THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID First-Hand Bits of Stable Lore First-Hand Bits of Stable ^ore By Francis M. Ware Illustrated from Photographs Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1903 Copyright, 1902, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. All rights reserved Published December, 1902 UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. PREFACE THESE chapters, except that on "Man- agement of a Pack of Hounds," appeared originally in the " Boston Transcript ; " the chapter named, in the magazine Coach and Saddle, Chicago, 111., of which the author is the editor. The pictures are from photographs taken by Messrs. W. P. Robertson, 738 Eighth Avenue, New York, and Messrs. Schreiber & Son, Phila- delphia, Pa. The chapters epitomize thirty years' active per- sonal experience with every kind of horse for every conceivable purpose, and the deductions drawn are in no sense theoretical. Such a book would have greatly helped the author when he began as a youngster, and it is his earnest hope that it may prove of use to others. FRANCIS M. WARE. M363034 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. HORSE BUYING AND HORSE TRYING .... I II. As TO "SOUNDNESS" 22 III. STABLING AND STABLES 33 IV. STABLE MANAGEMENT 47 V. CONDITION AND CONDITIONING 60 VI. THE "GREEN" OR UNACCLIMATED HORSE AND His CARE 73 VII. THE HORSE'S EDUCATION 81 VIII. MOUTHS AND MANNERS 99 IX. THE FOOT AND ITS TREATMENT 115 X. THE APPOINTMENT FAD » % 125 XI. THE SADDLE-HORSE 140 XII. THE HUNTER AND His EDUCATION .... 159 XIII. THE STEEPLECHASER AND His SCHOOLING . . 180 XIV. RIDING FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN .... 197 XV. FOUR-IN-HAND DRIVING . , 211 vii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVI. COACHING AND ITS ACCOMPANIMENTS . . . 230 XVII. MANAGEMENT OF A PACK OF HOUNDS . . . 251 XVIII. SHOWING HORSES 288 Vlll ILL USr RATIONS At Exercise Frontispiece For Road Work Page 2 Mr. Reginald Vanderbilt and his runabout pair. A Smooth Pebble ,,22 For Town or Park „ 34. Mr. A. A. Hausman's Royal Swell. A Capital Phaeton Pair ,,48 Mrs. John Gerken driving Brandon and Belmar. Worth Schooling ,, 60 Just from the Country ,,74 Even All-round Action ,,82 Mr. G. B. Hulme and his prize winner. Perfect Manners ,, 98 Mr. R. F. Carman and a prize winner. My Daughter's Saddle-Horse ,,114 Mrs. John Gerken' s My Lady Dainty. Neatly Appointed ,,126 Mr. Herbert Coppell's carriage and pair. A Weight Carrier ,,140 H. L. de Bussigny riding, ix ILLUSTRATIONS Good Form Pa£e l6° Mr. J. Trowbridge Martin jumping Samoset. A Steeplechase Type „ 1 80 On Good Terms » J98 Mrs. H. H. Good riding Thyra. Fourteen Miles an Hour ,,212 Mr. Alfred G. Vanderbilt and his four. "Coach, Gentlemen!" » 23° The Good Times Coach. " Pack up ! all of yer ! " „ 252 Pennbrook Hounds. Good Types ,,288 The Gig Class at Bay Shore Horse Show. FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE Chapter I HORSE BUYING AND HORSE TRYING SOONER or later there awakens in the breast of every wholesome and normal man the desire to own a horse, and, that flame once kindled, there is nothing which will assuage it, should Fortune prove ordinarily urbane, but the delights — and the disasters — of ownership. To " witch the world with noble horsemanship" has been the ambition of many an unsung hero, even as in the days of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, and of Alexander; and the agility, the decision of character, the patience, and the courage such pursuits develop are invariably the strongest arguments in their favor. As we teach our chil- dren to read and to write, so should we thoroughly instruct them in the best methods of equestrianism, watermanship, marksmanship, etc. ; and better far 1 i FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE is he equipped who is au fait in such accomplish- ments— with some thoroughly comprehended trade to fall back upon if necessary — than the young men who are annually turned forth in thousands from our colleges with nothing but a " sheepskin " to cover their nakedness, and left trembling upon the threshold of a destiny with which their average collegiate acquirements have but illy fitted them to cope. That courses in such matters are not open to the pupils of our universities is matter for comment and reflection, as is the fact that modern languages have, in com- parison with the ancient, until recently formed but an insignificant portion of the preliminary require- ments and regular curriculum. Given the ambition to own a horse, and the question of "means" affirmatively answered, the obstacle of " ways " remains ; and many a Mr. Neophyte has found, or fancied, this an insur- mountable obstacle. Generally recourse is had to Uncle John, whom family tradition has handed down as a combination of the serpent and the hawk in matters equine ; Cousin Will also knows a man who is on terms of friendship with another man who keeps several horses, and is therefore an expert; grandma, according to the fairy-tales HORSE BUYING AND TRYING recited at family reunions on Thanksgiving and Christmas, was a regular daredevil in her salad days, and still has fancies for the flowing tails and arching necks that used to look so well on sofa cushion and sampler ; the news spreads through- out the family that Henry is about to buy a horse, and accordingly Henry, after much reflection as to how that act will affect him with regard to his business associates and social intimates, prepares for the fatal plunge. Right here is where Mr. Neophyte accumulates a cargo of trouble that would stagger a dromedary if he does not, once and forever, cast grandmas, aunts, cousins, friends and all, into the outer dark- ness. A man's wife and his horse are two acquisitions which he must choose for himself; and he who tries to please every one will end by displeasing them as well as himself. He will have been told blood- curdlingtales of the duplicity and chicanery of horse- dealers, and of the treacherous and evil disposition of horses ; and he enters upon his quest with much the same feeling that surges in the breast of a twentieth-century society girl on her first slumming expedition, — prepared to be dreadfully shocked, and finally disappointed that the incidents and surroundings are common-place after all. 3 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE The process of buying a satisfactory horse is so very simple that it is most extraordinary that no one, or practically no one, follows it. If you want a set of furniture you go to a store ; look over the goods, ask the prices, select your arti- cles, and pay for them ; you do the same thing with all the necessaries and luxuries of life, save and except when it comes to the purchase of a horse. You do not insult the furniture dealer by asking idiotic questions about things of which you know nothing and he knows you know nothing ; if he says that this wood is mahogany, and that bruise came from an accident in unpacking, you accept his statement ; you do not look at him with the " icy eye of suspicion," as one who would say, " Great Scott ! what a monumental liar is this ! " nor, when he has named his price, do you offer him fifty per cent thereof, and insinuate that he is a scoundrel and a pirate for not jumping at it. In short you "go shopping" for horses as you do for no other commodity, and if you " get stuck " you are, in nine cases out of ten, obtain- ing your just deserts. If you want to buy a horse go to any dealer — you can't go wrong, general opinions to the con- trary— treat him like a man, and be sure he will 4 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING reciprocate, be he Jew or Gentile, " Gyp " or genuine. Say to him, " I want a horse for such and such purposes, and place myself absolutely in your hands, save that I shall have a veteri- narian to decide whether the animal is practically sound, and reasonably likely to remain so in the work for which I intend him. I know absolutely nothing about horses " (it will cost you a struggle to acknowledge this, but never mind, it 's no secret, for the dealer knew it the moment you walked into the yard, and he will think a lot of you for being man enough to acknowledge what to him was perfectly plain) , " and shall be guided by you not only in the selection, but in the subsequent treatment of my purchase. I expect a frank description of all my acquisition's shortcomings, that I may allow for them." Now, if that dealer can fit you out, be sure he will do it to the very best of his ability, and take pride in so doing. On the other hand, if you take Uncle John along, that worthy old gentleman hops around the beast produced for his inspection, like an old crow around a bone, and makes occasional verbal pecks in this fashion: " Six years, hey? Had his mouth fixed, likely. I '11 bet he won't see ten again. What's that on his off hock? Nothing! D'ye 5 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE call that hock smooth? Isn't he over a little mite on that knee? Eyes look kinder blinky. Sure he ain't moon-eyed, hey ? Don't kick, does he ? Looks kinder mean. Well, hitch him up, and if he don't balk, and ain't much scared of 'lectrics, why, Henry, we '11 drive him up to the house and see what grandma and Mr. Brown and the folks think." Now what is a dealer to do with people like that? What would you do yourself to a man who thus maligned a horse you knew to be absolutely all right; a man who, you could tell the moment you saw him, didn't know a horse-car from a car-horse, and was simply handing out a lot of drivel which he had acquired at second-hand, and with which he was trying to impress you. Every word was a covert insult; every look a slap in the face; and as human nature is weak and prone to err, we must not blame the dealer if he occasionally is tried too far, and hands back to the Uncle Johns (who are so prevalent) " what is coming to him, and good and plenty," as Westerners would say. Remember that, as a class, horse-dealers are as reputable as any business men. Investigation will prove that while there are in our penal insti- tutions numerous black sheep of all trades, busi- 6 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING nesses, and professions, there are precious few horsemen. Respect decent men, and let them see that you do. You will, perhaps, afford them an agreeable and a novel sensation. Once you have taken the dealer's word and completed the transaction, do not expect that, because of the wisdom of your adviser, or through your own preternatural sagacity, your $250 horse is worth at least $500. One's geese may be swans, but whatever price you paid, it was full value, and the dealer would tell you so if you asked him. He is no Santa Claus, nor is he in business for health any more than you pursue your own avo- cation for the ozone that may be in it. He got full value, or you would n't have got the horse, and upon his always doing so depends his ability to eat porter-house steak whenever his appetite impels. You got fair value for your money, and that, reader mine, is about all we can ever expect, in this vale of tears, from anybody. One thing more and we will be moving. When you get ready to sell, don't, for pity's sake, be you novice or expert, imagine that you can use a horse from three to ten years, and then get for him more than you paid originally. A $60 suit of clothes sells for $2 after one year's wear. Why 7 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE must a horse that cost $250 stand five years* hard usage and then bring $300, or the man that you bought him of be held up as a rogue forever more ? When you do get ready to sell him, never under- take to give warranty, which perhaps you do with the best intentions, and then take refuge behind your ignorance, which then (and only then) you are willing to frankly acknowledge. If you could see the debit accounts on the books of every dealer in the business chargeable to the screws he has bought or "traded for" (unseen) from his customers, whose representations (generally most flowery) are rarely anywhere near accurate ! The horse to buy is the animal that fills the eye ; in other words, if you like a horse and his qualities seem satisfactory, buy him, and results will almost certainly prove likewise. We have several good show ring judges who select their winners practically on these lines, and to general satisfaction. Distrust the sunken eye, and the head narrow and prominent between the eyes — that horse may not be vicious, but he is peculiar and probably crochetty — perhaps "a good 'un w'en yer knows 'im, but yer got ter know 'im fust." Lop ears are a disfigurement; jaws that seem narrow, and necks that are thick are a likely HORSE BUYING AND TRYING combination, after some sickness, to afford you a thick-winded horse. Buy a horse largely "on his face," as you trust a man, — his character is there if you can read it, as you may if you will try. A thick and heavy shoulder is rather " har- nessy," yet excellent saddle horses and hunters are that way built — in fact, for saddle and jump- ing purposes we have for generations been con- sidering the wrong end of the horse. Well- developed withers are desirable, especially for a lady's hack, but never forget that your ride, your ease and comfort, come from the other end, as we shall see later. As to legs and feet, never mind measurements below the knee and around the arm, for horses work on for years on legs that are all out of proportion, and the best looking limbs and feet go wrong in no time. Therefore, if you like the looks of him, go ahead, no matter what anybody says ; buy him, if he 's reasonably sound, but don't let the veterinary, as he is prone to do, attempt to predict what may happen after you have owned him six years. You '11 all be in luck if any of you are alive then. Walk him and trot him (in hand) to and from you ; if he does n't stand straight and move straight, if he "wings" or "dishes," as he certainly will if he is not 9 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE true on his joints, don't have him, and give the dealer the reason, — that is one thing you can see and judge for yourself. Of course the only probable result is that he may have to wear boots somewhere, but moderate-priced horses are too plenty to make it necessary to bother with the crooked-legged sort. At " bargain-counter " rates the aspect changes, but the #3.98 horse (marked up from $2.37) is better left to the expert (if there are any such individuals). " Real old English " prints give us short back, rare loins, deep ribs, long quarters, great stifles, and second thighs, and all that ; English sporting prose and verse record their virtues and extol their necessity, and the result would be as vastly edifying as desirable were it not for the fact that, so far as actual im- portance goes, every one of these much-lauded points is not only non-essential, but practically of little value ! A short back is becoming, is grace- ful, is acceptable, but many of our best horses — racing, chasing, saddling, trotting, driving, and weight-carrying — have been as long as a street in the back, as slack as a hammock in the loin, as shallow in back-rib (not front, or round chest) as a soup-plate, as short in the quarters as a Jersey yearling, and as narrow and undeveloped 10 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING in second thighs as a hound pup ; in fact not a few breeders of thoroughbreds maintain that this latter characteristic is essential to the race horse, and Hanover and imported Meddler were both entirely wanting in any development there. A tail, well set and gaily carried, is attractive and generally evidence of good courage, yet beware the tail that is carried to one side, for it is almost an infallible signal of an existing weakness of structure somewhere in the anatomy of that side, which may have developed, may be developing, or may never develop, but probably will. The drooping quarter and low-set tail are generally indications that a horse is quick on his feet, and will jump well, so that, in race horse or hunter, this formation is rather desirable. The horse whose hocks are set in will not improbably inter- fere, over-reach, or " cross-fire; " that is, overreach on to the opposite forefoot. Your veterinary will tell you if he has done any or all of these things, or if he is shod to correct or prevent them ; as also whether his teeth show marks of cribbing, his jugular vein has been interfered with by bleeding, etc. On all such matters be guided by him. Above all things get the bugbear of actual soundness out of your head, and be satisfied with n FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE the practical, for that 's all you can get, anyway. No horse is absolutely sound, so why bother? And if he could be, and you used him hard enough and long enough, he would not remain so. The fact that your bookkeeper has a " base- ball " finger does n't worry you ; why need the fact that your beast exhibits an odd splint, spavin, bog, etc., so long as they cause no lameness, in- convenience you more than him ? An owner may have "spavin on the brain," and it will affect him far more, nine times out of ten, than it does his family slave, who cheerfully carries it about for years. Nothing is so certain as the fact that, if a blemish or unsoundness exists, there can hardly be another in the same place and of the same sort, and the man who buys his blem- ishes with his horse is relieved of a vast amount of anxiety as to whether they may come, by the fact that they already exist. You may say that this is the philosophical view to take of it, but what more important and generally satisfactory view can one take of anything ? And what is life, anyway, without the ability to so view mat- ters generally ? Remember, this is not written for the cc expert " (?) owner, the rich buyer, the wholesale user of horseflesh, but for the " little 12 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING men," who are in a state of transition between steering a baby-carriage and a horse, and who, if they find actual experience satisfactory and econo- mical, may develop later into leviathan purchasers, and can then gratify unhindered personal whims and the caprice of family or friends. A horse of five or six or seven years is not as generally sought and as urgently demanded as was the case some years ago. This is for practi- cal reasons. The animal of eight to twelve is in his prime ; he has passed, more or less success- fully, through the trials and the accidents of youth, and, as he is now, so will he probably remain, for as many years as any horse ought. Practical soundness in a horse of this age means a lot, and it is for that reason, among others, that he is so much more desirable than a younger beast to whose condition it may not continue, for long, to apply. Invariably, however, go to one expense with such a horse, and never omit it ; get a first- class horse dentist, and be sure that his teeth are, or are placed, in thorough order — the outlay will repay you a hundredfold. Having looked him over, liked him, " vet " ed him, etc., we will proceed to try him. Right here, and