HO IV TO PRE VENT MUD FE VER. 259 



get it.' On my inquiring further on the subject, 

 he gave me the following advice : ' Never wash a 

 horse's legs when he comes in from hunting. Dry 

 them as well as you can, and brush every particle 

 of dirt you can off them ; then bandage them. An 

 hour or so afterwards remove the bandages, and 

 again brush and clean them. Put on fresh bandages, 

 and the next day, after another good grooming, you 

 may, if you like, then wash them. Should a horse 

 come in very early from hunting, his legs may be 

 washed, but not for several hours after, and after 

 they have been dried and bandaged, as I have 

 described ; and even under these circumstances it is 

 better not to wash them the same day.' 



I followed his advice, and have never but once 

 since then ever had the slightest touch of mud fever 

 in my stable, and that once was when my groom 

 confessed to me that he had disregarded my orders, 

 and had washed the legs after hunting, and he 

 added, ' I will never do it again ' — a promise he 

 very faithfully kept. 



Whatever mud fever may be said to proceed 

 from — and all sorts of causes have, as I have said, 

 been assigned for it — the above is the way to 

 prevent it, and it is simple enough. I could say a 

 ^great deal more regarding it, but I do not think 

 anything further than this is necessary, nor do I 



17 — 2 



