HUNTERS 191 



Steeplechase, run that time at Derby, after having 

 been kept up, and worked quietly, instead of 

 being turned out. As the two latter are both 

 four-mile steeplechases, the systems under which 

 each horse was summered cannot be far wrong ; 

 nor can there be much choice between them. 

 Both races were very severely contested, so that 

 the horses must have been at their very best to 

 prove successful. Had either of them been 

 summered in a loose box, it is very improbable 

 that it would have been within hail of the 

 winner, when it passed the post. 



Gritty, sandy soils are not suitable for horses, 

 especially in a dry summer, when pastures are 

 very shrunk, and horses consequently bite too 

 close to the ground. Sand taken into the stomach 

 causes anaemia, and finally diarrhoea. If there is 

 any doubt about the cause, the sand can easily be 

 detected in the droppings if carefully examined. 

 The horse must be removed from the place, and 

 given bran mashes and linseed oil until re- 

 covered. 



Except for the danger of taking cold in chilly 

 weather, there is no harm in horses wading into 

 a pond to obtain the water plants of which they 

 are very fond, and on which they seem to thrive ; 

 certainly they are very partial to them, and 

 often prefer them to the sweetest grass. 



There is one inconvenience, however, that must 

 always be expected, the swallowing the eggs of 

 internal parasites, and a vermifuge is often 

 needed after a run at grass. The success of 

 this depends almost entirely on the horse being 

 deprived of all food for twenty-four hours, so 

 that the intestines are quite empty, before 

 the administration of the medicine. There is 



