164 PASTURINa. 



thrushes may form ; sores may run into sinuses, or become full 

 of maggots ; the feet and legs may be injured by stubs, thorns, 

 broken glass, or kicks ; or the horses may quarrel, fight, and 

 wound each other. That these and similar evils and accidents 

 may be obviated, or soon repaired, the horses should be visited 

 every morning by a trustworthy person who knows what is re- 

 quired of him. 



The grain, hay — either or both — if any be given, should be 

 furnished at regular intervals ; when fed with grain, the horses 

 ought to be watched till it is eaten, lest they rob each other, 

 or some prowling thief appropriate the whole. Horses at 

 grass require, and should have, no dressing, as it exposes the 

 skin too much. The shoes may be removed, however, and the 

 feet dressed every four or five weeks. 



Treatment after Grazing. When taken from grass to 

 warm stables, and put upon rich, constipating food, horses fre- 

 quently become diseased. Some catch cold, some suffer in- 

 flammation in the eyes, some take swelled legs, cracked heels, 

 grease, thrushes, founders, surfeit, or a kind of mange. 

 These are very common ; and physic is often, and indeed 

 generally, given to prevent them. They are produced by a 

 combination of circumstances ; by sudden transition from gentle 

 exercise and indolence or exciting work ; from a temperate to 

 stimulating diet ; from a pure, cool, and moving atmosphere, 

 to an air comparatively corrupt, hot, and stagnant. These 

 changes must be made, and are, to a certain extent, unavoid- 

 able ; but it is not in all cases necessary that they should be 

 made suddenly. It is the rapid transition from one thing to 

 another and a diflferent thing, that does all the mischief. If it 

 were effected by slow degrees, the evils would be avoided, and 



