54 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



being forced on in length and pace at his work, 

 contrary to the powers of his constitution, the 

 horse will not only become stale in himself, and re- 

 laxed and large in his carcass, but stale and round 

 on his legs, which would be likely to lead to the 

 cracking and bleeding of his heels, which would 

 be the cause of their suppurating. From bad 

 management, a horse is brought into the state I 

 have here described, which renders him unfit to 

 run; his work must, therefore, be stopped, and 

 his engagement is not only done away with for 

 the present, but another race may not, probably, 

 be got out of him again for the whole season. 



The grand criterion in training of horses, and 

 the best of all others (at least I found it so) for 

 a training groom constantly to bear in mind, is, 

 that Nature will ever claim her rights, in regu- 

 lating the whole economy of the animal system. 

 This she will do in spite of all our efforts to op- 

 pose her. Hardy, gluttonous, strong horses are 

 difficult to train, or rather it is difficult to keep 

 them from putting up flesh, so as to prevent 

 them from coming too fat to post ; and training 

 grooms have sometimes been led astray from the 

 circumstance, that, if horses are fat in their in- 

 sides, they cannot run on for any length ; nor can 



