PASTURING. 165 



there would be less need, or none at all, for those medicines 

 which are given to prevent them. 



During the first week, the temperature of the stable ought 

 to be little different from that of the external air. Sub- 

 sequently it may be raised, by slow degrees, till it is as warm 

 as the work or other circumstances demand. The horse should 

 not at first be clothed, and his first clothing should be light. 

 Grooming may commence on the first day ; but it is not good 

 to expose the skin very quickly by a thorough dressing. The 

 food should be laxative, consisting of bran-mashes, oats, and 

 hay ; but no beans, or very few. Walking-exercise, twice a 

 day, is absolutely necessary for keeping the legs clean, and it 

 assists materially in preventing plethora. 



The time required for inuring a horse to stable treatment, 

 depends upon several circumstances. If taken home in warm 

 weather, the innovation, so far as the temperance and the 

 purity of the air are concerned, may be completed in about 

 two weeks. If the horse is not very lean, his skin may be well 

 cleaned in the first week ; and to clean it, he must have one or 

 two gentle sweats, suflBcient to detach and dissolve the dust, 

 mud, and oily matter which adhere to the skin, and glue the 

 hair together. All this, or as much of it as possible, must be 

 scraped off while the horse is warm and perspiring. If it is 

 allowed to get dry before scraping, he is just where he was. 

 If the weather be cold, there need be no great hurry about 

 cleaning him completely. 



The propriety of giving physic after grazing has been often 

 questioned. In the stable, its utility is generally acknow- 

 ledged. In books it is sometimes condemned as pernicious, 

 sometimes as useless. It may be safely said, however, that 



