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A TREATISE

CARE, TREATMENT, AND TRAINING

THE ENGLISH RACE HORSE.

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A TREATISE

CARE, TREATMENT, AND TRAINING

ENGLISH RACE HORSE

SERIES OF ROUGH NOTES.

RICHARD DARVILL, V. S.

LATE OF THE 7tH HUSSARS.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
. VOL. I.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON :
PUBLISHED BY JAMES RIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY.

1840.

LONDON :

BLATCH AND LAMPERT, PRINTERS, GROVE PLACE, BROMPTON.

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION,

NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN

JOCKEY CLUB

MEMBERS OF THE JOCKEY CLUB.

MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

Deeply impressed with gratitude for the honor
you have conferred, by permitting me to dedicate to
the Members of the Jockey Club, the first, or intro-
ductory part of my Work, on Training the English
Race-Horse, I avail myself of that permission, satisfied
that none can so well appreciate any merit which it
may possess.

The early part of my life was passed in the employ
of persons versed in Racing, and I should indeed feel
proud, could my humble endeavours add to the art so
highly patronised by you.

In the present Volume, I have promulgatetl those

Vlll

ideas on the subject, which were imbibed in youth,
and matured at a more advanced age, by long and
serious reflection. Should I have succeeded in attain-
ing the object of my wishes and ambition, it is only
from you, who will fairly judge of my exertions, that
I can hope for approbation. Others, I will admit,
might have treated the subject with more ability; but
I am confident that none can have the science of Horse
Racing more truly at heart than he who has the
honour to subscribe himself.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

Your most obliged
And very humble Servant,

R. DARVILL.

Jan. 1838.

CONTENTS.

Introduction . . . . . . . iii

CHAPTER I.
On the Stables, &c. . . . . . .21

CHAPTER II.
On Gentlemen's private Training Stables . . » 70

CHAPTER III.
On Ventilation . . . . . .11

CHAPTER IV.

On the Distemper . . . . . . 82

CHAPTER V.
On Food . . . . . . .90

CHAPTER VI.

On Water . . . . . . . 101

CHAPTER VII.
On Physic . . . . . . .107

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIIT.
On Physic (continuation) . . . . . 129

CHAPTER IX.

On Clothing, &c. . . . . . .155

CHAPTER X.

On Training Ground . . . . . . 182

CHAPTER XI.
On the Race Course . . . . .201

CHAPTER XII.
On Saddle-horse Grooms, and Boys . . . .217

CHAPTER XIII.
On Training Grooms, and Exercise Boys . . .228

CHAPTER XIV.
On Dressing Race Horses ..... 238

CHAPTER XV.
On the size of different Reins ..... 248

CHAPTER XVI.
On Riding a Craving Horse in his Sweat . . . 253

CHAPTER XVII.
On Riding a Free-going Horse in his Sweat . . .259

CHAPTER XVIII.
On Riding a Fhghty Horse in his Exercise and Sweat . 270

CHAPTER XTX.
On the Pull and Hustle ..... 2/4

CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER XX.

Oil the Duties of the Head Lad .... 2^3

CHAPTER XXI.

On the Duties of Pubhe and Private Training Grooiiis and
Jockeys ....... 285

CHAPTER XXII.

On the Treatment of Horses' Feet, and on Shoeing . . 290

CHAPTER XXIII.
On Plating Race horses ..... 328

CHAPTER XXIV.
On Breaking Racing Colts . . . . .34/

INTRODUCTION.

It may appear strange to my readers, and I confess
it has appeared so to me, that, among the numerous
works which, from time to time, have issued from the
press, on the nature and general treatment of Horses,
no treatise should have been given on the training
of the English Race-horse. Such an omission, I am
convinced, could not have arisen from an unbelief
in the importance attached to the subject ; it may, I
think, be rather attributed to a conscious deficiency in
practical knowledge among authors, who, in other
respects, might be competent to the task.

The training of race-horses at the establishments
at Newmarket, and at various other well-conducted
race-horse stables, has long since been ranked as a
science, and it may, perhaps, be said to have attained
perfection. Yet the public are comparatively unac-
quainted with the manner in which that noble animal,
the race-horse, is brought into the admirable condition
in which he is exhibited at the post.

B

11 INTRODUCTION.

The secresy observed by training grooms (and
which is highly necessary) in the management of
their horses, as well in the feeding and working of
them, as in attending to their different tempers and
constitutions, and to the nature and length of the
ground on which they are either to exercise or run,
would appear almost incredible. Indeed, so remark-
able is this, that it is quite impossible for any one
who has not been brought up in racing stables, even
to form a correct idea of the discipline and precision
observed.

I beg, however, that it may be understood, I do not
presume to write for the information of such training
grooms as are found in the stables above-mentioned.
These men enter the stables at an early period of life ;
and if they have been so fortunate as to have been
under training grooms of experience and sound judg-
ment,— and if they have made their observations cor*
rectly,— nothing can exceed their practical knowledge.
Should, however, any part of the following work be
found to contain information that may be deemed
acceptable by trainers in high practice, I shall be
extremely happy.

My readers are aware, that of late years, it has been
the custom with many gentlemen, belonging to dif-
ferent hunts about the country, to make up races for
the purpose of running their horses in the spring,
at the conclusion of the hunting season. Some of
these gentlemen, from the good opinion they may
have formed of the breed and speed of their hacks.

INTRODUCTION. lU

ha\e been induced to enter them in hack-stakes ; and
where there have been conveniences foi* the purpose,
such horses have generally been trained at home, by
hunting or saddle-horse grooms. I have known some
gentlemen Avho, from the attention they have paid
to their horses during the hunting season, have con-
sidered themselves judges of their condition; and from
this circumstance, have now and then been induced to
superintend the training of their hunters or hacks.
Other gentlemen, who have not entertained quite so
good an opinion of their own knowledge in this par-
ticular have wisely sent their horses to regular training
stables ; whilst otheis, again, have, on similar occa-
sions, kept their horses at home, and have confided
the entire management of them to their hunting or
saddle-horse grooms.

It is for the information of such gentlemen and
their grooms, that this work is principally undertaken ;
and although I have adhered, or rather shall adhere,
strictly to the practical rules and regulations of training
thorough-bred horses, yet the line may be drawn so as
to enable hunting grooms (aided by the experience
they have had) to train either half-bred or thorough-
bred horses, and to bring them into a much more
fit state to race, than, as far as I have generally per-
ceived, they are in the habit of doing.

But I will just remark, that whenever gentlemen
have their horses engaged to run in a match of any
importance,- — when the powers ol" the horses may be
deemed nearly equal, or when they may have been

B 2

iV INTRODUCTION.

brought to that point by the weights to be put up ; —
or more particularly, if such horses should be entered
to run for public money at any of the annual meetings,
where they would, of course, have to meet horses
trained by regular trainers, whose practical knowledge
must naturally surpass that of a hunting groom, — it
would be advisable, under such circumstances, for
gentlemen to send their horses in due time to regular
training stables to be got ready to run, unless they
keep a private training groom of their own ; not only
because men in high practice of training are better
judges of the art, but because they have more con-
venient stables, and good riding boys, with proper
ground to work their horses on.

Before I proceed further, it may be well to give
some little account of myself, to enable my readers to
judge of the opportunities I have had of becoming
acquainted with the art which forms the subject of
the following treatise. This I deem necessary, as it
might otherwise appear rather extraordinary that a
person holding the appointment of Veterinary Surgeon
in His Majesty's Service should possess the knovvledge
requisite to write upon the training of race-horses.
From the brief account, however, which I propose
giving of the early part of my life, it will appear that
the experience I possess was acquired in the only
school where it could by possibility be obtained,
namely, — in the Stables, in which such horses are
kept.

When between thirteen and fourteen years of age.

INTRODUCTION. V

I was disposed to ramble, and not choosing to follow
the advice of my parents, or to subject myself any
longer to their control, 1 ran away from home, and
was shortly after taken into the employment of Mr.
Crooke, who kept race-horses. Mr. Crooke had a
farm at Redland, in Gloucestershire, at which place
his horses usually wintered. There was also at this
season of the year, a large breeding establishment for
racing produce. The stallions which at that time com-
posed part of the stud were King Fergus, Aurelius,
and a third young stallion by Highflyer. There were
also a number of brood mares and foals, together with
several weanlings and yearlings. The string of race-
horses which were at this time in the stables, were
Prizefjghte) , Brush, Harvest, Needle, Victory, Euph-
rosyne, and Thalia, (the two last mares.) Besides
these, there were two or three young ones in the
string, which were not named.

It was autumn when I went to live in the above-
mentioned stables, in the humble but active capacity
ofstable hoy. I had every thing to learn, and as I could
not be immediately entrusted with the care of a race-
horse, I was taught, or rather ordered, to do those
things in w^hich boys are generally employed on first
coming into stables of this description, — such as merely
rubbing the legs of the horses, assisting in setting the
stables fair, and in cleaning up the yard. Sometimes I
was sent out with a horse to walking exercise, to work
off his physic, — at other times, I had to ride a steady
one at the tail of the string, — and now and then, I had

VI INTRODUCTION.

to attend to the head of a quiet horse, while he was
undergoing the operation of being scraped and rubbed
after his sweat.

There being, as I have already observed, a breeding
establishment here, other duties besides those of the
race-horse stables were required ; and these were dis-
charged between the stable hours — such as carrying
hay and corn to the different paddocks, filling the
water troughs, cutting carrots for the mares and foals,
leading out some yearlings, and breaking and forward-
ing others for their trials. In this way, by order of
the groom, were the boys daily employed ; and I, of
course, had my share of such parts of this drudgery to
which I was equal.

Progressively advancing from one thing to the other,
until the approach of spring, I became of rather more
importance, being then ordered by the groom (who
was master of the boys) to look after a race-horse, and
ride him in his exercise — two things which, for a boy
to be well acquainted with, so as to put the groom's
orders into practice (particularly the riding), are no
very easy tasks. From the directions, however, which
were given to me by the head lad, and from the
observations I* had made on the manner in v/hich
other boys performed their parts, I in a short time be-
came acquainted with the whole of my duties as a
stable boy ; and with the rest of this young tribe, I
was soon initiated in all the little, low, mischievous
tricks and gambling amusements, to which boys in
racing stables were, in my time, so mucli addicted.

INTRODUCTION. VU

When, however, I left my stable companions, I had
the good sense to discontinue all such improper prac-
tices.

In the above-mentioned stables, at the period of my
life of which I am speaking, and at which particular
time impressions on the expanding mind of youth
become permanent, was I taught that experience,
which nothing but such a situation could have af-
forded ; and from this source, as also from subsquent
residence in different stables, under various grooms,
I have derived the practical information I possess on
the subject. Without such opportunity at this eaily
period of my life, I could never have acquired the in-
formation which I am now in a situation to communi-
cate ; and as far as my talent for observation went, I
may say that I lost very few opportunities, either as
boy or head lad, of obtaining all the knowledge which
the circumstances afforded.

As I appi'oached the state of manhood, I began to
think that I had lived quite long enough under the
immediate control of different grooms. Being aware
that the dail}^ system of working and feeding race-
horses was invariably conducted on the same general
principles, differing only in application according as
the tempers and constitutions of the horses \ aried ; and
finding that I had nothing more to learn, I left the
training stables, and shortly afterwards engaged myself
as groom to a single gentleman, who kept some well-
bred horses as hunters. One or two of these were now
and then engaged to run in the spring at such gentle-

Vlll INTRODUCTION.

men's races as I have already mentioned. When my
master's horses were thus engaged, the training of them
was entrusted to me ; and at times, on the same
ground with other horses with which they had to come
to post. It was, therefore, natural to suppose, that
when out at exercise, I should quietly make my ob-
servations on the treatment of horses which were to be
opposed to those under my care. Having so recently
left the stables, in which the practical details of train-
ing horses were at all times most strictly observed by
the grooms, whose orders were daily to be put into
practice by the different stable boys ; and having been
employed for several years in executing such orders,
I had not forgotten how horses were to be treated
when in training ; and from the w^ay in which I now
saw many hunting and saddle-horse grooms working
their horses when at exercise, I was quite satisfied that
they were far from being well qualified for the task of
getting them into racing condition.

Meeting these men every day at morning and even-
ing exercise, I became known to some of them. They
confessed that they were unacquainted with the system
of training horses to run, and they invited me to go
with them to their stables. I visited two or three of
these stables at different stable hours, and from the
observations I there made, I will do these grooms the
justice to say, that nothing could exceed their diligence
and attention to the horses in dressing them, &c. and
in other respects ; their fault indeed was excess. They
appeared equally zealous in endeavouring to make their

INTRODUCTION. IX

horses as comfortable as possible. Judging from what
I saw, the masters of these men were not sparing of
expence, as there seemed to be an ample supply of the
best food and clothing, so that an inexperienced ob-
server would naturally have concluded that no horses
could be more properly treated. But, as I have already
observed, these grooms, from their ignorance of the
practical principles of training, wanted confidence in
themselves ; and from such deficiency, I have known
them bring horses out very unfit to run.

When I had attained the age of thirty, I left the
stables, as the gentleman with whom I was living at
the time was going abroad ; and as I had then no in-
clination to leave England, I gave up my situation as
groom. A horse belonging to the above gentleman
having fallen lame at this period, it was thought ad-
visable to send him for recovery to the Veterinary
College, to which place [ took him. Observing here
a large establishment for the treatment and cure of
diseased horses, and having heard so much of the value
of the Veterinary Art, I asked Mr. Sewell (who had
just been questioning me relative to the horse I had
brought in) whether I could be admitted into the Col-
lege as a pupil — to which he replied in the affirmative;
observing, at the same time, that men of a similar de-
scription to myself were the most fit persons to become
Veterinary Surgeons. Such information as was neces-
sary at the moment Mr. S. very kindly gave me. He
also named the amount of the entrance fee, which I
immediately paid ; and I remained in the College as a

X INTRODUCTION.

pupil for about two years, after which, I passed my
examination and received my diploma.

From the expence I had incurred in passing through
the College, I found, on looking into my finances, that
they were not in the most flourishing state ; so that
there was no chance of my being able to enter upon
my profession, nor did it appear that there was any
thing left for me but to return to my former situation
as groom. I therefore began to look out for a place of
this description ; thinking that as I had received my
diploma from the Veterinary College, I should be con-
sidered a valuable acquisition to a nobleman or gentle-
man who might have a large establishment of horses.
But here, to my great astonishment, I was disappoint-
ed ; for, after seeing several noblemen and gentlemen
on the subject, I found that what I thought would
have been an advantage to me, proved quite the re-
verse. I was considered by those noblemen and gen-
tlemen as being of too great importance to be taken
into the stables again. This produced great embarrass-
ment in my mind ; and as I have already noticed, not
having it in my power to set up in my profession, I
began almost to despair of obtaining the means of sup"
porting myself even with that degree of respectability
which I had formerly enjoyed when a groom, prior
to my entering the College.

As I was one day walking in London, brooding over
my ill-fortune, I accidentally met Major-General Sir
Hussey Vivian, then Lieutenant-Colonel of the 7th Hus-
sars, who knew me when I was acting in the capacity ol"

INTRODUCTION. Xl

groom to an officer of that regiment. As the General
had often spoken civilly to me, I took the liberty of
mentioning to him that I had passed the College, and
was in want of a situation. He immediately asked me
if I had any objection to enter the Army as a Veteri-
nary Surgeon. I told him, that if he thought me
equal to the post, I should be very glad to accept of
it, and that I should feel obliged to him if he would
interest himself in my favour. The General promised
to mention the subject to the Marquis of Anglesea
(then Lord Paget), to whom I was also known. In-
deed, prior to my going into the College, his Lordship
liad been pleased to notice me on several occasions ;
in short, he had been extremely kind to me, and when
I was mentioned by General Vivian as a proper person
to become a Veterinary Surgeon in his Lordship's re-
giment, he was pleased to approve of the proposal, and
I was immediately recommended to His Royal High-
ness the Commander in Chief. I shortly after received
my appointment, and an order from Mr. Coleman,
principal Veterinary Surgeon, to join the 7th Hus-
sars.

Having now got into a far more respectable situa-
tion— that of Veterinary Surgeon in His Majesty's
Service — my mind became immediately occupied with
my new profession ; and for my own interest and re-
putation, I persevered in endeavouring to obtain that
practical knowledge which I conceived indispensably
necessary, in order properly to treat the diseased horses
of the regiment which were entrusted to my care. My

XU INTRODUCTION.

mind being thus engaged for some years, I had given
up all thoughts respecting the management and condi-
dition of race-horses, until the year 1815; at which
time, the regiment, in which I have still the honour to
serve, was on foreign service, forming part of the
British Army of Occupation on the Continent. Horse-
racing being one of the great sporting amusements of
Englishmen, it soon became the order of the day
among many of the British Officers of the Army of
Occupation, both at Valenciennes and at St. Omer,
during the stay of our Army in France. The subscrip-
tions of the officers were liberal, and the plates and
stakes which were made by them were thought worth
winning ; so much so, that race-horses were sent for
from England : and during the last year of the Army's
being stationed on the continent, I think I shall not
exaggerate if I say, that altogether there were not less
than from thirty to forty race-horses (cock-tails and
hacks), in training at one time, on a heath called the
Bruyere, near the town of St. Omer. On this heath
was made a pretty good two-mile race-course, with a
stand, a rubbing-house, and other conveniences.

As it was known to the officers of the regiment to
which I belonged, that in the early part of my life I
had been brought up in the stables, it also soon be-
came known to several of the officers of other regi-
ments ; and those of them who had horses engaged to
run, often applied to me for information how they were
to get their horses into a fit state for the race ; nor do
I hesitate to acknowledge, that from my having so long

INTRODUCTION. Xlll

left the stables, 1 was asked questions, some of which
I was at the moment at a loss to answer. Observing
this to be the case, I was immediately led to think,
that the training of horses properly was a much more
important art than I had at first imagined ; and al-
though I had been so perfectly well acquainted with
the entire management of feeding and working horses, I
was surprised to find, (what I thought was impossible,)
that the practical part of the subject appeared to be
almost obliterated from my memory; but a circum-
stance, which I shall hei'e relate, put me in a train of
soon bringing the matter to my recollection.

One day, as I was riding from the race-course to St.
Omer, I was met by General Vivian, who spoke to
me on the subject of getting out a horse from Eng-
land to run at St. Omer races, observing, at the same
time, that he was unacquainted with the business of
training, nor did he think his groom competent to un-
dertake the management of a horse intended for this
purpose ; adding, that if he got a horse out, he might
be beat for want of being properly prepared. As I
had some years previous to this time trained a horse
for the General, he asked me, in case he should suc-
ceed in getting one out to run, whether, as I was
quartered so near the course, I would superintend his
training ? Aware that the hours of attending to a
horse in training would not interfere with my regi-
mental duties, and that there were several other officers
doing pretty much the same thing, I told the General,
that if my commanding officer had no objection, I

XIV INTRODUCTION.

should be most happy to attend to his wishes in this
respect. Indeed, I was dehghted in having an oppor-
tunity of convincing the General, that I was not un-
grateful for the kindness I had long ago experienced
at his hands. I assured him I would do all in my
power to bring his horse to post in the best possible
condition ; and, if I was successful, it would be \ery
gratifying to my feelings. General Vivian immediately
sent to England for a horse, and a brown gelding (a
cock-tail), named Lustre, was sent out to him; and
shortly after that, another, a chesnut mare, was also
sent out, named Momentilla, and both of them were
placed under my care to be trained.

Having these two horses to get ready to run, and
one or two other stables now and then to superintend,
I began to regret the loss of that practical knowledge
I formerly possessed, and which my change of situa-
tion had for so many years deprived me of the oppor-
tunity of cultivating. This was a circumstance which
brought me to think very seriously, not only of what
I had undertaken, but, also, how it was to be effected.
Calling to mind, however, the regularity of the stables,
and the treatment adopted in the working of different
horses standing at such stables as I had been accus-
tomed to live in, I speedily regained confidence, and
soon began to understand tolerably well what I was
about ; and by carefully attending to the different con-
stitutions and tempers of the horses under my care, I
cautiously put in practice that treatment by which I

INTRODUCTION. XV

thought I should be most likely to bi"ing them into a
fit state to run.

