60 Stable Servants and 



placed by fresh as soon as he is dry ; but in winter, and if 

 it be cold, he must be washed in the stable, and a suit of 

 warm clothing put on until he is dry, when it must be 

 changed. By this means the horse will be got fresh and 

 comfortable in a much shorter time and with less fatigue 

 to himself than if the dirt and sweat were removed in any 

 other way and he was rubbed dry. 



At seven o'clock, the horses that have not been out or 

 done but little work may again have their clothing removed 

 and be wiped over, which must not be done when the horse 

 is tired with work and has been once made fresh. They 

 may then be fed, their heads let down, and the stable 

 closed for the night. 



Feeding in the Stable and out. — The food upon 

 which the horse is fed in Great Britain, in almost all cases, 

 consists of hay or green meat as the staple, together with 

 the addition of one or more of the following articles — 

 namely, oats, bran, beans, carrots, turnips, or potatoes. 

 Barley is only given to farming horses in this country, 

 though abroad it is very commonly substituted for oats ; as 

 green food, common grass, vetches, Lucerne, and rye (com- 

 mon or Italian) are generally given. When green food is 

 used in the stable it is called soiling the horse, and when 

 given in the fields, turning him out to grass. 



The hay given to horses at fast work, whether on the 

 road or for hunting, should be in all cases of upland 

 quality. Meadow or clover-hay is only fit for cart horses, 

 which require a considerable quantity of fatty matter, and 

 do not sweat to any great extent, nor is their wind tried 

 as in fast work. Green hay is not good, there being less 

 nourishment in it than in properly fermented, and therefore 

 brown, hay ; and though it does not prove that the hay 

 is new, as is very commonly supposed, yet it is not nearly 

 so wholesome as the brown variety, provided it is not 

 mouldy or burnt from over-heating. Hay should be cut 

 from the inside of a large rick, at least one year old, and 

 should be very sweet and fragrant : it is better tied together 

 in trusses, which are in most counties 56 lb. each, so that 

 the weight of a load is easily estimated by counting them. 

 Not more than two or three months' consumption should 