generally through a most natural and 13 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE over-looked cause, is where so many troubles and so much dissatisfaction arise in horse buying. A dealer drives all day, and every day, all sorts of rough, half-schooled and timid horses, in the pro- cess of " city-breaking " them ; going past, and up to all sorts of objects with perfect safety, and as a matter of course with horses which, until they learn their way about, would climb trees and church-steeples with the average driver. Conse- quently, he is utterly unable to answer intelli- gently the question whether any horse is quiet and cc family broken." He is, with the dealer, a per- fect lamb, and that gentleman honestly considers him so. With you he proves a regular " limb," and dire is your consequent wrath, and great the possible destruction of your property. Yet the horse is again, in the dealer's hands, as you are much mortified to find, a patent-safety convey- ance. Both parties are honest in such transactions, and both right according to their lights, but the dealer invariably gets the worst of it. Yet it was all your own fault, every bit of it. The dealer knew you were not a horseman the moment he saw you. The horse realized it the moment you laid hands on reins, and he took liberties accord- ingly. The dealer could not possibly know what HORSE BUYING AND TRYING a duffer you would prove, and was absolutely- honest in his representations. Yet trouble en- sues, and nothing will convince you that he is not a scamp, and him that you are not a hopeless imbecile. To prevent any such misunderstand- ings insist upon driving yourself from the time you leave the stable door — and out of the door also. If the horse is too much for you in any way, say so frankly, and try another, nor let false pride prevent. The dealer is trying to suit ; give him a fair chance and prevent all afterclaps. Drive the horse to the objects you want him to see, and allow no argument against it. Explain this to the owner before you start, and don't let him harness the horse unless the understanding to that effect is clear. His time is worth as much as yours. Don't be satisfied with a trial at electric cars, for instance, in the city streets. No horse minds them there unless he is a regular Indian. Find things to suit you, and take no one's "sayso" for any such particulars. If the dealer will not agree to this, which is absolutely a fair trial, tell him to " keep his old horse." There are others ; and you are well within your rights. The qualities of a horse must absolutely suit, or you are foolish to take him, and many a cut of '5 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE the whip, and "jab" in the mouth will be his luckless portion because he does some little thing, or has some little trick, which you don't like. Be sure the animal backs freely (many of them do not) , and that up hill. Let him get his tail over the reins ; he'd better kick then, if he's that way inclined, than after you own him. Hit him sharply near the root of the tail for the same reason ; pull him up sharp, and start him quickly to see if he is balky or inclined to get mad, and to be hot about it ; in short, put him through any cc stunts " you consider necessary or advisable, but invariably have a distinct understanding with the dealer first. Now that your Bucephalus is tried, and we hope bought and taken home, there are two things to be especially insisted upon. First, use him, and keep using him. Don't think because he is new to you that he is too precious to work. The reason for his demure behavior is because he has labored regularly and steadily for somebody, so keep him going. " Mark that day lost which sees the setting sun Descend upon at least ten miles undone " may be pasted over Charlie's box-stall door (let 's hope you will give him a box). So use him 16 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING regularly and plentifully, that 's what he is for ; nor, if you and the groom and the children and grandma and the entire outfit will all persist in feed- ing him and in driving him, perhaps only to the post-office and back, can you blame either Charlie or his former master if some day, in sheer lightness of heart, he sends the dasher flying about your ears. Secondly, never believe the ghost story that Charlie or any other horse is, was, or will be " safe for women to drive," for that means safe under every and all possible (and impossible) conditions ; no such horse was ever foaled, and putting women aside, no horse is " absolutely safe" for any man to drive. There are three very excellent reasons why no woman, unaccom- panied by a man, should drive any horse ; that is, the average woman who "sometimes used to drive old Nellie and the carryall when a girl," and who, now that Henry is able to afford a turn- out, wants to take the family out behind the new horse because the dealer said "a woman could drive him/' A woman has never been taught to shut her hands (and has no strength when they are shut) ; she wears gloves generally much too small for her, or, if large enough, they button tight around the wrist, which is as bad, so far as cramp- 17 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE ing the muscles goes, and she does not " make allowances ; " everything the new horse does must be the identical thing that old Nellie did, and that respected and defunct family treasure is the coat which the cloth of the new horse must fit, or woe to his former possessor — the dealer. A horse is a fool, and he is a coward ; his mind is one-ideaed ; and what he has done is no criterion of what he may do at the next moment. Nature constructed him thus, and he is not to be blamed for his limitations, but they must be recognized and allowed for. The man who unreservedly places his family at the mercy of any horse under feminine guidance courts disaster, which is almost certain sooner or later to arrive ; and the dealer who sells a horse with a warranty that it is safe for a woman to use, does a most reprehensible thing, and carelessly exposes to danger thousands of innocent lives. A horse fears nothing familiar, nearly everything that is strange ; a woman's skirts fluttering in the wind will stampede a herd of plains horses, who will, any of them, allow one to shoot from their backs ; and some day the one dreadful object heaves in view ; foolishness prompts fear, fear flight ; weak arms, slender hands, and tight gloves play their useless parts, and Mary 18 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING and the children are sprinkled over the country- side as victims to man's folly. Perhaps all this may sound very discouraging, but be that as it may, isn't it true, and aren't we, lots of us, "monkeying" with an equine" buzz- saw " that needs proper attention and fairly capa- ble engineers to handle it? A danger that is appreciated is half prevented, and if those who realize their own shortcomings in such matters will but see to it that their boys and girls are from childhood accustomed to, and properly instructed in, the methods of managing successfully horses and other animals, they will endow their children with a most valuable mental, moral, physical, and (possibly) pecuniary asset; they will add incalcu- lably to the safety of traffic in all thoroughfares in town and country ; they will open up wide fields of pleasure to their offspring, and they will further by leaps and bounds the proper appreciation, the humane and common-sense management of horses, and, through that, of all kinds of dumb animals. The S. P. C. A. has most signally and singularly missed the point at which it has aimed because of the neglect of this very matter of teach- ing the children the proper management of animals, and making it a part of their up-bring- FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE ing. What matters it that an occasional brute of a man is imprisoned or fined ? He knows no better, nor will his descendants learn from his punishment. Show them the why and wherefore of such matters by actual demonstration, talks, lectures, pictures, living examples, and teach them not only the proper treatment of birds, cats, dogs, horses, etc., but explain to them in a practical way how and why things are right and wrong. Text-books and pamphlets are all very well, but they are not practical, and no one knows that more quickly than the children for whom they are intended. Such matters should be part of the curriculum of every school (public or private) and college ; not the dilettante end of it, but the hard, old business end that has, after all, so much in it of sentiment, of sympathy, of romance to those who really love dumb animals and appre- ciate their needs and their neglect. Prices, of course, vary as widely as do the merits of the animals sought. A good, plain, family horse will cost all the way from $100 to #250, the first figure, or perhaps a trifle less, being sufficient to secure a practically sound, " second- hand" animal, displaying probably the scars and effects of honorable toil, but none the worse for 20 HORSE BUYING AND TRYING them so far as utility goes. The last-named figure will secure as good a horse as any one needs for family purposes, — sound, rugged, free, powerful and clever. The family horse may be called the staple of the carriage-horse trade, and from him up- ward prices increase by leaps and bounds in propor- tion to the possession of the " Seven Royal S's," — Symmetry, Speed, Style, Size, Shape, Substance and Safety. Such figures as $500 to $2,500, for single horses, $1,000 to $5,000 for pairs, etc., are prices paid every day, and exciting no special comment. Never buy a horse in the spring, for the reason that the active market puts prices up 40%: nor sell in the fall, since opposite conditions cause the same ratio of depreciation. The winter or the summer are also appropriate times to invest, but you are apt to find then only the leavings of the active seasons. As every one else sells in the fall, do you buy then, even if you have to board out your purchase until wanted. It is the cheap- est plan, and there are hundreds of excellent animals on sale which, fresh from the country in the previous spring, have been used just enough to thoroughly season, city-break, and way-wise them. These are your choicest bargains. 21 Chapter II AS TO "SOUNDNESS'1 IN view of the increasing difficulty in obtaining strictly high-class horses for any purpose, it would appear inevitable that the consumer must make up his mind to accept fair-class horses that are not quite sound, or to put up with sound animals of moderate individual merits. It is becoming impossible for dealers to find sound horses of the highest class. In no country are the buyers' exactions as to soundness as severe as they are in America, and in no country are they so unreasonably and unwisely strict, — " unreas- onably " because perfection is insisted upon when certain departures from it do not affect usefulness, and " unwisely " because the presence of these defects will often result in the rejection of an animal otherwise exactly suitable to the buyer and his purposes. To the average purchaser, absolute soundness is a "bugaboo" which he, parrot-like, insists upon ; fearing to invest in 22 AS TO "SOUNDNESS" anything to which the adjective may not properly apply. Of course the majority of buyers are unable to decide for themselves as to what defects are really injurious, or likely to become so ; or even to determine whether blemishes exist at all. In this emergency the veterinarian is called in, and the matter is blindly left to his verdict, which is competent so far as concerns physical merit, but generally weak when it includes an opinion as to the fitness of the animal for the purpose intended. It will thus be seen that the veter- inary is generally (in private dealing at least) the arbiter who decides the points at issue, and that, so far as a " deal " is concerned, he is the power behind the throne. Not only by private buyers, but by the dealers themselves, is the veterinarian consulted more and more every day ; his opinions are more carefully weighed, and his place in the horse-world more generally appreciated and properly recognized. He has it in his power, therefore, by timely word and proper demonstration, largely to modify the exactions of a public which does not at all realize that it is demanding impossibilities when it insists upon having a sound horse, — such a creature hav- ing never been seen — and to cause it to realize 23 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE that the practically sound animal, varying only in degree and amount of physical imperfections, is the best to be expected. The veterinary surgeons should agree (as they have it so easily in their power, through their different associations, to do) upon some line of action in this matter, which they will universally adopt, and upon distinct modifications of the requirements of the public, which they will rec- ommend, publishing to the world exactly what these are, and standing by them. The younger members of the fraternity would be especially helped by such action, for while they have, one and all, the technical part of the profession at their fingers* and tongues' end, they are neces- sarily lacking in that practical application which is so absolutely a matter of observation and ex- perience. Carried away by enthusiasm for their calling, and filled with lofty resolutions of never passing an animal not perfectly sound ; rigor- ously applying in all points the precepts of their instructors, these young men unwittingly work a lot of injustice to sellers, and prevent many buyers from investing in horses perfectly suited to their needs, and physically able for service of many years' duration, simply because the animals are un- 24 AS TO "SOUNDNESS" fortunate enough to fall short of the high physical standard arbitrarily imposed. For another thing, there are numerous veterinarians, who — whisper ! — are not horsemen ; that is, in the broad sense of being " born horsemen." They know technique, they have an eagle eye and velvet touch and all the other qualifications for the job, but they are not horsemen. They have been taught the busi- ness all right enough, but they lack the intuitive appreciation of the " born horseman " to apply it fairly for the best interests of all. Many angry mutterings are heard at our horse- shows every year through this lack of any recog- nized system. The show-ring legend, " Horses must be practically sound," means what ? And the occasional stipulation, " Horses must be sound " (no " if" or " perhaps " about it), is to be construed how ? And how many of the horses, exhibited in any class, would receive a clean bill of health ? A splint is a splint, a filled tendon is nothing else, a coarse hock is not smooth, a " bit of a cold" is not good wind. Where shall the line be drawn, and who shall draw it ? The foreign buyers, especially the English- men, have " wiped our eye " significantly over this soundness matter. Bumpy or smooth, if the 25 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE horses " look the part" and fill the eye, they will not be denied, and insist upon but two points — a horse's wind and eyes must be good. The heavy English climate and the fondness for horse- beans and other concentrated food over there, work havoc with lungs, throat, and eyes, and for- eign talent is therefore naturally suspicious of " roarers," « whistlers," " grunters," " wheezers," and " blinky 'uns," as a dealer put it. For other bodily infirmities, however, they have a large toleration, and will put up with all sorts of "ornaments" if considered in the price. In no particular have they so taught us a lesson as in the matter of purchasing cavalry and artillery horses. Our idiotic governmental requirements compel inspectors to condemn quantities of capital animals, merely on the ground of slight physical defects that amount to nothing, resulting in the accumu- lation of a lot of brutes for our army use that have no merit whatever but that of freedom from blemish, and are in many cases utterly unfit for the purposes intended. The foreigner, on the contrary, fills his hand from our discards, with the result that he accumulates from the leavings of our inspectors a cracking lot of horses, a credit to any army, but many of them blemished in 26 AS TO "SOUNDNESS" unimportant ways, practical soundness being good enough. When does a " coarse " hock become a " spav- ined " hock ? What constitutes a " well-placed" splint ? Shall a horse always be " turned down " for side-bones when his work is to be on soft ground, if he is not lame at the time and is eight or ten years old ; bearing in mind that many a horse is, although thus afflicted, working on city " rocks " and going sound ? Shall a " properly placed " ( ! ) ringbone always disqualify ? Shall curbs condemn, without regard to age, the shape of the leg and the manner of shoeing ? Shall "wire cuts" be considered as to possible future effect, etc. ? These and dozens of other matters might well be settled officially by our veterinary societies, and a full and free discussion of them courted both from the professional and the amateur, the buyer's and the seller's stand- point. Considering the most common forms of un- soundness, from the practical standpoint of the consumer, not from the technical position of the veterinarian, the matter of splints occupies the first place. The following points must be considered in deciding as to the practical useful- ay FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE ness of an animal so afflicted, — his age, the size and location of the deposit, the work required, his action and the peculiarities of his gait. Situ- ated close under the knee, or in the form called "pegged," splints almost invariably cause trouble, interfering with articulation (possibly) in the one case, and with the tendons in the other. The very low placed splint is suspicious for the same reason. Any splints on horses under five years old are likely, owing to immaturity of the subject, to cause trouble. A very large splint, wherever situated, is also open to condemnation ; of course for draught purposes, concussion being less, all risks are smaller. High action not only produces but often largely increases any deposit. Many animals that "wind," "paddle," or "dish," will brush a splint so lightly as not to cause a blemish, but will produce an irritation and soreness which results in lameness. Imperfect action is always to be regarded with distrust. The presence of spavin — qualified frequently under the complimentary title of " coarse hock " -is becoming astonishingly common, and the number of horses so afflicted which are in daily hard work, and free from conspicuous or troublesome lameness, is remarkable. The true f( coarse hock " 28 AS TO " SOUNDNESS " is as durable as the smooth joint, if not more so, and its very roughness and prominence about the articulation seems to proclaim its rugged quality. This roughness of the hock-joint, however, will generally be found to be accompanied by the same general characteristics in all the articulations of