294 THE HORSE 



wild beast in his den. The constant friction soon wears out the collar-reins 

 when there are two, and on that account a single rein may be adopted in 

 this particular instance with advantage. 



Eating the litter is a peculiar appetite, which chiefly occurs either in 

 those horses which are kept short of hay on account of their tendency to 

 fatten, or when the animal possessing it has been stabled for a very long 

 time together and requires a change. In the former case nothing but the 

 muzzle will be of the slightest service, but in the latter a run at grass, or 

 soiling indoors for a month or two, will remedy the disorder of the stomach. 

 Rock-salt in the manger will sometimes have the desired eifect, producing a 

 degree of thirst which will make dry litter distasteful. 



Kicking and biting savagely are marks of actual vice, and scarcely come 

 within the limits of the present section. Still the groom must know how to 

 guard against them in the best way, so as to save himself from danger with- 

 out unnecessarily punishing the horse. Thei'e are some animals which cannot 

 be effectually restrained without severity, but on the average, kindness and 

 firmness united will overcome any horse. Sometimes it is necessary to put 

 on the muzzle while the dressing is going on, but this is chiefly because the 

 skin is so irritable that the brush or wisp excites sensations which lead to 

 the use of the teeth or hind-legs to prevent their recurrence. In such cases 

 as these Mr. Rarey's method of subduing a savage horse ia extremely 

 valuable. 



PREPARATION FOR WORK 



I HAVE ALREADY OBSERVED that these pages are not intended to serve as a 

 guide for the trainer of the racehorse, and that they chiefly apply to the 

 management of the hunter, hack, and carriage-horse belonging to the private 

 gentleman. The description of the mode of preparation for work will there- 

 fore include the mode of fitting the hunter for his duties, and of getting the 

 hack and carriage-horse into condition, from the state in which they are 

 usually first brought into the stable, either from grass or the dealer's hands. 



In the present day, the hunter is prepared almost as carefully as the 

 racehorse or steeplechaser, when he is intended for any of the grass countries. 

 Nothing short of a regular preparation will enable a horse to go through a 

 fast thing in Northamptonshire or Leicestershire, and no man in his senses 

 would ride a horse there in the front rank, unless he was thoroughly fit. 

 The stud-groom, therefoi-e, requires for his purpose a training-grovmd where 

 he can give his horses their sweats, without which it would be impossible to 

 get them into condition. A very large space is not necessary, but a very 

 small one will not suffice, the constant turning incidental to a limited gallop 

 producing a great strain upon the joints. If possible a gallop measuring at 

 least a mile and a half or two miles in circumference should be obtained, and 

 with this length, including a moderate rise in its extent so as to open the 

 horse's pipes well at the finish of a sweat, it is the groom's fault if his charge 

 is not brought out thoroughly fit when the hunting season commences. Of 

 course, when making this assertion, I am calculating that he has been 

 allowed sufficient time, which will depend greatly upon the state in which he 

 finds his horses in August. If they have been at grass, it is almost impossible 



