338 STABLE ECONOMY. 



work constipates the bowels, which is easily obviated by a 

 bran-mash. 



Grooms are often in too great a hurry. Though the horse 

 should not eat till he has rested a few hours, he is none the 

 worse. There is no occasion for forcing food upon him, and 

 it is not always necessary to excite the appetite by cordials. 

 Gruel is very good, if the horse will take it himself; but it is 

 absurd to pour it into a stomach which can not digest it. The 

 very act of forcing it on him is particularly distressing, and it 

 should never be done. I know of no state of the body in 

 which it is ever proper to force food upon the horse. 



Cordials are sometimes useful after great exhaustion 

 Robust good-tempered horses rarely need them. Timid ner- 

 vous horses are a good deal agitated by fast work, and in 

 general they remain in a state of fretful excitement for a good 

 while after the work is over. These are much the better of 

 a cordial : a ball, not a drink. Draughts are annoying and 

 disgusting to the horse, though perhaps very palatable to the 

 groom. One ball is sufficient ; it may be given half-an-houi 

 after the horse' is dressed. Very often the horse needs noth- 

 ing but water to give him an appetite. 



Bedding. — A loose box is the best place for a tired horse. 

 It gives him choice of position, and he assumes that which is 

 most favorable to repose. It should be deeply littered over 

 all its length and breadth. When a stall must serve, it should 

 be the widest, the litter deep, and carried back farther than 

 usual. 



Pulling off the Shoes. — There are few cases in which 

 it is proper to remove the shoes, merely because the horse has 

 been doing much work. It is not an uncommon practice ; 

 but I believe it has had its origin in a theory or supposition 

 that the shoes act in much the same manner upon the horse's 

 feet that boots act upon those of his rider. The shoes of the 

 horse produce no general compression and no part is relieved 

 from painful pressure by removing them. If the feet be dis- 

 posed to founder, the soles flat, the shoes may be taken off, 

 but in any other case it is needless. A cold moist stopping 

 is of more use. 



The Day after Work should seldom be a day of absolute 

 repose. If the horse be in a loose box, he will have little oc- 

 casion for exercise, yet a walk of ten or fifteen minutes will 

 do him good. He may be a little stiff, his appetite may be 

 defective, or his legs may be swollen. Walking exercise, 

 particularly in company with a steady companion, is a gentle 