the individual, and a truly " coarse hock " is seldom or never present in an animal of otherwise fine-grained quality ; nor is an animal likely to have one coarse hock, and one smooth one ; in either of these cases any deviation from smooth- ness must logically be classed as true spavin. Suspicion in any case may be made certainty by driving the suspect until thoroughly warmed up, leaving him in his stall for an hour or two, and then re-examining him (watching especially how he backs out of the stall) , and turning him sharply both ways before trotting him, slowly, to halter, and with his head loose. You may also hold his foot well up against the stomach for a few moments to cramp the hock-joint, and then trot him again. If afflicted he will surely go lame, although a sound horse will generally do the same for a few steps, if you cramp the joint long enough. Curb never matters provided the horse be eight years old or more, has a naturally good and 29 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE true-shaped hind leg, and shows no lameness after cooling out. The sickle-hocked, round- boned sort should be left alone, even if smooth ; for any strain or wrench may " spring " the blemish. Many horses have a natural prominence at the curb-place caused by the extension of the cuboid bones ; but if there is no enlargement of the sheath of the tendon there, the horse is sound. Any fresh curb causes inflammation, pain and ensuing lameness, temporary in nature only. As a precautionary measure, all horses with curb, or curby hocks, should be shod with shoes raised at the heels. Sound wind is usual in the East, almost uni- versal in the altitudes of the far West. Practi- cally we are troubled only with "roarers" and " whistlers." The " grunter " (which may develop something more) is carefully rejected by English- men, because of their heavier home climate, but we are never troubled by him, as the infirmity is only rarely noticeable. Nearly all such horses may be greatly helped by keeping the neck and jowl well sweated out ; and occasionally artificial means will almost entirely prevent the noise. Osselets — small bony deposits on the front ankles — are very common in the race-horse, and 30 AS TO "SOUNDNESS" not unusual in other varieties which are, when immature, put to severe work. They cause per- manent blemishes of various sizes, but are rarely, after growth is attained and inflammation allayed, the cause of permanent lameness. Ring-bones and side-bones are serious blemishes at times, but do not necessarily interfere with work. Side-bone — a thickening and hardening of the cartilages contiguous to the coronet — causes severe lameness, generally permanent, espe- cially where fast work is done, and can be relieved only by the generally misunderstood and improp- erly condemned process of "nerving." But the ring-boned animal may work on for years. An animal burdened with any or all of the above- mentioned ailments may outwork and outlast the stable-mate with a clear bill of health, and, through necessity, the buying public will soon acquire a toleration in the matter of absolute soundness which at present it does not evince. As Pooh Bah says in the " Mikado," " Bless you, it all depends," and in the next few years we shall see many a blemished and technically unsound horse filling his place in the owner's affections, and his position as a useful slave as honorably as capably. When, then, is a horse " usefully sound " ? He FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE is so when his infirmities do not interfere with the work at which you intend to use him. Thus an animal which is quite lame is "usefully sound " for slow work ; a hunter may be crippled in any ways that do not affect his galloping and jumping. But his eyes and wind must be sound. A carriage- horse must trot sound, and be sound of wind and eyes (although if one eye has by an accident been destroyed, it rarely affects usefulness). A saddle- horse must be useable as such. Sprung knees in all these cases are in the nature of blemishes only, and, opinion to the contrary, the strongest knee is the natural " buck-knee/' Such animals are generally particularly sure-footed and safe on their feet. A horse with navicular disease, quarter-crack, corns, quittor, etc., is usefully sound for certain work. The opinion of the veterinary is the safest guide in all such matters, and is what you pay him to express. Chapter III STABLING AND STABLES IT is unfortunate for the horses and servants who have to occupy them that so few stables are built by practical men ; or perhaps it is because architects and builders com- prise few horsemen in their ranks. Externally these structures are usually highly ornamental, and frequently extremely attractive ; internally, while appearing to the owner and his friends all that ingenuity can devise and convenience de- mand, they fall short in many of the real es- sentials, and prove inconvenient, unhealthy, and far from satisfactory. Architecturally they are triumphs ; practically they are failures, presenting wrong exposures, and providing scientific drainage and ventilation which ought to be satisfactory, as being of the most expert and newly approved patterns, but which do not prove so. Horses ought to do well in them, but are always ailing. Varnish should keep bright; panels whole; linings 3 33 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE dry; and harness in good order, but somehow they don't. In the same way, by all the accepted laws re- lating to building materials, cement or stone floors should be the best, and brick buildings the warmest or coolest according to the season ; but none of these results necessarily obtain, and the scientific erection is a dismal failure from every useful point. Probably the most expensive and extensive stable ever built in America, containing the most costly collection of horses in the world, has proved so absolutely worthless and unwholesome that nearly every one of its valuable inmates was taken sick with lung fever, many of them dying, and those which recovered being rendered valueless for racing purposes. Another enor- mously costly set of farm-buildings, erected for one of our millionaires had, when completed, no place to store away hay, so that another building had to be put up for the purpose. Many other similar cases could be mentioned. What, then, are the essentials of a stable, and how may they best be secured ? Convenience for all work comes first, then ventilation, next drainage, and then proper exposure and situation. Convenience (for man and horse) is vitally neces- 34 STABLING AND STABLES sary to secure comfort and the saving of time. Good ventilation will do away with many of the evils of bad drainage, and if both of these are per- fect, the defects of exposure may be counter- acted by verandas or awnings, and thickly lined walls. Situation is unimportant if all the other details are first class, and high land or low, wet or dry, the building may be perfectly wholesome. Horses should always be stalled on the north or west sides of a stable in order to escape the effects of the sun which causes, by its heat, violent and extreme variations in temperature during each twenty-four hours, throughout all seasons of the year. The animal will bear perfectly almost any extremes of heat or cold providing it is equable ; but neither his constitution, his clothing, nor his attendance and environment can adapt themselves to the rapid changes which our climate assures from a southern or eastern exposure. No stable should ever accommodate in one apartment more than twelve to twenty horses, for the reason that if many of them in cold weather, go out at the same time, the removal of so much animal heat causes an immediate drop in temper- ature, which the opening of various doors aug- ments ; just as, in the heated term, the return of 35 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE these horses may raise the thermometer to a dis- tressing point, and if the stable is then closed, as at night, may seriously affect the inmates. More illness is caused in such ways than people at all realize or provide for. It is very easy to sub- divide all large stables in some way so that all the animals are not kept in one lot. Every large building must be draughty, and nothing will pre- vent this but apartments of reasonable size, and careful attention to doors and windows. All stables must be arranged so that the opera- tions of cleaning, harnessing, etc., can be consec- utive, since this means an enormous saving of time and labor. Backed from his stall, the horse should proceed by direct progress from brushing over to harness ; from harness to vehicle ; and thence out of the door, reversing this proceeding on his return, and arriving in his living-room clean, and ready for food and rest, his equipments left at their appropriate place along the way from the entrance. There must be no running here for tools, there for harness, yonder for vehicle, but all should be consecutive, convenient, and arranged in every detail with that idea. Every- thing must be large enough, yet not too big ; snug, compact, and " get-at-able." 36 STABLING AND STABLES Coach-houses should be arranged to comfort- ably accommodate the number and sort of vehicles intended to be kept there, allowing room to move about them easily. Not a few such buildings are just too large or too small, — too big for three, too small for four; and in the same way many washstands are built too short and narrow. Stone or brick stables need plastering or sheath- ing to guard against damp, and both walls and ceilings must be covered for this reason ; in our climate nothing equals a wooden stable, and it is always drier, cooler, and warmer than the others, if double- boarded, sheathed, and clapboarded. Brick or cement floors may answer in the coach- house, where there is generally a fire in winter, but they are always dangerous as likely to be slippery. Horses often plunge at starting, and they fall on such floors. The coach-house exposure should always be southern or western, as insuring ample heat from the sun, and insuring rapid drying of vehicles and linings. All modern forms of drainage and ventilation are good, if they are attended to properly by the stablemen. This is however rarely the case, and it has proved in practice that the more scientific 37 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE were such arrangements, the more they were neg- lected by the men in charge. No traps, drains, or windows, etc., will keep clean, or work them- selves for any length of time, and as this is so absolutely true, itv has always seemed the height of folly to expend money upon elaborate sys- tems which would forthwith, through neglect, be reduced to absolute or comparative ineffi- ciency. If the master sees for himself that all such details are properly administered, well and good — but he never does. If he did, the same argument would hold good, for then the most crude arrangements would answer perfectly. So far as absolute satisfaction and inexpensiveness goes, the writer has found best results from lead- ing all stall drains into a receptacle built in the floor, and containing a galvanized iron bucket or tub large enough to hold the probable fluids of twenty-four hours ; that is, according to the num- ber of horses. No neglect was possible for this arrangement since it simply ran over, if not regu- larly and daily emptied, either into a sewer, cess- pool, or elsewhere ; and its operation was attended with excellent results, while the cost, as com- pared to the usual systems, was a bagatelle. If this is not done, then the washstand and harness-room 38 STABLING AND STABLES drains should be arranged to flush the stall-gut- ters, for carriages, etc., must be washed, and the water used will daily effect what careless grooms neglect. All details about stables should be ar- ranged not as if the best sort of help was to be in charge, but so that the worst cannot do harm. Stall floors are best made of cement, laid with the proper slope, covered with plank or slats so ar- ranged as to afford a level footing, bevelled to re- quirements upon the under side. The two middle planks — or the four middle slats, if these are used — should be movable, either by hinges, or may be left loose. They can thus be daily swung up, and the cement beneath disinfected very easily and quickly. All moisture falls on about the middle of the stall, and thence it easily percolates to the gutter at the heel-posts ; nor is there any chance for the accumulation of filth as in the ordinary stall. Of course whether planks or slats are used, the ordinary separations between them will be observed. This arrangement is advised, provided earth floors cannot be arranged, than which nothing is better, cheaper, or more easily renewed. Six inches of large stone, six of gravel or ashes, and four to six of earth, make an ideal floor, self-draining, 39 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE comfortable, healthy, and natural to the horse and his feet and eyes. All hay should be fed from the floor, and no hay-racks ever provided. The feed-boxes should be movable, whether wood or iron, that they may be scoured and sunned to keep them sweet. A place should be provided in every stall to set a water-bucket. Stall partitions should never be solid, at all events near the floor. This construction is ab- solutely inappropriate to our climate, and it is marvellous that neither owners, stablemen, nor builders have considered this most essential de- tail. If any of them would spend a hot summer's night in one of the stalls to which they condemn their horses, they would know the reason. An inch or two between planks allows air to circulate at the bottom of the apartment, and to carry the foul odors up and away. The partitions should always be of open work, at least above five feet, in order that horses may see each other, be sociable, eat better, and do better. Imagine the solitary confinement of the average equine, staring at a blank wall, another behind him, and one on each side! If possible the apartment for horses should 40 STABLING AND STABLES reach clear to the roof of the building, and no loft should be imposed ; or if it is, the men's rooms should never be over, or so situated that they must walk over, the horses, which are entitled to undisturbed rest. If anything must be crowded and skimped for room and air, let it be the carriages and the human, and not the equine occupants. Air, air, air ; none of our stables get half enough. That builder would do well who would leave an aperture of a few inches all around the top of the horse apartments, which could not be caulked by any ingenuity of stablemen, who superheat and ill- ventilate all stables in order that they may them- selves be kept warm and enjoy the vitiated air to which they are accustomed. Even direct draught is better than too little air. Any arrangement for ventilation is good, provided there is just twice as much of it as the owner and architect have agreed to be necessary. A lofty stable ventilates itself somehow ; a low one is never really well aired, for we must remember that for ten or twelve hours of the twenty-four it is shut tight. No matter how you get air — only get lots of it. Light should never come from directly in front or directly behind, but if it must, the glass should be white- (or rather gray-) washed. More defec- FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE tive vision is caused by badly and improperly lighted stables than from any other cause. Lots of light means plenty of windows, and numerous windows insure plenty of air, if only by way of ill-fitting casements. Windows hinged at the bottom prevent direct draught. Hay and grain should be stored on the ground floor if possible, and if upstairs, over carriages and not over horses, being thrown down a chute or trap-door at one end, or in the middle of the gangway, and thence fed out. If this trap has no door provided, it greatly assists the matter of ventilation. Watering should always be done by buckets. Troughs get filthy, and a sick horse will infect a whole stable in this way. These drinking buckets should never, under any pretext, be used for other purposes. Harness rooms need good light, and space enough to carry things in and out without knock- ing other articles off their hooks. Hot water in quantity should always be obtainable, and the room should be large enough to allow lounging space for the men. The owner will find it to his interest to make this room attractive to the men, unless they have other sitting rooms as in large 42 STABLING AND STABLES stables. Half the problem of satisfactorily hand- ling servants is solved if you make their quarters attractive enough to encourage them to stay at home and about the premises. There is no reason whatever why the internal arrangement of any stable should be permanent, and all partitions may just as economically be movable. If space allows, the restricting of the building to one story will prove economical in that it will allow very light framing. The " bail " as a separation between horses presents all the desirable features of cheapness, simplicity, airiness, and movability, and has been used regularly by the writer with the utmost satis- faction. He has kept many hundreds, — yes, thousands, — of horses, utter strangers to each other generally, and sometimes shod with sharp shoes, in these arrangements, and has yet to record the first accident. These " bails " expe- dite stable work vastly by simplifying the labor of bedding down, " mucking out," and " setting fair;" they may be instantly removed or swung up out of the way, and no horse can get cast in them. A "bail" consists simply of two planks, or boards (one will answer fairly well), tongued and grooved together, and stiffened by two braces 43 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE on each end. They may be painted, stained, brass-mounted, or straw-decorated, and are sus- pended at the head by a hook fastening into a ring in the wall, and at the heel by a rope, brass chain, or pipe-clayed cord, hanging either directly from a ring in the ceiling, or running through a pulley there which allows hoisting out of the way, — a needless provision, since, by merely unhook- ing it "fore and aft," it may be put away anywhere. Its lower side is about eighteen inches from the floor, and its top about four feet, six inches, from the same point, and the partitions are hung about four feet apart, — although horses do well in even three feet, six inches space, so elastic is this accommodation from its freedom to swing aside. A kicker will abandon his attempts at mischief when he finds that his efforts produce no other effect than to swing the obstacle gently to and fro. The animals were tethered by ropes about eighteen inches long, spliced into a ring running upon a "traveller" which runs up and down the wall from about twenty inches above the ground surface, to about four feet, six inches ; the free end being provided with a hook which snaps into the head-stall ring, the regular halter-shank (also pro- 44 STABLING AND STABLES vided with a strap) being detached and hung over the bail-heel ready for use. Thus the horse can eat and lie down in comfort, but can neither get cast nor assail his neighbor. The divisions should not be too wide, or the occupants may stand cross- wise of them. All boxes are framed on the ground surface, and about eight feet above it by scantlings which pin together ; the uprights at the corners being mortised at top and bottom, and readily slipping into place; the partitions (slatted from the ground up) fitting into braces in these uprights and being secured by hooks ; the doors hanging on pintles fastened in the proper uprights, and the front of the box consisting wholly of two doors which both swing open and allow easy access to it. Everything is light. Two men will set one up in twenty minutes, while so great is the elasticity that no horse can kick or break it down. The writer has eighty-six of these boxes, made in 1894, and they are to-day (1902) all perfect, although they have been put up and taken down dozens of times, and shipped all about by freight as well — not one penny having as yet been spent in repairs — and they cost complete, $5.00 each! -Further particulars, specifications, etc., are at the service of any one interested. 