FOOD, PHYSIC, AND EXERCISE 15 



is a horse is often less fit after a fortnight in the 

 stable than the day he came out of the field. 

 Some grooms give nothing but walking exercise, 

 and others believe solely in a slow trot ; but the 

 best method is a combination of the two, varied 

 by plenty of slow cantering work. The horse 

 that gets his four hours of slow trotting every 

 morning is bored and weary of life before the 

 season commences. Hunters should never be 

 trotted fast, as there is nothing worse for legs 

 and feet. A slow canter and an occasional sharp 

 sprint of two or three furlongs will prepare a 

 horse for anything he will be asked to do in the 

 hunting-field. 



