68 " FOR IDLE HANDS TO DO." 



good tempered well broken horse, but long rests should 1)e 

 strictly forbidden, as alike destructive to efficiency, safety, or 

 pleasure. 



133. — If the work usually required from the horse is very 

 light, let the corn be withheld, or be very limited (73, 84), and 

 then a very moderate amount of daily exercise will keep the horse fit 

 for pleasant and safe riding or driving, In most cases a lady's 

 or gentleman's horse that is kept in high condition, and that is 

 only ridden short distances for pleasure, should be well exercised 

 by the groom on the morning of the day on which they are to 

 ride it (73), so that it may take any gambols it pleases with 

 him. 



134:. — For a highly fed horse (82), twenty miles a day for 

 six days a week, at a moderate pace, and with a light load, is as 

 much as he should regularly do. 



"When the pace is distressing and the load heavy, as in a 

 mail coach, the highest fed horse can only stand half that distance, 

 and will not last long at that. When the pace is moderate, and 

 the distance not more than about ten miles a day, the feed should 

 not be high (84), in which case the exercise on resting days need 

 not exceed a five mile walk. 



135. — Some authorities have stated that when a horse is 

 required to take a long journey on one day of the week, he will 

 be best prepared for it by giving him two such journeys in the 

 week. This is quite contrary to our experience. We find 

 nothiug qualifys a horse for a long journey so well as moderate 

 daily work, and we would never give him a very long journey 

 by choice. It takes more out of a horse, and does not harden and 

 invigorate so well as flaily moderate work. If qualifying him for 

 one long day's work in a week is the only object to be obtained 

 by his work for the rest of the week, we would simply make 

 up the week's work to a hundred miles, dividing it equally over 

 three days, so as not to give him more than five miles on the 

 day before and the day after the necessarily long journey. That 

 is to say if the horse was obliged to go forty-two miles on the 

 Thursday, we would give him sixteen miles on Monday, Tuesday, 

 and Saturday, leaving only five miles each for Wednesday and 

 Fridav. 



