THE HORSE—GENERAL CARE. 227 
or when the horse has just been taken from pasture. Young horses should 
be given walking exercise two hours daily for the first month of training; 
during the second, be s/owly trotted, the speed being but gradually in- 
creased thereafter. One of the most prolific causes of disorders in the feet 
and breathing organs is the lack of regular exercise properly given, 
Horses in'steady and easy work are presumed to receive the best exercise. 
If only occasional extreme work is required, there is all the more demand 
for systematic training or exercise, as it hardens the muscles, and fits the 
horse for the severe strain put upon him. : 
The horse should not be taken out immediately after feeding, nor 
should he be put beyond a moderate foot-pace for at least a half-hour there- 
after. Then he may be quickened according to the demands upon him. 
Heating in exercise should be avoided, but if it be induced, the animal 
should be walked before returning to the stable, until he is cool. 
Feeding should always precede the exercise by at least a half-hour. 
The horse may then be taken out for an hour and a half in the forenoon 
and afternoon each, the hours to be chosen, according to the season, when 
it will not be excessively warm or cold. One of the commonest mistakes 
in the care of horses is blanketing immediately after the animal has entered 
the stable after hard driving or working. At such times vapor will rapidly 
rise for a few minutes and wet the blanket. As soon as it becomes cold 
the horse will be covered with a cold, wet coat, with no chance for an es- 
cape of the moisture, and thus almost surely be subjected to a chill. The 
proper course is to allow the steaming horse to stand for about ten minutes 
before putting on the blanket, thus giving an opportunity for a great part 
of the vapor to pass off. 
Curppinc.—This is both an injury to the horse and a folly of fashion. 
It is purely artificial and utterly unnecessary. Still more, it does not se- 
cure greater beauty, a better looking animal being secured by a reasonable 
care of the coat which nature has given. Indeed, a well-groomed coat 
produces a gloss for an unshorn horse that is superior to any artificial ap- 
pearance, while the exposure incident to clipping is apt to create disorders 
of the hair and skin that will make a revival of the natural beauty impossible. 
This practice should be studiously avoided, because it attains no advantage, 
and is highly injurious, if not cruel, especially in extreme weather. 
THE STABLE. 
It has been said that about 60° is the proper temperature of the stable 
as atule. In summer, however, the stable should be kept as cool as pos- 
sible, especially during the day. It is a mistaken idea that the temperature 
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