DURING THK WINTER MONTHS. 77 



every day to exercise, and returning to stand in 

 the small usual-sized loose boxes. These stale 

 horses will benefit more by standing constantly, 

 for three or four months, in large barn-like sort 

 of stables, than in the loose boxes, as the cold- 

 ness of the air in such situations braces up their 

 muscular system, if they are not inclined to give 

 themselves, in ranging about, too much exercise 

 in such places. 



Let us now make a few remarks regardiner 

 another sort of treatment of such horses as may 

 have to winter in loose places. It was formerly 

 the custom with training grooms, and it may 

 most likely be practised by many of them up 

 to the present time, to give their horses, on 

 their having done their running in the au- 

 tumn, three doses of physic each, with an in- 

 terval of a week or eight days between each 

 dose ; this was formerly a standing rule with 

 those men, without their duly considering the 

 state of each horse's condition ; and again three 

 doses more were given to them, either about the 

 end of February or beginning of March, depend- 

 ing on the time such horses might have to 

 come to post in the spring. This method of in- 

 discriminately physicing horses ought to a cer- 

 tain extent to be done away with. Yet, I am 



