IN FROSTY WEATHER. 119 



few days, or until the dung, of which the bed is 

 composed, has become, by use, short enough for 

 tlie horses to go their sweats on; and which is 

 to be preferred to their sweating here when the 

 dung is fresh put on. The paddock I have here 

 arranged will answer the purpose very well; and 

 on the breaking up of the frost, it may be well 

 manured, so that by the first of May there would 

 be some fine spring grass. If the paddock were 

 to be temporarily fenced off in the centre, and 

 if, at a trifling expense, there were erected in 

 one of the corners at each end a loose house, 

 and at the other corners a small wooden trough 

 for water, two good paddocks would be formed, 

 in each of which might be turned out a mare 

 and foal, or three or four weanlings, or a yearling, 

 or any horse that may be on the premises re- 

 quiring to be refreshed. 



Let us now proceed to describe the great ad- 

 vantage of our straw bed. We will first suppose, 

 what is very commonly the case, that the frost 

 has not yet set in, and that those horses which 

 have to come out to run early in the spring, have 

 been got through their physic by about the 26th 

 of January. After they have had a few days' walk- 

 ing exercise, so as to recover from the effects 



