To obtain a useful hunter, let the person purchase a well-bred mare, not so much regarding her size as her points of action—particularly requiring that she have a sound constitution and good legs. Let him send her to a horse of good form, with freedom of action and a sound constitution; also being particular as to the state of his legs and feet. Never let him breed from a naturally infirm horse, whose legs have shown more than ordinary weakness; and, above all, let him fix upon one which has what the veterinary profession call a short canon; that is, the bone extending from the knee to the fetlock, commonly called the shank bone. Let him begin to breed from his mare before she is much injured by work; as in that case, if she does not breed to please him with her first and second foal, he can dispose of her and purchase another.
A very celebrated fox-hunter has observed, that “the goodness of the horse generally goes in at the mouth.” Let the breeder, then, bear this in mind, and take care that the foal be dropped early, and the dam well fed for the first two months with bran mashes, carrots, &c., till the spring grass arrives. If the mare should prove a good nurse, the colt will not require corn till he is weaned, which on no account should be delayed beyond the first or second week in September. Here the grand mistake has arisen, to which we are indebted for such numbers of mis-shapen horses as this country abounds in. Farmers, in general, never think of weaning their colts till after Michaelmas, long before which period there is little or no virtue in grass, but, on the contrary, it is sour and unwholesome.
From weaning time to the following May, the colt should be well kept on a full allowance of sweet hay, with at least two good feeds of oats per day, and he should be kept warm. He should have a head collar on, with a small strap hanging down to his knees, which will admit of his being handled every day; and every two months his toes should be rasped, and his heels opened a little with the drawing knife. In March or April he should have two mild doses of physic, which will cause him to grow; and when the weather is warm he should be turned out into a good upland pasture for the summer, with plenty of shade and water, but taken up every month to have his legs examined and his toes rasped. The second week in September he should be housed again for the winter, when his belly should be the measure for his corn. When docked, his tail should be left eight inches in length, which will preclude the disagreeable necessity of having the operation repeated.
Early in the following spring, when turned two years old, he should be broken, but not backed; and physicked as before directed. In the first or second week in June he should be cut; and when recovered he should be turned out for the summer. When taken up again for the winter, he should have two mild doses of physic, and be very well kept, giving him a few carrots, or a large bran mash once a week. Very early in the spring he should have a little more very mild physic; and in a fortnight afterwards he should be backed, and taught his paces by a person who understands his business. Idleness, from this time forth, will be an enemy to him; and as soon as he is perfect in his paces, he should do what in the training stables is called “a little work.” Exercise will strengthen his legs, enlarge his muscles, improve his form, and make him grow. From this time forth he should be treated as a horse in every respect but in his work, which should be moderate till the fifth year; but previously to that time a customer will always be ready for him, and if his owner is disposed to part with him, his average price will be from one to two hundred sovereigns.
When I say a colt should be treated as a horse after the third year, I mean, of course, that he should be treated after the system I have laid down for hunters, and not allowed his summer’s run at grass. Hard meat will make him powerful and handsome: grass will render him, comparatively speaking, heavy, pot-bellied, and shapeless.
I omitted to mention one very essential part of the education of a colt designed for a hunter. His action—particularly that of his shoulders—will be greatly benefited by riding him up and down hill, and trotting him gently in deep ground. He should also be taught to leap at three years old. If there should be the least appearance of a curb, the iron should at once be applied.
The hunter should be taken up certainly not later than the twentieth of July. Soon after this period the nights begin to get chilly, and his coat would receive a check if exposed to them. It would lose that soft, silky feel, which it generally has if the horse is in perfect health previously to that time. When first taken to house he should be kept as cool as possible, and, if it can be avoided, there should not be more than one horse in every other stall, be the stable ever so large. As his bowels will be relaxed by the grass he has been eating, his physic should be milder than usual; but that must depend upon previous knowledge of the constitution of the horse. Generally speaking, five drachms and a half would be sufficient, if well prepared by bran mashes beforehand. I do not approve of strong physic; because it is useless to give it, when mild, with proper preparation, will do what is required of it; but it is not in the power of a drachm or two of good aloes to destroy a horse.
