CONDITIONING.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[conditioning. 



the cause of complaint ; if the horse has been 

 well kept, consequently full of flesh, and little 

 or no work — for we do not call walking a 

 horse about to stretch his limbs, sufficient to 

 keep him in health — it may reasonably be 

 concluded that the blood-vessels are prevented 

 from performing their natural functions, and 

 evacuations must relieve them. In this case, 

 we prefer a course of alteratives to violent 

 physicking, as less dangerous. 



It may so happen that a horse over-fed, 

 and too little worked, may not discover any 

 symptoms until after a day's riding, and work 

 as some would call it, and from that circum- 

 stance it might not be attributed to the want 

 of exercise ; but here we deceive ourselves, 

 for disease, or the seeds of disease, may have 

 been lurking in the horse, and could not de- 

 velop themselves until he was put to unusual 

 exertion, which might necessarily cause the 

 discovery sooner than it otherwise might take 

 place. 



If a horse has been in regular work or 

 exercise, with a young and tender constitution, 

 he will sicken at unusual exertion. This is 

 termed, taking too much out ofTiim ; but, in such 

 a case, the loss of a little blood, with two or 

 three days' rest, will restore him. Sometimes, 

 however, taking too much blood, and, at the 

 same time, when the horse is very hot, sufler- 

 ing him to cool too fast, will, in all pro- 

 bability, instead of decreasing, increase any 

 inflammatory disposition the system may be 

 susceptible of; but if, at the first, we observe 

 that he does not dung, or empty himself freely, 

 as horses generally do when in health, this 

 will draw attention to his state, and he must 

 have speedy relief, to prevent disease coming 

 on in a more dangerous form. 



CONDITIONING THE HUNTER. 



Every sportsman should know what are the 

 best means to be adopted to get his hunters 

 into condition, and the care and management 

 necessary to their well-being through the 

 season. Hunters are usually turned into good 

 grass after the season is over, though a great 

 deal has been said by some against such a 

 practice. Still we have seen its good efiects 

 as often as stabling them ; but one man may 

 have convenience to stable his hunters all the 

 summer, and ten others may not have this ; 

 116 



consequently, an additional expense would be 

 incurred. But as that which we are about to 

 write is for the use of hunting-men, we shall 

 speak on general principles, which, from prac- 

 tice, we know to be correct. 



Grass, it is well known, be it of ever so 

 good a quality, is not a substantial food. It 

 is cooling and opening ; and though it makes 

 a horse fleshy, nevertheless, it is not that 

 description of flesh which a horse can work 

 on. If we were to attempt to gallop him to 

 the excess which frequently occurs in hunting, 

 we should find him faint and weak, and the fat 

 which has accumulated in the cellular mem- 

 branous cavities, would be thrown off" in the 

 form of a white lathering sweat. This, if 

 checked, might produce inflammation of the 

 lungs, and the horse become a subject for the 

 knackers. Therefore, the first thing to be 

 done to alter this state of the system, in the 

 best and most expeditious manner, is to bleed 

 and physic, but with caution, always paying 

 great attention to the constitution of the 

 animal. 



In the case of horses being taken up from 

 grass, the warmth of the stable is very apt to 

 incline them to itch, and to make them rub 

 themselves a great deal. When they are so 

 inclined, bleeding is highly necessary. 



As Viorses usually have their shoes taken ofi" 

 when turned out to grass, the first thing to be 

 done is to re-shoe him ; then he should be 

 bled according to his size ; from two to four 

 quarts of blood will be sufficient to take from 

 him. After this let him stand quiet, with his 

 head tied up to the rack, without food of any 

 kind for three or four hours. While he is 

 full of grass, he will not drink much water; 

 but after living on dry food, he will drink 

 plentifully if he is allowed. There is no neces- 

 sity, however, for stinting him in water until 

 he has taken his physic. 



His coat will be exceedingly foul, and full of 

 knits ; therefore he will require some good 

 dressings; and the opening of his coat, and 

 the taking of the dirt out, will require him to be 

 clothed. Accordingly, buckle a cloth on with 

 a good broad roller, pretty tight, to assist in 

 reducing the size of his belly. If he has 

 been in the stable three or four days, and 

 emptied the grass out of him, a dose of physic 

 may first be given to him, preparatory to 



