326 STABLE ECONOMY. 



head still dives, but the horse goes no faster. He need not, 

 in all cases, be pulled up for this ; it may be sufficient to 

 slacken the pace for a few hundred yards, to go slower, until 

 he recover a little. The deep sight demands immediate re- 

 lief ; to continue longer at the same pace, even for no more 

 than two hundred yards, is attended with considerable risk. 

 The horse may be fairly over-marked. He may proceed a 

 short distance, but he ought to be held in if possible, or he 

 ought to stand quite still, which is the safer plan, until he re- 

 covers his wind. At work, circumstances may demand a 

 continuation of the pace, notwithstanding this sign of dis- 

 tress ; but, in training, the deep inspiration should stop it at 

 once. 



The severest exertion given to the horse in training is that 

 termed sweating. A certain distance is aimed at ; but the 

 groom generally knows pretty well how the horse will bear it 

 before he it is sent to it. He is previously tried in short gal- 

 lops, which are lengthened by degrees. Horses usually snort, 

 after performing a little smart work ; they clear the nostrils by 

 a sudden and forcible expiration. This act does not resemble 

 sneezing nor coughing. The nostrils play to and fro as the 

 air is expelled, and make a peculiar noise, which is well 

 enough expressed by the term snorting. It is quite volunta- 

 ry : sneezing and coughing are not. Many horses do it when 

 starting, but the groom attends to it particularly after a trial 

 gallop. Should the horse clear his nose almost the instant 

 he is pulled up, he has wind enough to go farther and faster 

 in his next gallop ; should a minute elapse ere he snorts, still 

 the pace and distance may be increased, but not much. In 

 the next trial, should the horse stand for two minutes without 

 snorting, his gallop has been severe enough for his condition, 

 and it may have been too much so. He does not snort till 

 his breathing is easy ; and the more he is un winded the more 

 time he takes to recover. It seems, however, that some 

 horses do not snort as soon as they recover freedom of breath- 

 ing. I have watched one for half an hour, after a severe run, 

 without noticing him clear the nostrils ; and 1 have repeated- 

 ly observed that, especially after long-continued exertion, the 

 horse does not snort for a good while after his breathing is 

 quite tranquil. 



The ground upon which exertion is given is a matter of some 

 conseqiionce. A hard stony surface injures the feet and the 

 legs, and a fall upon it is a serious affair. Deep ground, thai 

 in which the foot sinks, demands great exertion to get through 