45 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE These random notes have nothing of the scien- tific and probably less of the interesting to them. The writer has constructed and arranged many stables, some to hold four hundred horses, and has always followed the plans outlined here, and always with success. The last things any builder need bother himself about in constructing stables, are drainage, light, and air, provided he will cast science to the winds and simply provide amply for the last two details (and then double his allow- ance), and arrange the first, so far as the stable goes, as recommended here. Genuine disinfec- tants are too cheap and plentiful nowadays to make it necessary or worth while to scientifically arrange drainage which is sure to be neglected. i Chapter IV STABLE MANAGEMENT question of economical stable man- agement is a matter that sooner or later comes closely home to both the heart and the pocket of the amateur who invests in horseflesh, and who is, as a rule, heavily handicapped by the fact that he is igno- rant of proper methods, and of the point where wise liberality should cease and true economy begin. Primarily, difficulty arises from the fact that the first economy the novice practises is almost invariably a most unwise one. This is an unwillingness to pay first-class men first-class wages ; the trying to make a born " hewer of wood and drawer of water" successfully fill the place of a capable servant ; the putting of a man in charge of a stud or stable whose only previous " four-in-hand " experience has been gained by looking after three cows and a horse ; the in- trusting of the family to the steerage of a deck- 47 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE hand whose experience not improbably, has been acquired upon the quarter-deck of a dump-cart ; the employment of a groom to cc do " horses whose most energetic efforts are directed toward " doing " his employer. A man will cheerfully expend large sums in the purchase of expensive horses, carriages, and harness, lease a costly stable, and go liberally into other details, but, when the matter of employing servants comes up, he begins to retrench, and not improbably winds up by engaging some incompetent, who has no real knowledge of, or fitness for, his business. Forth- with, horses go lame and grow thin, paint and varnish tarnish, harness grows shabby, and gene- ral family complaint and dissatisfaction brings the whole outfit ultimately, in a more or less dilapida- ted condition, to the auction block, and to the loss side of the ledger. Better far a first-class man and poor horses, etc., than the best that money can buy and an incompetent in charge. The good man, who is liberally paid, has his em- ployer's interest vitally at heart, and the matter of perquisites will receive much less attention from him than from the employee, who, knowing his own worth, is forced by circumstances to accept a wage which is not really a fair return for the STABLE MANAGEMENT ability he possesses. A coachman or stud-groom should receive some reward for the economies he practises ; should be, in a way, sharer in the results of any retrenchment which, while main- taining the efficiency of the service, he is able to effect. An employer may well say to such a man, " I am prepared to spend so much per month per horse for feed, so much for repairs, so much for fresh horses, etc. Upon any diminution of these expenses which you are able to effect still affording me the first-class service I require, I am ready to pay you a certain percentage " (twenty-five per cent or fifty per cent, according to circumstances). " If, however, your manage- ment causes this outlay, which I find from in- quiry is reasonable, to be exceeded, you must go." If, in addition to this, the head man is always allowed to engage his own subordinates, which promotes harmony and general efficiency, it will be found that he is quite certain to work with an eye single to his employer's interests. Upon the invariably usable condition of one's horses depends the satisfaction in keeping them, and many of our current stable methods are cal- culated to rejoice the heart of horse dealer and 4 49 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE veterinarian alike. We have adopted wholesale, the systems prevalent in England with but little inquiry into their necessity or appropriateness to this country and climate, and have accepted the dictum of ignorant and non-practical men without comment or personal experiment, making our animals fit the treatment instead of suiting the methods to them. It is really astounding that intelligent and wide-awake men will gravely consult an employee in such matters and be ex- actly guided by his opinion, when in their own business affairs they neither request nor accept the advice of their subordinates — men frequently really able to competently advise. If John says a horse needs physic, forthwith he gets it ; if James — who does n't know a splint from a spavin — con- demns a horse as unsound, so it must be ; if Charles decides that the horses had better not go out, they generally stay in. One does not consult the cook about the china, or the maid about the linen — where does the other servant come in that he must necessarily be an authority ? In the first place we keep our horses too warm, stables too close, and use clothing too heavy. The race-horse people have the right idea about this matter, and one never sees more healthy, bloom- So STABLE MANAGEMENT ing coats on any horses. Their charges are kept stripped in all weathers, and, provided a horse is thoroughly cooled out, externally and internally, everything is left open on him, and the $30,000 stake horse thrives under an exposure that would put most of our coddled harness-horses in the bone-yard inside of twenty-four hours. A horse well fed and healthy will stand a vast amount of exposure, and will be all the better for it. Blankets as generally used are a delusion and a snare. "A full grain-bin is the best body-brush," and ex- periment will prove that medicine-chest and doctor's bills are quite unnecessary if the horse is habitu- ated to an exposure as stimulating as it is sanitary, — one which may keep a stableman moving to keep warm, but the more useful perhaps on that account. Open up the stables, pack away the blankets, and realize that a horse is healthy in proportion as he approaches his natural state, and that a hard working horse, as our cabbers and other general-purpose animals prove, will thrive under an amount of exposure that, according to popular belief, ought to kill him off-hand. Our accepted idea of condition in carriage horses is wrong, anyway, and our eye has been accustomed, by the over-fattened condition of 51 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE show and sale horses, to accept a wholly false idea of fitness for actual use. What we call suitable " condition " is generally secured by the presence of soft and useless flesh, clogging to the vital as hampering to the external parts, and ready to produce and augment a feverish condition at any slight over-exertion, or sudden change of temper- ature. Private stablemen do not know how to u cool out " a horse properly, or if they do, don't take the trouble. External coolness is not enough for safety. Heart and circulation must be regu- lar and tranquil, and the temperature throughout normal, before the animal can be safely put away. This insured, one can disregard open windows, draughts, and anything else. Odd as it may sound, many stablemen overdo the grooming act, and beat and hammer a nervous horse with wisp and cloth until he is sore all over, and ready to go mad if you rasp a brush with a currycomb. This slam-bang business is all wrong, and will not do for the modern, thin-skinned, ner- vous creature, which is replacing the old dung-hill that would enjoy combing over with a garden rake. Make your horse's toilet as you make your own : plenty of water and plenty of fric- tion ; but as you carefully dry yourself, so dry STABLE MANAGEMENT him, not by brute strength, but with soft towels or rub-cloths which absorb as they shampoo. When a horse comes in wet, tired, and dirty, don't allow him to be dressed and hissed at for hours. Would you like to come in from a long walk and be fussed around for an hour after ? Scrape him, straighten his hair, roll thick band- ages on legs, either after washing or over the dirt ; cover him up warm to let him steam out, and leave him. When dry, simply remove band- ages, take off blankets, and let alone until next morning. Never be afraid to wash a horse, legs, body and all ; what is there about soap and water that is poison to him, and good for you ? But dry him thoroughly from ear to toe as you would yourself, and never fear scratches, colds, nor other ill-results. Oats, hay and bran; hay, bran and oats; the poor equine in the average stable hardly knows the taste of any other food ; while condiments of all sorts are regarded with holy horror by the master, and used secretly, if at all, by the man. Vary the food daily if possible, each meal if you can. There are lots of excellent materials which are disregarded, and which afford a most whole- some change. Slightly damaged grain can be 53 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE cheaply procured, cooked or steamed, and com- bined in varying quantities and flavors. Stale bread and cake can often be bought of the bakeries at very low prices per barrel. Numberless food- stuffs are perfectly appropriate for equine use ; sugar, molasses, salt, etc., dissolved and sprinkled on hay, etc., will insure the greedy consumption of even the poorer qualities. Don't think horses must always have choicest Timothy hay, best oats", etc., for other grades properly treated are just as appetizing, wholesome, and nourishing. You 've eaten hash yourself; if you take such chances and do well, why not your animals ? The watering question is another " bugaboo/' Why cannot a horse even after active exertion, provided heart action and circulation have reached the normal point, have all the water he wants, if its temperature is nearly that of the body ? Of course he can. Don't you drink ice-water your- self when hot ? and if the fool-killer does n't get you there and then, what harm is coming to him if he swallows a few quarts of tepid fluid ? If water is always left where horses can get at it, they will never over-indulge, and, somehow, this should always be arranged. You are not always thirsty at six, twelve, and six o'clock yourself, yet 54 STABLE MANAGEMENT very much in need of refreshment at odd times, and your horse has the same desires. In fact, if there is one hour in the day when an animal really needs water — and never gets it — it is about ten o 'clock at night, when he has consumed and digested an immense amount of dry prov- ender, and when nature demands that he flush his system copiously. It is astonishing what a difference attention to this most important detail will make in the condition of horses. Individual preference must be carefully considered also. Many are night feeders and will only eat heartily at that time. Many shy "doers" require their food in small quantities and at frequent periods ; some do better if they see plainly in every direc- tion and enjoy the association of their stable- mates; other misanthropes prefer seclusion. If a horse is a bad feeder he will generally drink pretty well, and his nourishment may be given him in liquid form. No animal will take on flesh or hold it well unless he is a good and deep drinker, and this most important characteristic of the easily fattened steer is equally essential in the horse. In shoeing we have vastly improved these latter days, and all honor to the craft which so 55 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE speedily recognized and accepted modern methods. Just at present the fad runs to a long toe in front because certain show horses which had a tendency to " mix " needed such balancing to square them away, and to attain the high action sought. For use, however, such methods are to be condemned, and no one can imagine how much this system has to do with the premature disablement of numbers of our fast trotters and high-stepping horses. Weight in heel or toe according to need will improve a horse's high stepping, but, for every-day work, an ordinary light shoe is all that should be used, and it must be remembered that the heavy shoes are never kept upon show horses for more than a few days, or they lose all their effect. The rubber pads, now in such general use, are an excellent thing and almost a necessity, but they will often make a horse go sore and short, especially those with naturally weak quarters and heels, while some few, already inclined to go "groggy," they will benefit by relieving the con- cussion. For country work, tips properly applied (mind, properly applied) all round are as good a protection as can be used, but one must not expect to find them immediately successful upon an animal whose feet have for years been accus- 56 STABLE MANAGEMENT tomed to protection, any more than one can com- fortably go barefoot until Nature has adapted herself to the change. There is far too much stuffing of feet and smearing them with oil and blacking externally. A wet sponge confined in the foot by a bit of steel or a stick is better than any packing, which a wet swab tied around the coronets will assist; while for dressing, a wipe with a damp sponge will insure a better appear- ance than an application of blacking, which will be covered with dirt before your equipage gets around to the front door. A horse's foot is provided with pores as is your own, and if these are clogged with grease, etc., local health cannot obtain for long. Pages can be written upon the most unimpor- tant of these details, and it is only possible to touch upon a very few of them within the boundaries allowed. So important are they to the enjoyable and profitable use of horse- flesh that the amateur will be well repaid if he will begin to experiment for himself, and to real- ize how exactly the hygiene, accepted as sen- sible for the biped, applies to the needs of the quadruped. Taking one day with another, and averaging 57 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE the periods of expensive and of cheap feed, the cost of feeding and bedding a horse will reach about twenty-five cents per day, if the best of everything is bought; if lower grades, and the various materials recommended are purchased, the cost may well run down to fifteen cents, though this would hardly be possible, without buying at wholesale. Large quantities of grain, etc., should not be stored for too long a time in closed bins, or it will heat, and be damaged. Foods are best (if mixed) prepared not over six or eight hours before feeding lest they sour. About twenty-five minutes will suffice if the man is active, and has everything handily ar- ranged, to thoroughly clean any horse, and there is no occasion for him to kill time over the job unnecessarily. The time requisite to cooling out, and putting away after work, varies with the ani- mal's condition on arrival. The ordinary carriage, given the usual accessories of hose, ample water supply, etc., should be washed in the same time, a buggy or runabout in about fifteen minutes. The ordinary single harness will need twenty minutes of attention, aside from its steels, and metal work, which will require time in comparison 58 STABLE MANAGEMENT with their condition and amount. All necessaries in the way of sponges, chamois, " compo," soap, polish, etc., should be bought in quantity, and issued as needed, as such economies all count. 