a walk into a trot. It is from this stiffen- 

 ing of the muscles that a horse really grows 

 old, and if the muscles are restored by an 

 annual vacation the useful life of the horse 

 will be extended to an astonishing degree. 



A VACATION AT HOME 



Many stables, especially truck-horse 

 stables, are so situated that a horse can lie 

 given a very good vacation without send- 

 ing him away. That is, there is a yard 

 connected with the stable where the horse 

 can be turned loose in fine weather, with 

 his shoes off. His feed should, of course, 

 be changed to meet the changed condition 

 of his life. His oats should be reduced at 

 least one-half, but always according to the 

 age of the horse, and plenty of bran should 

 be given to him, with carrots, turnips and 

 other vegetables, and, if possible, some 

 grass, now and then, sent in from neigh- 

 boring farms. In this way the horse can 

 derive pretty nearly all the benefits of a 

 vacation in the country without the ex- 

 pense of sending him away, and without 

 separating him from his well-known and 

 beloved companions. 



A VACATION IN THE COUNTRY 



It is hardly necessary to say that the 

 greatest care should be taken in selecting 

 the farm where the horse is to be turned 

 out for a rest. Few farmers know how to 

 care for a horse, or will take any trouble 

 to make him comfortable. It must be 

 remembered, of course, that the city horse, 

 being used to high feed, cannot have all 

 his grain taken away from him, especially 

 if he be an old horse, without falling into 

 a worse condition than his former one. 

 Unless he is a young horse in rich pasturage, 

 he must receive some grain every day, and 

 the old horse will need a good deal, per- 

 haps one-half of his usual ration. 



Another thing to be looked out for is the 

 annoyance from flies and mosquitoes. 

 This is so great, except in farms situated 

 on high ground, that a horse, especially a 

 city horse, cannot be turned out all day or 



even all night in a pasture or field without 

 losing more than he would gain. In pas- 

 tures of northern New England, where the 

 land lies high and the nights are cool, 

 horses can be turned out day and night; 

 but within thirty or fifty miles of Boston, 

 in midsummer, there is hardly more than 

 an hour or so in the whole twenty-four 

 hours, when a horse can be turned out 

 without being driven almost crazy by flies 

 in the daytime and mosquitoes at night. 



VACATION BY PIECEMEAL 



One way of giving a horse a vacation 

 is to increase the number of horses at 

 work, for any firm or concern, so as to 

 permit each horse to lay off one day out 

 of the six working days, or to work half 

 a day only for one or more working days 

 in the week. For example, suppose a 

 given concern has work enough to keep 

 four three-hundred-dollar horses busy. Let 

 them add one horse to the equipment, so 

 that there will be five horses for the work. 

 This would relieve toil-worn legs and feet 

 and over-strained bodies and digestion, 

 would lessen somewhat the amount of 

 grain required for each horse, and would 

 greatly reduce the annual depreciation 

 in the value of each horse. In this way, 

 it is speaking within bounds to say, that 

 the working life of all the horses would 

 be prolonged from an average of six years 

 to an average of ten years. 



It should be remembered also that a 

 horse in good condition and spirits is far 

 more efficient, and will get over far more 

 ground in a day, than one that is jaded 

 or stiff from overwork; and besides, the 

 good, active horse tends to make the 

 driver a better and more efficient employee. 



Another consideration is the ad\ertising 

 value of a good horse in good condition and 

 spirits. This increases every year, and in 

 cities where work-horse parades are held 

 it increases very fast. Customers look 

 more and more at the horse used, directly 

 or indirectly, in supplying their wants, 

 and a fine horse gives an appearance of 

 success and up-to-dateness that is worth 

 much more than it costs. 



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