THE HORSE. 121 



afford an important convenience during bad weather. 

 The exercise of horses in constant work, should never 

 be of the speedy or rattling kind ; their labour is, in 

 general, sufficient to wear out their legs and feet full 

 soon enough. Walking exercise alone, will keep a 

 horse in good condition ; beyond this, the slow trot, 

 the moderate journey-trot, and the canter, should not 

 be exceeded. The nag may be accustomed and 

 trained to that pace which is preferred and most used 

 by the master ; and a skilful groom may act the part 

 of a riding master, and improve a horse greatly in 

 his mouth, paces and habits. Many horses, good in 

 nature and really valuable, may have been rudely 

 and imperfectly broken. Such are apt to mix and 

 run their paces one into another, shuffling between 

 walk and trot, and between trot and canter. It is 

 the business of a good groom during exercise, to cor- 

 rect these errors of progression, and to accustom 

 the horse to change freely and easily from one pace 

 to the other. The vice of shying and starting also, 

 may be, to a considerable degree, remedied in exer- 

 cise. Should a man have two or three horses to look 

 after, by consequence he would not have much time 

 to spare ; but in any case, an hour is sufficient for 

 the airing, the chief part of which should be em- 

 ployed in the slow paces. Whether in morning, noon, 

 or a summer afternoon, high fed horses should be 

 taken out with empty stomachs. The high road is 

 the proper theatre of exercise for these horses ; but, 

 as in London, there may be sometimes a necessity 

 for exercising them upon the pavement, where the 

 pace should never exceed the slow trot. 



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