98 HUNTING. 



happens ? The gnats and flies are an unfailing pest, the 

 meadow is too often parched and sun-baked. On this surface 

 the horse is tormented till, after much stamping, he gallops 

 about on the hard ground and too probably lames himself. 

 He gets sadly out of condition, as a matter of course, and 

 requires extra care and a great deal of time to make him fit, 

 when at last he is taken up. There are many objections to 

 turning horses out. 



After a very hard season such treatment may at times be 

 advisable. As a rule the animal's box is the best place for 

 him. His shoes must be taken off, and abundance of good 

 litter is required, tan, sawdust, or some other material. If the 

 horse be left in his box, with his shoes removed, his food will 

 not, of course, be the same as that which he has in the hunting 

 season. Three times a day he may have green meat ; and 

 5 lbs. of oats, in two feeds, will be sufficient. AVhen August 

 comes, and his period of service is approaching, the green meat 

 must be discontinued. A dose of physic may first be given, 

 in the shape of a ball containing 4 drachms of aloes, or, in the 

 case of an animal of an exceptionally strong constitution, 

 5 drachms may be needed. Of oats 10 lbs. a day may then be 

 given, with a liberal allowance of hay cut into chaff. Long hay 

 is bad for the horse's wind, though all grooms are fond of 

 giving it, partly from ignorance of the fact, and partly, no doubt, 

 to save themselves trouble. Every day the horse should have 

 an hour and a half of walking exercise. In September — we 

 are assuming that the horse is not wanted for cub hunting, for 

 if he is he must be taken up and conditioned sooner — he should 

 be walked and trotted for three hours a day, and his allowance of 

 oats increased to 12 lbs. A handful of beans will be an agree- 

 able addition. A little meal may also occasionally be given. 

 In the Badminton stables a compound called Long's Reading 

 Feeding Meal, the manufacture of Mr. Long, a son of the 

 huntsman who was for so considerable a time connected with 

 these hounds, has been used with good results. If a horse be 

 a delicate feeder a little of this meal sprinkled on his corn will 



