DRESSING OR GROOMING.
There are three Intentions answered by Dressing Horses; it cleans them from dust and dirt; it counteracts the artificial state of inactivity they are occasionally under by their confinement, by exciting the Circulation; and lastly, it gives a sleekness to their Coat. Grooms usually consider only the latter intention; and as Dressing requires some labour, they idly resort to such means as produce a smooth coat without Exertion; and this, Experience tells them, is best effected by Hot Stables: Idleness is the origin of this deviation from Nature; but to make their masters allow these Hot-House Stables, Grooms tell them that they improve the Health of the Horse.
TO MAKE A HORSE HAVE A FINE COAT.
[From the Duke of Newcastle’s Book, fol. p. 123. 1677.]
“There are but these Four things; viz. Feeding Well, Clothing Warmly, Many Sweats, and Dressing Well.
“For Dressing, there are these Things: the Curry Comb, which fetches out Dust; the Dusting Cloth, that takes away the Loose Dust; the Hard Wisp, a little moistened, that takes out More Dust yet from him; and the Felt, a little moistened, that takes out More Dust from him afterwards; but the Wett Hand, which should be last, takes not only More Dust, but a great deal of Loose Hair, which is much better than any of the Former:—after this, a Linen Cloth to wipe them over, and then a Woollen Cloth, and so cloathe him up.
“But the Best of all is the Knife of Heat, which is the Scraper; for when he is Hot, Scraping of him gets all the Sweat and Moysture out of him, so that he is Dry presently after, and all that Wett would turn to Dust, so there is so much Labour saved. Besides, it gets abundance of Hair from him, which the rest doth not; so that it is the most Excellent thing I know, both to Cool a Horse, and to give him a Good Coat.”
“If a fine Coat is wanted, it may be easily enough procured by proper Dressing.”—Dr. Blaine on Horses, 12mo. p. 142. 1803.
“Much rubbing (saith Old G. Markham) is comfortable, and cheereth every member.”—G. Markham’s Way to Wealth, 4to. p. 10. 1638.
“When a Horse is well Drest, his Sweat, when he is Warm, will come from him clear as Water; but the first time he be well Drest, it will take near Three hours to do it thoroughly—afterwards one hour a day may be sufficient.”
Mem. It is as necessary to rub their Backs as it is to fill their Bellies.
ON THE
FOOD OF HORSES.
Horses must be Fed in proportion to their Work—they must not be kept to certain regular Feeds, unless they are kept to certain regular Work, or Disease will soon overtake them, and Death end them full Gallop.
Our English Cavalry, the labour of which is about equal to that of a Coach Horse in a Private Carriage, are allowed 14 lb. of Hay, and 10 lb. of Oats per Day. Government contracts for Oats to weigh 40 lb. to the Bushel, so that it is a Peck per Day.
To the French Cavalry in Garrison, they distribute the Allowance, and fix the hours of Feeding in the following manner:
At Five o’Clock in the Morning, a third part of Hay.
At Eight o’Clock, a half allowance of Oats, and afterwards a third of Straw.
At Mid-day, a third of Hay.
At Three o’Clock, a half allowance of Oats, and afterwards a third of Straw.
At Seven o’Clock in the Evening, a third of Hay, and a third of Straw.
“Horses are Watered half an hour before receiving the Oats; consequently, twice a day during the hot weather, and their Thirst quenched again in the Evening.”—From p. 132 and 133 of Mr. R. de Rochefort’s Promenades à Cheval. Paris, 16mo. 1826.
Blundevill, in his Order of Dieting Horses, 4to. 1609, p. 10, says, “that half a Peck of Oates, or as much as a Man can easily take up at six times with both his hands together, is enough to give a Horse at once.”
For Carriage Horses employed in the usual Town work, sixteen to twenty pounds of sound meadow Hay, with from three quarters to a Peck of good full Oats, per Day, will be sufficient:—should Frost, or other circumstances, lessen their labour, their Food should be lessened also, and a small proportion of Bran substituted; on the other hand, when their Exercise is severe, the allowance of Corn should be increased; to which, when they are worked very hard, a few Beans are an invigorating addition; a great quantity of Hay is not good, except for Cart Horses, who are meant for no other use but to roll on slowly, with a fat fellow full of Beer swaggering beside them.
Lord Pembroke’s plan of feeding Horses, especially Old ones, with bruised Corn, and Chaff, is to be recommended—“Every grain then goes to nourishment, and Three feeds go further, than Four, as commonly given.”
Although a horse has but a short Stomach, he has Long Bowels:—Dr. Bracken tells us, that “the length of the Alimentary Canal of a Horse is seldom less than 35 Yards: He must, therefore, feed a little at a time; and as we know that when our own Stomach is empty, we feel languid, so does the Horse—and as a small Stomach must be soon emptied, it requires to be frequently replenished.”
A Horse should have Four feeds in a Day, the first about Six in the Morning, the next at Eleven, again at Four, and the last thing at Night:—of these, Supper and Breakfast should be the Best; the intermediate Eating should be at about Noon, and four or five hours after: in the intervening time, let his Rack and Manger be empty, then when he comes to his meal he will eat with an appetite whatever you give him.
Make it a Rule, to give your Horses their Food two hours before you put them to Work—that the first act of the restorative process of Digestion may be finished before they are disturbed.
Young Horses, that have not done growing, have strong Appetites, and require to be more fully fed than those that have come to Maturity, but not so much Corn;—Bran, and Clover Hay. Chaff damped, will occasionally do for them better—Young Horses, like Young Children, require their Food in Quantity rather than Quality, and the lighter it is the better.
