FEEDING. 93 



often renew old sprains of the legs and slioulders, thus 

 rendering them incurable — the horse coming home to the 

 stable worse than when put in the pasture. 



In our experience of many years in the pasturing of horses, 

 we cannot recall to memory a single instance of the return 

 of a city or stall-fed horse, in anything like the good condi- 

 tion it had when taken from the stable. Some of the more 

 spirited were lame, more badly blemished about the body 

 or legs, others glandered from contagion. Some had 

 been used without authority in the work of an avaricious 

 farmer; the shoulders and back being galled by the use of 

 badly-fitting harness, giving evidence of a hard task-master 

 or a cruel owner. Some horses ^ere drowned in ditches, 

 others had legs broken and had to be destroyed, and many 

 good animals were stolen and never recovered. With all 

 these drawbacks against pasturage for horses in the spring 

 of each and every year, we cannot deny that the young 

 and early grass is the very best of both food and medicine 

 to the trained and domesticated horse of all our large cities. 

 But how is this to be allowed in the face of all risks to life, 

 limb, and the change of hands without permission or an 

 equivalent ? Seek out an honest farmer, with ample accom- 

 modations, fields well watered, good fences, ground not too 

 high and dry, and where no other horses are taken to pas- 

 ture, a good distance from a city or large town, and not 

 convenient to the public highway. These precautions are 

 necessary to safety from abuse, accidents from kicks from 

 other horses; and the distance from cities, &c., together 