59 Chapter V CONDITION AND CONDITIONING SATISFACTORY working condition, that bodily fulness of outline which not im- properly may also be associated with hard- ness of flesh and fineness of muscle is, given ordinary attention to the usually unconsidered trifles, and genuine interest in the welfare of one's dumb beasts, neither difficult to attain, nor to maintain. All horses in work should, as denoted by coat and countenance, be constantly in the bloom of health, and as evidenced by action and appetite in the flush of vigor ; nor is there any excuse, in private stables at least, for their exhib- iting other appearance. Be your man ever so highly recommended, or ever so affectionately regarded by yourself and family, any appearance of dulness of courage or roughness of coats among his charges is proof positive that he does not know his business, and, if he is allowed full swing in stable management, no excuses should 60 CONDITION AND CONDITIONING be accepted ; if he is not, and you look after tKings yourself, better far, for your own credit, to resign in his favor, or to find some one able to supplant you both, for the ability of the horse is largely dependable upon his treatment, and he, at least, will of a certainty " do as he is done by/' Given a hearty feeder and one who is regularly worked and exercised, his care resolves itself chiefly into the matter of feeding and grooming ; but there is a vast army of the other kinds, excellent in all respects, but wanting in little details, that nursing and coddling over, which, to the detriment of their appearance and of their reputation, they seldom get. The average horse is not fed or watered often enough, early enough, or late enough. With his small stomach and voluminous intestinal arrange- ment little and often is the necessary and whole- some rule, and the long hours of the winter's night are made doubly irksome by the fact that after a certain period the poor animal is both hungry and thirsty ; nor will the provision of a large feed of hay and grain obviate the trouble, because his own breath and the usual stable excretions render the provender unpalatable long before appetite has prompted its consumption, 61 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE while the greedy feeder will gorge himself with a mass which his digestive apparatus is wholly un- able to handle. The man who will invent an automatic feeder that shall expose extra feeds at certain hours will meet a vital want ; but, failing this, the man who feeds at say six and ten in the morning, and two, six and ten in the afternoon, the usual daily amounts, subdivided to meet the occasions, will find his sure reward in the im- mediately bettered condition of his horses, and in the fact that they are ready, at any time, to use. Especially must the thin animal have his meals often ; in concentrated form, and small in quantity. No satisfactory progress can be expected if allowance is not made for the weakened con- dition of the subject's digestive apparatus, which is the prime cause of his failure to do well. Exercise of course has its necessary place in the attainment of satisfactory condition, and herein we all err on the side of insufficiency. Not one horse in twenty in private stables is used enough to keep him really healthy. If the pair go down town on a shopping tour they must do no more that day ; if our saddle horses get an hour in the park or riding school every day they are in luck. Any horse in work, can do and should do his ten 62 CONDITION AND CONDITIONING miles a day, and that at a smart pace, not jogging along at huckster's trot, but reading fast and promptly. So far as stable management goes, its depart- ments of menu and massage are of first impor- tance. To simply gallop a race horse is by no means to train him. As one taciturn yet won- derfully successful trainer replied to the question as to where he worked his horses, "In my stable/* And that is three-fourths of the whole matter. As to ventilation there cannot be too much, draughts being prevented as much as pos- sible ; nor should there ever be noticeable the slightest trace of ammonia. Disinfectants that really disinfect — not simply cause one stench in order to smother another — are too plentiful to allow for any such evidence of neglect, whether the stable shelters one horse or one thousand ; and air may be plentiful, yet foul, or limited, yet fresh. Get all the ozone you can manage, and then try your best to get a little more. As we carefully cleanse the lungs by proper ventilation, so we must attend to the " external breathing apparatus," so to speak — the pores of the skin — by regular and thorough grooming, by frequent washing, and by clipping the hair, if 63 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE the animal is to work in winter, and is heavy coated. That washing should be advised is con- trary to general practise, but that has no bearing on its practical advantage. A cold bath and shower, followed by a quick scrape and rub-out (alcohol shampoo to follow, if desired), is as in- vigorating to your horse as to yourself, and just as healthful. Moreover, the recipient is left absolutely clean, as he should always be and seldom is. There need be, and should be, no more " horsey " smell to your steed and his clothing than to yourself. Clean clothing is a luxury to him as to you, and you had far better be untidy than to have him appear so. A lazy groom can so smear a horse over with damp sponge and rub-cloth that he shall look fairly well to the eye ; but if you know that he receives a bath daily, or thrice weekly, he will come very near being sweet and savory all the time. If the lungs and skin are regularly well cleansed the highroad to health will be in sight, and it but remains to see that the digestive organs are properly nourished and regularly flushed to at- tain the goal of perfect physical condition. So far as nutriment goes, hay is, of course, the staple, and furnishes in addition the bulk which is needed CONDITION AND CONDITIONING in the stomach to insure perfect digestion. The popular demand is all for a coarse and clear Tim- othy hay, woody in fibre, and not freely digest- ible ; but why this should be the case, at least for general purposes, will ever remain a mystery. Of course, horses in fast work and highly grain-fed get but little hay (although the more advanced trainers have modified this) ; but the average beast may have all he wants, and the finer grasses (and clovers) early cut and nicely cured are cheap, wholesome, preferable, and rarely used. One hears much of the celebrated cc blue grass " of Kentucky, but finds it simply the "June grass" of all northern localities; while the stock- barns of that State, thoroughbred and trotting estab- lishments alike, are filled solid to the roofs with clover hay, and that is what grows and nourishes every celebrated race-horse that upholds the fame of the " blue-grass region." Such fodder may be a little dusty, but it is easily sprinkled, and no horse keeper need fear to outrage tradition and feed the finer grades of this material with great economy and much satisfaction. Oats, as the staff of equine life, should form the basis of the general ration. But corn-on-the-ear, no other way, is a most satisfactory adjunct for eight 5 65 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE months in the year, and a breakfast of ten to fifteen ears of a cold morning is as grateful as you find a Yarmouth bloater now and then. There is a strong prejudice against corn, but it is a mistaken objection, provided ear-corn, rather than the shelled or the cracked, be gener- ally fed. Bran in its various grades, according to the animal's characteristics, is a most useful and generally cheap food, and mixed with cheap oats and cooked (by pouring on boiling water, and covering for a few hours) may well be used for feeding as a warm evening meal, well salted, on, say, Saturday nights. All the other grains may be usefully and profitably fed in the same way as well as brewers' grains, stale bread, etc., experiment determining the needs of the indi- vidual. Cut feed is an excellent provender in theory, and in practice if carefully managed, but its steady use has caused many a death, and made many a hopeless dyspeptic. The difficulty is to keep the stomach sweet, especially with greedy feeders, who will bolt their provender. To use it safely a mixture of equal parts of powdered ginger, gentian, and bi-carbonate of soda should be kept, and a tablespoonful mixed with at least one feed daily. Flaxseed jelly, made by pouring boiling 66 CONDITION AND CONDITIONING water on the whole seed and letting it "jell," is a most valuable feeding adjunct, and as wholesome as it is appetizing. A half-pint at a feed will work wonders in a horse's appearance, or it may be given as a drink, or as a drench. Linseed meal has, under modern processes, little feeding value, as all the oil is extracted by pressure and by chemicals. While the hearty and hardy equine is the most eagerly sought and most easily cared for, there are numbers of high-strung, nervous and " crotch- ety " individuals, who, properly handled, will out- work and out-last their more phlegmatic confreres. For these certain methods must be tried, and various means applied to soothe the nervous temper, coax and stimulate the generally wayward appetite. A real "shy doer " is a fascinating study, just as is a brilliant cripple. " If I can only get him right, he 's a wonder," we have all soliloquized many a time ! Your shy feeders will always drink if they won't eat, or they can be made to drink, thus disproving the adage that the " devil may lead a horse to water, but he cannot make him drink." You can drench him with the essence of say eight pounds of hay three times a day, with the addition of a half-pint of FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE flaxseed jelly each time (that is, if he won't drink it, which he generally will). Skim milk can be bought very cheap, and with flaxseed (or with that and "hay tea") affords excellent nourishment. Molasses also, the old-time black kind, is a grand appetizer ; may be diluted and sprinkled on hay, etc., or fed clear, and a pair of very old horses were, to the writer's knowledge, kept for a long time on clear molasses, and a little hay, which they mumbled over and rejected after extracting the juice. Apples, carrots, etc., all kinds of flavoring materials, may be cheaply pro- cured and appropriately used, so that there is no excuse for any man to say that he cannot keep his animal in condition, unless his horse has some grave physical ailment. Physic — purgative — is rarely or never needed, especially if the subject is well salted, either in his Saturday night feed, or by the provision of Glau- ber salts, or rock-salt, at frequent intervals, and by the weekly provision of a grass-sod (if obtainable), roots, dirt, and all. Very rarely the kidneys need slight stimulation, and occasionally the liver gets sluggish, but if so, the veterinary had better be consulted than to tinker with your horse's inter- nals as your own theories or your man's fancies 68 CONDITION AND CONDITIONING suggest. You take your $5 Waterbury to the watchmaker's for cleansing and oiling, — do be equally respectful to your $500 equine's main- spring. " Carron oil " — linseed oil and lime- water — may be given (from a pint to a quart) occasionally, and can do no harm, provided the recipient is laid by for a day. Now we come to a matter that is usually re- garded with horror and distrust, — the use of arsenic. This drug, properly used, is nothing in the world but a strong tonic, and, like all such powerful agents, its use must be gradually be- gun, briefly continued, and gradually abandoned. " Fowler's solution " is a very valuable medicine, and in capable hands works excellent results, stimu- lates faltering appetite, and generally tones up the system. Quinine, another powerful tonic, is also wonderfully helpful with hard-working horses, and with some it seems to be as useful as the dangerous and distrusted arsenic. There are more horses (which do not seem to do well) suf- fering from genuine malaria than would be be- lieved, and especially in the spring is this drug a most valuable agent to the maintaining of health, appetite, and courage. Do not for a moment imagine that the writer is an advocate of the use of FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE stimulants, medicines, etc., for general and regular use, for that is not the case ; but there are not a few useful and appropriate methods and medicaments which we are prone to condemn wholesale because we have seen them abused and not used. The water and drinking vessels must be of the purest. Can you expect a sensitive creature to relish drinking from the pail which has just held soap, and is contaminated with the other stable uses to which it may be put ? or to be other than nauseated when the same sponge is used to wash his mouth, his legs, and his feet? And can the creature relish a mash mixed by hands uncleaned from the filth of stable labor ? Or does a sour manger under his nose all day, a steaming hay- rack beside that, and a reeking straw-bed under him, sound like a combination likely to create a thirst to be acceptably assuaged only from a bucket about which clings the filth of months ? No wonder we have some light feeders ! Horses should have their hay on the ground in front of them. They may waste some, but it is generally only that which has become distaste- ful to them, anyway, by being breathed upon. Besides, hay nowadays is as cheap as rye-straw, and no more expensive if used as bedding. Feed- 70 CONDITION AND CONDITIONING boxes should " take out," and what is more, they should be taken out after each meal, washed and sunned if possible. If a certain time is allowed for the consumption of grain, horses will learn it, the light feeders eat as much or more, and not be disgusted with a balance steaming under their noses. On days that no work is to be done, the feed- ing must be regulated accordingly ; and if any acci- dent, etc., is likely to prevent outdoor work for an extended period, a mild dose of physic may be given at once to advantage, which, with rather laxative food, will prevent any tendency to feverish symptoms from its sudden and abso- lute cessation. There are so many dozens of little details which bear directly upon this most important matter that one hardly knows how to stop or where to begin. Various rarely considered details, such as the condemnation of many horses as subjects to fits, which suffer from nothing but disordered liver and digestion generally; the value of bleed- ing in certain cases, where a horse is nervous, shy feeding, and generally upset ; the treatment of feet and legs with relation to maintenance of health, — these and dozens of other matters must be left FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE untouched. The " condition " herein referred to means that of the carriage, the hunter, the saddle, and the general-purpose horse ; with the race-horse and the trotter we have nothing to do as yet. 72 Chapter VI THE "GREEN" OR UNACCLIMATED HORSE AND HIS CARE IT comes to the ill fortune of most of us, at some period of our horse-keeping experi- ence, to purchase, and be obliged to care for, a horse fresh from the country — west or east, north or south — to watch for and tend him in his acclimation sickness, which is certain sooner or later, with varying degree of severity, to overtake him, and to subsequently congratulate ourselves upon his recovery, or to mourn his untimely demise. The trouble which we thus call " acclimation fever " is rarely other than a more or less severe attack of influenza, brought on by the transfer from airy country barns, or pastures, to hot and ill-ventilated dealers' — or private — stables in town or city. In the former case the animal is not improbably dosed with drugs to resist the approach of the disease, and when removed to the 73 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE private stable his condition is the more liable to make him not only ill, but seriously so. As the Esquimaux succumb to the conditions of civiliza- tion, as you yourself, after weeks spent in camp- ing out and exposure of all sorts, immediately become ill with a cold on taking up your usual habits of indoor life, so is your horse upset by changed air, food, water, and surroundings, while probably the mental depression and despondency caused by his homesickness for familiar scenes play their important part in reaching this result. Horses are poor patients, possess but feeble resistive powers, and the gamest and most sturdy succumb to apparently trifling ailments, which would never seriously affect a human being — the truth being that not only have they often a " faint" heart, but also a really weak heart, and one sometimes failing totally in most extraordinary fashion. True it may be, that such cases have "kept up" bravely until nature was exhausted, and after their disease had advanced further than was appreciated — though this is hardly likely. Physicians find great difficulty in diagnosing cases of the human subject where questions may be answered and symptoms explained. How much more arduous to successfully locate and 74 THE "GREEN" HORSE combat illness in an animal which can do neither, nor call attention to other complications which may exist ! In equine pathology all treatment must be speculative, and one can but try and try again. Certain evidences insure the presence of special troubles, but the serious ailment may totally escape notice, as in the cases mentioned of apparently weak heart. Privation and fatigue, the horse's limitations, insure that he shall but feebly resist. Nature is the best veterinary, and her indicated treatment of rest, and light feeding will result favorably five times out of six, and her repairs, slowly made, are the more enduring for that reason. Sooner or later, then, you find your "green" horse running at the nose, and possibly the eyes, refusing his feed and probably coughing and sneezing a little. If you can, forthwith stop his grain ; feed him only a little hay (or a mash, if his throat is sore, as probable), never more than he will eat clean in thirty minutes or so, and all remnants cleared away at once ; all the water he will drink, with a dose (at once) of powdered nitre, or one ounce saltpetre in it to keep his kidneys active; clothe him warmly, bandaging his extrem- 75 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE ities well, and insure fresh air, but no draught ; then, leaving him alone until he gets better, it will generally be but a few days before he is all right again ; nor, beyond a simple febrifuge, and a liniment for the sore throat, could the most skilled veterinarian do anything further. It is, of course, best to send for him when available (as he nearly always is) but this is written for those who may not care to go to that expense. Rigid cleanliness must be enforced, and the nose, eyes, etc., as well as the surrounding wood- work, gently sponged and cleaned with tepid water, for a sick horse is generally rather nasty. The head may be steamed if there is much accumulation of mucus, and if the throat is very sore, but if this is done (hot water and vinegar is as good as anything) the head and neck must be carefully dried, and protected by a hood, or harm may ensue. A thermometer is useful if understood, but is dangerous in the hands of an amateur, for the reason that he will always be " panicky" if he uses it. A horse's temperature constantly varies, and the odd degree or two of change from normal, which may seem to presage fever, has very prob- ably no significance. One should experiment THE "GREEN" HORSE with healthy animals by placing the fingers on the bars of the mouth under the tongue, for fever is quickly detected here, the temperature being about ninety-eight degrees in health. The pulse is below the jaw and runs about forty de- grees in health, and it is then pliant and full, not hard and wiry. The following will be found excellent to relieve the cough, etc.: Extract of Belladonna i^ ounce Powdered Opium 2 drachms Powdered Camphor 3 drachms Powdered Liquorice 2 ounces Molasses yz pint. Mix ; smear tablespoonful on tongue three or four times daily. The throat may be smeared — not rubbed, or it will blister — with Lard I pound Turpentine I pint Melt lard and mix turpentine. When the " pink eye/' as it is called from the tendency of the eyes to close and be weak (needing a darkish stable when this occurs), has passed its worst, there is often a dropsical tendency of the legs ensuing, or remaining, which may hugely swell them, giving them the appearance of having 77 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE been tied with strings. This will help toward cure : Iodide of Potassium I ounce Carbonate of Ammonia I ounce Powdered Gentian I ounce Eight balls (or drench if throat is still sore) ; two each day for four days. Soft food is indicated, but very little of any- thing will be eaten. If weakness continues, the strength may be maintained, and heart stimulated, by doses of whiskey and quinine at frequent inter- vals ; or this treatment may begin at the first indi- cation of disease. Soft and easily digested food should be the rule for some weeks after recovery, for a latent weakness — a sort of low fever — remains and any over-exertion may cause a relapse. Exercise