PLEASURE HORSES. 159 



long duration, they need not be subject to the same condi- 

 tion as fast- working horses, of being fed long before they 

 are put to work and allowed to evacuate their bowels 

 thoroughly before being harnessed. They may, therefore, be 

 fed and watered at the last moment, and put to slow work 

 immediately, and will rarely take harm from travelling on 

 full stomachs. In the same manner, when they are loosed 

 at nooji-day, being rarely overheated, after a slight rest 

 and a slighter rubbing down — which, by the way, they 

 rarely receive — they may take their mid-day feed without 

 delay, and without fear of evil consequences. In the like 

 manner may be treated carmen's horses, and team-horses, 

 the labor of which is heavy and continuous rather than 

 rapid. All horses, however, whatever the work to which 

 they are applied, should have ample time to rest at night, 

 and should be thoroughly rubbed down, dried, clothed and 

 made comfortable, before feeding them and closing the 

 stables for the night, — and the more so, the more trying 

 the day's work. 



"With regard to pleasure-horses, which are usually in the 

 stables, more or less, twenty hours out of every twenty- 

 four, which are only taken out for the gratification of the 

 owner at such times as it suits his humor or necessity, they 

 should never be taken out or driven fast on full stomachs; 

 which can always be avoided by letting the groom know, 

 in case that they will be required at an unusual hour or 

 for unusual work — when he can adapt his feeding hours to 

 the circumstances of the case. 



When harnessed and ready for a start, the driver should 

 mount his seat quietly, gather his reins, and get his horses 

 under way, slowly and gradually, by speaking or chirruping 

 to them; never starting them with a jerk, or striking them 

 with a whip, — allowing them to increase their pace by de- 

 grees to the speed required, instead of forcing it on a sudden. 



