When the horse goes into preparation tor work he is sometimes lean. He may have been half starved. He may be so low in flesh that he has neither ability nor inclination to make exertion. To get such a horse ready for fast-work, we must begin with feeding. He may require a little medicine, but in general it is sufficient to let him have plenty of good food, and gentle exercise, enough to Keep him in health. As he takes on flesh his exercise must increase both in pace and distance. Though not given in such measure as to keep the horse very lean, it must must be severe enough to prevent the formation of fat in his belly. To keep his carcass light and his wind good, he must have an occasional gallop.

But the horse is rarely very lean when he goes into training. Most generally he is plump, fat, full of flesh, and in high spirits. In this state he is easily injured by exertion. He has so much animation that he is willing to do more than is good for him. The very lean horse seldom has the inclination.

Hunters and racers are idle, or nearly so, for two or three months before they go into training. During this time they are so well fed that they acquire much more flesh than they can safely carry at work. The trainer has to remove a good deal of this superfluous flesh. Why is it ever put on ? I have elsewhere observed that I think these horses, while idle, should be fed in such a way that they may not be fat, though they may be plump and hearty by the time they go into training. But, possibly, there may be something which I have not considered that may forbid this. I would recommend a trial of one horse, or two only.

In all horses, not very lean, there are certain juices, solids, and fluids, which do not contribute in any degree to produce, or to aid, muscular exertion. Most of the superfluous matter consists of fat; part lines the belly, part lies in the connexions of the intestines; some lies below the skin, and some between the muscles, and in the texture of the muscles. Horses that are never accustomed to pass a walk or a slow trot, carry a great deal of the fat in their belly; others of fast work carry the largest portion under the skin; it covers the ribs, where it is carried with least inconvenience. This fat is lodged in a tissue, which pervades all parts of the body, as water lodges in a sponge, only there is no apparent communication between the cells of the tissue, for the fat lies where it is placed, without sinking downward. Fat is the surplus of nutrition. When the food is so abundant as to produce more nutriment than the system needs, the residue is stored away in the form of fat. When the food becomes unequal to the demand, the fat is reconverted into blood, or a nutritious juice, equal to that derived from the food. But as this fat can not be rapidly converted into nutriment, certainly not while the horse is hunting or racing, it had better not be there.

It is a useless weight which the horse must carry, and, from its situation, it may embarrass the parts upon which motion depends. Besides the fat, there are probably some watery or serous juices, quite as useless or injurious under exertion. In the stables the superfluous matter is termed the waste and spare, and the removal of it is termed, drawing the horse fine.

Slow-work horses may carry much superfluous flesh without any inconvenience. Saddle and carriage horses are not supposed to be in good condition unless they be tolerably plump. Mail-horses can not carry much, and it must be all on the outside, not in the belly; hunters carry less, and racers the least of any others. But, for short distances, it is not usual to draw the racer very fine. For a four-mile race, the horse must be drawn as fine as it possible to make him, without exhausting him. It is obvious that the means by which superfluous flesh is removed, will also remove that which is useful, if persisted in beyond a certain point. When carried too far, the horse becomes unwilling to exert himself, dull, feeble, and careless about his food. These symptoms accompanied by emaciation, show that he is overtrained. The trainer is proceeding too fast or too far with his operations. There is no rule to guide him, but the state of the horse. One may be drawn a great deal finer than another. So long as the horse goes cheerfully to his work, and to his food, the trainer may proceed : he may stop so soon as the horse has wind and speed for the distance.

Superfluous flesh is removed partly by sweating, partly by purging, and partly by exertion. When all is taken away that is likely to incommode the horse, further reduction hazards the legs when there is no need to hazard them.

It appears, then, that the trainer may have to lighten the carcass, he may have to put flesh on the horse, or to take it off him; and be always has to give tone to the muscles, and freedom to the wind. Each goes on progressively, and gen erally at the same time; but the belly is to be reduced to its proper size before all the superfluous flesh is taken away; much of this, if there be much of it, must be removed before power and alacrity can be given to the muscular system. Subsequently, the horse may be drawn finer, if need be, as his wind and speed are under improvement.

It is probable that training produces some alteration in the condition of the blood, the nerves, the blood-vessels, the joints, the tendons, and upon every part connected with motion. The change in these ought to be as permanent as that produced in the muscles; but I can say nothing more about them.