It was at the time of my getting horses leady to run
on the same ground with others with which they were
engaged, that I again observed great irregularities
practised by grooms belonging to different officers, who
were entrusted with the training of their masters'
horses.

The treatment generally adopted by these men, (an
instance or two excepted), in the working of their
horses, amounted, although, I believe, not intention-
ally, to little less than downright abuse. The hours
of their arrival and departure to and from the exercise
ground, were, by many of them, often badly timed ;
and the unreasonable length and pace at which some
of them went with their horses in their gallops and
sweats, appeared to me, from the daily observations I
made, to be but ill-adapted, either to the constitutions
or tempers of the horses under their care, or indeed,
of any others. Some of their horses were to be seen
running away, and thereby laming themselves ; others
throwing their riders, and going home to their stables.
Indeed, all such accidents may be expected to take
place in the preparing of horses to run, when they are
entrusted to the care of persons who are totally unac-
quainted with the regular method of training them.
So ignorant, indeed, of this subject are some grooms,
that at the commencement of the business, they never
once think of the conveniences necessary for the pur-
pose— such as proper stables on or near to such ground

XVI INTRODUCTION.

as may be fit to work horses on. During my stay in
France, I recollect being informed of an instance of
two horses being what was called trained in an orchard
of three acres in extent ; and the men who were riding
them at their exercise, w^ere at least twelve stone each.
These horses were exercised in this orchard for several
weeks, although there was tolerably good ground at
a distance of about a mile and a half from the stable ;
nor were these horses brought to the course until
about three weeks before they had to come to post.

I will here mention one more instance of improper
management in the training of a horse to run. One
evening, after the conclusion of a day's running, I
was asked by a gentleman to go with him to his
stable to look at a horse of his, which was to run the
next day. The same horse had been under my care
to be trained some months previous to this time ; I was
therefore aware that there was some nicety required in
setting him. As we were riding towards the stable, I
was led to talk to the owner on the subject; and he,
to my great astonishment, informed me that the horse
was then on the muzzle, and that he did not intend
to have any food or water given to him until his race
was over on the following day. I said but little, but
confess I was much surprised, as the owner of the
horse was considered, and in my opinion, justly con-
sidered, by those who knew him, to be a clever man.
He had been in the habit of keeping horses the greater
part of his life. The horse in question having two
miles to walk to the course, I recommended that, to a

INTRODUCTION. Xvil

certain extent, he should be indulged both in food and
water at proper intervals, up to the period of his com-
ing out of the stable to run.

Now, those of my readers who may be experienced
in the training of horses, will at once see the folly
of such absurd, or I may say, such cruel treatment
as was here intended to be carried into effect. ^ No
matter what description of horse it may be, as to
constitution or temper, — as to the length he may
be going to run, — the distance he may have to
walk to the course, or the time of day he is to start ;
— there is no one circumstance with which I am ac-
quainted, that would make it requisite to keep a
horse for eighteen or twenty-four hours, without food
or w ater ; and more particularly, one that could bear
but little setting, which was the case in the present
instance.

Where horses are pretty equally matched, there
can be but very little chance for those which have
been badly trained, to win against others which
have been moderately well-trained ; for, even in the
inferior sort of training which takes place among
hunting and saddle-horse grooms, some men's ideas
are superior to others on this, as on other subj ects ;
and in a race, the best horse may be easily beat
for want of being equally well prepared to run, ac-
cording to his constitution, with those opposed to
him.

It w^as from such examples of abuse as I have

c

XVlll INTRODUCTION.

described, and others of a similar nature, and also
from my often being asked by gentlemen, if there
was no book published on the Treatment and Con-
dition of Race-horses, that I was first induced to
turn my thoughts on writing a Treatise of this kind.
With this view, I have minutely studied every par-
ticular circumstance, relative to the subject, or that
is connected with it ; but to what extent I may
have succeeded, in bringing this first part of the
Art of Training Race-horses into a correct and re-
gular system, I must leave to that portion of the pub-
lic, who are competent to judge of the practical in-
structions here attempted.

In this first part of my work, I have stated many
minute circumstances, which, although apparently
of little value, will, in their general application, be
found to be of the highest consequence ; and the
rules which I have laid down, will, I trust, appear
so just and simple in their principles, and the ex-
planations which accompany them, so clear, that
grooms who are able to read, may, by a frequent
reference to them, and by a particular attention to the
minute circumstances to which I have alluded in this
first part, and to which I shall also refer in the se-
cond, gain a perfect acquaintance with the whole
economy of training stables, and with the most
correct and proper method of training such horses
as may be entrusted to their care. By gaining such
knowledge, I hesitate not to say, that they will

INTRODUCTION. XIX

not only become good and efficient grooms, but what
should be the leading object of their ambition, they
will, by their increased skill and acquirements, pro-
vide the highest gratification to themselves, and yield
the greatest advantage to their employers.

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A TREATIS E,

CHAPTER I.

ON THE STABLES, ETC.

When horse-racing first commenced in this country
I imagine it must have been introduced by noblemen
and gentlemen of fortune, who kept their race-horses
as they did their hounds, as a part of their sporting
establishment, and who occasionally ran them for
different public prizes, as much probably for the
amusement it afforded, as for the value or honor of
the prize they might win. I believe there are some
Jew noblemen and gentlemen, who still maintain their
racing studs nluch upon the above mentioned princi-
ples ; but if we take a view of horse-racing upon the
general scale of the present day, we shall find that it

22 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

is now followed by many thousands in the different
ranks of life, rather as a business of a deep speculation.
Where there are such enormous sums of money de-
pending on the result of any great stakes, or heavy
match, we ought to bear in mind that no pains which
promise any chance of success should be spared, nor
any accommodation that might in any way be advan-
tageous to horses in training, should ever be lost sight
of. The first object to which I shall direct the atten-
tion of my readers is that of Training Stables.

Although I have lived in different stables, I never
remember to have seen any that I could consider in
every respect as being perfectly complete. It is, how-
ever, a matter of importance, as well for the health
and comfort of the horses, as for the convenience of
the training groom and his boys, that proper stables
should be provided for race-horses to stand in, not
only during the time of their training, but also during
the winter, at which period of the year many of them
are out of training. There are tolerably good stables,
both public and private, at Newmarket, and at many
other places where race-horses are trained. Trainers
know how stables should be constructed, for the pur-
pose of carrying on their business with facility ; yet
there are some of these stables so very badly arranged
with regard to convenience, as to render them very
inferior to others, the circumstances of those who own
them probably not admitting of their making them as
perfectly commodious as they ought to be.

Having lived both in good and bad stables, I am

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 23

SO well convinced of the very great benefit derived'
from the former, as well in regard to the health of the
horses, as to the advantages obtained in favor of the
trainer in the carrying on of his business, that I shall here
endeavour to describe how a range of stables may be
planned, suitable in all respects for race-horses to stand
in at all times.

If the stables, house, and offices I am about to pro-
pose, cannot be conveniently built on the downs,
where the horses are to be trained, they should not
be at any great distance from them. A mile, for
example, is a distance that would be sometimes at-
tended with inconvenience, from the uncertainty of
the weather at some periods. Should the horses be on
the downs at such a distance from the stables, and
heavy rain come on suddenly, they would not, in all
probability, be able to reach the stables (in a walk)
before their clothes would be nearly, or, perhaps quite
wet through; an occurrence which, for various reasons,
should, if possible, be avoided. Another great objec-
tion to this distance, is, that some race-horses, although
excellent runners, are, at times, found to be but very
indifferent travellers on the road. Accidents might,
therefore, happen ; a careless horse might tumble down
and break his knees, and this I have known to occur
more than once. It would be running too great a
risk, with valuable horses in training, to allow them to
walk even half a mile twice a day in summer, over a
dry hot road, particularly with horses that may have
engagements of great importance to their owners. A

24 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

piece of ground between the clowns and stables, of the
length I have been speaking of, unless made on pur-
pose, would, I fear, from constant use, very soon re-
st^mble a high road.

It may be thought, by some of my readers, that the
horses may be led from the stables to the downs ; and
I admit that race-horses should almost at all times be
led, when travelling on the road ; but in this instance,
and for this distance, there is an objection, and for
this reason, — that horses, from having been indulged,
as they most of them are in winter, are, in their first
coming out in the spring, much too calfish to allow
the boys to lead them with any degree of safety. A
trainer must be a bad judge, indeed, to suffer his boys
to make the attempt. But, although I have objected
to horses in training going from the stables to the
downs on a hard road, yet I am fully aware that this
cannot, at times, be avoided with the best of horses,
and it is a thing that frequently occurs to country plate
horses and others, which are being led through dif-
ferent parts of the kingdom, in travelling from race to
race, and are often obliged to stand at inns, a mile, or
perhaps, two or three miles distant from the course on
which they are going to run.

Recurring now to the subject of building training
stables, I wish to be understood that those I intend to
propose, are what is generally called the home stables
of a large public racing establishment. These I shall
consider as being placed under the direction of a regu-
lar training groom, who is in business for himself, and

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 25

who takes in race-horses to train for noblemen and
gentlemen ; say, for example, at Newmarket, or any
other part of the kingdom, where the business of
training horses is carried on to a great extent.

Training stables should be built on a dry, level
surface, either on or close to the training ground. It
is to be observed, also, that they should be at a suitable
distance from where the horses pull up after sweating,
trying or running. Being thus situated, they not
only answer every convenient purpose, but as all
trainers know, horses, like other animals, when making
towards home, come more freely in their sweats, and
will give their trials and races more kindly in I'unning to
their stables than from them. Were I to build training
stables at Newmarket, I would place them somewhere
about the centre of the fields at the back of the White
Lion public-house, and in a parallel line with His
Majesty's rubbing house, with the front of them to a full
southern aspect. I strongly recommend the front of all
stables being placed to the above aspect ; for from the
observations which I have made in attending sick horses,
I am of opinion that horses, when constantly standing
in stables, in which the doors and windows are placed
so as to front to the south, are not so liable to consti-
tutional diseases (the distemper, for example), as those
which stand in stables, the front of which may have
a northern, or perhaps a north-eastern aspect. Indeed,
there is something so cheerful and animating in the
enlivening rays of the sun (which horses enjoy in com-
mon with other animals) that I cannot too strongly

26 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

advise the front of stables, generally, to be placed
as above mentioned.

I do not pretend to any knowledge of architecture as
a science ; nor am I but little acquainted with its tech-
nical terms : I have, nevertheless, ventured to sketch a
plan and ele^ation of what appears to me, a proper
building for a large training establishment for race-
horses. Bred up, as I have already said, from an early
period of life, in the stables, and having for many years
since that period, enjoyed opportunities of observing
and comparing the advantages and defects of several of
these establishments, I may venture to consider myself
acquainted with their minute details ; while I trust that
the advantages that I have since derived from my
practice as a veterinary surgeon, and the opportunities
afforded me, of studying the treatment of horses, in
disease as well as in health, in the various situations and
trying circumstances of a military life, will enable me
to appreciate better than I could otherwise have done,
the value of my early experience ; and to form more
correct and decided opinions, as to the propriety and
impropriety of many of the practices in the management
of race-horses, which custom or experience may have
introduced. I must bespeak the patience of my readers,
in following me into details on this part of my subject,
which may to some appear unnecessarily minute, and
to others unimportant or trifling ; but those who are
aware how delicate and high-bred a creature we have to
deal with, in the training of a race-horse, and how
much the circumstances of air and temperature, and

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 27

methods of feeding, clothing, watering, and exercising
this noble animal, may affect his powers for the race,
will be ready to excuse my minuteness, or rather, I
hope, to applaud me for it.

Nor in the establishment I propose, have I consulted
only the treatment of the horse ; on the contrary, I
have endeavoured to provide and arrange the apart-
ments and accommodations, which to me appear the
most suitable and convenient, for the training groom,
head lads, and exercise boys, which such establish-
ments necessarily require ; and such, I hope, as will
best enable them to execute their duties with ease and
credit to themselves, and satisfaction to their employ-
ers.

No establishment can be said to be complete, in
which any person or thing, necessary to execute any
work in the best manner, is wanting ; nor even if these
be all present, can it be said to be well conducted,
unless every person about it is suitably accommodated,
and everything so well adapted to its proper use, and
set in its proper place, that it may always be ready at
the shortest notice, to do its office in the most perfect
manner. I shall not, therefore, neglect to enumerate
the instruments and utensils, which early experience
and subsequent reflection have taught me are neces-
sary to be provided, in the several departments of duty;
nor to assign the places where they should be kept, in
order to be readiest at hand. Those who, like myself,
have actually performed those duties, will know how
much their labours will be facilitated, and their com-

28 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

forts promoted, by due attention to these regulations ;
while those who are uninstructed may learn what things
ought to be provided, and how they can be most com-
modiously arranged, so as to carry on the establish-
ment with the best prospect of success. I beg, how-
ever, to intimate to those whose situations will not per-
mit them to follow all the particular and minute in-
structions which I shall lay down, that where the end
proposed can be equally well attained by slight changes
or deviations from the instructions I shall give, such
changes or deviations may be adopted, to suit the cir-
cumstances, habits, or opinions of the party.

I am aware, too, that modifications of my plans and
arrangements may be required in large establishments,
maintained by private individuals, or in small public
establishments in various parts of the country ; or in
those situations where a hunting establishment may,
to a certain extent, be combined with that for the
race.

To follow such modifications, however, would be
at once very tedious, and but of little use, since the
ordinary judgment and experience of individuals can
best suggest what may best suit their peculiar plans,
circumstances or situations. My aim is to sketch,
both in outline and detail, the plans and practices of
a public racing establishment, according to the princi-
ples on which I think they should rest, rejecting no-
thing which appears to me necessary to conduct it in
the completest manner, without, however, presuming to
say that nothing superfluous has been introduced, or

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 29

that something more may not be hereafter added, by
future experience. I shall also, by and bye, make
some few remarks on the private stables of noblemen
and gentlemen.

I now proceed to describe the stables, as represented
in plate No I. In that plate is delineated a front view,
or elevation of a range of stables, offices, pad-
docks, &c.

References to Plan. — No. 1. is the approach to
the front yard by a door in the centre of the wall, out-
side of which there are two troughs, one on each side
the door. These troughs being thus placed, will have
the benefit of the sun on them, during the day. These
are for the horses to water at, which go to their daily
exercise on the downs, so that they may not have to
pass through the front door oftener than is necessary,
in going in and out of the stables. These troughs
should be kept locked, and it may be necessary, when
the horses are in training, to keep live fish in the
troughs.

The frame of the door here, is to be five feet in
width, by nine in height; and for the space of about
two feet in the centre, it would be better if the sides of
it were rounded. Rollers let in would be still prefer-
able, that in ca^e any of the horses passing through
should, by accident, come in contact with the door-
frame, they would not be so liable to receive so great
an injury as they otherwise might, were there no
rollers, or were the edges of the door-frame not round-

30 ON THE STABLES, ETC

ed. From this door, as it is the entrance into the front
yard, there must, of course, be a bell.

The yard within the walls, is one hundred and
eighty feet, by three hundred and fifty-four. In the
centre, is a turf ring, one hundred and forty feet in
diameter ; round which should be formed a sort of
coach-road, m^de of fine gravel and sand, or any other
materials of this kind that may be thought to answer
the purpose better. All I want here, is a smooth, level
surface for the horses to walk on, soft enough to allow
them some little foot-hold, as there will occasionally
be horses ordered to walk in this yard at certain times
and for certain periods in the course of the day, and
not to go out on the downs, that they may be watered
while at exercise. I have here fixed two troughs, one
in the centre of the wall in the east, and the other in
the centre of the wall in the west, in which situations
each trough of water will, when opened morning and
evening, have the benefit of the sun ; and the groom
will of course, order the boys to water the horses in
the morning at the trough in the west, and in evening
at the trough in the east.

The wooden frame on which the troughs are to
stand, should be eighteen inches from the ground ; the
length of each trough should be twelve feet, and the
breadth over the top should be eighteen inches; fifteen
in the width at the bottom, and fifteen in depth. At
one corner in the bottom there should be a hole with
a plag in it, so that the water may be let off occasion-
ally to cleanse them. There must be lids to these

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 31

trouglis, with hasps and staples, as it will be necessary,
at times, to lock them up. Under them, in the sum-
mer time, may stand the buckets ; in winter, while the
horses are out of training, these may be kept in the
stables, or in any other more convenient place.

No. 2. Ground plan of the stables.

No. 3. Plan of the second floor, and dwelling
apartments.

No. 4. A front view of a range of stables, made to
front the south. It consists of a centre building for
the grooms; house, forty -two feet by sixty-two, and
two extending wings, each twenty-four feet by one
hundred and forty-eight, divided into separate stables,
stalls, and boxes. This building is entered through an
archway in the centre (eleven feet wide) beneath which
are the door-ways leading right and left to the stables in
either wing, and also into the apartments of the
grooms' house, boys' hall, &c. &c. Over the stable?,
is the second story, divided into chambers and sitting
rooms (with closets to each), for the different training
grooms and head lads that may occasionally come to
reside at the establishment. The other small chambers
are for those boys who look after horses that may be
standing in the boxes. The galleries leaVling to these
several rooms are in width, four feet six, and are entered
by doors on the top of the stairs erected in the back
yard. Through the front yard, we pass into the back
yard. (See plan, No. 6.) The range of building-
forming this yard is one story high ; it is of the same
extent as the building in front of it. (See plan , No. O.J

32 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

but to be only twenty feet in breadth. In this range
are situated the straw and hay barns, granary, domestic
offices, and other accommodations required in such an
estabUshment. At each end of this yard are large
folding gates, with wickets in them, and are for the
entrance of waggons, carts, and foot people. There
should be a bell at each gate, as they are at all times to
be kept locked.

Through the centre of this building is a large pas-
sage, leading to seven inclosures or paddocks. (See
plan, No. 1.) The centre paddock is seventy-eight feet,
by two hundred and forty- four feet, with rails ranged
round by the wall, for the drying of the horses' sweat-
ers. Adjoining the entrance, inside the walls, are two
water troughs. This paddock is intended for the horses
to walk in occasionally, as ordered by the groom. The
two paddocks on either side of the centre one, are
forty-four feet in width. The two outer ones are fifty
feet in width, but they are all of equal length,
separated by walls nine feet high. The ground on
M-hich the stables, offices, &c. stand, is enclosed on every
side by a stone wall of the same height. The four
paddocks of forty-four feet in width have troughs in
them. These paddocks are intended to turn into
occasionally, those yearlings which may not have to
come to post till they are two years old, to get a little
spring grass, after they have been broken ; or for the
same purpose for a country-plate horse, that may
require his constitution, as well as his legs, to be re-
freshed ; or for turning out a sick horse, such as may

ON THE STAULES, ETC. 33

be labouring under constitutional disease, as inflamed
lungs, or the distemper ; or when these paddocks are
not used for any 'of the above purposes, they may be
useful to turn the hacks into, to take the staleness out of
them. But as colts, as well as horses, are apt on being
turned out to range wildly about, it may be advisable
to bank these four paddocks round, to prevent them
from coming in contact with the walls, and thereby in-
juring themselves.

These banks placed round where the wall and ground
form a junction, on a basis of from three to four feet,
raised against the walls in a gradual, but oblique direc-
tion, and of the same height as the basis, may have
the desired effect — that of preventing the horses cpming
in contact widi the walls. I strongly recommend this
plan of banking, as I remember a very fine colt having
his shoulder fractured, fiom coming suddenly in contact
with the wall of the paddock in which he was ranging.
In one of the outer paddocks, of fifty-five feet each in
width, should be grown tares, vetches, lucerne, or clover-
grass. The seeds of these plants should be sown on
different portions of the ground, of sufficient dimen-
sions to supply two or three horses at a time, for ten
days or a fortnight, with a succession of crops, and at
intervals during the summer. I allude to such horses
as are stationary during the summer, as many of those
at Newmarket are; and if it could be done, these green
meats, as they are termed, should be grown till autumn,
at which time the country plate horses generally arrive
at the home stables, and to them, this sort of food

D

34 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

would be very refreshing. Of the other outer paddocky
a sufficient portion should be sown with carrots, for the
supply of such horses as may not be in strong work
during winter. The other parts of this paddock may
be converted into a kitchen garden, to supply the inha-
bitants residing on the premises.

