xviii PREFACE. 



about the horse, his breeding and origin, etc., and 

 a great deal of what may be termed veterinary 

 information, the latter often very old-fashioned and 

 well-nigh obsolete ; but there is a want of useful 

 explanation requisite for a person who is utterly 

 ignorant of such matters, and by which the daily 

 routine of ordinary stable management should be 

 carried on, as well, I may add, as the why and the 

 wherefore for such routine — why such a thing is the 

 right way, and such the wrong. 



It is for this class of persons — the altogether 

 ignorant, those who know absolutely nothing about 

 horses and stables — that I desire to write, and to 

 impart the information which I consider that the 

 experience of a lifetime spent amongst horses, in- 

 cluding many years of service in an English 

 cavalry regiment, coupled with an ever-earnest 

 desire to gather and store up all knowledge 

 regarding the management of the animal I love 

 so well, entitle me to offer for their help and 

 guidance. 



Every true Englishman loves a horse, even if he 

 knows no more about him than he does about a 

 kangaroo, and but few of our countrymen can 

 gaze on a handsome horse without admiration ; 

 and if questioned and answering truthfully regard- 

 ing his knowledge of horses, would, if ignorant, 



