HEALTH AND SOUNDNESS ESSENTIAL. 51 



required to develope muscle ; and, secondly, that 

 quick work is required to increase the powers of 

 respiration. 



To effect this, then, sufficient time must be allowed, 

 and the shorter the better commensurate with the 

 undertaking, for it must be borne in mind that no 

 relapse from work can on any consideration be allowed ; 

 but when once training commences, it must be work 

 and not exercise throughout, and then, if in a fair state 

 to begin with, from two to four months will be sufficient. 

 From this it will be seen that, if the horse be stale 

 when taken from his work, proper rest should be 

 given to him previously to his being put under the 

 trainer's care. It is absurd to put a stale horse into 

 training ; still more absurd to attempt to train a horse 

 while in ill health. In either case training will make 

 matters worse, and will most likely ruin the animal 

 for life. Therefore if an animal is not in rude health 

 (I care not from what cause), all ideas of putting him 

 into training should be discarded. 



First get your iron bar, and then you may reasonably 

 hope to use it ! First then get health, soundness both 

 of wind and limb, and you may reasonably hope to 

 refine them both by trying them in the fire. As I have 

 said before, I will presume that the horse's legs are 

 clean and firm, that no marks of humours are apparent, 

 but that he is merely fleshy and short of work. 



Your first step will be to keep your horse walking 

 on turf for at least four hours a day ; and if time can 

 be spared to divide the time into two periods, so much 



E 2 



