334 STABLE ECONOMY. 



neglected, or shoeing bad, a slower pace and a shorter dis- 

 tance will do the mischief; bur I believe there is nothing in 

 the world will make a horse groggy, except driving him far 

 enough and fast enough to alter the synovial secretion of the 

 navicular joint. Cart-horses are quite exempt; horses work- 

 ing in the omnibuses about Glasgow, always on the stones, 

 and often at ten miles an hour, but never more than a mile 

 without stopping, are nearly exempt. The horses most liable 

 are those which work long and fast stages. 



I can not pursue the subject in this treatise. I mention it 

 as one of the evils of excessive work. When many horses 

 become groggy, the stages should be shortened, divided into 

 two, even though no more than one hour can be allowed for 

 rest between them. Founder is sometimes, though very rare- 

 ly, the result of excessive work ; but in most, if not in every 

 case, there is also some error in feeding or watering in opera- 

 tion at same time. 



Though I have spoken individually of the evils arising from 

 excess of work, it must not be sup})Osed that they always exist 

 separately. One horse may merely lose flesh ; another may 

 become stiff; a third stale on his legs ; and a fourth may suf- 

 fer only in his feet. But it most frequently happens that the 

 horse is affected in more ways than one. In general, emacia- 

 tion, stiffness, and staleness of the legs, go together. 



For some kinds of work the horse can be kept in condition 

 all his life. But the fastest kinds can be performed only for 

 a small portion of a lifetime. Coaching-horses are worn out 

 in from three to four years. I have known some last upward 

 of ten, but these were exceptions. Hunters and racers would 

 be done much sooner, were their work as uninterrupted. The 

 legs decay, however good the body may remain, and long be- 

 fore old age arrives. If it be desirable, as in the case of 

 hunters it is, to preserve the horse till age impairs his powers, 

 he must be put out of work always before his legs are irrepar- 

 ably injured, and kept idle, or at some easier work, till they 

 regain primitive soundness. 



Before the close of their working season, hunters and racers 

 are often sensibly impaired. Some are stiff, some lean, some 

 gourdy-legged. Should any of these signs appear long be- 

 fore the end of the season, it may be necessary to rest the 

 horse for a while in order to refresh him. Carrots or green 

 food may be given with the grain. Physics or alteratives may 

 be useful, and directions are given concerning them in another 

 section. Exercise should not be neglected, nor given in ex- 