The principal entrances to the outer paddocks are
by doors in the wall of the back yard ; and the four
paddocks, of forty-four feet in width, are entered from
the back doors of the loose boxes, the paddocks all
communicating with each other by doors in the side
walls. I have planned this for convenience, yet there
is rather an objection to this plan; for colts and horses
winding each other at the doors, are apt to paw and
knock at them, and soon get them out of repair ; and
unless they are properly secured, they are much in-
clined to play with the common sort of fastening, till
they get the door open.

As these paddocks are not arranged or intended for
breeding stock, but merely for the purposes just men-
tioned, it may, perhaps, be doubtful whether these
communications are an advantage or not ; if it is
thought that the doors should remain as I have put
them, they might be fenced round, in order to meet
the objection I have urged.

Having, in the preceding section, given a general
outline of the plan of building, &c., I now propose to
follow it more in detail, as far, at least, as regards the
forms, dimensions, and use of the various apartments
for the groom, head lads, and boys (who consider

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 35

the establishment as their home) ; as also the different
stables, and the conveniences they should be supplied
with, leaving matters of mere taste and embellishment
to the fancy of others, consulting only what regards
propriety and use.

The centre building consists of two stories, and is
entered through an arch, beneath which are four doors,
immediately opposite each other. The two first open
into two large saddle rooms, communicating with the
stables. I shall first speak of the dwelling apartments,
which are to be entered by the two farthest doors.
The one on the right may be the entrance with a pas-
sage, or small hall, to the groom's own private dwel-
ling ; on the left of this passage are the kitchen, larder,
and scullery ; on the right is a small parlour. It will
be evident from this disposition, that there is to be an
under-ground cellar. The door on the opposite side of
the arch, is the entrance to a large kitchen, or servants'
hall, for the boys to take their meals in, and also to
occupy at intervals during the day. This room should
have a fire-place of suitable dimensions, in which a
large fire may be made, not only for the comfort of the
boys, but for the purpose of drying the sweaters, when
the weather does not permit of this being done in the
open air. To dry them conveniently before the fire,
long wooden horses, three and a half, or four feet high,
should be provided. This, room should be furnished
with all the conveniences the purposes for which it is
to serve may render necessary.

Having thus finished what relates to the apartments

D 2

36 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

on the first floor, or ground plan of our centre build-
ing, I shall now proceed to describe the upper or se-
cond floor, which forms six chambers with a passage
leading to them, from which they may all be entered.
The room to the front and over the centre of the arch,
I have supposed to be the private saddle room, or if
you will, the study of the resident training groom.
One part of this room should be fitted up as a labora-
tory for keeping such medicines, instruments, and other
articles as will hereafter be noticed, together with the
apparatus necessary for compounding the medicines ;
a writing desk with a cupboard over it for books, such
as the stud-book, racing-calendar, and books of refer-
ence, those on medicine and the veterinary art. The
trial book should also be kept here. Another cup-
board or press should be fitted up with racks, for put-
ting away the trial saddles, trusses, small weights,
horses' plates, &c. The trial jackets and caps, which
should be all of one colour, may be kept here; and it
is also to be observed, that these saddles and trusses
should never be handled, if it can possibly be avoided,
by any one but the training groom or head lad. A
third cupboard, fitted up with shelves for the best of
the spare cloths, should also be provided. Racks and
pegs for the racing saddles, bridles, running reins,
girths, martingals, and surcingles, should be fixed up
in some convenient part of this room. There should
also be a dial, a weighing machine, and a weather
glass. This room will require a good sized fire-place.
The best description of locks should be put on the

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 37

cupboards, and there should also be a good one on the
room door, nor should the keys ever be out of the pos-
session of the training groom. The other rooms on
this story, with a fire-place in each, may be allotted
for sitting and bed-rooms for the training groom, to
suit the convenience of the establishment. If it be
thought necessary, two or three rooms for the servants
of the training gioom, may form an attic story in this
part of the building.

The several apartments which compose the central
building being thus allotted to their different uses, I
shall describe how the interior of the two saddle rooms,
for common use, are to be fitted up. It has already
been noticed, that these rooms are entered by the two
first doors, right and left, opposite to each other under
the a]"ch ; and from each of these, a door should open
into each range of training stables. These rooms are
designed for the exercise saddles and bridles, belonging
to horses in the boxes. They should also be furnished
with presses or cupboards, having shelves to receive
such spare cloths as may be in frequent though not in
constant use. The sweaters, for example, after being
well dried and folded up with the scrapers in them,
may be kept here ; indeed all the articles that are fre-
quently used about the horses, and many of those in the
stable, may, when not in use, be kept in these rooms.
A large corn bin should also be fixed in each of these
rooms, for the resident training groom to feed such
horses as may be under his care. Each room should
also contain a boiler, sufficiently large to hold half a.

38 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

dozen buckets of water, and furnished with a cock at
the bottom. Warm water may thus be kept ready to
take the chill ofi* the cold water occasionally given to
the horses when in the stable, or to render the cold
water sufficiently hot for a fomentation for the legs of
such horses as may have been sweating, trying, or run-
ning long lengths at a severe pace. The boilers should
be put up so that the steam they give off may escape
by the flue of the fire-place, or by an aperture in the
wall, to prevent, as much as possible, the room from
becoming damp.

I shall now describe the range of stables, which
occupies the ground floor of each wing, and which is
continued from the centre building. The height of the
stables within, should at least be twelve feet in the clear.
I shall leave to the better judgment of the architect, to
decide on the height of the exterior walls, as also of
those in the interior, used as partitions. In erecting
these walls, spaces are of course to be left, as I shall
hereafter direct, for purposes which will be then
explained. It is also to be observed that the exterior
walls are to be built of a sufficient substance to prevent,
as effectually as possible, the heat in summer or the
cold in winter, from affecting the temperature of the
stables. The openings first to be noticed in the front
walls, are, of course, for the doors and windows, as
exhibited in the plan. There must also be small
openings for the admission of air, in that part of the
wall (in each stable) which approximates to the ceiling.
Now, as it is the custom, and indeed a very proper one.

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 30

for the boys to mount the horses in the stable, and
ride them out to exercise, and in again on returning, it
will be advisable, in order to prevent accidents oceur-
ing either to the boys or to the horses, to make these
door-ways, as well as all the others on the premises,
very large.

The space to be left for these door frames (the edges
of which should be rounded off at the centre about two
feet) should be in width, four feet, eight inches, by
nine feet eight, and to be somewhat arched at the top.
The door frames should be seven feet eight inches high,
so as to leave a space above the door for a moveable
window, about a foot and a half deep, which may be
hung so as to turn on a central pivot, and occasionally
permit the ingress of air. If also, the said door frames
be made four inches thick, and rounded off as above
mentioned (as all stable doors should be) they will
leave a full four feet in the clear. The number of win-
dows to be in each stable, are two ; the spaces left for
them are to commence six feet from the ground, and
should be four feet four for the sash frames, in the four
and three-stall stables; but those in the loose boxes
and two-stall stables are to be made proportionably less.
The lower half of the whole of the windows should be
formed by two ranges of flat wooden rails, let into
the wall a little on each side, and made to slide over
each other, so as to admit air when required, in the
manner of drying houses of paper manufactories; and
the upper part should be glazed to admit the light.
These glazed parts in the loose l)oxes must be protected

40 ON THE STABLES, ETC,

by strong wire, to prevent the horses from breaking them.
There are to be shutters outside these windows ; and if
they were made to resemble the Venetian blinds, which
are so generally fixed outside the windows of houses
on the Continent, and not unfrequently in England,
they would most effectually exclude the sun's heat, and
at the same time permit the admission of air. I see no
objection to cavities or recesses being left in convenient
parts of the front walls, and of suitable dimensions for
the formation of cupboards for the forks, brooms, and
shovels ; and other small recesses may also be formed
into cupboards about a foot square, for each boy to put
away his comb and brush, his damp wisp, picker,
sponge and main-comb; but the fastenings of the cup-
boards in the boxes should be made in such a manner as
to prevent the horse from opening them.

The partition walls which divide the stables into
separate compartments, are to be placed at different
distances from each other, in the following order: —
No. 1, twenty-seven feet. No. 2, thirteen feet. No. 3,
thirteen feet. No. 4, thirteen feet. No. 5, twenty feet.
No. 6, thirteen feet, No. 7^ thirteen feet. No. 8, thir-
teen feet, and No. 9, thirteen feet. In each of these
walls, there must be a space left for a door-way at a
suitable distance from the horses' quarters, to admit
occasionally of a communication from one stable to
another, so that the resident and principal training-
groom may, whenever he has the entire management
of all the horses in his stables, proceed from one to the

ON THE STABLKS, ETC. 41

other to superintend his boys, and see that they dress
their horses properly, and without abusing them by
kicking or striking them.

This building being intended as a public establishment
for the standing of race-horses, as well as to afford
proper accommodation for them, there must be rooms
for the grooms, head lads, and boys who are some-
times sent with horses ; and the sitting rooms, and
chambers placed over the stables, in both wings and
extending through the entire range, are intended for
this purpose ; so that the partition walls dividing the
stables, being continued up to the roof, will principally
form the rooms on the second floor. These large rooms
over each of the four, and three-stall stables, are to be
partitioned ofT, in which partition there is to be a door-
way ; this will give in each wing two sitting and two
bed rooms, communicating with each other. In such
an establishment as I have here traced, there ought to
be living, to assist the resident training groom, a steady
man and one head lad, or otherwise two head lads ;
and it is for them, and the grooms and head lads who
may occasionally be sent with the horses, that the
communicating sitting and bed rooms are intended ;
the others are for the boys whose horses are in loose
boxes, or in two-stall stables. In each of the bed
rooms of the resident head lads, there should be an
alarum clock. This arrangement of the second floor
in each wing, will give nine bed rooms, and two sitting
rooms ; the whole of them are to have fire places, and
to be conveniently fitted up with pegs, cupboards,

42 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

presses, &c. At the back part of the building, or
along its northern front, a sufficient space is left for a
passage, from which the entrance to the several cham-
bers may be made. This passage is lighted by win-
dows in the back, and is entered by an outside stair-
case to each wing. The remaining portion of this
floor in the centre building may be converted into two
bed rooms, for the use of the private servants of the
resident groom, and over these rooms the clock is to be
fixed, as may be seen in the plan. Having described
the exterior walls of the stables, as well as those in the
interior for partitions, I now proceed to explain the
plan of the interior of the stables. In each wing are
nine separate spaces of ground partitioned off, and of
different dimensions ; but as the two wings exactly
correspond with each other, the description of the in-
terior of the stables in one wing will suffice for both.

Proceeding from the centre, the first plot of ground
is for a four-stall stable, allowing for each stall a space
of six feet in the clear of the wood work. Such should
be the breadth of every stall on the premises, but by
no means wider ; if it be, the horse will often be
standing across it. In my opinion, a racing stable
should never consist of more than four stalls ; as it
seldom occurs that in one establishment, there are
more than four horses which require to be worked and
treated so exactly alike, as at all times to be placed in
the same class. As a guide to my observations on the
arrangement of the interior of the stables, let us sup-
pose the horses to be standing in the stables. I would

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 43

advise that each stall-post behind the horse's quarters
should be placed at a distance from the north wall of
the building (or that which fronts the heads of the
horses) of ten feet, which will form the length of the
stall. Its height, commencing from the post, should
be five feet and a half. The workman, in erecting the
stall, must observe, that as he approaches the centre of
it, he should begin gradually to raise it in a curve
direction, until he has reached within about a foot of
the wall, and from that part to its insertion into the
wall it should be straight. The top rail being fixed,
the stall, when completed, should measure in the
highest part, at least eight feet and a half, which is
sufficiently high to prevent the horses from smelling
to each other. The whole of the wood-work should
be of oak ; if all the wood-work cannot be of oak,
the racks, the manger-rails, cribbing boards, and the
first six planks in each stall from the post should cer-
tainly be of this sort of wood. There is to be fixed in
the centre of each of these stalls, in front of the horse's
head, and two inches above the manger, a cribbing
board, two feet six inches square ; and six inches from
the upper edge of it, should be attached a ring, to
which should be affixed a chain with a swivel and
some round links in the centre ; and at the bottom part
of it there should be a piece of iron, something in the
form of the letter T. This chain being thus made, will
allow of being let out or shortened to a convenient
length, for the purpose of chaining up the horse's head
in a proper position, at the time of being dressed. The

44 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

length of the chain should be three feet, which, when
let out to its full extent, will be of sufficient length to
admit of the horse's reaching the bottom and every
part of the manger with ease ; but it must not be made
to exceed the above length, or the horse will have the
power of reaching his bedding at the time of his being
fed ; a thing, which for various reasons, should be
avoided. The manger, with regard to its depth and
breadth, may be made as most others are. To prevent
the horses from injuring themselves by getting their
legs into them (which they will sometimes do when
the mangers are very low, the top rail of the manger
ought to be three feet ten inches from the ground. I
think the fixed mangers according to the old plan are
to be preferred ; they are more convenient than those
which are made to draw in and out of the wall ; but
on this' point I do not speak from experience, as I
never remember to have lived in any stables where
tliose of the latter description were used. Some are of
opinion that horses cannot conveniently crib-bite,
when there is no manger rail ; but horses that are much
inclined to this habit, will be at no loss to put it in
practice while they have the bottom rail of the rack to
lay hold of. It may, therefore, be advisable to put a
horse that may be much inclined to crib-bite, into a
stable or box where there is no rack -, a drawer manger
may then be an advantage. Wainscotting should be
continued from the bottom and outer edge of the man-
ger, down to where the wall and ground meet.

In regard to the rack, if one ])e placed, it must be

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 45

fixed ill the left hand corner of the stall, resting on the
top rail of the manger ; for from the position in which
the horse stands in the stall, it will be more out of the
way here than if it were placed either in the right
hand corner or in the centre ; for the boy who looks
after a i-ace-horse, from custom and for convenience, in-
variably goes up to him on the near side, no matter
what he has to do with him ; and as invariably, when
leaving him, comes away on the near side also ; so that
the horse, although standing straight in himself from
habit (except now and then, when eating his corn)
almost at all times stands somewhat across the stall,
with his head towards the rack, and his quarters in-
clined to the off-side, more than to the centre of the
stall.

The racks, as it has already been observed, are to be
made of well-seasoned oak, and should measure
eighteen inches from the bottom to the top, or at
farthest not exceeding twenty. The space from the
corner of the stall and the wall to which the rack is
fixed, to the front of the rack, should also measure
eighteen inches, the top and bottom part of the rack
being brought out and arched for this purpose.

This one rack will be sufficiently large to hold the
quantity of hay a race-horse may require at any one
time during the day, or to serve him the whole of the
night ; for few racers, when in training, eat more than
six or seven pounds of hay during the twenty-four
hours. It may be thought by some of my readers
that I have placed the racks too low ; indeed I have

46 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

no doubt they would look much better if placed a foot
higher. I know that appearances are much studied in
hunting and saddle-horse stables ; but in stables for
race-horses, the first objects to be considered are com-
fort and utility, and the rack placed at the height I
have above directed is convenient for the boy putting
in the hay, and equally convenient for the use of
the horse in pulling it out to feed himself, and which
he can do in an easy natural position. The plan
of tying up the horse in the stable is a circumstance
to which, in order to prevent accidents, some attention
should be paid. For this purpose, one collar-rein is
quite sufficient. I do not approve of the practice of
attaching two reins, one to each side of the collar ;
for when a horse is rubbing his head with his hind
foot (as he sometimes will do), should he unfortunately
get his leg over either of the reins, it might be attended
with serious consequences, more particularly if such
occurrence should happen to the horse near the time
he was going to run. He may, in struggling, cut his
pastern joint with the rein, to such an extent as to
prevent his coming to post. Whatever method is
adopted for the purpose of securing the horse in his
stall, the more simple it is, the better. I should
advise its being done by having a hole made in or
below the manger rail, for the rein of the collar to
pass through ; this might run on a pulley into a sort of
case or trunk fixed inside the waintscotting, and
if it be necessary to give length to the collar-rein,
this case or trunk may be sunk below the surface

ON THE STAHLKS, ETC. 47

of the stable floor. It should be large enough to
alloAv the log or weight to move up or down with
facility ; this weight should, however, be sufficiently
heavy, so as at all times to prevent the collar-rein
from hanging loose. No inconvenience will arise
from attending to these directions, if the rein be long
enough to allow the horse to lie down at full length,
with ease and comfort to himself. A trap-door may
be made in the waintscotting on one side of the case,
to afford the facility of removing any obstruction that
may occur. There may also be a trap-door under the
rack, for the purpose of removing the short hay and
seeds that fall through the bottom of it. In most race-
horse stables there is a thin wood work attached to the
ceiling, and forming an arch over each horse's stall,
the outsides of which arches are made to meet. It
must be observed, that the bottom part of these arches
should correspond in breadth with the top part of the
stable post, the posts forming the bases upon which
the arches rest.

Although I have lived in stables where the wood-
work I have here described has been placed over the
stalls, I confess I do not know, nor do I remember
ever to have heard of its being of any particular ad-
vantage, unless it be that, in effect, it gives the stalls
a neat and finished appearance. If the centre of the
arches were dropped sufficiently low, they might in
this way foi-m a sort of curtain, and prevent the sun
for a short period during the day, from shining too
powerfully upon the horses' heads ; but this can be

48 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

belter regulated by window shutters. Rings should
be fixed in the stall posts for the purpose of buckling
on pillar-reins : but generally speaking, pillar-reins
are not used in race-horse stables, unless it is when
the young ones are breaking in. There should be
saddle-racks in each stable, and as boys are short,
they should not exceed a height of six feet from the
ground. Their place should be in the partitioning walls,
in the centre of that part of the wall between the com-
municating doors and the ends of the horses' stalls,
with a peg under each. In each four-stall stable
there should be four of these racks and pegs ; in each
three-stall stable there should be three; and two in
each two-stall stable. On these racks are put aside
the seven-pound saddles which the boys ride on to
exercise, and the pegs are for the bridles and dressing
muzzles. Nor do I see why boys in racing stables
should not be called upon to pay a little more attention
to the cleaning of the irons of their exercise saddles
and bridles, than they were accustomed to do in my
juvenile days.

At the back part of each three and four-stall stable,
there should be in one corner, a corn bin, and in the
other, a hay crib. These bins and cribs should be of
the same dimensions, measuring in height from the
ground three feet, the front part of them projecting
from the centre of the walls two feet six. Each bin
should be divided into two compartments, the one for
corn, and the other for beans. In front of each corn
bin a trap-door should be made, a foot and a half

ON THE SIABLES, ETC. 49

broad and a foot in depth, to admit of the corn being
easily got at when it gets low in the bin. A sieve
would naturally find a place in each bin for the pur-
pose of cleansing the corn, and a small wooden bowl
will also be kept in each as a measure. It was for-
merly the custom with training grooms to measure the
quantity of corn their horses ate by quarts, and not by
quarterns, which being a very good plan, I hope they
still adhere to it.

Strong constitutioned horses are good feeders, but in
their feeding, as in their \vork, they may be over-
marked, if the groom be not careful ; for it is with
these horses as with the light flighty ones, their food
must ever regulate their work. A good groom is aware
that he must get the corn into his horse if possible,
but he is also aware that he must do it cautiously, and
that he must be regulated by certain calculations, of
which I shall have occasion to speak hereafter ; and
this it is that makes me rather particular as to what
quantity of oats this little wooden bowl should be ca-
pable of containing; when filled, it should hold just a
quart.

