DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 65 



other words they are low in flesli; and most of 

 them are stale in their constitutions, as also on 

 their legs; and from so often removing their 

 shoes and plates their feet are occasionally in 

 a bad state; and from want of proper atten- 

 tion during the hot weather, their backs are 

 sometimes also a little sore. Many of those 

 craving horses that return in autumn to the 

 home stables, are in this state or approaching to 

 it; such, whether horses or mares, if happy by 

 themselves, should be put into large loose boxes, 

 so that they may put up flesh, and recover the 

 tone and strength of such parts as may have suf- 

 fered from the repeated exertions they may have 

 undergone in training and running. When 

 horses have thus suffered from one or other or 

 perhaps all of the above causes, they are not in 

 a fit state, immediately on arriving at the home 

 stables, to go out to exercise daily, through- 

 out the winter, with the rest of the horses. It 

 is the custom, and a very good one, from the 

 1st of October to the 1st of January, to win- 

 ter the above horses in large loose boxes, or 

 barn-like sort of stables; and if they are well 

 managed in those places, they should be, by 

 the time I have mentioned, in a fit state to go 



VOL. II. F 



