38 Hor.sES AXD HOon)S. 



a fellow feeling for the poor animals which have the misfortune 

 to be placed under their care. 



Next in order to proper feeding comes dressing and grooming; 

 and here there is a very wide field for the exercise of every 

 description of assistants to manual labour, from the besom to the 

 flesh-brush, the usual practice in these clays being to dispense 

 with as much bodily exertion as possible. I have seen horses 

 taken frequently out of the stable, reeking hot, stripped of the 

 saddle at once, and tied out in the open air to get dry, whilst 

 their feet are being washed, or the besom perliaps applied to their 

 legs, to brush the dirt off. This is one way to save trouble, at 

 the risk of endangering the horse's life ; and I have known some 

 quietly disposed men allow their grooms to palm such a gross 

 and palpable act of idleness and ca,relessness off upon them, as 

 productive of no evil consequences to the horse, with the cool 

 remark, " Oh, I suppose my groom knows his business !" Know- 

 ing a man's business and ching it are not quite the same thing 

 yet, but some men would believe the moon made of green cheese, 

 rather than take the trouble to inquire " why and how." If a 

 man, after running a race, was suddenly strii)ped of all his 

 clothes, with the perspiration running out of every pore in his 

 skin, the probability is that he would catch his death from 

 cold ; and why should a horse be exempt from the like conse- 

 quence ? simply, I suppose, because he happens to be a horse, 

 and his master an ass ! There can be no other reason ; cause 

 and effect generally go hand in hand with all animals whose 

 skins are porous, from the biped to the quadruped. 



It is not necessary for every man who can buy and keep a 

 horse to possess the knowledge of a veterinary surgeon, or even 

 make such an attempt ; but if he will treat his liorse pretty 

 much after the same fashion as he treats himself, supposing 

 him to be a man of moderate habits, he cannot err very far from 

 the mark. Before breakfast he will feel himself more light and 

 fit for a run, if so 'disposed, or a smart walk in the open fields ; 

 he will then be ready for his breakfast, and eat it with avidity. 

 After this repast he will not feel quite fit for a race, until he 

 has digested his food, and perhaps his paper; but in an hour's 

 time he will be all right to go through his day's work, beginning 

 with moderation. Every man sliould bear in mind the old 

 doggrel lines which, I suppose, it is almost unnecessary to repeat, 

 " Up the hill spare me, down the hill bear me, on the flat never 

 fear me." They are rendered also in other words to the same 

 effect ; " Up the hill force me not, down the hill drive me not, 

 on the level spare me not." That is, taking it for granted that 

 the horse is fit to go, as he could scarcely have been supposed , 