Soft Water is to be preferred; the condition of a Horse’s Coat depends much on the quality of the Water that he drinks—very cold and hard water will break his Coat directly.
A Cavalry Officer informed me, that, observing One Troop in his Regiment in much finer condition than the rest, he found, on inquiry, that it was occasioned by the Horses of that Troop drinking Soft water, while the others had Hard water.
HAY
Varies quite as much in Quality, as it does in Price—Clover grass is, by some, considered to be the best; whence the Proverb, “to Live in Clover.”
The Nose is your best guide in the choice of Hay. Good hard Hay has a quick and agreeable smell:—it is of great importance that Hay be good; if it is not, let a Horse eat as much as he will of it, he will be low and poor.
I am told that there is a great deception practised in Hay Markets: they take care that those Trusses in the Cart which are likely to be examined are good; but the main bulk of the Load is not always of equally good quality.
The Reader is recommended to deal regularly with the same Farmer, as the best security against the deceptions which it is said are sometimes practised in Markets.
When a Buyer endeavours to bate a Seller down below the regular market price, it may tempt a Seller to make himself amends, by putting up some Trusses of inferior Quality, if not of short Weight also.—Say to your Hay-salesman, “Now mind, I buy this as a load of Good Hay, and I shall not pay for it till I have unloaded it and found it all right.”
The fresher Hay is cut from the Stack the better: it soon turns soft and musty in a damp Hayloft, and in the course of a few weeks loses all its best Qualities.
Never lay Trusses of Hay upon each other: the best way to keep Hay from Damp and Moulding, is to set it up on its edge—so that a current of Air may circulate round it.
Go to Market in good time;—if you wait till your Stock is quite out, you must buy what you can.
BEANS
are only needful when Horses have a great deal of hard work, and in Wet weather.
BRIEFLY, AS TO HORSE-MEAT.
Hay is Horse-Bread.
Corn—Horse-Mutton.
Beans—Horse-Beef:
And the most strengthening substance that can be given them.
Good Bran is a useful article in a Horse’s diet, and when Scalded, with a handful of Salt to it, is occasionally as good a Mash for a Horse as a Mess of Gruel is for a Man.
A Truss of Hay should weigh 56 lbs.
A Truss of Straw, 36 lbs.
A Truss of New Hay, 60 lbs.
A Ton and a Load of Hay are nearly the same.
If you send a Servant to purchase Provisions, &c. for your Horses, at least choose the Purveyor yourself, and tell your Servant previously to bring you the Price, (in writing), with the Samples of the various things.
Desire each Tradesman to send home with each Article, whether you pay Ready Money for it, or otherwise, “A Ticket of the Quantity and the Price of it,” of which carefully ascertain the correctness.
Cast up every Bill,
Pay every Account Yourself,
and
Take care of your Receipts.
These are your only effective protections against those ruinous Impositions which perfunctory Persons continually suffer, from combinations between their Servants and their Purveyors.
ON
SENDING HORSES TO GRASS.
Delicate Horses who have been treated over tenderly, and have long stood warmly clothed in a hot Stable, must not be all at once turned out to Grass in cold Weather.
A Horse must have “the Constitution of a Horse” indeed, who can stand such a shock; for which, he should be gradually prepared by diminishing his Clothing, and gradually accustoming him to the Open Air;
“for one Extreme,
Ne’er without Danger meets its own reverse.”
Let him be well fed till the day that he is turned out, on which give him nothing; then he will graze the greatest part of the Night;—if you turn him out with a full Belly, he will lay down, and most likely catch a mischievous Cold.
When Horses are sent to Straw-Yard or to Grass, let their Shoes be removed, and their Feet set at liberty—Toe-pieces are sometimes put on.
Early Spring Grass, for five weeks in May and June, is not only excellent Food, but admirable Physic for Horses;—Dr. Green cures most of the Disorders that Horses are subject to, sooner than any.
Strong Horses frequently fall a sacrifice to Diseases, by being kept continually upon hard dry food, which feeding on soft Green herbage for a few weeks would frequently cure sooner than any Physic.
It is recommended, that Horses in the Stable should occasionally have Green Meat, viz. Rye, or Tares, &c. which are carried about London in Carts during the Spring, &c.
A Horse will get fresher, by having a Run in a Salt Marsh for One Month, such as at Plaistow, or the Isle of Dogs, &c. than he will in Two Months on Upland Grass.
“I have been told that it is no unusual thing to take up Horses from the Marshes, and send them on a long Journey directly, without any preparation; and am the more ready to believe this, because I have several times known Horses taken off the dry Commons in Winter, and perform very well on the Road:—it is quite otherwise with those that go on common Pastures, either in cold clay grounds, or where the Grass is forced with Dung: many of these require a good deal of management before they are fit to be put on hard service.”
Fields which lie near to Great Towns, and are much manured, do not afford half such wholesome Hay or Pasture as those that are further in the Country, and are not so forced. Mr. Jarvis says that he would not thank ye for the Hay that is made within 10 miles of London. The loads of Dung may make the Ground yield a more plentiful crop, but it is always of an inferior, and often of injurious Quality.
Send your Horses to Grass where the Pasture is fine without being forced, where the Water is good, and there is comfortable Shelter for them to run to in Wet Weather: they should always have Hay to go to, especially in Winter. You may be charged a trifle per Week more for this; but it is Money well spent, if you value your Horse.
When a Horse returns from Grass, although he may be free from Disease, he is not fittest for Work; but will require a Week’s hard Food, and must have Hay and Corn, and be gradually Exercised for several days before he be put to Hard Work, or he will be apt to empty himself too often, and is no Horse for a long Journey—unless you wish to make a Skeleton of him.