2 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA. 



this important principle is afforded by the fact, that 

 however powerful the noonday sun may be, and 

 however fiercely the hot wind may blow, neither man 

 nor beast will suffer much from the high temperature, 

 when out in the open, if they be under the shade -of a 

 tree with thick foliage. But if, on the contrary, the 

 current of air be impeded by a wall, screen, or other 

 object, the distressing effects of the heat will be felt in 

 a moment. Stagnation of air, in most cases, is the 

 cause of the many instances of fever which occur during 

 the hot weather, especially in large cities like Calcutta, 

 where houses are crowded together. I have seen, on 

 different occasions, horses that were almost dying from 

 the effects of heat in stables situated on low and con- 

 fined positions, recover their condition and health, in a 

 very few days, after being removed to others on high 

 and airy ground. 



I have tried the experiment of keeping a race-horse 

 in my own house during the hot weather ; but he 

 suffered far more, even under a punkah, from the 

 confined atmosphere inside, than he had done in his 

 stable, which was many degrees hotter, but which had a 

 free current of air through it. 



If valuable horses be kept during the hot months in 

 the plains, punkahs may be used with advantage. If 

 they cannot be conveniently fixed, and the horses feel 

 the heat much, a couple of coolies may be told off to 

 each animal, to keep him cool during the mid-day heat 

 with a Jarge hand-punkah. 



I have always found that, when proper precautions 

 have been adopted, horses, in dry climates, such as 

 those of the North-West, Oudh, and the Punjab, have 



