290 MODERN FARRIER. 



very first day's travellmg, and never recovers it tho- 

 roughly to the end of his journey. A horse may be 

 said to be in the best condition for a journey when 

 he is rather lean than fat, and when his flesh feels 

 hard and firm, particularly his crest, or that part 

 that lies just below the withers. His coat should 

 be sleek and shining, and his skin loose. The con- 

 dition of a horse must evidently be of importance in 

 such circumstances ; as in a journey he has many 

 inconveniences and evils to encounter, such as bad 

 roads, a successive change of stables, bad qualities 

 of food and water, and very generally imperfect 

 i>Toominp'. 



The stuffing of the saddle should be carefully ex- 

 amined, that it be not hard, or in lumps, or too 

 thin ; in which cases the pressure will be partial and 

 the back be galled. The horse should be shod three 

 or four days before he begins his journey, that the 

 sense of compression and tightness, which the feet 

 always experience on being newly shod, may have 

 gone off. The feet should be cleaned out and 

 washed every night with a picker ; and the usual 

 inflammation will be prevented, and the feet cooled, 

 by stopping them with wet clay or cow's dung. 

 His legs and body should likewise be thoroughly 

 cleaned. 



It is a good practice to ride very gently the last 

 mile or two of the stage, that the animal may be- 

 come cool and tranquil by degrees. It is also pro- 

 per to give him about a quart or two of water just 

 before coming in. This cools and freshens his 

 mouth. When arrived at the inn, he may be fed 

 with a small feed of oats mixed w^ith a few beans. 

 The beans will tempt a delicate horse to eat. The 

 traveller should be careful that his horse has been 

 thoroughly cleaned, which may be ascertained by 

 examining the flanks. If the legs be swelled after 

 a hard da^^'s work, it will greatly relieve them to 

 bandage them at night with a flannel roller dipped 



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