434 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 



of ordinary labor can be effected on the road or in the field with 

 out sufficient and regular exercise. It is this alone which can 

 give energy to the system, or develop the powers of any animal. 

 "How, then, is this exercise to be given? As much as 

 possible by, or under the superintendence of, the owner. The 

 exercise given by the groom is rarely to be depended upon. 

 It is inefficient or it is extreme. It is, in many cases, both 

 irregular and injurious. It is dependent upon the caprice of 

 him who is performing a task, and wjio will render that task 

 subservient to his own pleasure or purpose. 



" ^N'othing is so common and so preposterous as for a per- 

 son* to buy a Iiorse from a dealer's stable, where he has been 

 idly fattening for sale for many a day, and immediately to 

 give him a long run after the hounds, and then to^ complain 

 bitterly that he has been imposed upon if the animal is ex- 

 hausted before the end of the chase, or is compelled to be led 

 home, suffering from violent inflammation. Regular and 

 gradually- increasing exercise would have made the same 

 horse appear a treasure to his owner. 



" Exercise should be somewhat proportioned to the age of 

 the horse* A young horse requires more than an old one. 

 Nature has given to young animals of every kind a disposi- 

 tion to activity ; but the exercise must not be violent. . A 

 great deal depends upon the manner in which it is given. 

 To preserve the temper and to promote health, it should be 

 moderate at least at the beginning and the termination. The 

 rapid trot, or even the gallop, may be resorted to in the middle 

 of the exercise, but the horse should be brought iti cool. If 

 the owner would seldom intrust his horse to boys, and would 

 insist on the exercise being taken in sight or in the neighbor- 

 hood of his residence, many an accident and irreparable injury 

 would be avoided. It should be the owner's pleasure, and 

 it is his interest, personally to attend to all these things. He 

 manages every other part of his concern, and he may depend 

 on it he suffers when he neglects or is, in a manner, excluded 

 from his stables." 



