218 ON SADDLE HORSE 



am quite convinced that they knew very well what 

 they were about. As the authors to whom I have al- 

 luded seem to be of opinion that grooms are so very 

 ignorant of the management of horses, and as' they 

 have been at some pains to abuse them, I think it 

 would have been but fair had these gentlemen given in 

 their writings, such rules, relative to the condition and 

 treatment of horses, as would, in some measure, have 

 guided those poor ignorant men, and particularly those 

 among them who train race-horses. But no — it does 

 not appear, in any of their works which I have read, 

 that those authors have done much in this respect 

 for these poor fellows, beyond that of recommend- 

 ing them to keep their horses in cold stables. This 

 part of their advice I shall, by and bye, endeavour to 

 prove is not only unnecessary, but that, when thorough- 

 bred horses (which have originated in a hot climate) 

 are to be got into racing condition, it is requisite that 

 they should be kept in a stable of a certain tempera- 

 ture of heat. 



It is more than probable, that some authors who 

 have written on the subject of horses, may have been 

 led to form their opinions from observations made in 

 different saddle-horse stables, when they have been 

 called in to give their professional advice; and I have 

 no doubt, that they have often seen very improper 

 management in such stables, and which may have led 

 them to give their opinions rather too indiscriminately 

 of grooms in general. 



The late Mr. White, Veterinary Surgeon, of Exeter, 



