MILITAEY HYGIENE 977 



to that in which they were exercised, by which means they 

 enter the paddock in almost a straight line. The watering 

 enclosure has, therefore, served as a reversing station. 



As soon as the horses of the first paddock have returned 

 to feed, those of the next are taken out to exercise and 

 water, and so on until all are disposed of. 



This procedure is carried out at daybreak, noon and after- 

 noon, the rest of the day being free for receiving, issuing, 

 and other routine work of the depot. The track is watered 

 if necessary after each exercise. 



This is the automatic system by which large bodies of 

 horses can be placed under absolutely hygienic conditions, 

 and made 'fit' by a system of exercise which is under 

 perfect control, while the sequence of exercise, watering, 

 and feeding cannot be upset, and is largely carried out by 

 the horses themselves. 



Everything in war must be capable of expansion. A 

 depot intended to hold, say, 1,000 horses must be capable 

 of dealing with 2,000, and our paddock of 250 now be- 

 comes one of 500. In such cases time is economized by 

 having the watering paddock to communicate with a shunt- 

 ing paddock (see Pig. 219), so that after watering, the first 

 250 animals can be directed into the shunting paddock, 

 where they wait until the next 250 are exercised and dealt 

 with, then the whole 500 are returned in one body, and the 

 next paddock started. 



The Crush. — In all these operations there is not even 

 a head-stall on the horses. Circumstances, however, may 

 necessitate the catching up of, say, 250 horses in any 

 paddock. The ordinary method is to herd them into a 

 ' mob,' to the infinite risk of their limbs and feet, especially 

 the coronets, and the destruction of the fence. Such a 

 process would take hours in the case of partly-handled 

 horses, and a very considerable time even with those that 

 are ' broken in.' 



The proper method of catching up these horses is by 

 means of a ' crush,' The simplest conception of a crush 

 is that it roughly resembles the funnel used for bottles. 



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