By the time he is ready for his second dose, he will be in some measure reconciled to the change of temperature—from the open air to that of a confined stable—and a little more caution is necessary during the operation of it. Unless the weather happens to be very warm, he should have a hood on him if he goes out early in the morning, and, at all events, one warm body cloth, or his coat may receive a check which it will not recover for some time. If he has had his first dose, a day or two after he was taken up—say the 20th of July—allowing seven clear days between the setting of each dose, he will be through it all by about the 17th of August, up to which time, and for a week afterwards, he should have nothing but gentle walking and trotting exercise, of about an hour and a half at a time, before heat of the day; and by no means should a brush be laid upon him, as it opens the pores of his skin, and renders him more susceptible of cold. Indeed, all the grooming he requires at this time is to have his legs well rubbed—particularly with the hand—three or four times a day, and oftener if the circulation be languid, and his body well wisped with a good solid hay wisp, a little damped. Should a horse have had some physic at grass in the summer, or late in the spring, before he was turned out, and not appear foul, it may be better to stop a fortnight or three weeks between his second and third dose: and, if a bit of soft ground can be found, to give him a little work in the time. If his two other doses did not work him hard, it will be advisable to add half a drachm of aloes to the third dose, as it will take more to move his bowels now than it did before he got the hard meat into him, and had a little work.
The condition of a horse must proceed by slow degrees: it is the work of time; and it is in vain to expect it on any other terms than as the result of a long course of preparation, followed by severe work. In a clear fortnight after he has had his last dose of physic, he should begin to do some work; for without it no progress can be made. This, however, should be gradual; and for the first month should consist of long protracted exercise, rather than what is called “good work.” He should be kept out of his stable for three or four hours in the course of the day; and if ridden gently across a country, and now and then with a pack of harriers (weather permitting), it will greatly promote his condition, by hardening his flesh, increasing his strength, and improving his wind. At this time the use of alteratives is indispensable. By their mild and gradual impression a healthy action of the bowels is obtained, and thereby what in stable language is called “fog,” (but which might more properly be termed debility, or depression of strength,) is got rid of, and the general appearance and condition of the animal much improved. Indeed, without the use of alterative medicines—exclusively of physic—no hunter can be got into blooming condition; that is to say, to look well in his skin, to dry immediately after a sweat, and to be in full vigour of body. Of these medicines there are several sorts in use; but the diuretic and diaphoretic are in my opinion the best. It is almost needless to observe, that the latter act upon the skin: but as sensible perspiration in the horse is not to be obtained by medicine without difficulty, and having recourse to larger doses than may be safe or convenient for him to take when at work, and it is insensible perspiration that we wish to obtain, these alteratives should be combined; for it is from their gradual and almost imperceptible operation that we are to look for the effect we wish to produce. Antimony forms the principal diaphoretic; and from its weight a sufficient quantity—one ounce divided into four parts—may be given him every day in his corn for eight days together; but this should be given when the weather is warm, or danger from catching cold may arise, from the pores of the skin being relaxed. With proper precautions, however, none is to be apprehended, and the effect on the general health and appearance of the horse is striking. If the diaphoretic alterative, in the quantity above stated, be not given before the horse begins to work, and the weather becomes cold and wet, it is better to combine it with the diuretic, by giving him a very mild urine ball twice a week, for three weeks in succession, with half an ounce of antimony, finely levigated, in each ball. These medicines combined will check that excitement of the general habit which always accompanies a transition from rest to work, purify the blood, and give tone and vigour to the system. Nitre has been much used by grooms as a cooling diuretic, and a preventive of disease from such causes; but it must be borne in mind that nitre is a strong repellant, and of a debilitating nature.