must gradually increase. Of course few or none of these occurrences may result. The horse may escape with a trifling dulness for a few days that will hardly be notice- able, and not even affect his ability for light work. If this fresh or as a grub is like a butterfly. We have never had ten thoroughly educated high-school horses in this country, nor six men who were capable either of training them, or of imparting their knowledge to others. In all forms of riding is this art most essential, and he who has it will turn a polo pony quicker, will hand a hunter over an " inthricate lep" more successfully, will get the last ounce out of a " chaser," will skim the rails closer in a race, than his more ignorant confrere, and the rudiments of it should be imparted (as they easily are) to any beast used under the saddle. The proper signals, the proper aids in equestrianism are so absolutely a matter of plain common-sense, and so generally misunderstood or neglected, that it is a marvel that the most polite of animals does not rid him- 149 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE self of his intolerable burden oftener than he does. Stand at the entrance to the park any day, and you can see nine hacks out of ten turn the corner wrong foot first ; start to trot, or (especially) to canter at signals from those on their poor old ridgepoles which mean exactly opposite to what they say, and which those patient heads and anxious hearts have, after vast effort (and many failures), learned to interpret backward, so to speak ; figuring out that a touch of the right heel (or a jab of the right spur) means "lead right" (not left, as nature diagonally intended) ; that a jab in the mouth and a stroke on the off-shoulder means " canter " if a lady is on board ; that the left rein pulled across the neck means go to the right ; that the fact that one's rider pulls the right rein, and signals to one's hind quarters to go the same way, must be disregarded as to the latter intimation; "whoa" sometimes means stand perfectly still, and then again it does n't ; while " c'lk, c'lk " may mean go very fast, or walk a little quicker, but which, one can't tell until one tries. That our saddle-horses are not as a rule more perfect in training and manners is due chiefly to that impatience, that eagerness for results, how- ever imperfect, which is so thoroughly a part of 150 THE SADDLE-HORSE the American character. Much time, patience, and money must be expended upon the animal to make him as perfect in his work as he should be, and for this scientific labor the buying public are not willing to pay prices fairly remunerative to trainers. Again, the average American equestrian is not himself sufficiently proficient to ride a really highly educated horse, as his impulsive nature will not allow him to expend the time or money necessary for competent instruction, and its ac- companying adequate practice. As a consequence his seat is generally insecure, his hands of course of the worst ; while of the proper aids to the art he has not the faintest conception, and further- more generally takes vast pride in his ignorance. Hands — that delicacy and pliability of touch which is so necessary for the proper performance of all equestrian evolutions, are absolutely depen- dent upon a secure and elastic, properly balanced seat, and to this there is no royal road but that of constant rehearsal under competent supervision. The riding schools will teach any one to " remain " upon a steady old school slave in a course of from fifteen to thirty lessons, and with this the average citizen is satisfied. FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE If you must buy a horse for saddle use on one qualification only, be sure he moves his hocks well, and "goes off them " as the dealers say. A good deep slanting shoulder is valuable ; a well set head, and a long neck that " bridles," that is, bends well, is an advantage ; a strong loin and back, and well-sprung ribs a blessing ; good open feet, and broad, flat bone, with no " dishing " or cc toeing out," a requisite ; but when all is pos- sessed (and said and done) if the animal does not " bend his hocks " he will never give you a really good and comfortable ride ; will lose his action and elasticity with fatigue ; will tire to death in deep going, and will prove the failure that any machine must be when defective in its most important (and least considered) detail. Be sure your bridle and saddle fit, and are properly put on. The universally used double bridle is too frequently short in brow band, mak- ing it lie uncomfortably about the thin skin at the ears ; the bridoon is generally placed three to five holes too high, and the rings are far too small, the bit too thin and narrow. What is called a " Dexter snaffle " makes the best possible bridoon bit. If the bridoon is too high, the curb-bit is as universally too low, the port too frequently pres- 152 THE SADDLE-HORSE ent, the arms too long. Look at the tender skin on which these weapons must rest ; oh, reader ! figure to yourself the agony easily inflicted, and buy the largest, easiest bits you can find, seeing that they lie always well below the angles of your patient servant's mouth. The saddle, well pad- ded everywhere, should be well clear of the shoulder blades, and, if you are a heavy man, be sure your tree is long and wide, that the pressure may be well distributed. If a woman, a thick felt, girthed separately about the horse, will afford a surface for your saddle to move on, while the affixing of your stirrup-strap to a billet on the off-can tie (after going around the body) will re- duce all shifting and consequent chafing to a minimum. If you will remember, after you have been out about thirty minutes, to have your girths tight- ened one or two holes, you will do well by your beast, and save a possible fall. Upon return, if saddles are left on for a while, the girths should be tightened to compensate for the weight re- moved, not loosened as is the custom ; but if plenty of cold water is well applied the pores of the skin "will be closed, no injury or swelling result, and the saddle may be removed at once. 153 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE The bending, suppling, and mouthing of the horse need only patience and common-sense. The horse must yield every time, not you, and if you make a mistake and give before he does, you will have much to do to repair your error. Caress always that part that yields (or that per- forms) : the jaw, the neck, the shoulders, the croup, with whatever he accomplishes your wish ; reward that part immediately by caress (never word). As a clever teacher once said to his pupil, " If your little boy pleases you, do you kiss your little girl ? " and that is the whole thing in a sentence, the secret of Baucher, the essence of equestrianism, which, if you regularly practise and believe, simplifies everything about horse- manship. When the jaw, neck, etc., yield easily and pli- antly at a stand, proceed at a walk straight, in circles, figure eights, etc., and at the passage both right and left, always returning to the halt if the animal gets out of hand, always beginning and ending the ride with a moment or two of station- ary bitting. The same manoeuvres at trot and canter naturally follow, and form the last stages of the training of the average hack. Never tire the horse ; two lessons of thirty THE SADDLE-HORSE minutes each are much better than one of an hour, although occasionally a sulky or wilful pupil may keep you even two hours. Never punish without a reason that satisfies yourself, and always punish the part that has proved recal- citrant. Remember that a horse has two ends, and that it is essential to proper locomotion that both front and rear should be signalled to, guided, and always under proper control. Two methods of advance are possible, the diagonal and the lateral. For instance, the horse may lead in the canter with his right leg, but to do this his croup must first go to the right (of his own volition, or at the intimation of your left leg). He cannot canter in any other position, and your training him, and explaining to him what your leg, spur, or heel may mean, renders it impossible for him to do other than to perform your bidding properly and promptly, changing the lead by a reversal of sig- nals. A horse in training, and afterward, must be " ridden" every step. No partnership is pos- sible ; he will do it his way if you are not master (and he "sizes you up" in a moment). He is kept up to his bit, made to bend, made to yield by constant, almost unconscious signals from the 155 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE legs, reinforced, if necessary, by occasional appli- cations of the spur. He will not even stand properly, or back collectively, unless the rider's legs are doing their part. If it is desired to teach your horse to guide by the neck, a simple crossing of the reins under the neck, that a pressure on one side may accompany a pull on the opposite of the mouth, will quickly promote it ; or the western " hack-amore," a rope around nose and through mouth, will soon accomplish it roughly. As a civilian, however, you have two hands free, and will, if you ride much, find ample employment for both of them. There is no more reason for riding with one hand than there is for always mounting on the nigh side, as a moment's thought will show you. Never speak to your horse more than two words: "Whoa," and^ "C'lk;" and do, pray do, forget the latter, or the exasperating " P-w-e-e-e-p," so often heard, at least when in company. You have no right to ride any one's horse but your own, and your legs should suffice for that. Your cc Whoa " should mean but one thing — dead stop — and be always quick and sharp, never drawled. Make your horse back frequently, and never be satisfied unless he will THE SADDLE-HORSE do so freely, promptly, and evenly, keeping him straight with leg pressure, and being sure he is in position to do so before the first step is asked. He cannot back unless he is, it is physically im- possible. The smaller the training inclosure, within cer- tain limits, the quicker will the animal learn, and the handier will he prove. A place fifty feet square is ample, or thirty feet wide and sixty feet long ; a twenty-foot box stall is sufficient for all but the trot and canter. Read all the books on equestrianism you can find, but sift out the chaff and remember that, given a few facts and a certain amount of elemen- tary instruction, all depends upon practice, com- mon-sense, and " horse " sense. The hunting man and the equestrian who "learned to ride before I could walk, and was brought up on horseback " are apt to scout the idea that the riding-school affords an arena where- in may be learned anything likely to further their accomplishments, scorning the suggestion that they are not perforce competent for all emergen- cies. The performer who " always rode with popper from the time I was so high " is generally as arrogant as he is dense. 157 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE To wander at disconnected paces round and round a dull brown parallelogram is not, per se, wildly exciting, and the sight of awkward men and " soggy " women flopping about on the long- suffering old riding-school slaves, jagging their poor old mouths into ribbons, is enough to make one take, in horror, to the bicycle. There are, however, other grades, but the kindergarten, in all schooling, and if one really sets about it, one will be aghast to find the amount one does not know, and to learn what a lenient critic was " popper." As workshop to the artisan, as class- room to the student, as atelier to the artist, so should be the riding-school to the equestrian ; a place for study, research, practice, and ultimate skilled performance. Any man of fair physical soundness may, if he will, progress far in this fas- cinating art, finding daily new fields of pleasure opening to him, and rewarded, not only by the ex- ercise afforded and health obtained, but by the de- light found in gaining mastery over an animal so companionable and so lovable as the horse. Chapter XII THE HUNTER AND HIS EDUCATION THE ancient receipt for "jugging" hare or rabbit began with the rather useful advice, " First catch your hare;" and an equally important de- tail concerning the education of hunters is to first get your apparently suitable raw material. Horses which in appearance and conformation are well worthy of consideration are passed by, or put to other work, far more generally than one would suppose, because the average buyer has set up false idols of worship, has been influ- enced, consciously or insensibly, by the drawings of Leech and of Sturgis, the works of Whyte- Melville, the Badminton books, etc. ; has, in fact, acquired a "false eye," and accepted quite errone- ous impressions as to what comprises essential hunter conformation and weight-carrying ability; demanding a bulk and height which are not only absolutely unnecessary, but possibly detrimental. 1S9 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE A good weight-carrying horse is an easier ani- mal to find than one would imagine, if one will but abandon the untenable argument that lofti- ness and avoirdupois have necessarily anything whatever to do with such ability. These huge brutes of sixteen hands and upward have just two solitary points in their favor, — they are more proportionate, if their bulky riders be also very tall, and they make the fences look smaller. They are not as active as the smaller animal ; their own body-weight is generally an uncomfort- able impost, after hounds really run, and when the ground, — as seldom is the case in America, because of the seasons at which we hunt, — affords heavy going; their size is generally a guarantee that, close up, there is a cross of the coldest kind of blood ; their clumsiness, normally objection- able, is overwhelming when exhaustion impends, and they weigh a lot when the worst has come to pass, and you are trying to keep them off your wish-bone ! Again the average heavy weight is short and — well, plump; and these tall beasts are as insurmountable as a mountain range when embarkation is at hand, and about as altitudinous to fall from. They are, also, perforce, too thick through for a short and stout man to ride com- 160 THE HUNTER AND HIS EDUCATION fortably ; even the extra length of stirrup- leather, which his round and short thigh compels, does not afford him a secure prop ; and the same arguments hold against the tall saddle-horse as against the hunter. Modifications of these characteristics are most essential if comfort is to ensue. As hunters and hacks for men are almost always selected above the needful power, so those for feminine use are usually the exact reverse. If a woman walks one hundred and forty pounds, she will ride at or near one hundred and seventy pounds ; yet any sort of slack-waisted, light-tim- bered screw is chosen for this job, doubly irk- some to it because weight and balance are mostly to one side ; and this " crock " effectually " as runs /^ the old English roundelay, can /"" "%^ hardly be read by even the most phlegmatic without a stirring of the pulse, and an indefinite wish that one had, "when all the world was young, boys," turned more attention to the joys and perils, the tri- umphs and the vicissitudes of such outdoor pursuits. Involuntarily one straightens the droop- ing shoulders, and expands the chest which, all too seldom, rejoice in such novel sensations ; and a sigh of regret at opportunities lost, dis- misses an idea which might, under proper culti- vation, result in endless benefit to even the man of middle age, or worse, would he but cast aside the clogging fetters of indolence, and, accepting the goods the gods provide, fare him forth to undertakings which would prove as healthful as inexpensive, and as fatal to his increasing girth 251 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE and advancing decrepitude as they would be beneficial to his welfare. To such an one, as to those in the flush of youth and vigor, any and all methods and means of securing outdoor exer- cise should be welcome, and would be so did they but realize the possibilities at their hands in this great country of ours. " The man on horseback rules," as some wise tactician has sensibly re- marked ; and what is true of nations applies as well to individuals. " There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man," as Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes so wittily and pithily put it, and he who takes the prescription will surely endorse it. To the nov- ice — and these articles are meant to interest the " new hand " — and the neophyte who is recom- mended horseback exercise ; or to the faddist who takes it up as a caprice, the humdrum monotony of riding-school and bridle-path equestrianism is as dull as a sermon with fourteen sub-heads. Once enlisted at this branch of sport, the recruit must be kept interested, or he returns quickly to his shell, never again to be tempted forth. To such, as to the adept, drag hunting over a coun- try that is fair, and rideable for the moderate per- former, affords a mode of delightful enjoyment 252 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS that is as little appreciated as it is rarely adopted ; while, that the ladies, the children, and the " road delegation " may be provided for, the course may always be laid parallel to, or con- stantly crossing, various roads, that the spectacle may be visible to all. Such gallops need occupy but a trifle of time, from forty to sixty minutes, and it is perfectly possible to so arrange matters that within those times hounds may have covered a fair space of country, and at a rate of speed which changes the usual afternoon or morning trot and canter into a delightful brisk hand gal- lop, as beneficial to beast as exhilerating to man. Suitable country for such undertakings abounds everywhere in America, and may often be found close to, or inside of, the limits of even large cities. Farmers, as a rule, never object, especially where the hunt carefully and immediately repairs all smashed fences, but enjoy with their families the novel and picturesque sights such runs afford. Wire may always be dodged in such hunting, and if it is very prevalent, arrangements can always be made to substitute a panel or two of negotiable rails here and there in the line which is to be* followed, while purchase of hay, grain, and other commodities, even at slightly better 253 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE than market rates, will do much to cement good feeling, and may be considered as return in part for the privileges which the hunt enjoys. Of course, gardens, new seeding, grain fields, etc., must be sacred ; but here again the " dragman " can easily arrange his journey so that no harm shall ensue, and pasture, meadow, and lane only be encroached upon. Wholly false ideas are entertained regarding the cost of such undertakings, the original outlay necessary, and the expense of maintenance. The whole matter need run to but small figures, and the spring, and fall (and