EXERCISE FOR HORSES 91 



to make theoretical statements in treating of this 

 subject, but to endeavor to give some practical 

 hints that may be of some use in the everyday 

 treatment of horses. It is not convenient to draw 

 a line of demarcation, in the treatment of this 

 subject, between exercise and work, though one 

 might be able to define the difference to suit one's 

 views. 



If one were asked to explain the effects of rea- 

 sonable work on a horse's system, one might 

 truthfully state that there is no healthy part of 

 his organism that is not beneficially affected by 

 it. Judicious work stimulates the appetite, pro- 

 motes digestion, encourages assimilation or the 

 conversion of food into nutritive material. It 

 not only has an important influence on these func- 

 tions already mentioned, but in a greater degree 

 it aids the various tissues of the animal to take 

 from the blood those elements required to restore 

 the loss which is going on all the time, and also 

 to promote their growth and development. Fur- 

 ther than that, it helps the system to get rid of 

 material that it has no further use for, and which, 

 if allowed to remain, will prove prejudicial to it. 



The casual observer will almost be able to de- 

 termine the change which takes place in a horse, 

 when not sufficiently worked, if he will give it a 

 little thought. If he is at all liberally fed, he will 

 not only retain his flesh, but will gain in weight. 



