I am writing from practical experience in stating that in the British Army authority {233} exists for billeting horses in pasture with half rations of forage at the discretion of the officer commanding the unit. Pastured horses condition very rapidly, but soften a good deal in a wet season, so that one needs as usual to supple the harness with oil, and also to provide some sheepskin for padding of parts which cause chafing. To meet the need of having horses instantly available, I used two fields, the richer for night pasture, the poorer for my horse lines and drill ground. As horses in pasture grow wild and difficult to catch if chased about by recruits, I had a rope tied to a tree near the corner of the field, and held outward by two men, forming an enclosure into which the herd was drifted for catching after the night's rest. Drifting and catching needed no more time than the work of unshackling on the lines. The system of pasturing by night ensures a clean bed for horses to lie down, whereas the lines, however carefully cleared of manure, are very soon fouled by staling, while the ground is trampled into mud or dust. Old horse lines make most dangerous ground for camps long after the visible dirt has been grassed over. The insects and germs from the horse lines are liable to affect the health of troops. {234} [Sidenote: Management outdoors] Except under management of most unusual skill, any assemblage of horses is liable to stampede. I note this in a camp which has lost two men killed and one wounded, with two horses killed and two wounded within the week, fair evidence that stampedes are dangerous. But the danger is greatest where horse lines and camp lines are set close abreast, so that, if the horses stampede, the men are trampled to death. A stampede from herd or pasture is seldom the cause of serious accidents. Docking or trimming tails, and hogging manes are hardly wise outdoors, considering that the mane and tail are special devices of nature to keep off flies. As horse lines are an excellent breeding ground for flies, it is precisely on these lines that manes and tails are needed. Further, it seems unwise to remove with a brush that natural oil in hair and skin which preserves a horse from being left stark naked to the rain. The grease which merely clogs the brush, was needed by the horse, and if it is taken away it should be replaced. Horses if groomed outdoors should be groomed and oiled so that the hair may shed rain and keep the skin dry. It is argued that the massage action of good {235} grooming stimulates the supply of oil to the skin and hair; but from careful observation I think this applies rather to the long and severe grooming of stabled thoroughbreds than to that lick and a promise which horses in the lines actually get in bad weather. Just enough grooming is done to remove the oil, but not enough to stimulate the supply.