FEEDING, EXERCISE, AND GROOMING. 269 



clinecj to drinlv much, aud often does not 

 drink so much in the tvventv-four hours, iis 

 one that is allowed to drink onlv twice a dav 

 as much ?is he pleases. As *he horse's allow- 

 ance of oats is increased, so should his exer- 

 cise -be ; and if this be properly managed, there 

 will be no absolute necessity for bleedino- or 

 medicine. It is necessary, however, to ob- 

 serve the horse carefully during the time we 

 -are increasing his allowance of oats, aiul di- 

 minishing that of carrots and bran; and if he 

 appear dull, or have a cough, however trifling, 

 it indicates an inflammatory disposition of the 

 body, and points out the propriety of moderate 

 bleeding, or a laxative. But under proper 

 management I do not think such symptoms 

 would ever take place, though they almost 

 always do when a horse is changed from grass 

 to a close stable and dry food too suddenly; 

 and in such cases both bleeding and purging 

 are indispensably requisite to prevent the oc- 

 currence of very serious diseases. It is from 

 this circumstance, perhaps, that the absurd 

 custom of giving exactly three stro*ig doses of 

 physic, as a necessary preparative, took its 

 origin. When a horse has been taken from 

 grass about a week, I think it advisable to 