In each of the three and four-stall stables, close un-
der the stable window (which may be said to be be-
hind the stable door when it is open) should be placed
a moderate sized bed settle, for two of the boys to
sleep in. These settles are, or were so universally
known in all race-horse stables, as to obviate the ne-
cessity of my giving a very particular description how
they are made. The settles, when turned up during

E

50 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

the day, foiTQ themselves into seats, for noblemen or
gentlemen to whom the horses belong, to sit upon ;
this they often do, to see their horses brushed over,
and when talking to the training groom on business.
The boys who sleep in the stables are, of course, those
in whom the groom places implicit confidence ; and
to be enabled readily to obtain a light in the night in
case of accident, a tinder box and matches should be left
with them. The boys sleeping here are easily awoke
by anything unusual occurring among the horses, and
are immediately ready to render assistance to any
horse that may be cast, or to tie up any one that may
have got loose, which is a thing that sometimes hap-
pens. By taking these precautions, accidents are pre-
vented, or often remedied at once ; in short, these are
precautions which should on no account be neglected,
considering the very trifling accidents by which a horse
may be prevented from performing his race, the dis-
appointment of which might be of very serious con-
sequence to the owner.

I will take the liberty here of dio-ressinoj a little from
the subject, merely to state, by way of illustration, an
instance which occurred in the same stable in which I
was living when a boy. I shall also give a short
sketch of the life of a stable boy, to point out to my
readers the impropriety of allowing the whole of them
to sleep over the stables.

One morning on the groom'^s entering the stables,
the horse I then looked after was found, cast in his
stall. How long he had been lying m that situa-

I

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 51

tion could not be ascertained, as none of us heaid him
in the night; but from the ap})earance of the horse's
coat (although dry when he entered the stable), he
had been sweating most profusely, and he must, no
doubt, have been struggling for some hours, or perhaps
the whole night. Fortunately he had not to run for some
time afterwards. A horse, if cast a night or two before
his race, no matter whether by accident, or from inatten-
tion in the groom not tying him up properly, and es-
pecially if he be a flighty one, might be put off his
feed a day or two, which would greatly decrease his
powers for the race. Indeed, from such a circumstance,
he may come to post 71bs. or a stone below his proper
form, a weight which a horse in public running cannot
easily give to those of his year, unless he has to run
in bad company, or is himself a very superior horse.
Grooms who have been long accustomed to the care
of horses, are all aware, that amongst a number of
horses, one will now and then, by rolling in the stall,
get himself cast. Indeed, there are some horses, that
soon contract the habit of rolling every night.

At the time of my having horses under my care,
whenever I found one addicted to this habit, the me-
thod I usually adopted to prevent his indulging in it,
was to make his bed perfectly level ; that is, as high in
the middle as on the sides, and then to tie his head up
so short with the collar-rein as only to admit of his
laying his body down, without the liberty of putting
his head to the ground ; in this way I have mostly
succeeded.

E 2

52 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

Boys who live in race-horse stables are generally
obliged to rise early in the morning during the summer
months, but more particularly during July and Au-
gust. At this season of the year, should any of the
horses in the establishment require strong work, the
groom must get such work into them before the sun
has too much power. On such occasions, the groom
himself, or the head lad, opens the stables at three
o'clock in the morning ; the boys are instantly roused
up, and while the head lad is giving a double-handful
of corn to such of the horses as are usually allowed
this small portion, the boys are hurrying on their
clothes. Nor have they much time allowed them for
their toilets ; few of them waiting even to tie up their
stockings, but content just to pull the tops of them
over the knees of their breeches, when each boy im-
mediately betakes himself to his duty in the care of
his horse. This duty in the course of the day, to-
gether with the great desire he has, when at liberty,
to indulge himself with different games of play
(which he is allowed to do during those intervals of
relaxation and amusement which intervene between
the stable hours), prevents the weary boy from getting
but a small portion of rest. At night, therefore, he is
so fatigued, that when he gets to bed, he sleeps much
too sound to be easily awakened by any noise that may
be made in the stables fiom a horse getting loose, or
being cast in his stall. This I know from experience :
besides, a boy's ear is so accustomed to the noise made
in the stables by the horses, at the hours of brushing

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 53

tliem over, that he is not so readily awakened out of a
sound sleep in the night, when sleeping over the sta-
bles. I have, when a boy, on getting up in the morn-
ing (I may say between sleeping and waking), often
promised myself the gratification of sleeping between
stable hours in the day time; but when that period of
recreation arrived, like the rest of my companions, I
have allowed my little pleasures and amusements to
take place of my rest.

But to return. The floors of the stables should be
made of large flat paving stones, or bricks, as the
architect shall think best. Each stable floor should be
perfectly flat, with the exception of the least possible
declivity in each horse's stall, and in that part of each
loose box on which the horse stands at the time of his
feeding.

If the broad flat paving stones should be preferred,
they must all of them be fluted, so as to give them a
rough surface, to prevent the horses from slipping
when going in or out. For the sake of cleanliness, a
certain portion of the stable walls should be wain-
scoted; and the wainscotting which covers the part in
front of the horse's head, should be carried from the
top edge of the manger, to the top part of the stall.
If this wood-work were continued a foot higher, it
would probably look much better. The wainscotting
against the side walls, forming one side of the stall,
should correspond in appearance with the wood-work
which separates the stalls from each other. At the
end of these side stalls, close to the oak stall-post, the

64 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

wainscotting should again commence, and be con-
tinued along the walls behind the horses, to the cor-
responding stall post at the other side of the stables ;
and in height, the wainscotting should be even with
the lower edge of the stable windows.

After every stable hour during the day, still more
particularly at night when the horses are fed, dressed,
and their beds set fair, wooden bails are put up in the
back part of the stable, between each of the horses.
Cavities to receive the ends of the bails are made in
the stall posts, and in the wall at the back part of the
stable, into which the bails are put, and secured at the
end in the wall. Chains were formerly used instead
of bails ; but the latter I think preferable. Ash is the
best sort of wood to use in making these bails. The
use of the bails is to prevent accidents, in case of
any horse getting loose ; he cannot then get into the
stalls of those that are tied up. In some stables
there are two bails thus fixed, one above the other.
Some grooms give the preference to one: I think
there is an objection to two, for a horse, when loose,
may easily put his leg over the lower one, and injure
himself.

The common method of fixing these bails is as I
have above stated; but as they are unwieldy to handle
in the stable, an improvement is practicable in arrang-
ing them. For instance, I see no objection to the
boards of the stall being, as they sometimes are,
double; in which case, they might be set a couple or
three inches apart, and boxes with rollers might be

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 55

formed between thein, for the bails to run upon — I
think this would be much more convenient.

The spaces left for the loose boxes should be fitted
up in a manner somewhat similar to that of the stables.
The wood work on each side wall is to be put up in
form of a stall, precisely as I have directed. It is to
be put on each side of the side walls, as in the stables.
Racks must be fixed in the left and right-hand corners,
and in every respect like those in the stables. The
manger should extend the whole length of the box in
front of the horse's head, with proper conveniences for
tying up two horses, upon the same principle as the
mangers in the stables. There should also be two crib-
bing boards, so that occasionally either of the boxes
might be converted into a two-stall stable. It is to
be observed, however, that there is not to be in any of
the boxes either racks or pegs, for putting away the
exercise saddles and bridles of the horses that stand in
them. These bridles and saddles, with the horses'
spare cloths and muzzles, are, at all stable hours, to be
taken to the common saddle-room.

It is also to be observed, that there are to be no en-
cumbering projections, such as bins or bed-settles. If
the latter could be conveniently let into the walls, such
an arrangement would be a decided advantage in these
boxes ; as it would also be in tlie two-stall stables, if
practicable : otherwise, a night or two before running, a
temporary bed of clean dry straw and some horse-
clothing may be made up at night in a corner of the
box, for the boy who looks after the horse, to lie down

56 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

upon to sleep. His sleeping there will not disturb the
horse, nor will the horse disturb him ; unless the animal
be a very vicious one, and in that case it may be ad-
visable to tie him up, in the usual way, the night on
which he is set.

As the horses will generally be loose in the boxes,
precautions should be taken by the workmen effec-
tually to secure the cupboards and stable doors. They
should be made sufficiently fast to prevent the horses
opening any of them ; they are to be let into the walls,
and not to project so as to hold out an inducement to
the horses to play with them, as most race-horses will
do with almost any thing they can get at.

Tin sconces, on each side the door of every stable
and box, can be hung up for putting in lights, and I
think they will answer quite as well as patent lamps.
I remember when patent lamps, and large curtains
were used in some stables that I once lived in ; but I
see no necessity for this sort of costly splendour. I
think the tin sconces wall answer every purpose of the
former; and the window shutters, of which I have
made mention, will answ^er equally well that of the
latter. Whether the doors in the dividing walls, which
admit of a communication from one stable to the other,
be made to slide back into the wall when opened, or
whether they should open in the common way, is a
matter of little consequence. Although the former
mode appears most convenient, I fear they would be
often out of repair. The better plan is certainly that
which may be executed with the greatest facility, and

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 57

this may with safety be left to the decision and better
judgment of the practical man.

Some noblemen and gentlemen who keep race-horses
prefer having them wintered at home, where they for-
ward them in their condition, previous to their being
sent to the public training establishment. For this
purpose, they keep their own training grooms, in whose
honesty, and judgment in training, they necessarily
place the most implicit confidence ; yet, under certain
circumstances, such as the convenience of getting
better ground, or of being near the place of running,
noblemen and gentlemen occasionally send their horses
and boys to public training stables ; and, considering
their own grooms better acquainted with the constitu-
tions and tempers of their horses than a stranger could
possibly be, they are sometimes sent with them to large
public racing establishments, in which the groom of
course wishes to have the stables his horses are to oc-
cupy, entirely to himself; and in order to meet this
proper request, the communication from one stable to
the other must be effectually cut ofT. Whenever it
becomes necessary to close these communicating doors,
it must be done effectually and satisfactorily to each
party, so as to prevent any unpleasant suspicions from
arising. It is, however, but just to observe, that
grooms, though animated by a laudable feeling of
rivalry towards each other, generally speaking, agree
tolerably well as neighbours, even when they are living
together in the same stable-yard, as they often do, for
some time previous to their horses running at any par-

58 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

ticular meeting. Yet, if once their suspicions are
roused by any unfair advantages attempted to be taken
by their opponents, their minds are instantly set to
work with a view to guard against all kinds of strata-
gems, and they watch every movement on the pre-
mises, with a jealous eye; in short, "diamond cut dia-
mond" then becomes the order of the day ; nor do they
discard the feeling, which, under such circumstances,
once becomes the inhabitant of their breasts, while
they continue in the stable-yard together. To prevent
such unpleasant occurrences, there should be strong
locks and bolts on each side of each communicating
door.

I believe I have now made mention of every thing
that is necessary to an establishment of this sort, as
well for the convenience of the groom and his boys,
as for the comfort of the horses while in training. But
as many of the horses will have to be treated diffe-
rently in the winter, and as some of them will occa-
sionally have to stand in diflferent descriptions of sta-
bles and boxes; and as there will be wanted barns and
granaries for stores of hay, straw, corn, &c., and other
offices for the use of those residing on the premises, I
shall now trace the plan of different stables and offices
to be erected for the above purposes, in the rear of the
training stables.

This building is to be in height, fifteen feet, by
twenty in breadth. In the centre is an open passage
leading to the paddocks. In each side wall of the pas-
sage is to be a door ten feet in height, by live feet in

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 59

breadth, as entrances to two barns ; the one for a store
of hay, the other for one of straw. Proceeding now
from the barn in the west wing, (see plan A.) we come
to a brew-house and a wash-house (see plan B.) ; fol-
lowing these is a shoeing stable, (see plan C.) and
smith's shop, (see plan D.)

Ill the front wall of the smith's shop, and of the
shoeing stable, two spaces are to be left, one for a
common sized door into the smith's shop, and the other
for a door of the same dimensions as those of the
training stable. There are also to be two spaces of
five feet by five, each, in the front wall of the shop,
and of the shoeing stable, for windows ; and in the
partition wall which divides the smith's shop from the
shoeing stable, must be a door for the smith to pass
through from the one to the other.

In the shoeing stable, the rack and mangers may be
placed as in the two-stall stables -, but this stable is
not to be divided by a stall. Here there must be a
temporary division, which can easily be fixed or re-
moved, as occasion may require. This will be found
practicable, by making, at a proper distance from the
manger, a square hole in the ground about two feet
deep, and a wooden socket of proper dimensions to
fix into it, which is to receive the lower part of the
stall-post. This socket must be filled up with a plug,
whenever the stall-post is taken out. There should
also be a bail attached in a temporary manner to the
stall-post and centre of the manger, by a safe and
well-constructed hook at each end of the bail.

60 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

To the under surface of the bail, must be affixed a
thick oak board, enclosing the whole open space from
the stall-post to the manger, hanging down from the
bail, within one inch of the ground. There should
also be a board projecting out between the horses'
heads for about a foot and a half from the centre of
the wall, to prevent them from interrupting each other,
while standing here to be shod. To provide for occa-
sional wants, a rack-chain may be fixed in the centre
of the stall as in the other stables. And to give the
smith plenty of light to work by, there should be a
window over the door, besides that behind the horse.

In erecting the walls in the interior of the smith's
shop, the workman must place the fire-hearth on the
left hand, attached to the back wall, and in the centre
of it. The fire-hearth is to be raised from the ground,
on a basis of four feet square, and is in height to be
two feet eight. An opening of one foot square, is to
be left in the centre, for the purpose of removing the
cinders and ashes, as they accumulate. On the surface,
beginning at the edge, and in the centre of the left
angle of the hearth, there should be a round space
gradually sunk, of sufficient dimensions to contain the
fire. A foot to the right of the fire, and within one
foot of the back wall, is to be an opening, communicat-
ing with that of a foot square below, so that the smith
may conveniently throw off the cinders and ashes, as
occasion may require. To the right of the hearth,
attached to each other, there should be two cast-iron
troughs, each two feet ten inches long, by ten inches

ON THE .STABLES, ETC. 61

wide, and one foot deep; the one for coals, and the
other for water. The fire irons and tongs can be kept,
as is the usual custom, on the vacant space left in the
centre of the earth. The two side walls to be raised
from the ground, and let into the back wall of the
building, are also to be connected with the right and
left angles of the hearth, and brought forward to each
corner of the front angles of it; and in the rear of
this left-hand wall, is to be fixed the bellows, and an
opening will be left in the wall for the pipe, from the
lower part of the sunken hearth which contains the
fire.

On the interior surface of this wall is to be fixed a
cast-iron toe iron ; and near to the end of this left-hand
wall, on about a level with the hearth, may be left a
hollow space to contain sand, for the use of the smith.
These side walls are to be carried up to a height of
four feet seven, from the ground. The chimney piece
being put across, and the chimney built up, the open-
ing left for the smith to work by, will be four feet, by
two feet in height.

The anvil (moderately small) should be placed op-
posite the centre of the hearth, at a distance from it, of
three feet six inches. The wooden block on which it
is usually put should be sufficiently broad, on its up-
per surface, to receive the tools with which the smith
works at the anvil, namely, the turning hammer, fuller,
stamp, chisel, and pritchel. When making plates, a
crease is used for the purpose of fullering them, which

62 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

on such occasions is fixed in the anvil ; the sledge
generally remains in front of it when not in use.

A piece of ground in the right hand corner of the
shop, might be fenced in by a wall three feet high, for
the purpose of keeping a store of Swansea coals, for
the use of the smith.

To the right, under the window, and close against
the front wall of the shop, should be fixed a window
or working bench, three feet from the ground, six feet
long by tw 0 in breadth ; to the right of which should be
fixed a pointing stake, three feet two high ; and on the
left, the vice, the top surface of which should be three
feet three from the ground. Under, and in the centre
of the v^^indow bench, there should be a drawer three
feet long by two wide ; this drawer to be paititioned
off into six compartments, and to be numbered from
4 to 9, both inclusive. A store of nails is to be kept
in it at all times, ready for use : the size nails gene-
rally used for shoeing race-horses are Nos. 4 and 6,
and for plating them, Nos. 4 and 5 ; those numbered
7, 8, 9, will occasionally be wanted for the hind-feet
of large sized horses. When the smith is not at work,
the shop should be locked up, to keep the boys out.

E, in the plan, is a gig house; Fund G, adjoining
each other, are two loose boxes ; the dimensions .of
these boxes are to be twent}^ feet by twenty, fitted up
with a rack in each corner, and the manger to be the
whole length of the box, so that when it is found ne-
cessary, these boxes may be converted into three-stall
stables. In order that they may communicate with

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 63

the paddocks, they are to be so fitted up, that the
length of them will take the breadth of the building.
There are to be doors at each end, cut through the
centre, so as to have, when requisite, the top parts
open, for the admission of plenty of air. // is a
granary, twenty feet by twenty-six : apertures are to
be left in the walls of this building, for putting in a
sort of Venetian blind, for the admission of air and
light. Partitions, to contain corn, should be formed
round tlie walls ; they should be made moveable, as
occasion may require, so that the boys, in turning the
oats to keep them sweet, may easily shift them from
one place to the other. There should also be some
small partitions for beans, bran, chafl, and oatmeal : in
this granary may be kept a chaff machine, and a mill
for splitting beans. / is a space, left as a reservoir, for
the accumulation of manure, with a wall raised to a
sufficient height in front. J is a door leading to the
paddock, in which the green food is grown.

In the east wing, No. 1 is a barn for straw. No. 2,
a coal and wood house. No. 3, a loose box. No. 4,
a four-stall hack stable, in which apertures are to be
left in the front wall, for a door in the centre, and a
window on each side, as in the other stables, and of
the same dimensions as those in the front yard ; and
on the top of the stall posts there should be rings, to
fasten pillar-reins to. There should also be the same
description of ring, properly placed near to the top on
both sides of each stall, as this stable may be occasi-
onally wanted for colts to stand while being broke.

04 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

There will be no occasion for a bed-settle here. No.

5 is a loose box. No. 6, a granary, fitted up as the
one in the west wing ; and besides corn, here may also
be kept carrots, for the supply of such horses as may
require them during the winter. A mill should also
be kept here for the cutting or slicing of them. No. 7,
are reservoirs for manure. And No. 8 is a door,
leading into a paddock, which is for the growing of
carrots.

That there may be a sufficient supply of water on
the premises, wells must be sunk, and pumps fixed,
with moderate sized stone troughs in front of them, and
placed against the barns, as may be seen in the plan ;
but if it can be avoided, they are not to project beyond
the parallel line of the building.

It may probably appear to some of my readers, that
I have made an arrangement for more boxes than is
necessary ; but these last mentioned will answer very
well for stale country -plate horses to winter in, or as
hospital boxes whenever such may be required. As
for example, in case of the training stable being full,
and any horse that may be standing in a stall falling
amiss, he can be immediately removed into a box.
If the nature of his complaint be such as to require his
removal from other horses, and that the horse that is
to be moved will be happy in the box, persons unac-
quainted with racing might think it a very easy mat-
ter (provided the disease the horse laboured under was
not contagious) to change the situation of the sick
horse, by bringing one that may be healthy, from his

ON THE STA1$LES, ETC. 65

box to the stall where the sick horse stands, removing
him into the box. This, in case of emergency, might
certainly be done, if the horses changed belonged to
the same person, or to two different persons, provided
they were confederates ; but it must not otherwise be
attempted, for reasons which I made no doubt the
reader will discover as he proceeds.

Good training grooms are, in all respects, parti-
cularly careful of the race-horses entrusted to their
care, and are very cautious as to their health, being
fully aware of the consequences that must naturally
arise from any of them being ill. They take every
precaution they can to prevent them from taking cold,
and one of these precautions is, that no horse in train-
ing is allowed to be shod out of the stable in which he
is accustomed to stand. This intentionally is very good,
and in some few instances, it cannot be well avoided ;
but, as I shall presently show, such objections exist,
as induce me to recommend the discontinuance of the
general practice.

It is the custom with training grooms, the day pre-
vious to any horse's being shod, to send to the neigh-
bouring smith and order him to attend (perhaps at the
afternoon stables) to take measure, and make the shoes
for the horse that is to be shod. Early on the follow-
ing morning, it is usual for the groom to leave the
horse in, or if he takes him out with the other horses,
to arrange his work so as to send him in an hour
earlier than the rest, that his shoes may be put on and
the stables shut up at one time.

