304 STABLE ECONOMY 



words length and stoutness are used for endurance. These 

 three properties are common to all horses, but they exist in 

 various degrees of combination. The age, breed, formation, 

 and condition, exercise great influence upon them.* Young 

 horses generally have more speed than stoutness : at, and af- 

 ter maturity, stoutness is in greater perfection than speed. 

 What are termed thorough-bred horses have speed, strength, 

 and endurance, more of each in combination than any other 

 breed. It would require a long chapter to consider all that 

 might be said in connexion with formation ; I pass it over, 

 only observing that large, long-striding horses generall}- have 

 more speed, but less endurance, than lower compact horses. 

 The formation has a great deal to do with strength, and there- 

 fore this property is less under the influence of training than 

 the others are. Training does not enable the horse to carry 

 or draw much more than he can naturally, when in good 

 health and spirits ; but it enables him to carry a given weight 

 farther and faster. The condition of the horse is the last cir- 

 cumstance I mention, as influencing his working properties. 

 This is a matter of great importance. A horse, say a race- 

 horse, may be of the right age, his pedigree may have no stain, 

 and his formation no fault; he may be in perfect health, sound 

 in wind and limb, but notwithstanding all this, the horse may 

 be in a very bad condition ; that is, for running a race. He 

 may have too much carcass, he may have too much flc^h 

 about him, he may be short-winded, and his muscles may be 

 unfit for protracted exertion. To put these into that state 

 which experience has proved the best for a particular kind of 

 work, forms the business of training, conditioning, seasoning. 

 Before considering all the agents and processes employed by 

 the trainer, I would make a few remarks upon the size of the 

 oelly, the state of the muscles, the state of the breathing, and 

 the quantity of flesh. 



Size of the Belly. — Horses that are fed on bulky food, and 

 those that are very fat, have a large belly. In one, its size 

 is produced entirely by the contents of the intestines ; they 

 may be laden with grass, hay, straw, or other food, of which 

 much must be eaten to furnish the required amount of nutri- 

 ment, and there is always a good deal of water along with 

 this coarse food. One dose of physic, or at the most two 

 doses, will empty the bowels. In another case the size of 

 the belly arises from an accumulation of fat inside. This is 



* There are some others, particularly the temper and the state of the 

 legs. 



