268 STABLE ECONOMY. 



The legs of fast-working horses often become tumid, shape > 

 less, tottering, bent at the knee, and straight at the pasterns. 

 These always improve at pasture, as, indeed, they do in the 

 stable, or loose box, when the horse is thrown out of work. 

 Grazing exercise does not appear to be unfavorable to their 

 restoration ; but when the knees are very much bent, the 

 horse is unfit for turning out ; he can not graze ; when his 

 head is down he is ready to fall upon his nose, and it costs 

 him much effort to maintain his equipoise. 



Young horses in good condition take a good deal of exer- 

 cise in playing with their companions. I have never known 

 any take too much. Some are sprained or otherwise injured, 

 in galloping or leaping ; but these are the accidents of pas- 

 turage, not the necessary concomitants. 



The Position of the Head in the act of grazing is un- 

 favorable to the return of blood from the brain, from the eyes, 

 from all parts of the head. Horses that have had staggers* 

 or bad eyes, those that have recently lost a jugular vein, and 

 those that have any disease about the head — strangles, for in- 

 stance — should not be sent to pasture. The disease becomes 

 worse, or if gone, it is apt to return. Even healthy horses 

 are liable to attacks on the brain when turned to grass, par- 

 ticularly when the weather is hot, and the herbage abundant. 

 I have not met with such cases, but they are somewhere on 

 record. 



It has been said that horses prefer feeding from the ground, 

 to feeding from the manger; but that is not true. Colts are 

 indifferent about it. They have always been accustomed to 

 grazing, and the act gives them no uneasiness. But horses 

 that have been more than a year in the stable, and especially 

 those that have been reined up in harness, often experience 

 considerable difficulty in grazing. The neck is rigid, and 

 the muscles which support the head are short. It is often 

 several weeks before an old coach-horse can graze with ease. 

 For the first two or three hours after turning out he seems to 

 manage tolerably well, but subsequently he gets wearied, and 

 may be seen in a ditch, feeding off the banks. He loses 

 flesh during the first two or three weeks, but afterward he ac- 

 quires greater facility in grazing. Some, however, do not. I 

 have known one or two remain out for a month, and require 

 to be taken home to prevent death by starvation. Very old 

 coach-horses that have short, stiff necks, should not be turned 



* Phrenitis or apoplexy. 



