98 THE NOBLE SCIENCE. 



witliout good legs is useless. Always choose a flat, sinewy 

 leg, avoiding those which are round and fleshy. Keep 

 clear also of round joints, which seldom stand. Fore- 

 legs should be nearly, or quite, straight, according to 

 perfect symmetry; but an inclination to bow forwards is 

 much better than the reverse : there is much less strain, 

 in action, on the back sinew. Some horses, foaled with 

 legs as crooked as those produced by hard work in a post- 

 horse, have stood training longer than any others. Few, 

 very few, hunters, rode to hounds, are gifted with such 

 fore-legs that there is not a screw loose by the end of 

 their third season. I am an advocate for firing, as a 

 preventive, rather than a remedy. It is too late to fire 

 a broken-down horse, although, as long as the contraction 

 remains in force, he may be sustained, as it were, by a 

 perpetual bandage, for a time ; but if fired as soon as 

 there are any indications of its being ultimately neces- 

 sary, you will meet, half way, and obviate the occurrence 

 of, an evil which may be incurable. I have found such 

 incalculable advantages from salt-water bandages, that 

 I would strongly urge the use of them in every stable. 

 Soak linen or woollen bandages in salt and water, strong 

 enough to float an egg; let every horse stand in them, 

 and keep them constantly moist by frequent application 

 of the liquid, as it is in evaporation that the benefit con- 

 sists. They will preserve good legs cool, and will freshen 

 those that are stale, in a manner not to be expected from 