F

00 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

It has frequently happened under my own observa-
tion at the time of my living in the stables, that on the
smith's arrival to shoe a horse, and having cleaned out
his foot and made it perfectly level, he has found on
placing the shoe on the foot, that it did not exactly fit.
This is a thing which grooms are aware is not at all
uncommon, the shoe being at times too broad, or
what is worse too narrow, or perhaps too long ; the
former of these faults may be more easily rectified
than either of the two others, when the shoe is cold ;
but the proper way to rectify such defects, would be
for the smith to return to the shop, where, by heating
the shoe again, he may make it something better, but
even then perhaps not quite perfect. But the shop
may be a mile or more from the stables, to walk
which distance would occupy too much of the smith's
time ; therefore to save himself both time and trouble,
he alters the shoe and makes it what he calls "fit the
foot." If the shoe is too broad, he places it on the
ground, and if too narrow, on some more convenient
place, and by giving it two or three blows with the shoe-
ing hammer, alters a light shoe, either by closing or
widening it a little, as the case may require, leaving to
chance how the length may answer, or how the horse
may be able to go in the shoes thus improperly altered.

I have known horses in strong work, go immediately
tender on the foot from their shoes being thus carelessly
put on, and the smith has been at last obliged to take
them off, return to his shop and heat them, in order tc
make the further necessary alterations.

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 07

Another objection to horses being shod in the stables
is, that the smith selects, as he imagines, a sufficient
number of nails, which, when he has straightened
and pointed, he thinks will very well answer the pur-
pose for the feet he is going to drive them into ; but, on
his arrival at the stable, and when proceeding with his
work, he finds that he has not sorted them exactly as
he could have wished. Some are too small, others too
large; but, as I have already observed, rather than go
back to his shop for such sized nails as he might
want, the smith makes use of those he has with him,
again leaving to chance the effect they may produce.

Some may be so large as to break a thin shelly foot
more than there is really any cause for ; and others
may be so small as not to render the shoe sufficiently
secure. If even the smith goes back to his shop, to
make a better selection of nails, the horse is kept
waiting, and that is a thing which ought to be avoided.
A race-horse should not be put out of his way, nor
made anxious, nor kept waiting, on any such occasion.
Shoeing horses in the stables is not only slovenly,
but unsafe, and more particularly with respect to race-
horses ; for, if from any of the causes above stated, a
horse should be lamed, and perhaps severely so, his
work must immediately be stopped, and not unlikely
for a week or two : such a thing happening to a craving
horse would occasion a great loss of time, in conse-
quence of his putting up flesh from laying by. This
might pre\'ent him from coming out to meet his en-
gagements. To prevent accidents arising from the in-

F 2

08 ON THE STABLES, ETC.

convenience of shoeing horses in the stables, is my
reason for having arranged a smith's shop and shoeing
stable in the back-yard of the establishment which I
have been describing ; and to shoe and plate the
number of horses that may be supposed to be kept on
premises of such dimensions, there w^ill be full employ-
ment for a good shoeing smith. In all racing establish-
ments, a smith's shop and shoeing stable will be
found very convenient for the smith, to make the shoes
and plates fit properly to the horses' feet to which
they are to be applied. If the groom is afraid, that
from bad weather or any other cause, his horse might
take cold from being moved out of his own stables and
standing in the shoeing stable during the time of his
being shod, he may, before the horse comes out, order
an additional sheet or two to be thrown over him ; or
it would be very easy, a night or two previous to the
horse's being shod, to order a couple of hacks to sleep
in the shoeing stable to air it ; they could be moved
out in the morning ; one of them must, as a matter of
course, to make room for the horse to come in to be
shod; and if the horse should be a shy or irritable one,
the other hack may be found useful to walk before him
from his own stable door into the shoeing stable, and,
if necessary, to stay there with him in case of his being
restless, as many such horses are when being shod.

A training groom who has been brought up in the
stables from an early period of his life, is fully aware
what may, at times, be done by making use of a hack
in this way, in getting flighty horses sometimes to

ON THE STABLES, ETC. 00

stand quiet to be shod or plated ; and by the same
means, some of them are brought to stand quiet at the
time of saddling, when, for want of a rubbing-house
on the ground for that purpose, the horses are neces-
sarily obliged to be saddled on the course.

While a race-horse is being shod, the boy who looks
after him will have to stand in the stall, attending to
his head ; and, if the horse be at all restless, it may be
well to give him, at intervals, a little corn out of a sieve,
merely to draw his attention a little from what is going
on, and to prevent his becoming impatient. I have
often had this done ; by such means, and by gentle
usage, I have succeeded in getting very troublesome
young horses, as well as old ones, shod.

;o

CHAPTER 11.

gentlemen's private training stables.

The stables of our noblemen and gentlemen, are
most of them uniformly built, some of them forming
very neat squares. In erecting them, there is generally
a space of ground reserved in the front or centre of
the building, which forms a convenient stable-yard,
with a reservoir of water in the centre. Such stables
for hunters, carriage-horses, and hacks, are commo-
diously arranged, and are so lofty, that when properly
ventilated, they readily admit of a free circulation of
pure air, which, at the present day, is tolerably well
understood to be highly essential to the health of all
animals in a domesticated state.

Many noblemen and gentlemen who keep race-
horses, keep their own private training grooms. If
they have ground in their own park or downs, near
enough to their own houses, that will answer the pur-
pose for their horses to train upon, — some prefer hav-
ing them trained at home; and as their stables are ge-

PRIVATE TUAINING STABLES. 71

nerally on an extensive scale, they appropriate a cer-
tain portion of them for their race-horses to stand in.
Although their stables may be very good, and such as
I have described, yet for many reasons, this is a bad
plan ; the farther their race-horse stables are from those
of their hunters and hacks, the better. As the ex-
pense can be but of little importance to gentlemen of
foitune, I should advise their being built on a con-
venient piece of groud, at least half-a-dozen miles
from their mansion. One reason for this is, that the
boys could not so easily talk to their neighbouring
companions, of what they see or know of the horses
when they are training. I should also recommend
noblemen and gentlemen of the turf, in erecting their
training stables, to build loose boxes for most of their
horses. Any number of them might be arranged ac-
cording to the establishment of horses kept, on the
dimensions of twenty-two feet by thirteen, clear of the
walls ; and if fitted up as I have directed, a box or
two, as occasion may require, (for such horses as may
tlo better in stalls) may, with little expense, be con-
verted into a one or two good stall-stable.

Men vary in their opinions on the management of
horses, as they do on other things, and, as I am an
advocate for loose boxes (for horses of a certain class),
in preference to stall-stables, it may not be here much
out of place, to assign my reasons for that preference,
and to shew in what instances I recommend the use of
the one rather than the other. Horses which are valu-
able, good runners, such as are engaged at Newmarket,

72 PRIVATE TRAINING STABLES.

Doncaster or Epsom, but more particularly such of
those horses as may be required to be in strong work,
are the horses which will benefit most by being kept
in loose boxes. The objection that is made to the use
of them is, that when country plate horses are travel-
ling, boxes are not often to be met with at inns on the
road, neither are they at all times to be had at many
of the inns where horses go to stand at the different
country meetings ; and that horses which have been
accustomed to sleep in loose boxes, do not do so well
when standing in stalls. This is correct: but the ob-
jection is more than counterbalanced by the advantages
that arise. It would be attended with very little ex-
pense to landlords, on such roads as race-horses gene-
rally travel, and at such other inns, near to the different
race-courses at which the horses stand, were they to
arrange in their stable-yards a certain number of loose
boxes ; this would be a great accommodation to noble-
men and gentlemen of the turf, and would be but a
triding inconvenience to a landlord, as such boxes,
when not wanted for race-horses, might, with very
little trouble, be converted into a bail stable, for a pair
of })ost horses. Were such accommodations as these
to ])e had at inns, there could be no objection made to
certain race-horses standing in loose boxes at all times ;
but even the objection above stated, is not to be put in
competition with the advantages which horses derive
from being kept in boxes, if it were only that of
avoiding the inconvenience arising from some horses
unnecessarily disturbing others on sweating days, or

PRIVATE TRAINING STABLES. 73

at other times when some may be in physic, and
others not.

But before I proceed further with my observations
on private stables, I will take an accurate view of both
sides of the question ; my readers will then find out
what horses ought to stand in stalls, and what horses
ought to stand in boxes; and which, in some measure,
may guide the owner in the building of his private
stables.

Now, the advantages to be derived from the use of
boxes, are principally for such horses as may have re-
turned in the autumn to the home stables, from a
summer's country running. They have some of them
become not only stale and round on their legs, but
stale in themselves. All such horses are much sooner
refreshed, by being allowed to range loose in. boxes
than they would be by standing in stalls; and it is in
boxes that such horses should stand during winter, as
well as while they are training. In regard to craving
colts and horses that are in strong work, some of them
will stand whole days in stalls, and may not lie down
until night; from which circumstance I have known
their legs fill, and get a little round ; but if they are
kept in loose boxes, although they may not lie down
during the day, they will range and walk about, and
thereby exercise their limbs, which would not only
keep off the stiffness the work occasions, but prevent
their legs from filling and getting out of shape. It is
a great advantage to country platers, to get into boxes
Avhen travelling on the road, for such liorses are mostly

74 PRIVATE TRAINING STABLES.

craving ones, and in training, they are often in strong
work; and not un frequently when the ground is hard,
most of these horses are long comers, and long comers
are generally voracious feeders, and whether they stand
in loose boxes or stalls, they feed equally well ; there-
fore, for all such horses, loose boxes are the most
proper. There can be no objection to loose boxes,
except that which I have already stated ; and I repeat
that it cannot be put in competition with the advan-
tages obtained by the use of them.

I shall now make my observations on stall-stables,
and point out to my readers the horses that are likely
to do best by being kept in them. The principal
advantage of stall-stables is, that when three or four
delicate horses are standing together in one stall, they
feed better than they would do, were each to be kept
alone in a loose box ; for, generally speaking, such
horses are not very good feeders ; yet, at feeding time,
when they hear the corn rattle in the sieve, they begin
to neigh, and seem anxious to be fed, and they cer-
tainly do eat what corn is given them, with apparently
a better appetite than they would if standing alone.

Another thing to be observed is, that horses of this
description are seldom in physic ; they are never in
strong work, neither do they sweat, nor often run ;
and being treated pretty much alike, they do not dis-
turb each other, by going out at any particular time.
These are the horses that (unless at such times when
they are sick) are better standing in stall-stables than
in boxes; only, it is to be observed, tliey are to be

PRIVATE TRAINING STABLES. /O

kept strictly in their own class. Mares should also be
kept in their own class, not only in their own class
in regard to their constitutions and tempers, but there
should be no horses -standing in the same stable with
them, as mares are often enough horsing, out of tem-
per, and off their feed, without being made more so,
by being put to stand in the same stables with the
horses. Any craving mares that do well in loose
boxes, should be kept in them ; those that are restless
and flighty when 'alone, should be kept in stall-stables.

It was formerly the custom, not only to put horses
• and mares in the same stable together, but it was also
usual to work them together in the same class, without
paying sufficient attention to their various constitutions
and tempers; and when, from such improper treat-
ment, delicate horses or mares have gone off their feed,
it was usual with the trainer to stop their work.

This is a bad practice, and should be abandoned.
If anything of this sort, through an oversight, does
take place, the cause should be immediately removed,
by removing the horse from the class in which he is
not able to work; and the manner of bringing him
again to his feed, I expect is not entirely forgotten by
competent training grooms; at least I hope they do
not deviate from the good old system (in this one par-
ticular) of arranging the feeding of their horses in
such a manner, that the whole of them feed well at all
times, (unless when sick,) according to their different
constitutions. Of the constitutions and tempers of
horses, and how different horses are to be fed, watered,

76 PRIVATE TRAINING STABLES.

and worked, I shall treat more at length when speaking
of their shape and make.

I have made these observations on the advantages
of loose boxes for some horses, and stalls for others,
merely as a guide to any nobleman or gentleman of
the turf who may choose to build a range of stables
for his race-horses to stand in. In regard to the situa-
tion in which the stables should be placed, as to as-
pect, the substance of the walls, and the different
offices necessary to be attached to a private establish-
ment of this kind, — such as a house for the groom, a
hall for the boys, granaries for corn, barns for hay and
straw, saddle rooms, &c, &c. — a plan and description
of the whole of these may be taken from the arrange-
ment of the public training stables, but on a reduced
scale.

CHAPTER IIL

ON VENTILATION.

Having, in the preceding chapters, pointed out all
the arrangements necessary for an establishment of
public training stables, I shall now treat on a very
important point, that of ventilation.

One of the principal objects to which grooms should
pay the most scrupulous attention, is that of the health
of their horses ; indeed, they have discovered that this
object is, in a great measure, to be attained by keeping
their stables much cooler than they formerly did ; yet,
as there may be some of the old school, who still ad-
here to the former practice, (that of hot stables,) I shall
make a few observations on the impropriety of their so
doing.

It was formerly the common practice among grooms,
in the winter and spring, to regulate the temperature of
the stables agreeably to their own feelings ; and it was
their custom, (at least, with those I lived under.) if the
weather was at all cold, to have the long dung laid at

78 ON VENTILATION.

the bottom of the stable-door, and to have every aper-
ture in the stable closed ; this, together with the heat
from the breath of the horses, and the fumes arising
from the wet dung under them, made the stables, what
was called by the groom, " comfortably warm ;" for in
those days it was the custom (to use the language of
the stable,) " to muck out only twice a week." This
temperature, I should say, if allowed to speak from my
own sensations, fai* exceeded, in all probability, that
of a hot-house, to say nothing of the impurity of such
air. Indeed, at the time I am now alluding to, I could
mention many proofs, in a variety of instances, of the
inconsistency of a number of grooms in the manage-
ment of horses ; but I have great satisfaction in stating
that the generality of these men now understand the
thing much better than they formerly did. I may
therefore be spared the unpleasant task of finding fault
with such of them as were pursuing a wrong course,
more particularly as they conscientiously considered
that they were acting on principles which they thought
strictly correct.

It is now pretty clearly understood, and indeed
almost universally admitted by them, that a constant
supply of fresh, pure air, is not only beneficial, but ab-
solutely necessary for the preservation of the health of
all horses taken from a state of nature, and placed in
an artificial atmosphere; and this necessity becomes
more absolute with regard to race-horses.

A race-horse must perform his own engagements ; if
he falls amiss, his work must be stopped, and his en-

ON VENTILATION. 79

gagemcnt, which may be a heavy one, will most likely
have to be done away with. This may pro\'e not only
a disappointment to the owner, but it may also be a
great loss to him. As our breed of race-horses has
originated in a hot climate, it becomes necessary when
they are in training and have been drawn fine, inde-
pendently of clothing them, to keep the stable they
stand in in winter, up to a certain temperature of heat;
and that it may be properly regulated, there should be
kept in all race-horse stables a small self-regulating
thermometer, by which to ascertain any variation of
the heat in the stables that may arise from the changes
in the atmosphere, or from any number of horses being
taken o^it of the stables, or from others being brought
into them. Either of these causes will more or less
produce a change in the temperature of the stables,
which may be observed by the rising or falling of the
quicksilver in the glass.

An}^ change of temperature being ascertained from
either of the above mentioned causes, the different
apertures for the admission of pure air, and those for
carrying off the foul, should be opened or closed as
circumstances may require, until the quicksilver rises
or falls to that degree in which the temperature of the
stables may be considered by the groom comfortable
and wholesome for the horses.

The degree of heat which I have generally found to
answer this purpose, is, in winter and spring, (if the
horses are properly clothed) at about sixty-two. In
July and August, the stables are generally very hot ;

80 ON VENTILATION.

but this, of course, arises more from the heat of the
atmosphere than from that of the horses. At this
season of the year, the shutters should be closed by
day, to keep out the sun, but the apertures for the ad-
mission of pure air should all be kept open, as should
also those for letting out the foul air. At night it
may be necessary to close them to a certain extent,
but the groom in this respect should be guided by the
appearance of the night, as well as by the indications
of the thermometer ; and, on such occasions, he is to
use his own judgment accordingly.

It is in the hot summer months that the summer
clothing comes into use, in the stables as well as out of
them, for such horses as may require the change ; and
it will, of course, be necessary to diminish the quan-
tity, in regard to such as require the winter clothing to
be continued ; to a single quarter piece, for example ;
but when they go out, a hood and breast-cloth can be
added, either a linen or a woollen one, as the groom
may best approve. When clothing the horses up at
night, it may perhaps be requisite for the whole of
them to sleep in their woollen clothes ; but in this case,
the groom must again be guided partly by his own
judgment of the appearance of the night, and the
delicacy or strength and constitution of the different
horses, as also by the appearance of the thermometer ;
but at the season of the year to which I am alluding,
race-horses have, most of them, been drawn fine by
physic and strong work. From these circumstances,
they are generally in good health, or rather they are

ON VENTILATION. 81

not SO liable in this state to fall constitutionally amiss,
as tliev would otherwise be likely to do from the dif-
ferent changes of the weather early in spring, at which
time many of them are pretty lusty.

But the stables that young ones are first to occupy
on their leaving their paddocks, should be perfectly
cool. The windows and different apertures in the
walls and ceiling, should be kept open for the first ten
days or fortnight ; and when it is thought necessary to
increase the warmth of the stables, it should be done
very gradually, by closing a window at a time ; as it
would be extremely dangerous to subject young ones,
full of flesh, to the usual temperature of heat in a race-
horse stable.

Having, in the preceding chapters, arranged the
stables, and in this, described how they ought to be
ventilated, I will, in the next, offer a few remarks upon
a disease by whicli, horses now and then become
affected, and which is, at times, occasioned by irregu-
larities, both in as well as out of the stables.

G

CHAPTER IV

ON THE DISTEMPER.

Race-horses, like all others, are of course liable to
become constitutionally amiss, and they are very often
subject to a disease commonly called the distemper,
with which some of them are at times severely affected,
much to the annoyance both of their owners and
trainers, as they are thereby thrown back in their con-
dition, and are often prevented from running for the
different plates and stakes for which they may have
been entered.

It has been a rule with me whenever the disease has
made its appearance among horses in the regiment in
which I am serving, to remove those which have been
affected from those which were in health ; as I have
frequently observed, from horses standing next to each
other in bail stables, (the custom in his Majesty's
service), that those which have been labouring under
the disease have not been removed more than a day or

ON THE DISTEMPER. 83

two, before those which had stood next to them have
become affected ; and in the space of a fortnight, I have
had a hmidred horses affected with the disease, while
the remainder of the regiment has continued in a
healthy state. These are circumstances which of course
have happened to other Veterinary Surgeons, in
similar situations, as also to grooms, (although, to
these, not to the same extent,) who may have had the
care of horses, and which circumstances may have
led these last mentioned to suppose the disease conta-
gious. This, perhaps, is doubtful. That a peculiar
state of the atmosphere often produces the disease,
I believe is not to be questioned, and that exposure to
the same causes will occasionally produce the same
effect, will be readily allowed. Young horses are not
only more liable to become affected by the disease,
but they suffer more severely from it than old horses
generally do.

From the observations I have made dui'ing the time
of my living in the stables, I am of opinion that horses
sometimes become affected, in a slight ckgree, with
this distemper, or something very like it, as coughs and
colds, attended with fever, when they are in what is
so commonly called, high condition — that is, very lusty,
as some race-horses (country platers) are, early in
the month of March. I am induced to think they
become thus affected, from grooms not paying suffi-
cient attention to the regularity of the temperature of
the stables, as well as to the clothing of their horses ;
more particularly so, when in the mornings at the

84 ON THE DISTEMPER.

commencement and the close of spring, they are going
out upon the open downs to exercise. At this season
of the year it is that horses are most Kable to be amiss
from such complaints, and if not immediately attended
to, such complaints become worse, and terminate in
the distemper, or what is often more difficult of cure,
inflammation of the lungs.

Training grooms are very watchful over their horses,
and the moment they find them coughing, they have
recourse to bleeding ; and in slight cases of colds and
fevers, they were much in the habit of giving their
horses morning and evening an ounce or two of the
sweet spirits of nitre in some warm gruel or beer.
By the early application of the above medicine, (which
in such cases is a very good one) they often put a
stop to the further progress of the disease, and thereby
got their horses well, so as in a short time to have them
at their work again, which to the groom is an object of
great importance.

