384 STABLE ROUTINE. 



should be mucked-out for the second time, and the bedding 

 arranged. His second complete grooming will take place on 

 his return from his afternoon walk, or just before his fourth 

 feed, according as he stays in or goes out in the afternoon. It 

 is safer, and no doubt more agreeable to the horse to have his 

 head-stall taken off for the night, than to have it left on. Any 

 dung or soiled litter that is seen at any time, should of course 

 be promptly removed. 



Supposing that a riding lad or groom has only one horse to 

 look after, that the stable is opened at 6 a.m., the horse is 

 exercised twice a day, and that the animal gets his last feed at 

 10 p.m., the average number of hours which the man would 

 have to work during the day would be about as follows : 



6 a.m. to 7 a.m. . . . . . . = I hour 



8 a.m. to i p.m. . . . . . . =5 hours 



2.45 p.m. to 5.15 p.m. . . . . . = 2\ hours 



10 p.m. to 10.15 p.m. .....= i hour 



Total = 8| hours. 



Considering that out of these eight and three-quarter 

 hours the man spends three and a half in pleasant riding, his 

 work cannot be regarded as unusually hard. If he has got 

 two horses to strap, he cannot be fairly expected to do any 

 afternoon exercise. 



If a horse is in a stall , I prefer to rack him up in the morn- 

 ing when he is waiting to go out, than to put him on the 

 pillar reins, which is a position that is irksome to his mouth. 

 In this case it would be better to delay saddling him until his 

 lad has returned from his breakfast ; because turning a saddled 

 horse round in a stall is apt to open out the points of the 

 trees, and consequently to spoil the saddle. 



It often happens that a trainer has more horses to exercise 

 than lads to ride them, in which case he will usually divide 

 the animals into two batches ; the first to be taken out in the 

 early morning, and the second to be worked after the first lot 



