142 THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 



one, as many of them do. I know one farmer in Kent 

 who makes a practice of taking in these used-up hunters 

 year after year to grass. He has had some for as 

 many as nine seasons. Sometimes when the animals 

 are brought to the farm they can scarcely put one 

 foot before the other, they are so used up, but when 

 they go out in the Autumn their step is as elastic as that 

 of a young horse. 



For the benefit of those who may have horses in the 

 condition I have mentioned, I will just state how this 

 farmer treats them. Now it is a well known fact cold 

 water is wonderfully strengthening for weak joints, and 

 as soon as the horses are brought to the farm they are 

 taken out and allowed to stand in a brook or stream 

 for hours. The animal gets so accustomed to this 

 kind of treatment, it looks forward to it with a great 

 amount of pleasure and enjoys it very much. During the 

 Summer very few of them want tying up in the water, 

 they will stand in of their own accord for from three to 

 six hours. There is no need to tie them up at all after 

 they have been in about three times. If a horse that 

 has weak joints, or is over at knees, as shown in illustra- 

 tion, is allowed to stand in water for from three to six 

 hours a day, in almost every instance the legs become 

 quite sound again and in many cases perfectly 

 straight. Any kind of stream or pond will do to 

 stand the animals in as long as the water comes 

 over the horses' knees. When they are first put in the 

 stream they ought not to remain there for more than an 



