IV] 



FEEDING, EXERCISE AND TRANSPORT 



47 



184. On reaching their destination horses will 

 be gradually brought back to their good condi- 

 tion by judicious feeding and exercise. If, how- 

 ever, the journey has been calm and the horses 

 have received good exercise and a good amount 

 of hard food, they will not have lost much in 

 condition ; but if they are in bad condition on 

 landing, several days will be required to allow 

 the horses to stretch their legs and to prevent 

 the risk of fever in the feet. Unshod horses that 

 have worn their feet down considerably should 

 not be shod for several days. It will take con- 

 siderable time to get these horses into condition, 

 and steady gradation must be adopted. 



185. Swimming Horses. A few remarks on 

 swimming may tend to relieve the horse of some 

 mistakes displayed in this art. The horse, 

 naturally, is a very powerful swimmer, and can 

 carry a man in the saddle if its mouth is not 

 interfered with. Horses are often afraid to enter 

 the water alone, and should in this case be 

 coaxed to go in after an old horse, and on no 

 account should it be driven in, which would 

 cause fear. The rider should be able to swim 

 himself, and when in three or four feet of water 

 he should slip off the back. Normally the saddle 

 and bit will not be on the horse, the bridoon-rein 

 alone being used, the rein being knotted to prevent 

 it becoming entangled in the horse's forelegs. 



Directly the horse commences to swim the 

 rider will swim or float by the side and hold on 

 to the mane just in front of the withers. With 

 some horses it is possible to swim behind the 



horse, holding on to the tail. The horse should 

 not be guided by the reins, which must be left 

 alone, and on no account must the rider hold on 

 to any part of the headgear, because he may pull 

 the horse's nostrils under the water and possibly 

 drown him, or at any rate frighten him. He 

 should be guided by splashing water against the 

 neck remote from the side he is required to go 

 towards. If the horse swims well towards its 

 destination the rider should merely float by the 

 side of him. 



Horses may be made to cross a river by being 

 led with a rope from a boat, in which case the 

 rope should be tied around the neck by a knot 

 that cannot possibly slip and strangle the horse. 

 Care must be taken not to pull the rope taut and 

 so run the risk of pulling the horse's nose under 

 water. Horses may be driven into the river and 

 kept from going up or down stream by ropes 

 stretched across ; horses should stand on the 

 opposite bank as a guide for those swimming. 

 Another method is the use of the endless rope 

 that is rotated from both banks, the horses being 

 attached at intervals to the rope, and thus 

 gradually led across the water. This method is 

 a rapid one once the rope has been stretched 

 across. It should be remembered that when a 

 horse is in the water he cannot see very far 

 ahead of him, as his eyes are near the surface 

 of the water, so he may not be able to see the 

 opposite bank at all, and he may therefore com- 

 mence to swim in the easiest direction, which 

 will be down stream. 