But when the distemper comes on, attended with
the usual symptoms — as the horse being taken with
a shivering; being off his food; having a slight cough;
the glands of his throat enlarged, his mouth hot, and
his legs swollen : if a groom takes upon himself the
treatment of a horse labouring under the above slight
symptoms, he generally has recourse to the constitu-
tional remedies already mentioned, and his local
applications are poultices, or a mild embrocation to
the throat, with warm clothing about the head. Nor
in slight cases of the distemper are those external

ON THE DISTEMPER. 85

remedies by any means injudicious. But in his
constitutional treatment of the disease, I should advise
his dispensing with the use of sweet spirits of nitre,
and to give, in lieu thereof, medicines which will
gently relax the bowels ; and when the horse appears
to be in a convalescent state, he may then give the
spirits of nitre, morning and evening, with considerable
advantage.

The symptoms attending the distemper will, of
course, occasionally vary in different horses, depending
much on the violence of the attack. Those symptoms
first mentioned will most of them be present, but in
a more violent degree ; the respiration and pulse is
much increased, the latter often from sixty to seventy ;
the eyes sometimes appear inflamed and watery ; the
parotid and maxillary glands, or in other words, the
glands about the throat and under the jaws, are
inflamed and enlarged ; the membranes of the nostrils,
throat, and wind-pipe, are also highly inflamed. The
throat being very sore, the horse has great difficulty in
swallowing his food and water, but more particularly
the latter, if given cold ; he sips and slavers in the pail,
and coughs repeatedly ; added to the above symptoms,
great debility often»ensues in the course of a few days.
The horse sometimes becomes so weak, that in
moving in his stall or box, he is near falling. I
have known some horses so well aware of their de-
bilitated state, as to place their quarters against
the wall of the box, in order to support themselves
while standing.

86 ON THE DISTEMPER.

When a horse first becomes affected with this disease,
if, at the time, he is standing in the stable with other
horses, he should immediately be removed to a well-
ventilated loose box. A good bed should be given to
him, and he should be comfortably clothed. The next
step to be taken is bleeding ; but, as the disease is so
often followed by debility, neither bleeding nor purg-
ing should be carried to too great an extent. The
quantity of blood taken should be regulated according
to the age, size, constitution, and condition of the
horse, together with the appearance of the symptoms
under which he labours. When a horse in good con-
dition, or perhaps lusty, is labouring under the effects
of the distemper, provided he be immediately attended
to, no great debility will have taken place. In which
case, the horse may be bled with safety to the extent
of five pints or three quarts, only observing to attend
to his age, constitution, &c. The next thing is to get
the horse's bowels gently relaxed, but brisk purging
must be avoided. If the horse should be a flighty, deli-
cate one, the better way of relaxing his bowels, is by
giving him a pint of castor oil ; but, if he should be
such a horse as, in training, is termed " a hearty one,"
the more effectual way of relaxing his bowels, is by
adding aloes to his oil, in the following proportions —
Barbadoes aloes . 2 drachms
Castor oil ... 6 ounces
Dissolve the aloes in four ounces of warm water, then
add the oil. There is a third description of horse,
which, in training, is called " a craving one." It is, at

ON THE DISTEMPER. 87

times, ratlier difficult gently to relax the bowels of a
horse of this description. In order, however, to reduce
it to as near a certainty as possible, it is advisable to
make a further addition to the aloes and oil ; to the
former, one drachm ; and two ounces to the latter.
The above medicines, given in their different propor-
tions, according to the delicacy or strength of the
horse's constitution, will have the desired effect — that
of relaxing or of very gently purging him. If a groom
observes that a horse, on his being first taken ill, is
costive in his bowels, he should rub some oil or lard
over his hand and arm, and, compressing the former,
he should gently introduce it up the fundament, and
remove any hard excrement with which his hand may
come in contact , after which, he should administer a
clyster of milk-warm thin gruel, for the giving of
which, an ox's bladder with a wooden pipe (well oiled)
attached to it, is, I think, preferable to the pewter
syringes used for this purpose.

With regard to diet, a horse in this, as in most other
constitutional diseases, feeds but sparingly ; yet hot
bran mashes should often in the course of the day be
put into his manger, and his head should be held over
them, with a view to promote as early as possible, a
healthy discharge from the nostrils, v/hich, when it
takes place, gives great relief. His hay should be
wetted, but not put in the rack ; he should eat it off
the ground ; but if his throat be very sore, it may be
put in the manger. Green meat, fresh cut, is to be
preferred, if it can be had ; his drink should be warm

88 ON THE DISTEMPER.

gruel, given to him often during the day, the bucket
being held up for him to take it ; or, perhaps it would
be better to secure the bucket in the stall at a conve-
nient height from the ground, so that the horse may
take it as often as he likes.

The progress of recovery, after the operation of the
medicine ordered, will depend on the constitution of
the horse and the nature of the attack. In slight cases,
some horses shake off the effects of the disease in seven
or eight days, while others remain labouring under the
debilitated effects of it, for two or three weeks. Under
these last mentioned circumstances, as the soreness of
the throat and cough become much better, and the
pulse approaches to the natural standard of health, the
groom may with great advantage have recourse to his
favourite medicine, the sweet spirits of nitre ; an ounce
of which, in beer, or in moderately thick gruel, may
be given to a horse three times a day. The horse now
appears more lively in his countenance, and may be
most likely inclined to feed. If he is much debilitated,
his strength should be reciuited by giving him plenty
of gruel ; and any thing by way of change that he is
disposed to eat, should be provided for him,-^as malt
mashes, scalded oats, good sweet clover or other hay,
or green meat.

If it be a light delicate horse, and have been but
slightly attacked with the distemper early in the spring,
the groom may have some hopes of bringing him out
in time, to run according to his engagements. But if
the horse be a craving one, and have suffered long

ON THE DISTEMTEU. 89

from a severe attack of the disease, great good will not
be done with him much before the autumn. When a
horse has reco\'ered from the disease, the manner of his
feeduig, together with his general appearance as to
freshness, are the criterions by which the groom must
be guided in gradually bringing the horse again into
work, so as to have him in his usual or proper form.

I have here laid down such a course of treatment as
I would ad\ ise a training groom to follow, in the case
of a horse affected with the distemper, and to an extent
which I think is as far as a man of his experience can
safely be trusted. If a groom finds, in the course of
his treatment, that unfavourable symptoms are ap-
proaching, as that of a horse's respiration becoming
increased, his ears and extremities being cold, and his
pulse much quickened (which latter, by the bye, a
groom should endeavour to make himself acquainted
with), it is the lungs, in all probability, which are
becoming affected. Under such unfavourable appear-
ances, a groom should lose no time in calling in the
aid of an experienced veterinary surgeon.

CHAPTER V.

FOOD.

The sort of hay the most proper for horses in train-
ing, is the hard upland hay j which if it has been well
got in, will not only retain much of its natural colour,
but will also possess that agreeable flavour and sweet-
ness, which is invariably observed in that which has
been well made. It may be used for horses the follow-
ing year. Neither new hay nor such as may have
been much heated in the rick should ever be given to
craving horses : neither should they have clover hay,
for if those horses generally in strong work, be allowed
to eat new hay, they become relaxed in their bowels,
and will sweat profusely with very little exertion. Hay
that is much heated in the rick is sweet in its taste, and
from the quantity horses are inclined to eat of it, it
produces great thirst. This is a sufficient reason for its
not being given to such horses in training as may be in
strong work.
Clover hay, well made, may be given to some of the

FOOD. 91

light delicate horses, by way of a change ; but it
should not be given to craving horses, which are apt to
feed too voraciously on it.

Oats, which my readers know, constitute the prin-
cipal food for horses of all descriptions when in work,
are the cleanest, the best, and perhaps the most
nutritious of any of the different sorts of corn, and
they appear to agree with the different constitutions of
all horses. For those in training, they should, of
course, be of the very best quality, — sweet, heavy, and
thin in the skin. They should not only be well win-
nowed, but particularly well screened before they are
brought from the farmer's, so as to do away with all
the small thin light oats, and tailings. It is better
that the oats should be thus cleaned before they are
delivered into the stables, than that they should be
thrashed or beat in sacks by the boys between stable
hours, a little at a time, and, as was the practice, after-
wards winnowed by them, by letting them fall from
the sieve into some spare sheets or quarter pieces laid on
the heath for the purpose on a windy day.

Beans are very nutritious ; they are of an astringent
and heating nature, and if given too liberally, they
produce great thirst, and make some horses very costive.
Craving horses do not require them. These horses,
when in training, eat from twelve to fifteen quarts of
oats per day, by which their constitutions are sufficient-
ly nourished ; therefore beans need not be given them,
unless when travelling. If a groom, when travelling
with horses, observe the hay and corn at the inns to

92 FOOD.

be bad, or even indifferent, he may, under such circum-
stances, give beans to craving horses as well as to
others, with a view to keep them to their mark ; but
strong constitutioned horses only require them on such
occasions.

Very light delicate horses are mostly pretty clear in
their wind, but are generally very irritable in their
constitutions. Their bowels are almost constantly in a
relaxed state, and whenever they are alarmed, they are
much in the habit of what is termed " throwing off
their meat." Beans being mixed with oats for such
horses, as well to nourish them as by way of change,
are at all times absolutely necessary, as there is not
much danger of their becoming constipated in their
bowels. Beans may be given more liberally to these
horses than to any other, their digestive organs being
always found adequate to perform the office of digesting
the small portion of food taken into the stomach, at
each time of being fed. Indeed, such light delicate
horses as I am now alluding to, may eat and drink as
much as they like, and of what they like that is whole-
some, and will afford them nourishment ; for if by the
means of nourishing food thej^ can be got to put up a
little extra flesh, the groom may now and then steal an
additional gallop into them, or let them come a little
longer length in one, which would be the means of
bringing them a little stouter, and thereby enable them
to come the length they have to run, with rather more
ease to themselves. If so, they will be the less alarmed
when pulled up after their race. Horses which eat

FOOD. 93

from ten to twelve quarts of oats during the day, and
diink moderately, may occasionally have beans given
them in their corn.

When beans are given to such horses in training as
require them, they should be hulled and split ; and of
such, a double-handful may be mixed in each feed of
corn. They should not be given in large quantities, nei-
ther should they be given alone.

I remember an instance, about six years since, of a
horse breaking loose in the stable, and getting at some
beans, and eating a great quantity of them ; from which
circumstance he became very ill. I was asked by the
owner to examine the horse, which I did, and the
symptoms [ observed to be present, were those of his
being in a torpid state. He was very thirsty, his mouth
hot, and his pulse was nearly a hundred ; he was ex-
tremely costive, and his urine, when voided, was of the
colour of strong coffee. I recommended to the owner
such remedies for his relief as I thought most likely to
succeed with him, and the horse eventually recovered.

White pease and wheat mixed with the oats were
sometimes given, by way of change, to delicate horses,
and to induce them to feed ; but while they feed mo-
derately on oats and beans, I should certainly not re-
commend the addition of either of the former.

Chaff is a mixture of about equal parts of the best
sort of hay and wheat straw, cut short in a machine.
This sort of food is mostly given to horses in common
use, for the purpose of making some of them grind
their corn, that would otherwise svi'allow it whole, by

94 FOOD.

feeding too voraciously. It is for this purpose some-
times given to race-horses, when laying by in the win-
ter; but the straw is generally omitted.

The best sweet clover hay, cut into chaff, and a little
of it mixed with the corn, given to the light delicate
horses, even when in training, is not a bad thing, by
way of change, and as an inducement for them to
feed.

Bran is generally used in the preparing of horses
for their physic, it being made into mashes with hot
water, and suffered to remain covered up in the bucket
until sufficiently cool, when it may be given them. In
winter, it is a useful sort of food for such horses as are
apt to be costive from the quantity of corn they eat. A
mash of equal parts of bran and oats, given two or
three times a week to such horses as may be laying by
in winter, is very efficacious in keeping their bodies
in a proper state. Some craving horses, from resting
during the winter, are inclined to put up a great deal
of flesh ; this they may be allowed to do to a certain
extent ; but I am not aware of any advantage to be
derived from allowing them to grow so very fat, as
some of them will do. As far as my observations have
gone on this matter, horses are certainly more liable
to constitutional diseases, when in too plethoric a state.

Such horses as are inclined to put up a great quan-
tity of flesh, should occasionally have mashes given
them as I have above advised, and these, with an occa-
sional half dose of physic, will keep them cool, and
prevent them from getting too lusty.

FOOD. 95

When I was a boy, it was the custom with some
grooms to make bread composed of equal parts of
beans, wheaten-flour, and oat-meal, and not unfre-
quently, some stomach medicines, such as are generally
used in cordial balls ; these being mixed together into
a paste with eggs and ale, and then baked. This sort
of bread was given to the horses for a short period
before they run ; when sufficiently stale, it was crum-
bled and mixed with their corn. This practice, which
is a most pernicious one, has, I hope, long since been
done away with. When race-horses are once taken
into training, they should be kept in the stables both
summer and winter until they have completed their
running. If turned out for three or four months, as
hunters usually are, (but which, by the bye, is very
injudicious, as I have often known those with large
carcasses come up with very bad and sometimes in-
curable coughs) they would doubtless get rid of the
staleness arising from the work they have had. Theii'
constitutions would no doubt be much refreshed by
the beneficial effects of the pure air and green food,
provided the season were dry and the paddocks not
too large. Their legs and feet would also be much
benefitted, the former from the gentle exercise they
would give themselves in this natural state, and the
latter from the soft surface of the ground ; yet these
advantages are more than counterbalanced by the mis-
chief which at times results. Those race-horses which
require refreshing the most, are those of a strong con-
stitution, and such as have been much abused by strong

9G FOOD.

exercise, travelling, and repeated running. But the
objection to turning out horses of this description is,
they have generally voracious appetites; not being
satisfied with eating grass only, but they eat a quan-
tity of dirt, or any other stuff about the grounds they
meet with and fancy. If a horse of this sort were to
be turned out for three or four months, he would at the
end of that time have become very fat, soft, and
bloated ; and when taken up, he would be unreason-
ably coarse and out of form ; the muscles of his body
and tendons of his legs, from want of proper attention,
would have become very much relaxed. To get the
horse again into training condition, could not perhaps
be done so effectually as it would have been in the
first instance; and if it could, it would take as much
time and trouble (exclusive of breaking) as when he
first left his paddock as a colt.

In some stables in which I once lived, I remember
an instance of a race-horse which belonged to my
master being kicked in the hock, and the part becom-
ing much swollen. Various were the remedies applied,
without reducing the enlargement ; at last, it was
thought advisable to turn the horse out, night and day,
into a large paddock, it being supposed, from the gentle
exercise he would then give himself, that the hock
might become fine. But this latter remedy had not
the effect desired, that of reducing the enlargement.
How long the horse remained out I do not remember ;
but I very well recollect, when he was taken up, that

FOOD. 97

he was in the plethoric state 1 liavejust described, and
I believe he was not put in training after.

I have here related the above fact, merely to point
out to those of my readers who may not be well
versed in the management of race-horses, that there is
no real advantage to be gained in turning them out, —
at least, the craving ones. It is much against them, if
they are afterwards intended to be trained. These
horses require, when in training, to be kept in pretty
strong work to keep them clean in their muscles, and
clear in their wind. Such work being continued re-
gularly for a long time (as it often is with country
plate horses) brings them not only stale on their legs,
but stale in their constitutions, and sooner or later ren-
ders them unfit to run in their best form. It therefore
becomes necessary to refresh such horses during the
periods which intervene between one meeting and an-
other. Some of them, as I have already noticed, are
refreshed by physic alone, but this is generally done
to save time.

When all the conveniences can be had for the pur-
pose, the most natural and judicious way of refreshing
such horses is, by giving them rest for a sufficient
time, and soiling them in the stables for ten days, a
fortnight, or three weeks, as the judgment of the train-
ing groom may best approve.

The descriptions of green food given to race-horses
for this purpose, are tares, vetches, lucerne and clover
grass. These grasses should be sown so as to have a
succession of crops in the highest perfection for the

H

98 FOOD.

supply of tlie horses, from early in the spring till late
in the autumn. They should be cut just before they
begin to blossom, when they are young and full of
juice, and should never be given when rank and over-
grown. Each stable-boy should cut for his horse a
rubber-full or two every stable hour, so as to have
them quite cool and fresh.

Depending on the constitutions of different horses,
and the quantity of green meat given them, so will
each horse become affected by its use. Such as may
have become stale from strong work, or abused from
country running, require the greatest quantity ; and
with a view to increase the action of their bowels and
kidneys as much as possible, their green meat should
be first given them alone — I mean, unmixed with hay.
There is not the danger in purging them with it as
with strong physic, although it has often, on those oc-
casions, all the advantages of the latter. It is their
natural food, and, as well as gently purging them, pro-
motes, to a great extent, the secretion of ui-ine, which
is seldom effected by physic. If they purge for a day
or two, they become a little light, as they would from
the use of physic ; but they do not become either
weak or faint, nor lose their appetite, which is often
the case with many of them, when pui'ged by too large
a quantity of aloes. The usual allowance of corn
may be given to all of them, at the time of their being
soiled, unless the groom is of opinion that from its
astringent property, and the quantity craving horses
eat, it may prevent the green meat (as it is termed)

FOOD. 90

from acting as a purgativ e. Under these circumstances,
less corn may be given for a day or two, or it may
even be discontinued for tliat time ; for it is a great
point carried, if a craving horse, when on green food,
can be got to purge and stale moderately by its use ;
that is, provided he is not engaged to run again in a
short period.

Those horses, which by some grooms are termed
hearty or light-hearted ones, are by such appellations
understood to be in the medium, as regards the strength
of their constitutions ; that is, they are between the
very light horses, and the very craving ones. As these
horses require less work to prepare them for running,
they are not so frequentl}^ stale on their legs, or in
themselv^es ; yet, like those first mentioned, if abused
by being too repeatedly run, they become so, and they
then require to be refreshed, as directed above, with
this exception, that they seldom require to be purged
either by green meat or physic to that extent the crav-
ing ones do. Their green food may be given them
mixed with their hay. As the very light delicate
horses cannot stand work to run often, they are never
stale on their legs, and are very seldom so in their
constitutions; yet green food occasionally given to
these horses, by way of variety, is an excellent thing
for them. Green meat given to different horses for the
period I have mentioned, or as occasion may require,
in the spring, summer, or autumn months, is a most
salubrious and refreshing sort of food, if cut when
young and full of juice. It promotes the secretion of

H 2

100 FOOD.

the different glands of the body, and thereby renovates
the whole mass of fluids. The bowels become for two
or three days, not only relaxed, but often gently and
effectually purged, from the effects of which the horse's
legs become cool and in shape, and the stiffness of his
limbs as well as the staleness of his constitution (oc-
casioned by strong work) are carried off. A horse
having been thus refreshed, he may be said to be in
the highest state of perfection ; that is, as far as re-
gards his health ; but how he is to be brought into the
highest state of condition, will be fully explained in
its proper place.

In winter, when gi'een food is not to be had, car-
rots are an excellent substitute : they are cool, nutri-
tious, and easy of digestion. When washed and sliced,
they may be given daily in moderate quantities in each
feed of corn, to any of the craving horses that may be
laying by in loose boxes, and that do not go out to
exercise during the winter months. They may be also
given to the light delicate horses, or any others that
are not in strong'work in the winter.

The best wheat straw is the most proper for horses'
bedding.

CHAPTER VI.

ON WATER.

Soft, fresh, wholesome, pure, rain, river, or pond
water, is, of course, the most proper for horses ; but
the last mentioned being a stagnant water, should not
be used, unless it be on a clear, clay, or chalk bottom.
On such surfaces it is not likely to ferment from the
heat of the weather. Pond-water, when thus tainted,
should not be given to any animal.

All that may be necessary for me to mention, for
the information of grooms, in regard to the properties
of water beyond that of quenching the thirst of horses
is, that it cools the habit, dilutes the blood and fluids
of the body, promotes the natural secretions, and as-
sists digestion.

