VICES AND DANGEROUS HABITS OF THE HORSE. 367 
Nothing can be more absurd than to clothe coach and 
post-horses in the stable, because when out of doors this 
cannot be done, and the consequence is, it renders them 
fxtremely susceptible to colds and inflammation. When 
horses are overheated and have occasion to stand any length 
of time in the street, it will be a very proper precaution to 
throw a cloth over their loins, but this will be only neces¬ 
sary in very cold weather. In summer it would be rather 
injurious than otherwise. 
But with horses that are used for riding, the greatest 
attention must be paid to prevent them being subjected to 
any sudden transition from heat to cold; and, as above 
noticed, good grooming is the best and surest preventive. 
We would recommend that all stables should be provided 
with a thermometer, so as to enable the groom to preserve, 
as far as possible, a uniform temperature. 
CHAPTER XV. 
VICES AND DANGEROUS HABITS OF THE HORSE. 
The horse is an animal of a noble and generous disposition, 
and naturally possessed of few vices, although he is occa¬ 
sionally met with having a bad and even furious temper, 
and, as may be expected, manifests great variety of natural 
habit. His vices, however, are too often attributable to the 
effects of improper training, and to tricks which he is taught 
by the bad treatment and folly of his groom or keeper. 
The first breaking-in of the horse should only be in¬ 
trusted to persons of mild dispositions, as it is by kind and 
