ON PHYSIC. 113 



mation of the leg; but he has also another object in 

 view, and it is one which he must not lose sight of — 

 that of preventing a craving horse, when laying by, 

 from getting too lusty ; and the only chance he has of 

 carrying his point, and bringing the horse to post on the 

 day appointed, is, to give him plenty of physic to pre- 

 vent his putting up flesh, and to keep him from getting 

 fat in his inside, as well as to relieve the leg. From 

 this treatment, the leg will in the course of a week or 

 ten days have become cool and in shape, and the 

 groom may then begin to think of bringing the leg 

 very gradually to its former strength again. This he 

 does by sending the horse to gentle walking exercise, 

 on as level a piece of ground as can possibly be found 

 for the purpose. 



Now to prevent a similar accident from again taking 

 place, I will just here remark, that when a horse has 

 been laying by for some time, in consequence of an 

 accident, he gets what is commonly termed in the sta- 

 bles, hearty and calfish, and on the first day or two of 

 his coming out to exercise, he is generally inclined to 

 begin his gambols, and bound about, and more parti- 

 cularly if he is taken immediately on the open downs. 

 To prevent a thing of this sort from taking place, it 

 may be advisable to take such precautions as will be 

 likely to ensure safety, not only to the horse, but also 

 to the boy. In the first place, the boy who may be 

 put to ride the horse in his exercise, should be selected 

 from among those who ride best; and in the second 



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