Water is never to be given to craving horses in
training, immediately before their food, nor immediately
after. Horses of a delicate constitution, which feed
very sparingly, may be allowed to drink almost at any
time they like. Craving horses eat a great quantity

102 ON WATER.

of food ; water given to them immediately after, occa-
sions the grain to swell, and this produces a distension
of the stomach, weakens its contracting powers, and
thereby retards the process of digestion. Nor should
water be given them immediately before or after their
work ; it is never done by good training grooms.

If the day is wet, and the groom is obliged to water
his horses in the stables, whether in the morning or
the evening, the water should be given them just be-
fore they are stripped to be dressed, which is an hour
before they feed ; nor are they, when at exercise, to be
watered on the heath until the strongest of their work
is got into them ; they are to be walked for an hour
or more, or until they are perfectly cool, before they go
to the troughs to drink.

The water on the premises of a racing, or any other
establishment, is mostly well or spring water; and,
whether hard or soft, it is generally made use of for
the horses, unless it is observed to be any way detri-
mental to their health, which declares itself by their
becoming chilly, trembling, or perhaps a little griped
after taking it. To prevent hard water from producing
these bad effects, it should first be put into the troughs
irf the yard, with some clay and chalk to soften it,
and during the day, the lids of the troughs should be
left up, so as to expose the water to the heat of the
sun.

When the horses are kept in the stables from other
causes than from the wetness of the day, whether in
summer or in winter, such water as I have made men-

ON WATER. 103

tion of, should never be given them cold from the
pump or well. It should be taken from the troughs,
and mixed with hot water, and given to them chilled.

A common wooden bowl, capable of containing
about two quarts, with a handle to it, is as convenient
a vessel as any for the purpose of taking the water out
of the boilers, troughs, or cisterns, at the time of mix-
ing it in the buckets.

In the heat of summer, if it has been exposed to the
sun, or kept in the buckets in the stable for some
hours, it will not, of course, require to be so much
chilled as in winter.

When horses are out at walking exercise in winter,
it is certainly preferable (unless the season be very
mild) to let them have their water, as I have just ob-
served, with the chill off. It can be got ready by the
boys who remain in, and the horses may be walked up
to the stable door to be watered.

Craving horses, and light delicate ones, should be
watered often in the course of the day ; the former
should be thus watered, with a view to bring them to
drink more moderately, and the latter, with a view, if
possible, to induce them to drink more liberally.
Those last mentioned, as they are at all times clear in
their wind, may have some oatmeal or bran mixed in
their water, as an inducement for them to drink. A
craving horse eats a great quantity of food ; he there-
fore requires a larger quantity of water to assist in the
digestion of it ; and if such a horse were watered only
twice in the course of a day, he would (if allowed to

104 ON WATER.

do so) drink an immense quantity at each time. An-
other reason for this horse's drinking more water than
any other is, that when he is in training, he is mostly
in strong work, and often sweating ; and from these
causes he becomes more thirsty. The best way to
water such a horse, (in the early part of his condition,
but not otherwise) is, to give it to him often and in
small quantities, which is the most likely to biing him
to be a more moderate drinker. If he stands in a box,
it would be a good plan to leave a bucket of water with
him, (unless immediately before or after either sweating
or running) ; it may easily be judged what quantity
he has taken, and if it is observed that he has emptied
the bucket but a short time before he goes out to ex-
ercise, it is only to let him be at walking exercise for a
longer period before he takes his gallop, and not to let
his gallop be quite so severe ; but this experiment is
only to be tried in the early stage of his condition.

The light delicate horse is, in almost all respects, the
very reverse of the craving one ; he eats and drinks
but sparingly, can take but little work in training, and
is so very delicate that he seldom or ever has to sweat ;
and from fifteen to five-and-twenty, or thirty go-downs
is as much as many horses of this description will
drink during the whole day.

On all occasions, the gi'eatest care should be taken
not to let a horse of this class become alarmed. If at
any time he gets frightened in his exercise, or is bul-
lied, by the boy not being sufficiently patient with
liim, he will most likely not drink when he comes to the

ON WATER. 105

trough, but will stand with his head up, staring and
looking wildly about him. A horse of this sort should
be tried with some water as soon as he goes into the
stable, and as I have before observed, as an inducement
to him to drink, a little oatmeal or bran may be mixed
in it. If he will not drink it on its being offered, the
bucket of water may be put down at the end of the
stall, and when the horse is round, having his head
and neck dressed, he will sometimes take it quietly of
himself ; the boy should allow him to do this without
noticing him, for if the boy stops dressing his neck or
fore legs, the horse will most likely stop drinking,
which would be a pity, for if these delicate horses can
be brought to drink but moderately, they will many of
them feed much better after it, which is a_^ matter of
consideration.

Race-horses, like many others, are at times affected
with diabetes, or what by grooms is more commonly
called, the jawpiss. This disease is generally brought
on either by the change of food or water. Horses in
common use, as those of the army, when fed on ship
oats, which may have been heated by lying too long
in the vessel, become immediately affected with this
disease in a violent degree. There are particular herbs
in the hay which will sometimes produce it, as will
also hard brackish water. The first step towards a
cure is, to remove the cause which may have produced
the disease, by changing either the food or the water;
and the remedy generally had recourse to, is that of
mixing lime in the water, by putting it either into the

1U6 ON WATER.

troughs or buckets. The quantity of Ume used, should
be such as to produce rather a nauseous taste. The
water being thus impregnated and given them to drink,
generally puts a stop to the disease. Horses, so affect-
ed, are rather shy in drinking at first ; but the com-
plaint being attended with some degree of fever, they
are mostly dry, and although the water is unpleasant
to their taste, yet to gratify their thirst, they soon come
to drink it.

If the above remedy does not shortly remove the
disease, it would be advisable in the groom to call in
the aid of a good practical veterinary surgeon, who
will instantly have recourse to such other treatment as
from the symptoms he will see requisite for the relief
of the horse.

The remarks I have here offered, relative to water
and the watering of horses, are the result of the obser-
vations I have made during my practice in the stables;
and I have at all times adhered to the system which
I have laid down, whenever I have had horses under
my own care, and with the happiest results. I am
aware that these precautions are scarcely necessary to
good, careful, and experienced training grooms ; but as
I am writing for the information of grooms in general,
they are such as, I deem, may at times be found avail-
able by many. /

CHAPTER VIL

ON PHYSIC.

The autumn and spring are the two seasons of the
year, in which most race-horses are to be physicked ; but,
what particular time in those seasons their physic
should be given them, must depend on how late dif-
ferent horses may be engaged for the autumn, or how
early their engagements may again take place in the
spring.

It is not my intention to enter into a long detail
here, relative to the physicking of horses labouring
under the various diseases to which they are liable, as
this subject has been already very ably treated by the
different authors who have published on the veterinary
art. I shall therefore confine myself to the accidents
and diseases which are likely to take place in the legs
of horses in training, and to point out the advantages
of administering physic to them on such occasions.
To this I shall add a few precautionary remarks, and
point out how they are again to be brought into work.

108 ON PHYSIC.

I shall further explain the benefit to be derived by
giving physic at various other periods, to such of them
as may require it, when in a healthy state, to bring
them into racing form.

The frequent necessity of purging race-horses, and
the usual quantity of aloes prescribed in each dose by
training grooms, do not appear to be approved by
several of those who have published on the veterinary
art. They appear to be of opinion, that the physicking
system is altogether carried to too great an extent in
race-horse stables. They may have been led to form
this opinion, by observing that all horses in common
use, when in health, do their work extremely well
without being so repeatedly purged ; and they also
find in their private practice, that when it is necessary
to purge horses of this description, a much less quan-
tity of aloes will answer the purpose, than is generally
given by training grooms to race-horses. As far as my
experience has gone in the physicking of horses in the
cavalry, I think those authors are perfectly right : they
have therefore, very judiciously, recommended in their
diflferent publications, light doses of physic, to prevent
the very bad effects of horses being over-purged ; and
since the establishment of that valuable institution, the
Veterinary College, and the distribution of its pupils
into different parts of the country, I have no doubt
but the lives of some hundreds of horses, or perhaps
thousands, may have been saved by the moderate doses
of physic which have long since been prescribed, by
veterinary surgeons, for horses in general use. I

ON PHYSIC. 109

allude to such horses as are employed either in business
or for pleasure^, as cart and carriage horses, hacks, and
horses in the cavalry. Such horses as I have here
made mention of, unless labouring under disease, v^^ill
not, in all probability, have a dose of physic given
them in the course of the year ; and many cart and
carriage horses may be in the possession of their
owners for seven or fourteen years without ever having
a dose of physic administered to them, or perhaps
during their lives. Nor do I see that they require it,
provided they are in good health. Hacks may require
physic more frequently than cart or carriage horses, or
horses in the calvary, as they are generally going a
tolerable good pace, and in consequence of the weight
being placed on their backs, they are more liable to
become stale on their legs ; and from these circum-
stances, may require physic and rest to refresh them,
more frequently than the other descriptions of horses
above-mentioned. Now, should any horse in common
use fall amiss, we will say, on one of his fore legs,
either from the leg having been violently strained or
bruised, and from which the horse becomes so lame as
not to be able to go on with his work, he is laid by,
and the owner puts another horse of a similar descrip-
tion to work in his place ; and this the owner may do
without any very great inconvenience to himself. The
liorse which may have received the injury, may be treated,
as the case may require, with the usual external appli-
cations of poultices, fomentations, bandages, and rest ;
and this sort of treatment may be sufficient, probably

110 ON PHYSIC.

without the assistance of physic. The horse being
allowed to rest until the inflammation subsides, and the
parts having recovered their former tone, he again
becomes sound, and from his having lain by for a long
time he gets lusty, and when perfectly recovered from the
accident, the owner consoles himself by observing that
his horse has become fat, and in fine condition.

This may be all very well with a horse in common
use, but it is quite another thing with a race-horse.
In the first instance, his engagements will not allow of
his being replaced ; and I am fully aware, should any
accident happen to a race-horse when in training, near
the time of his coming to post, his race must be done
away with, and the owner will have to meet his losses
accordingly.

But before I conclude on this subject, I shall (as my
readers may expect) point out to them, very minutely,
the frequent necessity there is, from accidents and other
causes which take place, of pll3^sicking race-horses, and
why the physic given to them is so much stronger
than is generally given to horses in common use. I
have already described the treatment by which a horse
of the latter description might be recovered in case of
inj ury to one of his fore legs ; and, perhaps, as I have
already observed, without the use of physic. But, in
order to prove that the same treatment, without physic,
would not effect the recovery of the leg of a race-
horse in training, which may have met with a similar
accident, let us take, by way of example, a very strong
craving race-horse ; I mean, such a horse which, if he

ON PHYSIC. Ill

do not sweat three times a fortnight, will certainly
have to sweat once in five or six days. Let us also
suppose this horse to have fallen amiss in one of his
fore legs, — we will say, six weeks before his race ; and
as we would wish to bring him to post the day on
which he is engaged, we will consider the injury
which he may have received not to be of a very
serious nature, but such as may have arisen from a
blow he may have given himself on his leg with the
opposite foot, perhaps in going along in his sweat, in
changing his legs, or coming incautiously round a
turn ; or it may have occurred in the act of pulling
up, if his boots should not be sufficiently thick to
ward off a blow of this kind. The way by which the
leg may have become injured is not very material; but
I prefer representing an injury of this sort, as it is
one which may soon be got the better of by proper
management; yet it is of sufficient importance to
shew the great necessity there is for administering
physic to a race-horse under such circumstances.

A horse having received an injury of this kind, may
not immediately go lame, nor may the leg immediately
enlarge from it ; perhaps not until the following morn-
ing. Now, it is the custom with a good training groom,
in the morning, before he goes out with his horses to
exercise, to examine the legs of such of them as may have
sweat the day previous ; and if he observe the leg of a
horse out of shape, he immediately handles and exa-
mines it very minutely, and finds perhaps, that there is
a great deal of inflammation present, which to him, is a

112 ON PHYSIC.

very unpleasant discovery ; — more particularly so, with
a craving horse, and one which may, perhaps, be hea-
vily engaged. The first thing to be done with this
horse, as with one in common use, is to stop his work ,
and such external application as may be thought best
to answer the purpose of subsiding the inflammation, is
applied to the leg by the groom ; and with a view of
assisting to relieve the inflammation, and to forward the
cure with as little delay as possible, the groom also
gives a strong dose of physic, for a mild one would not
have much effect on such a horse, while he is at rest ;
but this will be more fully explained by and bye, when
I treat of the physicking of race-horses generally. A
veterinary surgeon would give a horse in common use
a dose of physic, with a view also to assist in subsid-
ing the inflammation of the leg; and if the horse be
lusty, he would in all probability bleed him, which I
think is a very good practice, and one which I have
always followed; and generally speaking, it is very
similar to that which I believe every veterinary sur-
geon in private practice, adheres to. But then the
veterinary surgeon has only one object in view in phy-
sicking and bleeding his patient, which is that of re-
lieving the inflammation in the local part ; and should
the horse in common use, put up flesh during the time
of his recovery, it may be considered (as I have al-
ready observed) rather as an advantage than otherwise.
Now, the groom in giving a dose of physic yo a horse
in training, with a bad leg, has the same object in
view as the \ eterinary surgeon, — to relieve the inflam-

ON PHYSIC. 113

mation of the leg; but he has also another object in
view, and it is one which he must not lose sight of —
that of preventing a craving horse, when laying by,
from getting too lusty ; and the only chance he has of
carrying his point, and bringing the horse to post on the
day appointed, is, to give him plenty of physic to pre-
vent his putting up flesh, and to keep him from getting
fat in his inside, as well as to relieve the leg. From
this treatment, the leg will in the course of a week or
ten days have become cool and in shape, and the
groom may then begin to think of bringing the leg
very gradually to its former strength again. This he
does by sending the horse to gentle walking exercise,
on as level a piece of ground as can possibly be found
for the purpose.

Now to prevent a similar accident from again taking
place, I will just here remark, that when a horse has
been laying by for some time, in consequence of an
accident, he gets what is commonly termed in the sta-
bles, hearty and calfish, and on the first day or two of
his coming out to exercise, he is generally inclined to
begin his gambols, and bound about, and more parti-
cularly if he is taken immediately on the open downs.
To prevent a thing of this sort from taking place, it
may be advisable to take such precautions as will be
likely to ensure safety, not only to the horse, but also
to the boy. In the first place, the boy who may be
put to ride the horse in his exercise, should be selected
from among those who ride best; and in the second

I

114 ON PHYSIC.

place, instead of the horse going to the open downs
to exercise, he should be taken into a well-fenced pad-
dock ; and it may be found needful, on the first day
of taking him into it, to buckle on a leading rein to
the bit, and either the groom or head lad should lead
the horse, with the boy riding him to the paddock.
It may also be found requisite to lead such a horse
round the paddock during the whole of the time he
may be at exercise on the first day, and this should be
continued for the first two, or perhaps three days, if
it be observed that the horse is much inclined to play
and spring about. After the horse comes to walk
quietly, unless there can be, in all respects, the most
implicit confidence placed in the boy who rides him,
it would be advisable for the groom or head lad to re-
main in the paddock while the horse is at exercise, as
boys are apt to be tricky. Now during the time that
the horse is walking in the paddock, his leg, from this
sort of exercise, is gaining strength ; and at different
opportunities when the horse is in the stable, stripped,
and being brushed over, the groom, if he is a good
judge, makes his observations on the state of the
horse's condition. He, in a way peculiar to himself,
not only looks him over very minutely, but handles
and feels him over in every part where he is likely to
put up flesh ; and if he finds from the rest the horse
has had, that he has gained a certain portion of flesh,
the groom, being aware that the leg is in too delicate
a state to put the horse immediately into strong work,
considers the best thing to be done is to give him an-

OJJ PHYSIC. 115

other dose of physic. Should this dose of physic not
lighten the horse of his flesh as much as the groom
could wish or expect, it will conjointly with the walk-
ing exercise the horse has, certainly prevent him from
getting into a more plethoric state, and the leg is every
day continuing to get stronger. Three or four days
after the second dose of physic has set, the groom be-
gins to think of giving the horse a few short gentle
gallops, daily, on as level a piece of ground as he can
get for the purpose — that is, it should be even and flat,
free from any rises or falls in any part of it. And care
should be taken with a horse which may have had a
bad leg, to bring him by degrees to his usual gallops,
gradually increasing the length and pace, until the,
groom observes the horse's wind is good enough to
enable him to go through a gentle sweat with tolerable
ease to himself.

The next thing the groom has to consider is, the
sort of boy he is to put up to ride the horse in his
sweat. He should be one selected from among the
best riding boys he has, and one that is in high prac-
tice in riding of sweats. Such a boy knows how to
carry the groom's orders into execution, according to
the state of the ground, or the condition the horse may
be in. And as soon as the boy has got the horse well
away, and settled to the pace, he sits quietly down in
the saddle, and keeps a pretty fast hold of the horse's
head ; yet, at times, by giving and taking at gentle
pulls, he takes care to keep the horse's mouth alive.
This gives him the advantage of always having a pull

I 2

116 ON PHYSIC.

over him, and which pull he takes whenever he sees
a necessity for it ; and in this way he prevents the
horse from breaking way, and thereby over-marking
himself, which might occasion a fresh accident. But
this sort of thing is not very likely to happen, if the
boy that rides the horse be such a one as I have de-
scribed. He well knows how to rate the horse at a fair
and even pace throughout the whole of his sweat ; and
whether such a horse will have to sweat by himself,
or should have another horse to come home with him,
will depend on the sort of horse he is. But the man-
ner of sweating different horses will be fully explained
in the second part of this work, when we are on the
subject of training race-horses.

As soon as the horse in question has been brought
home to the stables after sweating, and as soon as he
is dressed, and his legs are well fomented, the leg
which we have described as being amiss, should have
the cold lotion, * with the bandage applied to it. This
application should be continued to the leg while the
horse is in the stable, until the groom feels confident
that the leg has completely recovered its former tone,
which he may observe from its continuing perfectly
cool and in shape.

But, when the horse is at exercise, the boot on the
leg, if well padded, is, I think, preferable to the ban-

* Such as was commonly used by trainers on such occasions ;
as the crude sal ammoniac, and sugar of lead; of the former, four
ounces, and of the latter, one ounce, dissolved in three pints of
vinegar and one pint of water.

ON PHYSIC. 117

dage, as it is better adapted to ward off blows, and to
prevent a similar accident from again occurring.

We have been some time on the subject of this bad
leg, with a view to shew the necessity there is for ad-
ministering physic for relief, and also to shew how
necessary it is to give physic, to prevent so craving
a horse as we have described from getting too lusty
when laying by. But this physic has another advan-
tage which has not yet been mentioned, — that of tak-
ing the staleness out of the horse, from the strong
work he has for some time been doing ; and it is pre-
cisely what the groom must have done with him, at or
about the time I have made choice of, whether he had
fallen amiss in his leg or not ; and this is what is ge-
nerally called the commmencement of a second pre-
paration, and is highly necessary at certain periods,
in the training of race-horses which have been a long
time in strong work. Now, had such a race-horse as
we have alluded to, been allowed to lay by for the
recovery of his leg, as a horse in common use may
have been permitted to do, he would, without physic,
have become so very lusty, as to put it quite out of
the power of any training groom to have brought him
to post, within the time I have mentioned. Were such
a thing to be attempted, I suppose it would be done,
by first giving the horse a dose of physic, and then
putting him into strong and rapid work ; but be this
as it may, he never could be brought to post in such form
as to enable him to compete with horses which may
have been allowed a proper time to train.

118 ON PHYSIC.

Before I proceed further, it may be advisable for
me to observe, that should a horse of strong constitu-
tion meet with an accident, and seriously strain or
injure the tendons of his leg, he may as well be imme-
diately put out of training, for it is more than a hun-
dred to one, that a leg, thus injured, can ever be suffi-
ciently recovered by any sort of means, so as to get such
work into a strong-constitutioned horse, as to enable
him to run with other race-horses.

