1010 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



Light carcassed horses, very young ones, and such as are low in flesh, require often baiting, particularly in 

 hot weather ; horses in full condition, above their work, and well carcassed, and such as are from seven 

 to ten or twelve years old, are better when ridden a stage of fifteen or twenty miles, with a proportionate 

 length of baiting time afterwards, than when baited often, with short stoppages : the state of the weather 

 should also be considered ; when it is very hot the stages should be necessarily shorter. 



6736. To a proper consideration of the baiting times on a journey, the physiology of digestion should be 

 studied. (6400.) Fatigue weakens the stomach ; when we ourselves are tired, we seldom have much incli- 

 nation to eat, and fatigue also prevents activity in the digestive powers. To allay these consequences, 

 ride the horse gently the last two or three miles. If a handful of grass can be got at the road-side, it will 

 wonderfully refresh your horse, and not delay you three minutes. In hot weather, let the horse have 

 two or three go-downs (gulps), but not more, of water occasionally 3S you pass a pond ; this tends to pre- 

 vent excessive fatigue. Occasionally walk yourself up-hill, which greatly relieves him, and at such time 

 remove the saddle, by shifting which, only half an inch, you greatly relieve him ; and during this time, 

 perhaps, he may stale, which also is very refreshing to him. It may be as well, in a flinty country, to take 

 this opiwrtunity of examining that no stones are got into the feet likewise. 



6737. When a horse is brought into an inn from his journey, if he be very hot, first let him be allowed 

 time to stale ; let his saddle be taken off", and with a sweat knife draw the perspiration away ; then, with 

 a rug thrown over him, let him be led out and walked in some sheltered place till cool, by which means 

 he will not afterwards break out into a secondary and hurtful sweat : but by no means let an idle ostler 

 hang him to dry without the stable. Being now dried, remove him to the stable, where let some good 

 hay, sprinkled with water, be placed before him : if very thirsty, give three or four quarts of water now, 

 and the remainder in half an hour, and then let him be thoroughly dressed, handrubbed, foot-picked, and 

 foot- washed ; but by no means let him be ridden into water ; or, if this practice is customary, and cannot 

 be avoided, let it be not higher than the knees, and afterwards insist on the legs being rubbed perfectly 

 dry; but good hand-rubbing and light sponging is better than washing. Having thus made him comfort- 

 able, proceed to feed him with corn and beans according as he is used. 



6738. To feed a horse when very hard ridden, or if weakly and tender, it is often found useful to give 

 bread, or bread with ale : if this be also refused, horn down oatmeal and ale, or gruel and ale. It is of 

 the utmost consequence if the journey is to be of several days' continuance, or if it is to consist of a 

 great distance in one or two days, that the baitings are sufficiently long to allow the horse to digest his 

 food : digestion does not begin in less than an hour, and is not completed in less than three ; consequently 

 any bait that is less than two hours fails of its object ; and such a horse rather travels on his former 

 strength than on his renewed strength, and therefore it cannot continue. After a horse is fed he will 

 sometimes lie down ; by all means encourage this, and if he is used to do it, get him a retired corner stall 

 for the jmrpose. 



6759. The night baiting of a journeying horse should embrace all the foregoing particulars, with the 

 addition of foot stopping ; and care that his stable be of the usual temperature to that to which he is ac- 

 customed: and that no wind or rain can come to him. Give him now a full supply of water : if he has 

 been at all exposed to cold, mash him, or if his dung be dried by heat, do the same ; otherwise, let a good 

 proportion of oats and beans be his supper, with hay, not to blow on half the night, but enough only to 

 afford nutriment. 



6740. When returned home from a journey, if it has been a severe one, let the horse have his fore 

 shoes taken off, and, if possible, remove him to a loose box, with plenty of litter ; but if the stones be 

 rough, or the pavement be uneven, put on tips, or merely loosen the nails of those shoes he has on ; keep 

 the feet continually moist by a wet cloth, and stop them at night if the shoes be left on ; mash him regu- 

 larly, and if very much fatigued, or reduced, let him have malt or carrots, and if possible, turn him out 

 an hour or two in the middle of the day to graze': bleeding or physicking are unnecessary, unless the 

 horse shows signs of fear. If the legs be inclined to swell, bathe them with vinegar and chamberlye, and 

 bandage them up during the day, but not at night, and the horse will soon recover to his former state. 



SuBSECT. 4. Horses m Curricles and Coaches, 



6741. In working and managing horses in curricles, two-wheeled chaises, and similar cases, great feeling 

 and nicety is required, not to overload or overdrive the aniinal ; to see that the weight is duly propor- 

 tioned between the wheels and horse's back, and that the harness does not pinch ; but no directions on 



this head can be of much 

 use, unless the driver be a 

 humane and considerate 

 person, and one who sets a 

 just value on the services of 

 the noble animal committed 

 to him. In Russia, the 

 drivers of two-wheeled car- 

 riages, as droscheys, sledges, 

 and others, corresponding to 

 our gigs and curricles, have 

 a barbarous custom of teach, 

 ing the horses to turn round 

 their heads, the one to the 

 left, and the other to the 

 right [jig. 850.), the sight of 

 which is very oflTensive to a 

 stranger. 



6742. In working and managing coach horses, the same attention to grooming in all its departments is 

 required as for saddle horses. Coach horses should never be brought into full work before they are five 

 years old : when well fed on hard food, they may be worked at an average of thirty miles a day at twice. 

 In general they should not be longer than five or six hours in the yoke at a time. Their principal meals 

 should be in the morning and after their work is over for the day, as the action of trotting fast materially 

 impedes digestion. 



SuBSECT. 5. Working of Cart, Waggoih and Farm Horses. 



6743. In working and managing cart and waggon horses, a similar attention is requisite as for coach 

 horses, though perhaps in a somewhat less degree, the animal being hardier. 



6744. The working and managing of farm horses includes the age at which they are put to work, the 

 quantity of work they should perform, and their feeding and general management. 



6745. The age at which horses are put to full work, in the labours of a farm, is usually when four or 

 five years old, according to the nature of the soil, and the numbers of the team ; but they are always 

 understood to be able to pay for their maintenance after they are three years old, by occasional work 

 in ploughing and harrowing. Brown thinks it probable they might be put to work at four years old, were 

 the same attention paid to their breeding and rearing that is paid to cattle and sheep. 



6746. The work which a farm horse aught to perform is evidently a question of circumstances, which 

 does not admit of any precise solution : a two-horse plough may, on an average, work about an English 

 acre a day throughout the year ; and, in general, according to the nature of the soil, and the labour that 

 has been previously bestowed on it, a pair of horses, in ploughing, may travel daily from ten to fifteen 



