soft elastic surface being better than the road 

 for the purpose ; and if the latter only is available, use 

 knee-caps as a safeguard. 



Two hours' daily exercise (if he gets it) at a, fast walk 

 will be enough to keep a hack fit for his work • and it 

 is usual with some experienced field-horsemen never to 

 allow their hunters, when once up to their work, to get 

 any but walking exercise for as much as four hours 

 daily, two hours at a time — that is, when they desire to 

 keep them " fit." 



Ladies' and elderly gentlemen's horses ought most 

 particularly to be exercised, and not overfed, to keep 

 them tame and tractable, and to guard against accidents. 



The foregoing directions refer to the 'preparations 

 for the master's work, and are what I should give my 

 groom. 



Sweating. — In case it is desirable to prepare an ani- 

 mal for any extraordinary exertion, the readiest, safest, 

 and most judicious means is by sweating, carefully pro- 

 ceeded with, by using two or three sets of body-clothes, 

 an empty stomach being indispensable for the process, 

 and a riding-school, if available, the best place for the 

 necessary exercise, — a sweat being thus sooner obtained 

 free from cold air, and the soft footing of such a place 