summer's) hunting entails but a mere bagatelle of outlay. If puppies are to be bred and " walked," if high-cost horses are kept, high-class servants employed, and costly kennels built, money to any amount may be " chucked " away ; but no such plans are contemplated here — merely a rough-and-ready establishment, which shall provide the maximum of fun at the mini- mum of expense, unpretentious, amateurish, and the more amusing for that reason. Hound pups are most difficult to rear, because of distemper, and the mortality is always enormous among them, while many which survive the disease are either crippled or worthless ; cheap hunters, that 254 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS can do other " slave " harness-and-saddle work at any time are indicated, and will provide as much sport as the expensive sort ; while, if accident occur, the loss is small. Servants need be few in number ; in fact, one man who lays the drag, feeds the hounds, cares for the hunt-horses, etc., is all sufficient, assisted, if an amateur does not " whip-in " to the amateur master, by a light lad, who can ride a little, and help about the stables and kennels. One man will, however, do all the work, — the three or four hunt-horses, the six to ten couple of hounds, etc., — and, if an active and lively fellow, as any servant should be, do it well. Horses may be picked up at all sorts of prices, but it is very easy to obtain in the auction marts (of the east, at least) any quantity of good, safe, useful " gee-gees," able and trained to jump well, gallop fairly, work in harness, etc., perhaps not all clear and clean in their legs, but bearing " honorable " scars only, emblematic of disaster in flood and field, and fully competent for the work in hand. Such animals run all the way from $50 to lifo, although if a man is very heavy he may have to pay rather more for some- thing up to his weight. The light and the FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE middle weight (lucky men !) may easily mount themselves for about these figures ; but of course when they promote themselves to a fast pace and a big jumping country, they must expect to pay accordingly. We are not now considering those matters, but providing for a line where fences do not run (or need not run) over three feet six inches to four feet, as a general thing, that be- ginners may be encouraged, and not dismayed or hurt by celerity of progress or altitude of obstacle. " Draft hounds " may be procured from any established pack for next to nothing, often two or three dollars each, especially if several couple are taken, and, for a beginning, almost "any old thing" that will gallop and hunt will answer. "Babblers," "skirters," non-hunters (so that they go along with the rest), anything will do at first, and as experience teaches and knowledge increases, so the pack may be re-drafted and improved along reasonable, sensible, and economical lines. Eng- lish hounds are always to be preferred for such work, and for the handling of the neophyte master, as, both by inheritance and education, they "pack" better, are more manageable on road and in kennel, more picturesque in appear- THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS ance and more easy to obtain. They do not give tongue like the American hounds, but they make music enough, and as your drag need not run through large woodlands, the field is in no danger of losing them if they keep anywhere near at hand. The American hound will stand no knocking about; a whip crack or a harsh " rate," and he is off home ; he can rarely be handled on the roads unless coupled, and, once the run is over, will march away to kennel by himself, while, if the whip tries to " turn him to " the master, he is lucky if he gets to him within the limits of the county. In kennel, also, they are shy and discontented. After our wild foxes the American hound, with his wonderful nose, his patience, his pace, and his conversational powers, is unapproachable, but he insists upon handling the job his own way, and, be you ever so intimate with him, resents your interference with his business firmly and immediately, nor, once he has left off through your officiousness, will he begin again, that day at least. English hounds may be " rated," thrashed, ridden over, " lifted," cast and banged about any way you like, once get them on the line again and they go cheerfully on their way, " 'owling 'orribly," as the 17 257 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE nervous old lady said, but plugging along to the end, where six pounds of a bullock's neck seems to afford them as much gratification and amuse- ment as if they had run into the "little red rover" himself. A mixture of the two kinds never proves satisfactory, and provides a pack which spreads over a forty-acre field, some on the line, and some yards and furlongs down-wind of it. Of course, after a time some (the majority) of your " mottled darlings " will lose interest in hunting, and will become quite worthless, save as an addition to numbers. Generally these old stagers are incorrigible, but occasionally (if thought worth while) they may cc come again " if loaned to some sportsman for the winter who shoots rabbits, etc. Worked on the " bunnies," and allowed to kill and to taste fresh blood, some of them will become keen again, but draft hounds are so cheap and plentiful that it is rarely worth while to bother. It is often possible to thus lend your hounds, or some of them, to various farmers who employ their leisure time in winter in shoot- ing, and thereby the expense of keeping them is saved to you, while, as you only run a drag, it is quite immaterial what your charges fancy as long as they leave sheep, calves, and chickens alone. THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS A drag pack of six couple is plenty large enough for ordinary occasions ; holidays and fete days you may turn out the whole lot of ten couple or thereabout. A big lot of such hounds, which is bound to contain some stragglers, gets under horses' feet at the fences, and is a nuisance generally, and besides it is far easier to get a small lot to " pack " well and run properly than a large one, and as galloping and jumping is the main issue, superfluous hounds should be avoided. There is nothing to be gained by a big pack, and ten couple will easily give you a working detail of six or seven couple for three days a week, or more if you have time, for after all, there was something in the oft-quoted remark of the hard- riding English lordling, after a " lark home " fol- lowing a blank day : " There ! you see what fun we might have if it wasn't for those d — d hounds ! " For, of course, in America, hounds must be but the material means to the end of a good gallop, that being, alas ! about all we, most of us, have either time, inclination, or opportunity to accomplish, nor would the average impetuous national character have patience to potter about all day. As to kennels, hounds do well in very rough- 259 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE and-ready quarters, so long as they are reasonably cool in summer, and free from damp in winter. Stone structures are distinctly to be avoided, at least for winter use, and any hovel which has a good height of roof and does not leak will answer all purposes. It should, of course, have at least one, and preferably two, shady yards of fair size, and the building itself should be divided into two rooms, a feeding and a sleeping apartment, the latter provided with slatted benches, about two feet from the ground, which will either fold up against the wall or take out entirely, so that per- fect cleanliness and disinfection may be assured. While washing down and sweeping will work well for at least seven months in the year, any damp- ness is very bad, in winter, at least, in the sleep- ing quarters, and the disinfected sawdust which may be obtained in barrels answers all purposes better if it is liberally used, and swept out with a very stiff broom daily. Hounds are fairly tidy if given constant access to a yard, but some are incorrigible offenders and defile everything. For this reason the drinking water should be renewed several times daily, and preferably arranged so that the animals must stand on their hind legs to reach it. Straw makes an excellent bedding to 260 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS scatter over the benches, but it should be fresh- ened daily and renewed entirely every few days, while by body dressing and the use of insecticides, constant warfare must be waged upon fleas. The feeding room will need the same treatment, only that its floor and troughs must be kept scoured, and the troughs always set out in the sun daily and never allowed to sour. Everything about kennels should be, and can be, as sweet as a rose, and any offensive odors pay eloquent tribute to negligence and want of care, not only from the kennel man, but from the master. Any man who takes animals in his charge, and does not properly care for them, is worse than a beast himself. The extraordinary odors emanating from the kennel and cook-room (and hounds themselves) of some very pretentious packs are an insult not only to the defenceless animals, but to all the members of the hunt whom the master thus wil- fully neglects. Hounds bearing traces of mange and other skin disease, blear-eyed and rough- coated, are also by no means uncommon. Every one should receive a body dressing with a rough- ish brush and a cloth " swipe " every day of his life, and will learn to enjoy it as much as a horse, while by this means every little abrasion of skin, 261 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE etc., is noticed and may be at once attended to. A large pail should be kept in the kennel containing the following mixture and provided with a good big stiff paint brush to rub the dress- ing on and in : Crude petroleum 2 quarts Oil of tar 2 pints Flowers of sulphur 4 pounds Turpentine \y2 pints Use this whenever there is any redness of the skin, or cuts ; it will make the victim sing out for a few moments, but it will cure anything from mange down. In dry, hot weather, hounds are very apt to get tender-footed as their pads wear pretty thin, and a pickle of strong brine, in which their feet may be placed for a few moments daily is excel- lent. A shallow trough that will hold an inch of the fluid is all that is necessary, and if it is placed in a passage-way so that they must walk through it, will be just the proper arrangement ; while if there is a door at each end of the passage, the whole pack may be shut in, on returning from exercise or from hunting, and left for a few min- utes. Occasionally, too, in the early fall, certain 262 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS of them seem to be affected sometimes by a sort of hay fever, due either to dust or the pollen from some weeds, and a weakness and running of the eyes ensues, which may be alleviated by any of the washes used for such things on the human subject, and the kennel may be kept dark- ened as in summer, at all events on bright days. For this reason, if any whitewash is used (as it never should be, however cleansing, because hounds' coats get full of it, unless plenty of glue (sizing) is mixed with it), it should have some lamp-black mingled with it, in order to give a dull gray, and not a glaring white, effect. The proper feeding of hounds in this climate is not generally understood, because usually English servants have them in charge, and masters leave all such details to them. It is to the heavy flesh- feeding that much of the disagreeable (doggy) smell may be attributed, and such strong food as horse meat is never needed, at all events with the " dragmen," nor raw meat of any kind, save that provided by the hoick! Hoick, Prattler!" and when they are drawing, " Yeo ! try for it ! Ye-o-o, rouse him out ! Yeoo, work for him, puppies ! " 276 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS Many huntsmen keep up a running fire of falsetto encouragement to their hounds, but it has never seemed productive of good results and has a tendency to distract their attention. They know their business, and if you can catch a fox yourself, why go ahead and do it ! It makes them indifferent also, when a crisis really arrives, and if they have been rarely interfered with, your voice then brings energetic response, and eager work. If they " kennel-know "you and love you, they will try all they can, anyhow. When the " kill " comes, call them by name, as, " Bachelor, here ! Music / Van- ity, old woman ! " etc., and after the " who-o-op ! " which has announced the finish, cry, " Worry, worry, worry ! Tear him and eat him ! " and so on. To make hounds drink, the words " Suss, suss ! " are used. There are numerous other rates, cheers, and calls, but every huntsman has his pet vocabulary, and you will by degrees acquire one of your own. Readers will pardon these details, which are feebly and incompletely set forth, as well as matter-of-course to all who have hunted, but this is intended for those who have not, and only as a general guide at that. No details of the management of bag-foxes and their destruction, if hounds can be induced to 277 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE touch the poor brutes, which sometimes they will not, will be given here, and if your sport (?) is not complete without this feature, then may your undertakings in the hunting line prove dismal failures ! How any collection of ordinarily civi- lized beings can find their pleasure enhanced by the killing of a poor little wretch which is turned out in a strange locality, too feeble from long confinement to run any distance, too bewildered to seek any sanctuary, or to know where such may be found, is as much a mystery as its perpe- tration is an inhuman outrage on decency. The flimsy excuse that hounds " need blood " is ridic- ulous and untrue ; there are successful packs in all countries that never kill, and do not even taste raw meat at the "finish." That a "bagman" is highly distasteful to hounds, anyway, is proven by the fact that if they do kill him, they often refuse to either " break him up," or eat him. One view of the wretched, hunted creature, probably a cub, tongue out, brush dragging as he struggles hope- lessly along, is enough to make one's blood run cold ; and it is safe to say that, had the bulk of the field any opportunity to view such a spectacle they would promptly demand its abolition, or abandon hunting entirely. A wild fox at large in 278 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS his own country, all holes (or earths) unstopped, has a fair chance, if he gets away with a decent start, and he is probably a chicken-stealing rogue, which deserves extermination. Your rotten little mangy bagman, however, has no such chance, but runs aimlessly on until he is caught, or drops from sheer exhaustion, or else seeks the nearest fence corner, where he stops and faces his foes, dying like the hopeless little desperado he is. There are wild foxes in certain localities, nota- bly about Philadelphia, which have been hunted time and again, and which really seem to enjoy the outing, affording good runs sometimes for years, and then dying peacefully of old age ; but such cases are few, and as, sooner or later, all American hunting must be after the drag, let that be the legitimate object of pursuit, and for human- ity's sake* leave out the bag-fox features. Tame deer have been used a little in this coun- try for pursuit, and have afforded good sport, their tendency to take to the roads, and to " soil " obstinately in water when pressed, presenting the chief drawbacks to their employment. Of course they are never killed, and equally, of course, the master and whips must be well up, or they may be, but it takes a mighty fast pack to catch a deer 279 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE that has fair c< law " and means going. Not a few of these old-stagers seem to enjoy the chase, and will keep just far enough in front to make hounds do their best, until nearing the finish, when they really " set sail " for the box-stall that awaits them, to which they unerringly return. They are a bother to procure and keep, however, and should not be seriously considered. The farmers, over whose lands one hunts, must be cared for properly, and made to realize, by purchase of supplies from them when possi- ble, and by prompt settlement of any reasonable damage claims, that hunting is to their interest. Picnics, dances, etc., should feature each season, once at least ; growing crops, new meadows, etc., should be shunned ; smashed rails should be at once replaced, the dragsman going over the course the very next morning with spare rails, boards, etc., stamped with the club stencil, so that there may be no question about it, and making good all damages ; claims for stock getting out, etc., should be courteously considered, and promptly settled ; ask permission of all land-owners first, and shun carefully the premises of all who ob- ject ; their number will be few if they are prop- erly approached, and the objects clearly explained. 280 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS As your sport is possible only on their sufferance, let them understand that you appreciate it, and will requite the courtesy in kind. Hounds are quite subject to fits in hot weather, if hunted, and periods between checks should be brief for that reason ; the scent rather lightly laid, that the pace may not be too fast. Checking near water is best for this reason, and if any show signs of exhaustion the time at check may be prolonged until recovery is made. Occasionally one must be bled, but this is so rare as hardly to merit consideration. If you must act you may scarify the roof of the mouth, or may bleed from the jugular, taking care to make all safe afterward by running a pin through the edges of the cut and twisting about it a few hairs from your horse's mane ; his tail will afford none long enough, now that this infernal fashion of docking prevails. Your kennel needs in the medical line will be few ; an occasional dose of physic (as castor oil and syrup of buckthorn), a blue pill for a slug- gish liver, etc., will about complete the list unless you undertake to raise puppies and breed your own hounds. As most masters finally essay this disappointing undertaking, however, they should 281 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE have at hand some of the works upon diseases of dogs, and will find plenty of opportunity to practise. Distemper will rarely trouble you if you buy drafts of full age for such purposes as the average drag pack requires. It is the height of folly to try to breed, although handling puppies, training them, and watching them learn to work is great fun. If you successfully raise six couple out of twenty pups you are doing wonders; and if two couple out of the six are any account you are in great luck. The game is not worth the candle, save as a side issue. A number of true and tried receipts for various ailments are appended, and it is hoped that these rambling and imperfect notes may urge you to actively take up this most interesting sport, and derive from it the health and the unlimited en- joyment that such outdoor recreation, and its attendant intimate association with dumb animals, has procured for the writer. VERMIFUGE 25 grains areca-nut 2 grains santonine Follow in two hours with tablespoon castor oil. Repeat in three days. Withhold food twenty-four hours previous. Pups, half quantity. 