AND HOW TO KEEP IT SOUND. 49 



part agreed that there is no great harm in a horse remaining 

 in the stable for two or three days in succession without ex. 

 ercise, provided that his legs do not swell ; but I trust that I 

 shall have prepared many of my readers to believe with me, 

 that it is far otherwise than indifferent to him whether he be 

 imprisoned day after day, with the elastic machinery of his 

 foot wasting and decaying from want of use, or be afforded 

 the opportunity of keeping it in vigorous and healthy repair 

 by due employment out of the stable for three or four hours 

 every day. 



It w^ould be almost impossible to overrate the value of 

 daily long-continued walking exercise to the health, condition, 

 soundness of feet, and general usefulness of the horse ; and 

 whoever habitually deprives him of these blessings, merely 

 to save himself a little trouble, inflicts a cruel and lasting 

 injury upon a generous and unoffending animal, and is un- 

 worthy to be intrusted with the care of him. Old horses 

 require less exercise than young ones ; but as the quantity 

 usually allotted to horses of every age falls short of the por- 

 tion necessary for the very oldest, there is little apprehension 

 of any receiving too much. The perfect allowance for horsea 

 in health, of from five to fifteen years of age, would be fou* 

 hours a day — two in the early morning, and two in the after 

 noon: but as it requires an extensive stable establishment 

 »to carry this plan into effect, especially where there are many 

 horses kept, it will be more to our purpose to consider the 

 smallest possible quantify with which we can hope to keep 

 cur horses' feet in a sound and healthy condition. This I 

 should put at two hours a day, — and a pitiful allowance it 

 undoubtedly is in a case where nature has dictated almost 

 constant movement : but so niggardly are horse-masters in 

 general of this most essential requisite, that they will scarcely 

 ever allow their horses more than from half to three-fourths 

 of an hour daily ; — and we find men, who are profuse in the 

 expensive luxuries of excessive feeding, clothing, and pam. 

 pering, turn wonderful economists in the inexpensive necessa- 

 ries of air and exercise. Trotting a horse to and fro upon a 

 hard road for half an hour, just to stretch his limbs and keep 

 them from swelling, is too frequently considered to be fully 

 sufficient exercise for the day : — and I verily believe, if men 

 could ride better, and horses' legs did not swell from long-con- 

 tinued confinement, many horses would never be exercised 

 at all beyond their positive work : — but most men are very 

 sensitive about the slightest appearance of swelling in theii 



