292 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET, 



very stale from it ; and for such strong horses, there is 

 not much more than tliree months in winter allowed 

 for them to rest, to put up flesh, and to get fresh, 

 before they must again commence training. During 

 the time they are laying by, they must have bedding 

 to lay on by day as well as by night. 



It is almost unnecessary for me to observe here, 

 that the bedding of a race-horse cannot well be 

 dispensed with at any time, as horses in strong work 

 require to rest by day as well as by night, and maiiy 

 of them do lay by day, stretching and resting their 

 limbs and muscles ; so that they are, for sixteen or 

 eighteen hours out of the four-and-twenty, standing or 

 laying with their hoofs constantly covered up with 

 the warm bedding. This keeps their feet very hot and 

 dry, and is one of the principal causes which occasions 

 them to contract ; nor has the horse the same power 

 within himself of remedying this change produced in 

 his feet, as he has of counteracting the change which 

 takes place in his constitution, on his being brought 

 from a state of nature into an artificial one. 



All grooms should endeavour to make themselves 

 acquainted with the nature of different horses' feet, 

 more particularly such training grooms as may be 

 travelling with country plate horses, — as a preven- 

 tative is better than a cure. They should not only 

 see that their boys are attentive in the common care 

 of their horses' feet, — such as picking them out and 

 washing them, — but grooms should ndeavour to 

 obtain a thorough knowledge of such treatment 