282 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS CHOREA (Following Distemper) 1/2 grain strychnine ^ dram extract gentian 9 grains quinine ^ dram Barbadoes aloes 3 grains extr. belladonna Make 36 pills ; one twice daily before food. VERMIFUGE 20 drops oil male fern 30 drops oil turpentine 60 drops ether Beat up with egg. One dose. CANKER (Ears, etc.) 6 grains nitrate of silver i ounce water Use twice daily. FEVER MIXTURE 1 dram powdered nitre I dram wine of antimony T/2, ounce sweet nitre 4 ounces water 1 1/2 ounce minderous spirit Tablespoonful in gruel every four hours. DISTEMPER MIXTURE 2 drams chlorate potash 2 drams tincture of henbane 1 ounce minderous spirit 2^ ounces water 2 drams sweet nitre Dissolve potash in water ; add rest. Teaspoonful to table- spoonful twice daily, according to size of dog. 283 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE STOMACH STIMULANT I dram extract gentian 36 grains powdered rhubarb I 2 grains carbonate of soda Make 1 2 pills ; three daily. FLEAS Strong solution quassia chips POOR FEEDER One grain sulphate quinine daily, in powder. What, then, may we count upon as the approx- imate cost of an unpretentious establishment, such as described, hunted and whipped by amateurs, and cheaply handled in every way, to afford runs of three days per week ? Such amateurs as are able to enter actively into this sport, and to give the necessary time to it, can well afford to horse themselves, and should do so ; but for the sake of argument we will assume that the club decides to provide their horses. Animals such as will do the work can be procured at auctions, etc., ready schooled, for very little money, and many useful screws are noticed at such sales selling for fifty dollars and less. Of course, heavy men must usually pay more, but for drag hunting there is no occasion for a welterweight being horsed as he would be for a whole day with hounds. 284 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS Most horses, up to one hundred and seventy-five pounds, will carry two hundred pounds perfectly well for an hour or two, and bulk in the quad- ruped by no means insures safety to the biped. Action is what carries weight — level, true, effort- less, galloping action — and little horses are often as competent for the undertaking as the big, robust brutes generally selected. A tall horse makes fences look smaller ; he has no other merit of any kind. This, then, is the schedule for the year, the club furnishing kennel room and stall room free : ORIGINAL OUTLAY Four horses @ $100 $400.00 Ten couple hounds @ $10 100.00 Saddles, bridles, etc 100.00 Coats 80.00 $680.00 COST OF KEEP, ETC., PER MONTH Feed, etc., four horses @ $12 .... $48.00 Shoeing 8.00 Veterinary, etc. 5.00 Dragsman 50.00 Kennel man and groom 50.00 Feed, etc., hounds @ $2 40.00 Sundry 25.00 Fence repairs, damages, etc. (?) $226.00 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE The saddles, bridles, clothing, coats, etc., as with the horses, would probably be provided by the amateur officials. Hounds may often be pur- chased for much less than the price named — $5 per head. The amount named for feeding the horses is ample for any locality ; in many sections they can be well done for half the money. Shoeing, at $2 a set, averages rather high, and, if tips are used, expense is halved. Veterinary should hardly be needed, but may be occasionally. The kennel- man, if he also " does " the horses, some of them, and is competent, is worth $60 if he boards himself; if the club gives that, he should get about $35, and presents, etc., at Christmas will help out nicely. The dragsman, if regularly employed, may also help about horses and ken- nels, and work "by the run" (at $5); or for so much per month, or the kennelman may also lay drag, and will be glad of the chance, if an active fellow, as he must be. A lad at $10 a month and board can help about kennels, etc., if necessary. As a matter of fact, the writer has always found it possible to get one man to do the whole job, hounds, horses, drag, and all, and never paid over $60 to a man (who also 286 THE MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS boarded himself). Christmas, however, brought in at least $75 more, and other tips were fre- quent. While the work is hard, for a few months, it is easy the balance of the year, and the wage drops correspondingly, as do the expenses of keep- ing the animals. Hounds may be well fed at $2 each per month, when in work. The expense of repairs and damages will be light, if farmers are favorably disposed to begin with, and are prop- erly approached for the privileges desired. The writer never had to pay a penny for anything during three years in one country, and but a few dollars in another for a calf and a few hens de- stroyed by straggling hounds. All told, then, five months' hunting, spring, six weeks, and late summer and fall, thrte months or more, may be enjoyed for an outside expense of about $1,500, and probably for very much less, which, if the club has twenty members or so, entails a very slight individual outlay per month. The season over, all horses and hounds may be sold, and a fresh start made when time approaches for again beginning. 287 Chapter XVIII SHOWING HORSES successfully handle horses in the show ring implies a contest of intelli- gence between judges and exhibitors, in which the officials make every effort to discover imperfections of manners, gait, etc., while the " nagsmen " try their best not only to display their charges to advantage, but to conceal or modify all short-comings. Amateurs to this extent, strive to emulate professionals, and adopt methods which, in their own investiga- tions as purchasers, they are prone to resent upon the part of the purveyors, and to consider proper in the arena, artifices which they denounce in the sale stable. As this is proper — or if this is allowable — in the former case, it certainly should not be condemned in the latter, and if attempts to hoodwink the judicial eye are toler- ated, the hackneyed motto " Caveat emptor " de- mands equal respect. As showman or salesman, 288 SHOWING HORSES all goods should be displayed to the best advan- tage, if satisfactory results are to follow, and we have many amateurs who are as alive to every " trick of the trade " in showing a horse as the best professional. To make the best possible impression upon show functionaries every detail of equipage must be just right. This does not mean that the absurd appointment fad must be exactly copied, but that the eternal fitness of things must be plainly evidenced in the conformation, action, and qualities of the animals, — grace and appro- priateness in size and variety of the vehicle, and neatness, snugness, and good fashion and fit of harness, or of saddle and bridle. An absurdly short dock, an unkempt and crooked tail, shaggy mane and fetlocks, dirty vehicle and trappings, — all affect results ; and while it is true that a horse should win on his merits, his entourage has its proper effect on the outcome, and very justly. If pains are not taken to please the official eye, the offender has but his own neglect to blame if passed over. The great trouble with the average amateur is self-consciousness, and the fact that through it he works himself into a state of nervousness which '9 289 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE affects his horse the moment he takes up his reins. That " wireless telegraph " is instantly in action, and the animal is disconcerted before the time for action arrives, — half beaten before the battle begins. Again, he has watched profes- sionals " nagging " their horses with bit, whip, and voice to make them display the action and carriage necessary, and he makes efforts to emu- late them which result only in confusing and up- setting his charge, forgetting, or not appreciating, that half their performance is "gallery work" only, and that, through incessant practice, they intuitively understand just how far to go, and just when to stop, or to change methods. Almost any horse that is up to show form, performs at his best when handled quietly, and allowed to display himself in his own way. There are some sluggards, and regular winners at that, which have to be waked up (outside the ring) with stimulants and bale-stick, and to be flogged, jerked, " fished," and lifted when contesting, as if in the last strides of a race, but these are not the sort the tyro will wish either to own or to handle, if he is the good sportsman we all ad- mire, and with a soul above mere mug-and-rib- bon-hunting. Ladies usually accomplish wonders 290 SHOWING HORSES in such competitions, because they are not so assertive as the sterner sex, and being willing that the animals should do their best in their own way do not hamper them by misdirected efforts to better the performance ; their hands are lighter and more firm, and they are usually more self- possessed. Most people entirely misconstrue the phrase " good hands," and the people who pride them- selves upon these possessions will be generally found not to send their horses up to their bits ; instead of the " give and take," their method is all " give." Nor is manipulation the only requi- site of this accomplishment. It must include the intuitive knowledge of what a horse is about to do ; how he is about to do it ; and the instant frustration of any outbreak or mistake in just the proper degree, which is so instinctive that it becomes automatic. " Horse sense " and sym- pathetic intelligence are essentials which may de- velop through association, but are usually a matter of personality alone. The very best " hands " often appear rough, and are when re- sistance demands coercion, for the definition of " hands," roughly put, is "the faculty of making a horse do what we want in the way we want it, 291 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE and with advantage to himself." He who affects this unerringly, be attitude and methods what they may, indisputably possesses " hands " in their finest development. On the first appearance of a class, judges do not want, nor do they regard favorably any sen- sational performances. At this stage their efforts are directed toward culling out the unfit, and any excessive display upon the part of your horse will go for nothing so far as results are concerned. If you have even an outside chance you will be duly " lined up " among the elect : all energy should be reserved for the struggle which is to come later. Go carefully into all the corners of the ring, therefore, taking the longest way round that your steed may get the utmost benefit from the straight sides, and not be perpetually on the turn, or in an unbalanced attitude. He will, if he has had no preliminary experience in an en- closure, be at a huge disadvantage anyhow as compared with those who have enjoyed this re- hearsal. Let the racers race, and the hustlers strive, a dignified and quiet progress is all you should attempt, although once, when they have begun to choose the eligibles, you may make one " parade " just to clinch things with the judges. 292 SHOWING HORSES When coming into line at the call of the ring- master, it does no harm, if your horse is au fait in such accomplishments, to go a length or two beyond your place, and then, after pulling up, to back into position,especially if a judge is looking. You prove good manners at once. If your horse is quiet, you may now, by your apparent disre- gard of him, emphasize his merits in the way of quietness when standing, and should always, if possible, uncheck him while in repose, the long waits proving very fatiguing to cramped and twisted neck-muscles. Keep him square on his legs, and light in hand, and if the judges ask you to back, do not make the common error of at once trying to haul him back, but be sure that he is " on his feet," and so placed that it is physically possible for him to comply. One some- times sees exhibitors trying vainly to perform this simplest of manoeuvres with horses whose atti- tude precludes the possibility of their obedience. Never try to overdo it, or back one step after the judge's gesture shows that he is satisfied, for your horse may turn restive from any cause, and suddenly rebel. " Let well enough alone " in all such undertakings. Called upon for a second display, it is probably 293 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE your last chance, for ribbons may come any time now. If you can manage to lead off you are lucky, as you can turn the way about the arena which your horse prefers, and in the direction he shows best, for all horses have preferences this way. By being in front you may also regulate the pace, for a few turns at least, to that which fits your charge's ability, displaying fast pace, if allowed, to the detriment of others, or retarding it if yours is a flash mover at the slower rate (and others may be inconvenienced thereby). You should still go well into the corners, and be sure the judges will appreciate your reasons, and award you due consideration for your care. If you are deficient in pace, this manoeuvre will puzzle them as to just how much your horse lacks in this respect, inasmuch as you are going a longer way round than any one, and would naturally lose ground. If you can detect the dangerous horse, and do not fear, or would challenge, comparison, get be- hind him if possible, where you can observe, and copy all his tactics, if imitation seems best ; if not, you may offer the proper contrast, and beat him then and there. Above all things do not try to pass any horse on the turns, and be careful of the 294 SHOWING HORSES rights of others in that you attempt no cutting off of contending horses, by pulling across them, and forcing them to shorten stride, or to pull up altogether. A number of professional tricks have been adopted by some of our amateurs, and no good can come of it. A saddle class makes its appearance at a walk, as should all others, but that we have fallen into the error of disregarding, officially, a horse's abil- ities at this, the most important pace he employs. The bold, free, upheaded, flat-footed walker, is as hard to beat as he is to find. Ride your horse every yard, and keep one eye on the judges, if he is a slack walker, ready to seize the opportu- nity to jog a few steps up to your leader, and re- gain the ground you have lost. When told to trot, take a nice collected park pace, such as your animal can exhibit without hopping or hitching, and stick to it, going closely into the corners, and making your mount bend himself nicely ; at the canter — and never let that pace degenerate into the gallop, — go calmly and collectedly, changing your lead in straight going if you can (and if a judge is looking), as evidence of handiness. On lining up, take room for yourself, and give it to others, and after your mount has stretched his 295 FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE neck and shifted his bits, keep him lightly in hand ready to obey the judges' directions at a moment's notice ; do not expect them to wait while you sort out your reins, fix your hat and stirrups, and when ordered, gradually get under way. The same methods apply in a way to hunting classes, and the principal requirement is to go a fair hunting pace all the way, and not to be pull- ing up to a walk and starting again at a gallop at every fence. Select stabling that is the quietest in the build- ing, or preferably stable outside. The bustle and the bad air will put many a horse completely off his feed if kept in the building, and unless you are dealing there is no advantage in stabling there ; while your vehicles inevitably get badly banged about in such places, your harness scratched, and your smaller valuables hypothecated. Always be ready long before the call, and do not annoy the management, and get the judges down on you by causing delay either through carelessness, or through a desire to make a sensational, if tardy, entry and set the crowd to asking, " Who is that ? " Such cheap methods of advertising are beneath you. 296 SHOWING HORSES Horses travel best by express, and should always be well bandaged, and protected, as to the crown of the head, from bruises, by placing a pad over the brow, while the tail should be carefully bandaged that it may not be disfigured by rub- bing or charing. Watch your men carefully, that not only may they do their work properly, but that they may give no cause to public or officials for complaint. You are responsible for the appearance and man- ners of your servants, and should carefully arrange that they are beyond reproach. Above all things, never expect to win, but treat losing as an essential of the game. Anybody can win gracefully. If thus prepared for defeat your occasional successes will prove doubly grate- ful ; if the reverse obtains, your losses will be hard to bear, your winnings never compensatory, you will find the amusement an irksome task, and quickly degenerate into a leading member of that huge body of hard losers and " chronic kickers " which no sport has so ably developed as the in- adequately expensive game of horse showing. 297 The Private Stable Its Establishment, Management, and Appointments By JAMES A. GARLAND & & 1* NEW EDITION. WITH ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS, FULLY ILLUSTRATED. 8vo. CLOTH, $5.00 net MR. GARLAND'S valuable book has been for some time out of print. The new chapters in this edition are : u Hunters and Hunting," by Harry W. Smith, one of the leading riders in America; "Exhibiting," by Francis M. Ware, manager of the American Horse Exchange, New York; u Riding for Women," by Belle Beach, the expert woman rider; "Four- in-Hand Driving," by Frederick Ashenden, the leading profes- sional whip, with additional suggestions as to the handling of reins in driving a single, pair, or four-in-hand ; and "Notes on Riding,'* by T. C. P. of Toronto. The new edition has additional illustra- tions and will be found of greater value than ever to all interested in horses and stables. OPINIONS REGARDING THE FIRST EDITION We heartily indorse the work as one of the best that has come to our attention. — Rider and Driver. Everything that needs to be known for the successful establishment and man- agement of a private stable seems to be contained between the covers of this excellent manual. — Review of Reviews. It is a treasure-house of valuable and accurate information. — New York World. The touch of the master of his subject is discernable on every page of this book. — N. T. Mail and Express. LITTLE, BROWN, fc? COMPANY, Publishers 254 WASHINGTON STREET • BOSTON, MASS. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 22Sep'53MA •"• minii ICLF (N) 8/953 ^ 12Aug'58WJ RSC'D CD A08 REC'O LD APR 1 71960 LD 21-100m-7,'52(A2528sl6)476