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Exercise the Horse Regularly 147 



EXERCISE CONTRIBUTES TO ACTION 



Faulty action is often due to irregular or insuffi- 

 cient exercise. The periods of enforced idleness 

 occasioned by lack of business engagements of the 

 master or by inclement weather, are often followed 

 by long drives and hours of over-exertion. This is 

 accompanied by many faulty movements, such as 

 irregular and indirect action, hitching and hobbling, 

 interfering and over-reaching, and the like. The 

 matter is still further complicated by the owner, 

 who, desiring to keep his horse in presentable condi- 

 tion, often overfeeds during the enforced idleness. 

 Irregular work weakens the constitution, and the 

 horse thus exercised generally has but a brief 

 career. 



Regular and judicious exercise stimulates the appe- 

 tite, promotes digestion, encourages assimilation 

 and helps the system to remove material for which 

 it has no further need and which, if allowed to remain, 

 would prove injurious. Such exercise improves the 

 muscular tone and keeps the animal in good spirits, 

 thereby enabhng him to control his nervous and 

 muscular action. The amount of work necessary 

 to keep the animal in condition will depend on the 

 individual. 



This brings us to a discussion of the rather common 

 practice of horse owners in large cities turning their 

 horses out for a part of the year. There is much 



