92 The Practical Stud Groom. 



time, compared with the led horse. Four miles an hour is 

 good going for any man, yet at the end of a two hours' out- 

 ing, eight miles having been reeled off, the groom at least 

 will be tired, while his well-fed charge will not have turned 

 a hair, but returns as jaunty as when he started out. The 

 ridden stallion, on the other hand, in a two-hour spell of 

 exercise will easily have covered twelve miles in his spells 

 of alternate walking, trotting, and cantering, when his 

 exercising ground permits of the latter. 



As an alternative method, lungeing will ensure the led 

 stallion getting trotting exercise, but there are drawbacks 

 connected with this plan which make it doubtful whether the 

 disadvantages do not outweigh the advantages. If one could 

 ensure that the horse would trot sedately round, reversing 

 at intervals, all would be well ; but if out of sheer light- 

 heartedness he gives a sudden buck and kick, and starts off 

 at full gallop, there is a very real risk (especially if the 

 ground be a trifle wet and greasy) of his legs slipping from 

 under him as he circles round and his getting a dangerous 

 fall. On the "ideal" stud the Sand Ring or the Roofed 

 Covering Yard, with its tan or straw covering, reduce -this 

 particular risk to a minimum. The method of exercising 

 must always be governed by the temperament of each 

 individual stallion ; but in any case two hours' daily exercise 

 should be the minimum. Even where the practice of giving 

 the stallion a grass paddock to run in prevails, it is probable 

 that, during the covering season at least, two hours' vigorous 

 exercise will be of very great assistance in fitting him for 

 begetting healthy, vigorous progeny, except, perhaps, in 

 the case of a very aged sire. 



An important item in the economy of stallion manage- 

 ment is the man who looks after him. Sobriety is, of course, 

 a sine qua non; but beyond this he should be quiet and even- 



