362 STABLE ECONOMY. 



EIGHTH CHAPTER. 



MANAGEMENT OF DISEASED AND DEFECTIVE HORSES 



Young Horses are not at full strength till they are nearly 

 five years old. At fast work they require careful shoeing to 

 prevent cutting, careful stable-management to prevent the 

 evils arising from changes of temperature, to which they are 

 more liable than mature horses. They are not fit for full 

 work, but they require good feeding for what they do. 



Old Horses, those above ten or twelve, are rarely fit for 

 long stages. They are soon exhausted. They need full 

 feeding ; and some, having bad teeth, need to have muck of 

 their food broken or cooked. 



Defective Fore Legs last longest in harness, and in the lead ; 

 but when the horse is apt to fall, when he is a notorious 

 stumbler, he is better in the wheel. The other horse helps 

 to keep him on his feet. 



Roarers do most work when their work is slow. Some 

 can not go above five miles an hour : and many can not go 

 more than four miles, when the pace is near eight per hour. 

 Some do better on one side of a coach than on another. The 

 head should not be confined by the bearing-rein, and the 

 throat-lash should be loose. Time must be given in up-hill 

 work, otherwise the roarer may choke and fall. He should 

 work with little food in the belly ; the first mile is sometimes 

 the worst with him ; a slower pace for the next half mile en- 

 ables him to finish the remainder with less distress than when 

 he is pushed from the start. 



Chronic Cough, that is, a settled cough, is very common 

 among fast-workers. It is most frequent when the horse is 

 taken from the stable, when he returns to it, and after drinking 

 and feeding. There is no cure. Occasionally a mild dose 

 of physic ; and after severe work, or much exposure in bad 



