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on horsemanship-第4章

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attention to the feet。 A stable with a damp and smooth floor will



spoil the best hoof which nature can give。'7' To prevent the floor



being damp; it should be sloped with channels; and to avoid



smoothness; paved with cobble stones sunk side by side in the ground



and similar in size to the horse's hoofs。'8' A stable floor of this



sort is calculated to strengthen the horse's feet by the mere pressure



on the part in standing。 In the next place it will be the groom's



business to lead out the horse somewhere to comb and curry him; and



after his morning's feed to unhalter him from the manger;'9' so that



he may come to his evening meal with greater relish。 To secure the



best type of stable…yard; and with a view to strengthening the horse's



feet; I would suggest to take and throw down loosely'10' four or five



waggon loads of pebbles; each as large as can be grasped in the hand;



and about a pound in weight; the whole to be fenced round with a



skirting of iron to prevent scattering。 The mere standing on these



will come to precisely the same thing as if for a certain portion of



the day the horse were; off and on; stepping along a stony road;



whilst being curried or when fidgeted by flies he will be forced to



use his hoofs just as much as if he were walking。 Nor is it the hoofs



merely; but a surface so strewn with stones will tend to harden the



frog of the foot also。







'7' Lit。 〃A damp and smooth floor may be the ruin of a naturally good



    hoof。〃 It will be understood that the Greeks did not shoe their



    horses。







'8' See Courier; p。 54; for an interesting experiment tried by himself



    at Bari。







'9' Cf。 〃Hipparch;〃 i。 16。







'10' Or; 〃spread so as to form a surface。〃







But if care is needed to make the hoofs hard; similar pains should be



taken to make the mouth and jaws soft; and the same means and



appliances which will render a man's flesh and skin soft; will serve



to soften and supple a horse's mouth。'11'







'11' Or; 〃may be used with like effect on a horse's mouth;〃 i。e。



    bathing; friction; oil。 See Pollux; i。 201。















V







It is the duty of a horseman; as we think; to have his groom trained



thoroughly in all that concerns the treatment of the horse。 In the



first place; then; the groom should know that he is never to knot the



halter'1' at the point where the headstall is attached to the horse's



head。 By constantly rubbing his head against the manger; if the halter



does not sit quite loose about his ears; the horse will be constantly



injuring himself;'2' and with sores so set up; it is inevitable that



he should show peevishness; while being bitted or rubbed down。







'1' Lit。 〃by which the horse is tied to the manger〃; 〃licol d'ecurie。〃







'2' Al。 〃in nine cases out of ten he rubs his head 。 。 。 and ten to



    one will make a sore。〃







It is desirable that the groom should be ordered to carry out the dung



and litter of the horse to some one place each day。 By so doing; he



will discharge the duty with least trouble to himself;'3' and at the



same time be doing the horse a kindness。







'3' Al。 〃get rid of the refuse in the easiest way。〃







The groom should also be instructed to attach the muzzle to the



horse's mouth; both when taking him out to be groomed and to the



rolling…ground。'4' In fact he should always muzzle him whenever he



takes him anywhere without the bit。 The muzzle; while it is no



hindrance to respiration; prevents biting; and when attached it serves



to rob the horse of opportunity for vice。'5'







'4' Cf。 〃Econ。〃 xi。 18; Aristoph。 〃Clouds;〃 32。







'5' Or; 〃prevents the horse from carrying out vicious designs。〃







Again; care should be taken to tie the horse up with the halter above



his head。 A horse's natural instinct; in trying to rid himself of



anything that irritates the face; is to toss up his head; and by this



upward movement; if so tied; he only slackens the chain instead of



snapping it。 In rubbing the horse down; the groom should begin with



the head and mane; as until the upper parts are clean; it is vain to



cleanse the lower; then; as regards the rest of the body; first brush



up the hair; by help of all the ordinary implements for cleansing; and



then beat out the dust; following the lie of the hair。 The hair on the



spine (and dorsal region) ought not to be touched with any instrument



whatever; the hand alone should be used to rub and smooth it; and in



the direction of its natural growth; so as to preserve from injury



that part of the horse's back on which the rider sits。







The head should be drenched with water simply; for; being bony; if you



try to cleanse it with iron or wooden instruments injury may be



caused。 So; too; the forelock should be merely wetted; the long hairs



of which it is composed; without hindering the animal's vision; serve



to scare away from the eyes anything that might trouble them。



Providence; we must suppose;'6' bestowed these hairs upon the horse;



instead of the large ears which are given to the ass and the mule as a



protection to the eyes。'7' The tail; again; and mane should be washed;



the object being to help the hairs to growthose in the tail so as to



allow the creature the greatest reach possible in brushing away



molesting objects;'8' and those of the neck in order that the rider



may have as free a grip as possible。







'6' Lit。 〃The gods; we must suppose; gave 。 。 。〃







'7' Lit。 〃as defences or protective bulwarks。〃







'8' Insects; etc。







Mane; forelock; and tail are triple gifts bestowed by the gods upon



the horse for the sake of pride and ornament;'9' and here is the



proof: a brood mare; so long as her mane is long and flowing; will not



readily suffer herself to be covered by an ass; hence breeders of



mules take care to clip the mane of the mare with a view to



covering。'10'







'9' {aglaias eneka} (a poetic word)。 Cf。 〃Od。〃 xv。 78; xvii。 310。







'10' For this belief Schneid。 cf Aristot。 〃H。 A。〃 vi。 18; Plin。 viii。



    42; Aelian; 〃H。 A。〃 ii。 10; xi。 18; xii。 16; to which Dr。 Morgan



    aptly adds Soph。 〃Fr。〃 587 (Tyro); a beautiful passage; {komes de



    penthos lagkhano polou diken; k。t。l。} (cf。 Plut。 〃Mor。〃 754 A)。







Washing of the legs we are inclined to dispense withno good is done



but rather harm to the hoofs by this daily washing。 So; too; excessive



cleanliness of the belly is to be discouraged; the operation itself is



most annoying to the horse; and the cleaner these parts are made; the



thicker the swarm of troublesome things which collect beneath the



belly。 Besides which; however elaborately you clean these parts; the



horse is no sooner led out than presently he will be just as dirty as



if he had not been cleaned。 Omit these ablutions then; we say; and



similarly for the legs; rubbing and currying by hand is quite



sufficient。















VI







We will now explain how the operation of grooming may be performed



with least danger to oneself and best advantage to the horse。 If the



groom attempts to clean the horse with his face turned the same way as



the horse; he runs the risk of getting a knock in the face from the



animal's knee or hoof。 When cleaning him he should turn his face in



the opposite direction to the horse; and planting himself well out of



the way of his leg; at an angle to his shoulder…blade; proceed to rub



him down。 He will then escape all mischief; and he will be able to



clean the frog by folding back the hoof。 Let him clean the hind…legs



in the same way。







The man who has to do with the horse should know; with regard to this



and all other necessary operations; that he ought to approach as



little as possible from the head or the tail to perform them; for if



the horse attempt to show vice he is master of the man in front and



rear。 But by approaching from the side he will get the greatest hold



over the horse with the least risk of injury to himself。







When the horse has to be led; we do not approve of leading him from in



front; for the simple reason that the person so leading him robs



himself of his power of self…protection; whilst he leaves the horse



freedom to do what he likes。 On the other hand; we take a like



exception to the plan of training the horse to go forward on a long



rein'1' and lead the way; and for this reason: it gives the horse the



opportunity of mischief; in whichever direction he likes;
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