Notes on equitation and horse training/Question 30
XXX.
Conditioning a hunter.—I shall take the case of a horse that you have bought with the idea of using him for hunting. He is trained, has been worked, and comes from a dealer or any other similar source. His conformation appears good to you from the standpoint of service and his gaits are natural. He is in good condition, fat. It is spring or summer—June, let us suppose. You wish to condition your horse for the hunting season. What will you do?
First, run your hand all over your horse, but mainly over the body, and pay special attention to the croup and neck. If you find the flesh soft and yielding under the fingers, the legs rather round and pasty, have your horse saddled, mount him, and ride him into a ploughed field or upon a road deep with sand. Put your horse into a slow gallop, keeping him well in hand; make him work his hind quarters and bend his neck a little. The horse immediately begins to blow and in a moment is dripping wet. The sweat is white, and resembles soap suds. Do not go any further; your horse is not in condition, and you must require nothing further of him for the present. Take him quietly back to the stable and for two days put him on bran mash and diet, and on the third day give him a purge. Do not be afraid that I am going to overdo this last. Perhaps, if your horse is too fat, too heavy, I will allow you one more at the end of August, but that is all. For in sane hygiene you should avoid the pit into which many hunting horses in England fall, the destruction of the stomach and intestines by an excess of purges and of drugs intended to give an appetite. Moreover, in France our hunters must be in much finer condition than in England. They are not required to do the same kind of work. A hunter in England must withstand two hours of fast gait and constant effort. The hunter in France is generally required to withstand eight or ten hours of continuous work and effort without eating, but at a much slower gait. Therefore, the question of the condition of a hunting horse in England and in France is very different.
All summer, you should feed your horse Glauber's salts, one handful in a mash at least once every ten or twelve days. He should have a substantial but gradually increasing feed of 10 to 16 pounds of hay and 10 to 12 quarts of oats every day to begin with, depending upon the temperament of the horse. Give him regular work every day or
work him two days and let him rest the third day. His work must last at least two hours; at first, one hour at a walk on soft or heavy ground, preferably over ploughed ground, then a moderate but continuous trot over ground that is not too hard, for at least 3 miles; then at least a half hour at a walk. Continue this work for six weeks—that is, till about the 15th of July. Then increase the length of time at the trot and begin to trot in place of walking in the work in the open field, but never push the horse into the rapid gaits. Continue this until about the 15th of August. The muscles of your horse will already begin to grow harder and firmer; they will be stronger and his endurance and wind will be improved. Begin to increase the speed at which he works and then, if he is still too fat, you may give him another purge. A few days later you may increase his oats a little, up to 14 or 16 quarts, depending upon the temperament of the horse. The work is then increased by a gallop over plowed ground, always following a progressive course, beginning with a short and rapid gallop, and ending, on the 15th of September, with a good gallop at hunting speed for 5 or 6 miles. If the horse is still too fat, if the muscles of the neck, loins, and thighs do not stand out well, if he perspires too freely, if the sweat is a white lather and not a colorless fluid, give him two or three gallops under blankets, covering well the parts you wish to lighten. For instance, if the neck is too heavy, too flabby, put on one or two hoods. If, on the contrary, he has too large a belly, put on two or three blankets. Naturally you should always finish at a walk and see that there is a very good grooming when you come in. Put on good flannel bandages after careful hand rubbing of the legs.
By following this course of preparation, your horse should begin to be in condition toward the end of September. He is far from being entirely ready, but he may begin to hunt without much fear of injury. By this time he has started to shed and is beginning to suffer from the action going on inside of him, which takes away part of his strength and exhausts him. Redouble your care by covering him carefully so that the heat may hasten the shedding, and above all give him abundant and substantial feed. Accordingly, from the 15th of September to the 15th of October, I recommend a feed of beans every day (2 quarts soaked in three different waters) and put iron, nails, horseshoes, etc., in his drinking water. All this gives him strength to support the work going on inside of him, for it is very important that the shedding and sweating in October should not put him out of condition. If it does, you will not be able to get him back in condition again the rest of the winter, and in January he will be completely run down. Consequently it is from the 20th of September to about the 15th of November that you should feed a hunter the most.
Now, your horse is almost in condition, and may hunt. In the interval between hunts, exercise your horse or have him exercised a little every other day, taking care to take him out for a short time the day after each hunt to observe his condition and the freedom of his movements. If for any reason you do not hunt for a time, you should put your horse through the same work that you did in the month of August, giving him short gallops and work at a walk over plowed ground.
In this manner you keep him fit all winter, giving him good feed and varying it according to his condition and appetite. If he always eats well, continue the oats without overdoing the mashes; the latter should be given only in the evening on coming in from the hunt, and on the next morning feed a cold mash of barley meal. If your horse shows a failing appetite or runs down in condition, give him cooked grain or cooked vegetables.
Thus you reach the month of April and the end of the hunting season. As soon as hunting stops, let your horse rest. Exercise him only at a walk and for his health. Take particular care of the legs and lower his condition by cooling mashes, for a horse can not be kept with impunity on such substantial and heating feed the year around. You might then turn him out in a paddock without grass or with grass that you have had cut short. Give him a mash, a full feed of carrots, and only 6 quarts of oats. Continue this until the 15th of May at least, then stop the carrots and little by little the mashes. Then begin to increase the oats, in order to take up the same work as the preceding year and with the same gradual progress.
During this period of rest, the horse can be given such treatment as the condition of his legs may require.
These are the general instructions for putting a hunter in fit condition for his work."—Count Le Coulteux.
Conditioning for endurance races.—For this training, refer to what has just been said concerning hunters, and to the twenty-ninth question, on training for military races.
The work varies with the length of time available, with the age and condition of the horse and the nature of the race. The only general rules to be repeated here are:
Gradually increase the horse's ration with the work.
Exercise a great deal at a walk in order to develop the muscles.
Regulate the walk and trot carefully, and have the horse perfectly calm at these two gaits.
Never use the extended trot.
Accustom the horse not to pull, so that he will not waste part of his strength fighting the hand.
The morning of the race, massage the tendons; rub both tendons and joints with a fatty substance, such as vaseline; if the race is in the morning, feed little grain, about 1 or 2 quarts.
During the race the periods at a trot should be considerably shorter than during training, in order to avoid winding the horse. Dismount as often as possible, especially going up and down hill. Do not be afraid to water in moderate quantities once or several times on the road; there is no danger if you do not take too fast a gait just after watering.
NOTES ON EQUITATION
AND
HORSE TRAINING