PRACTICE OF FEEDING. 259 



hounds after a summer's run, as well as by keeping him in 

 the stable, there could not, I think, be any reason for keeping 

 him at home. This could be done, but it would require more 

 care, and the cost would be as great as if the horse were kept 

 entirely in the stable. 



Nimrod's Mode of Summering Hunters. — This gentleman, 

 whose real name is Apperley, has acquired considerable ce- 

 lebrity in the sporting world by his writings in favor of home 

 summering. He was the first to introduce the system which 

 bears his assumed name. His remarks were originally pub- 

 lished in the Sporting Magazine, between 1822 and 1828. 

 They formed a series of letters, which have recently been 

 collected into a single volume ; from this I extract the follow- 

 ing account of the mode in which he kept six hunters during 

 the summer of 1825. The quotation is considerably abridged. 



Food. — The horses had received alteratives during the 

 hunting season, and required no physic when it terminated, 

 which was on the 20th of April. They got their usual food, 

 with very gentle exercise, till the 7th of May — seventeen 

 days. From this time till the 19th — that is, for twelve days 

 — they received some grass during the day, and hay at night. 

 They were soiled a second time for ten days, from the 11th 

 to the 20th of June. They were then prepared for physic, 

 which was given on the 22d. Four of the six horses got no 

 more grass. The other two got about an armful of vetches 

 daily, mixed with their hay, till the sixth of July. Each 

 horse had three quarterns* of oats per day, and three had a 

 single handful of beans in every feed. 



Care of the Feet. — The shoes were taken from all the hor- 

 ses on the 7th of May ; the hoofs were closely pared, the 

 soles thinned, and frogs let down to the ground. The horses 

 stood barefoot till the 6th of July, a period of sixty days 

 Each stood two hours every day in a clay-box, a building ten 

 feet by twelve, the floor of which was covered with clay, oc- 

 casionally moistened by dashing water upon it. 



Lodging. — Nos. 1 and 2 were in a building sixteen yards 

 by six. It was well littered, and had an outlet to a small 

 green yard, in which there was a running stream. No. 3 

 was in a covered building, twelve yards long and six broad. 

 One half of the floor was littered, the other half paved with 

 brick. No. 4 was in a loose box, six yards square, kept 

 quite dark to exclude flies, of which the horse was uncom- 

 monly terrified He was turned into a paddock forty yards 

 * A quartern is the fourth of a peck. 



