208 TRAINING AND RACING. 



I would advise him to do so before the hot weather com- 

 mences. 



It appears that the worst kind of climate for a horse 

 to live in, is a damp hot one, like that of Bengal, for 

 instance. A damp, cold climate, like that of Scotland, 

 is not incompatible with the breeding of good cattle, 

 provided they be treated more or less as exotics. But 

 the best of all is a dry warm one. During the exces- 

 sive heat of several hot weathers at Meean Meer and at 

 Cawnpore, both of which places possess a very dry 

 climate, I have never found that the horses I kept 

 suffered in any way from the great heat, as long as they 

 were well protected from the direct rays of the sun, 

 and had a free circulation of air through their stables, 

 Although I do not say that horses will thrive quite 

 as well during the hot weather and rains in the plains, 

 as in cooler climates, such as Dehra and Bangalore, 

 still I do not think that the balance is very much in 

 favour of the latter, specially when we take the cases 

 of horses that it would be injudicious to train on a 

 hilly course. In making these remarks, I again except 

 all hot, damp climates iu which it would be most unwise 

 to keep valuable horses during the trying months of 

 the year. 



MozufFerpore, possessing, as it does, a race-course cover- 

 ed with soft and elastic turf, offers many advantages, but 

 I question much if its climate is not too damp, in 

 which to summer horses. The same objection may, with 

 still greater force, be urged against the Sonthal Hills. 



General Rules for Work during Training. Before a 

 horse be put into training, he should, if possible, be in a 



