CAUTERIZING. 419 



the time we want him to exert himself. The walk will 

 assist in relieving the horses, and we will postpone the 

 work till after breakfast, which will be a further help. 

 Actual trial is worth far more than theory; and making 

 yourself acquainted with the wants of each horse in this 

 particular, by repeated experiments, is altogether the best 

 method. Horses differ, and while one may require the cur- 

 tailment in his food and drink to be rigid, others will per- 

 form better, by never being forced to wear the muzzle, and 

 only shortened in the meals that immediately precede the 

 race. I have heard a story that an Englishman always 

 fights the best after a good dinner, an Irishman when he 

 has had a sup of whiskey, and your countryman, the Scotch- 

 man, when fasting. I presume that this is only a conceit, 

 though it is applicable to the equine family, as I have 

 known different horses that required, one of them the 

 stimulus of the whip and spur; another, the support of the 

 most nutritious food; and the third would do better when 

 drawn till his shape resembled that of a greyhound when 

 in order to run a course. There will be time for you to 

 jog Clipper before we are summoned to the steak and 

 coffee. 



PUPIL. I have observed, when I have been driving him 

 lately, that he has gone with a little halt in his gait, and 

 am fearful that the only cure for him will be the actual 

 cautery, which you have advised as a last resort. 



PRECEPTOR. You need not exercise him, as I can see 

 that the near fore leg gives evident symptoms of not being 

 capable of standing the work. You will see that the out- 

 line of the back tendon is not straight as it should be, but 

 is curved outward ; and I never knew one in that shape, 

 if the work was persisted in, that did not ultimately break 

 down. Cauterizing has, as Mr. Percival says, restored 

 many when in this condition, and given them renewed 

 strength to perform nearly as well as they did formerly. 



