70 THE FAMILY HORSE. 



DAILY EXERCISE. 



One of the indispensable requisites to health and condition of a 

 horse is proper exercise every day. A horse kept for hght driving 

 or general family use is too likely to be left standing idle in the 

 stable for days together, when the condition of the weather or the 

 roads render driving unpleasant, or during the temporary absence- 

 or illness of the head of the family. Loss of appetite, swelled legs, 

 stiff joints and other evils follow any long continuance of enforced 

 inactivity. As intimated in a previous chapter, the food must be 

 diminished, but that is not enough. Some exercise, if only for half 

 an hour, must be given. If there is an open sbed attached to the 

 stable, it affords a place for gentle exercise, but in the absence of 

 such a convenience, it is better for the horse to be led, driven or 

 ridden in any weather, with pro]jer subsequent care, than to stand 

 still all day in its stable. 



TURNING TO GRASS AND TAKING UP. 



Nothing will freshen a horse more than a run to grass, pro- 

 vided it is done properly. But if one, which has been well fed, 

 blanketed and groomed in a warm stable, is turned out early in 

 spring and made to lie out through the chilly nights, it may end in 

 pneumonia or some other serious if not fatal illness. It is best to 

 give the horse a few hours of daily run to grass at first, with the 

 usual grain ration, and keep it in the stable nights. The time on 

 pasture may be gradually increased, as the horse becomes accus- 

 tomed to it. Every pasture, whether for horses or other stock, 

 should be provided with shade, under which the animals can find 

 protection from the burning noonday sun of midsummer. If there 

 are no trees, sheds roofed with boards, or even brush, should be 

 constructed. The shoes are to be removed when the horse is first 

 turned out, but if the ground becomes hard and dry during 

 summer, it may be necessary to apply tips to the fore-feet. Tho 

 pasture should be visited frequently to see that the horse does not 

 become cast or meet with some other casualty. When it is taken 

 up from pasturage the change to stable life and food, with daily 

 work, requires careful and judicious treatment. On this point, 

 Frederick Taylor ( ' ' Ballinasloe " ) says : 



" It would be a sure mark of ignorance to take a horse up from 

 grass and feed him with an unlimited quantity of grain and hay at 

 once ; these should be given very sparingly at first, particularly the 

 hay ; it should for the first week be sprinkled with water to moisten 