I shall now proceed to treat of the physicking of
race-horses more generally, commencing with those
which are sound and in health. Such of them with
strong constitutions, as may have become stale in
themselves, and stale on their legs, or their legs being
a little swollen from travelling and running during the
summer, I shall not consider as being unhealthy.
Others which I shall have occasion to mention, as
young ones and light ones, will require but little
physic ; the former will not become stale until they
have been some time in training, although their consti-
tutions may be strong ; and the latter are still less
subject to this sort of thing, in consequence of their
not being able to stand such work as would occasion it.

With the approach of autumn, the racing season
concludes. Some meetings, however, in diffeient parts
of the country, are over much earlier than others ; and
when race-horses are supposed to have done running
for the season, and have returned to their home stables
to winter, such of them as may be allowed by their
owners to remain under the care of public training

ON PHYSIC. 11^

grooms, are put, as it is termed, into physic. To bring
this point, — the physicking of race-horses generally, —
before my readers as clearly as I possibly can, I shall
commence with the physicking of such horses as may
be standing at home public racing stables — say for
example, at Newmarket, for there, either with young
ones or old ones, training, may be said to be always
going on. The meetings at Newmarket conclude the
latter end of October, which is, perhaps, too late in
the season to get green meat for the horses, in such
perfection as is requisite to assist in refreshing them.
Therefore to refresh some horses, and to lighten others,
the grooms begin in the month of November, to pre-
pare them for their physic ; and their custom was, with
such horses as had been running and travelling the
whole of the summer, to give each of them on his
return to the home stable, three doses of physic, with
an interval of eight or ten days between each dose ;
and in the spring, prior to their going into training
(depending on how early their engagements may take
place,) three doses more were given them, with the
same interval of time between each, and this was
tertned putting the horses through their different
courses of physic. The first course was to take the
staleness out of them, and bring their legs in shape,
which it did most effectually. The second course in
the spring, was to carry off the humours and to assist
in lightening the horses before they were put into
training. But I hope by this time, that some of the
training grooms, if not all of them, have seen the im-

120 ON PHYSIC.

propriety of repeating dose after dose in this way ; if
they have not, I will endeavour to point out to them
by and bye, when on the subject of training, how
physic may be administered in both instances much
more to' the advantage of the horses.

The preparing of race-horses for their physic in the
autumn, may be done in much the same manner as
with horses in common use; as more time may be
allowed for those horses of strong constitutions to be
kept on mashes, than when they are in training.
Three or four mashes a day, of equal parts of bran and
oats, for a couple of days, will relax their bowels, and
thereby facilitate the action of the medicine on them ;
and a less portion of aloes in their physic than is gene-
rally given to them when in regular training, will
answer the purpose of purging them equally w^ell. It
was formerly a rule with grooms, and it may, I have
no doubt, be much practised by many at present,
whenever they were going to physic several horses on
the same day, to give the whole of them their physic
early in the morning. With strong constitutioned
horses this may be very proper ; for in the common
way of preparing those horses, the medicine seldom
operates until the following morning ; that is, it gene-
rally remains in the bowels of those strong horses for
four-and -twenty hours before it begins to purge them.
But with others, which may be more delicate, it will
be seen to operate in the course of eight, ten, or twelve
hours.

As we are not in so great a hurry for the medicine

ON PHYSIC. 121

to act now, as we should be were the horses in train-
ing, or were they labouring under disease, we prefer
giving them their physic at different times, with a view
to have them all purging on the following morning
when at exercise. In endeavouring to accomplish this,
the groom must bear in mind, when he is about giving
physic to a number of horses on the same day, (say
fifteen or twenty for example), that the constitutions of
so many horses will vary, more or less ; consequently,
he must vary the quantity of aloes in each dose, ac-
cording to the age, constitution, and condition of each
horse ; but he must also regulate the time of day that
different horses should have their physic given them
after they come in from exercise in the morning. Those
of craving constitutions may have their physic given
them immediately after they come in, at seven or eight
o'clock in the morning. Those with constitutions not
quite so strong, may have theirs given them at twelve
o'clock in the day ; and those which may be still more
delicate (if it be determined to physic them), may
have theirs given them at four or six o'clock in the
evening ; and by this method they may be got to
purge pretty nearly at one time, which is an object worth
attending to, as the groom can more readily judge how
each dose of physic operates on each horse, in propor-
tion to the quantity of aloes given.

Such horses as are known to the groom to be shy
drinkers in physic, must be watered sparingly at
twelve o'clock, the day before the physic is given,
instead of at four or six in the evening. From this

122 ON PHYSIC.

treatment they are most of them inclined to drink
pretty freely on the following day. And on the night
previous to giving them their physic in the morning,
it would be advisable to keep them short of hay,
more particularly the craving ones. Instead of giving
them their usual allowance, let them have half the
quantity ; and those which may be inclined to eat
their litter may have the setting muzzles put on,
when the boys go into the stables to go to bed. Let
those that do this be set as sharp as they would be for
their sweat or race. The groom, on first opening the
stables in the morning on the day tlie j)hysic is to be
given, should give each of the horses a small portion
of mash, before they go out to exercise, and when the
horses return to the stables again, the craving ones,
after their heads are dressed, before they are turned
round in the stall, may have their physic given them ;
and the other light horses, at the different periods
which I have already directed. All the horses, after
having their physic, remain in the stables for the
day, and the usual stable hours are kept, at which
times they have their warm water given them, and
they are afterwards stripped and brushed over, their
clothes again put on, and their legs rubbed. Their
mashes are given them, with small portions of hay,
and they are shut up. Horses in physic, particularly
those which may be a little sick, should be fed
sparingly. When it is observed they are not inclined
to eat their mashes, they should be taken from them ;
if they do not seem inclined to eat their hay, they may
have a little clean sweet straw given them, to pick and

ON PHYSIC. 123

pull about, and amuse themselves with ; many of them
will eat it, when in physic, in preference to any thing
else.

On opening the stables in the morning, the day
the physic is to be worked ofi", as soon as the boys
have set the beds fair, and brought them sufficiently
back for the horses to purge on, each boy may then
put two or three plats in his horse's tail, and tie it
round at the bottom, to prevent it from becoming
soiled whenever the horse purges. The whole of the
horses should now have their warm water, each being
allowed to drink as much as he likes ; after which,
they should be brushed over and got ready for exercise.
They are to be comfortably clothed, according to the
season of the year. In the autumn or spring, they
should have good full-sized blanket-sort of rugs next
to their skin, with a sheet and quarter piece on top ;
if there is much wind out, a breast sweater may be put
on, to keep their clothes down in front, and their
quarter strings should also be put on, to keep them
from blowing up behind ; or, what perhaps is to be
preferred, is a piece of binding attached to the hinder
part of the sheet or quarter piece, so arranged as to
form a sort of crupper, to go under the horse's tail.
The bridle and the hood should be put on each horse
as he is standing in the stall, with his head to the rack.
If a horse is bi-ought round in the usual way, for the
purpose of having those things put on, he may purge
in the manger if his physic has begun to work. Each
boy should be made to back his horse out of the stall,
when he is going out to exercise.

124 ON PHYSIC.

Now, as exercise greatly assists the action of medi-
cine, the groom should not only regulate the time each
horse is to remain at exercise, but also how often each
horse should come out on the day the physic is work-
ing off. Those which the groom observes to purge
freely, may not be out more than once, or twice at
farthest, the first thing in the morning, and at four
o'clock in the afternoon. But others, which may be
thought not to purge sufficiently, and which may be
rather lusty, may come out to exercise three times
in the day ; the first thing in the morning, at eleven or
twelve o'clock in the day, and at four in the afternoon.
Any of them that may require to be out for longer
periods than others may be sent out half an hour or an
hour earlier than the rest, so that they may all come in
together, to admit of the whole of the stables being shut
up at the same time. But on their first coming into
the stables from exercise, it is necessary again to take
the precaution with them, in regard to not bringing
them round in the stalls to have their heads dressed.
Each boy should ride his horse into the stall, dismount,
take off his hood and bridle, wisp and wipe his horse's
head, sponge his nostrils, and with a rubber, wipe them
dry, then put on his collar, and chain up his head.

I have known some grooms, who would not have
their horse's feet washed, or even have them dressed on
the day of their physic working off. All they woidd
allow to be done would be to have their clothes put
straight, their quarters cleaned, and their legs well
rubbed. I must confess I was rather particular in

ON PHYSIC. 125

this respect myself, when I was a groom. But since I
have practised as a veterinary surgeon, I have
})hysicked horses in various ways, and under such a
variety of circumstances, that I am quite confident
there is no danger to be apprehended from either wash-
ing their feet, or stripping them to be dressed. In the
stables they are to be kept comfortably clothed, with
blankets next their skin. The top clothing, which is
put on them in physic, and also for them to sleep in,
should be the old ones, which are fit for no other pur-
pose. After their feet are washed, and before the
boys strip them, such of them as may not have purged
briskly, or drank freely before they went out, may be
tried again now they are in, with a little warm water,
and then let the whole of them be dressed, and their
legs be well rubbed ; and after the stables are set fair,
give them their mashes and hay, strip their quarters,
shut them up, and let the boys get their breakfasts.
The groom, on coming into the stables at noon time,
is to make his observations on such of the horses as
may have purged repeatedly in the stables. Such of
them as may have been affected in this way, should
remain in until four o'clock in the afternoon ; and
those which may not have purged much in the stables,
should be watered and sent out to exercise, with a
view to get the medicine to act sufficiently. When
they come in at twelve or one o'clock, they are to be
treated as in the morning : and those which may have
to stop in at this noon period, should be watered,
their quarters cleaned, wisped over, clothed up, their

12(3 ON PHYSIC.

manes combed, and their legs rubbed. They are to be
fed as in the morning, on mashes and a small portion
of hay, and then shut up. The groom, on coming
into the stables at four o'clock in the afternoon, is
again to make his observations how each horse may
have purged in the stables; and such of them as he
may observe to have purged briskly throughout the
whole of the day, he will order to be left in, and those
which have purged moderately, he will or(]er out to
exercise with those others which were out in the
middle of the day : and on their coming into the
stables, they will be treated in every respect as they
were at noon time. But the mashes and warm water
should be discontinued to those horses which I have
directed to be left in, in consequence of their physic
having purged very briskly, most likely from its
having been given too strong. Warm thick gruel, in
small quantities, should be given to them, instead of
their mashes ; they may also have a little dry bran and
oats, mixed in equal parts. Their beds being set fair,
their heads should be let down so as to reach the
manger, and those horses which may not have been so
much purged, should have their mashes given them.
The stables may then be shut up until eight o'clock,
at which stable hour, the horses that have been
purging briskly the whole of the day, may again
be tried with a little more thick gruel, and if the
groom thinks they will eat a little dry corn, he may
give them a dish-full. The beds being again set fair,
the whole of the horses' heads let down, their quarters

ON PHYSIC. 127

stripped (the boys being ready to go to bed, having
previously got their suppers) the stables may now
be shut up for the night, which will most likely be
about nine o'clock. On the following morning, when
the groom comes to the stables, he expects to find
each horse's physic set; in other words, to have stopped
working. Such of the light horses as may not have
purged much the day before, and such others as may
have stopped purging in the night, may, the first
thing in the morning, have a dish-full of corn given
them, which they will eat whilst the stables are setting
fair ; they may then be got ready to go out on the downs.
But if the weather is cold, windy, or uncertain as to
rain, they may be walked in the paddock at the back
of the stables for an hour or so, merely to give them
an appetite. When they return to the stables, tlie}^
are to be fed and treated in all respects as they were
prior to their going into physic. But those horses
which we have already made mention of as having
been briskly purged the day before, and which have
not quite stopped purging the next morning, are to
remain in the stables the whole of the day. They
should be fed on dry food, and have some thick gruel
given them to drink, at the different stable hours ; and
on the following morning, their physic being set, they
may be taken out as the other horses were the day
before.

I have, in the early part of this chapter, made men-
tion of the necessity there would be for giving physic
to a horse in training, that may have met with an

128 ON PHYSIC.

accident, and injured one of his legs, which injury
may occasion such horse to be laid by for its recovery.
I have also spoken of the manner in which race-horses
in two different states of condition were physicked by
grooms in the autumn ; the first, being light and stale ;
the last mentioned, young, fresh, and lusty. But as
at this season of the year, plenty of time can be allowed
them to be on mashes, so as sufficiently to relax their
bowels, a less quantity of aloes will answer the purpose
of purging them. There is, therefore, not much
difficulty or danger to be apprehended in physicking
these horses. Those which I have made mention
of as being stale ones, should be put into large loose
places ; the young ones should be taken into the train-
ing stables : and in a future chapter I shall state the
manner in which they are repeatedly to be treated
during the winter.

CHAPTER Vin.

ON PHYSIC.

In the last chapter I treated on the physicking of
race-horses not in training ; or rather, of those which,
from various causes, may have been put out of training
for a short time. In this, I propose to show how
some of them are to be physicked, and for what pur-
poses, when they are in regular training. But before
I enter fully on this subject, it may be proper, in order
to prevent errors, to make some few observations on
the effects of aloes on the constitution of the race-horse,
under certain circumstances. When I first wept to live
as a boy in the stables, I lemember great mistakes to
have been made by grooms, both in the internal and
external applications of medicines ; and I confess that
when I became a groom myself, I fell into similar
errors. Nor was it much to be wondered at, for
grooms, generally speaking, were very little acquainted
with the properties of medicine, not even of the few
they made use of for the horses under their care. They

K

130 ON PHYSIC.

were in this respect principally guided by the recipes
of their forefathei's. I have known them give aloes in
very large portions to horses in training, and at times,
without paying due attention to their constitutions, or
to the state in which their bodies were at the time ;
and from these circumstances, a valuable horse has
now and then died in physic ; and this is an error to
which grooms have too frequently been liable. The
aloes which were formerly made use of by grooms, were
principally the succotrine ; but for horses they are un-
certain in their effect, and are seldom to be depended
on, unless with delicate horses, or when given in very
large quantities.

The Barbadoes aloes, being stronger than any
others, are of course more active, and although given
in a less quantity, they are more certain in their ope-
ration. If these aloes are given in proper quantities,
according to the age, constitution, and condition of the
horse, there is no danger to be apprehended from their
use. Indeed, as far as my experience has gone, I
think the Barbadoes far the best for all descriptions of
horses, but more particularly for race-horses, which
are at all times very difficult to be purged. It is by
giving powerful physic that horses are much debili-
tated, and thrown back in their condition. I remem-
ber an instance of a large quantity of aloes being given
to a three-year-old colt, which I looked after myself.
The groom I was living under at that time could
neither read nor write ; nor could any boy in the stable
except myself. Stable boys, at the period I am

ON PHYSIC. 131

alluding to, could not boast much of their education,
nor had I much to speak of in this way myself. I
could read and write, and knew some little of figures.
The groom, poor man, was so unfortunate as not to
know any thing of either the one or the other, so that,
to prevent mistakes, it was a rule with him whenever
he was going to physic any of his horses, to bring his
recipes to me to read, which I did. As well as reading
his recipes, I kept his accounts and wrote his letters,
and read those he received ; in short, I may be said to
have been the groom's private secretary, and in that
capacity, I had the good fortune to enjoy his most
unrestricted confidence. But to return. The dose of
physic which was made up for the colt just alluded to,
contained twelve drachms of aloes ; and, at that time,
it was an invariable custom with grooms to add a
variety of other ingredients in the making up of their
physic. By these additions, a ball became so large,
that it could not be given at once ; the mass was there-
fore divided into two, and sometimes three balls. The
three-year-old which had this dose of physic given
him, I remember was purged to great excess, and he
was several days before he recovered from the effects of
it. I was not very capable of judging of the constitu-
tions of horses at the time, but I expect he must have
had a pretty strong constitution, or such a dose of
physic would have killed him.

By way of caution to grooms, and with a view to
prevent them in future from falling into similar errors,
I will here state different causes from which I have

K 2

132 " ON PHYSIC,

known horses occasionally die in physic. I have
already observed that there are some horses much more
easily purged than others ; but the horse which now
and then leads the groom astray, is the one of a craving
constitution. A groom generally judges of the con-
stitution of a horse, from the size of his carcass,
and width of his loins, as also from the manner in
which he feeds, and from tlie work he takes in train-
ing. From these points, he will be able to form a
tolerably just idea. When a groom was about phy-
sicking a strong, craving, large carcassed horse, his
practice was thence to regulate the quantity of aloes
the dose was to contain, which, on such occasions,
would most likely be from nine to ten drachms of
Barbadoes aloes ; and it has frequently happened, that
a dose of physic of this strength, has had no effect
whatever in purging a horse of a strong constitution,
when in training. If such a dose of physic had been
given to a horse in common use, it would have more
than purged him sufficiently ; it would, in all proba-
bility, have purged him to death. It also occurs at
times, that a horse in training is purged for too long a
period, or perhaps till he dies, and from the following
cause. The groom having given him a dose of physic,
such as I have described, and finding it to have pro-
duced little or no effect on the horse after a proper
interval of time, considers it necessary to give the horse
another dose ; and in making up this second dose, he
concludes it will be necessary to add a larger portion
of aloes, perhaps two or thiee drachms more than was

ON PHYSIC. 133

contained in the first. Nor is this a very unreasonable
conclusion for a man to make who is unacquainted
with the properties of medicine. It is in consequence
- of this treatment, that a groom has now and then been
so unfortunate as to have a horse die in physic, which
arises from his ignorance of the effect of the aloes on
the constitution, when the quantity is increased beyond
that which is generally given at one time, to purge
such a horse. When the aloes, being increased to the
extent above mentioned, begin to operate, the action is
sometimes continued in proportion to the quantity
given, and by stimulating so large a surface as that of
the intestines of the horse for so great a length of time,
and to such excess, the powers and constitution are
not able to support it. The general consequence is,
great debility and irritation, sometimes followed by in-
flammation of the bowels, which occasions the death
of the horse. This has at times occurred to some
grooms, from their having relied too much on the
power of medicine alone, to purge a strong horse, and
merely preparing him for his physic in the usual way,
by giving him mashes the day previous, with a view
to relax the bowels, and then the first thing on the
following morning administering the whole of the dose
at once, mixing therein a very large portion of aloes,
for the reason and under the impression which I have
already pointed out. Now, the common method of
preparing the horse, and giving the physic, would be
very proper to one which may be easily purged, and
which required but a moderate portion of aloes to pro-

134 ON PHYSIC.

duce the effect. But to administer physic sufficiently
powerful to operate on a horse in training, prepared in
this way, and which horse it may be difficult to purge,
is rather a dangerous experiment. Nor is it done but
by those grooms who are not acquainted with the ad-
vantages to be derived, either by giving the physic, or
by preparing the horse differently. If the horse be
prepared, and the physic be given in the way I shall,
by and bye, have occasion to explain, a less quantity
of aloes than is usually given, will purge a strong horse
sufficiently well, and less danger will thereby be in-
curred.

Another course of treatment which has at times
occasioned the death of a horse by physic, is, when a
groom has given a dose which may have remained in
the bowels of a horse for a couple, or perhaps even
three days, without producing any effect whatever,
(and this is not at all an extraordinary occurrence) :
the groom considers, from the period which has elapsed,
and the physic not having worked, that it was much
too weak, and finding that it has not operated on the
third day, he gives another dose, with an additional
portion of aloes in it ; and I have known it happen
that in the course of an hour or two after the second
dose has been given, the first has begun to operate ;
the consequence of which has been, the effect of the
second dose has been to continue the operation of
purging until the horse has died.

Whenever a dose of physic has been given to a
horse, without producing the desired effect at the

ON PHYSIC. 135

usual time, or which indeed may not have purged him
at all, but may have passed off, as it sometimes will
do, by urine, — under either of these circumstances,
it would be advisable not to repeat a second dose
until after the lapse of seven or eight days.

Horses in high condition, and hearty feeders, are
consequently much accustomed to be physicked ; and
in the preparing of such horses, should they only have a
mash or two given them in the evening, and should
they at night be allowed their usual quantity of hay,
and not be taken out to exercise in the morning before
the physic is given, (which I have known repeatedly to
be the case,) it will seldom be found practicable to
succeed in purging them by the proper time. The
quantity of food not only retards the operation of the
medicine, for two or three days, but it is very often
the cause of the physic not producing any effect
whatever. These are the causes which have led
grooms into error, supposing the physic not to be
sufficiently strong to purge the horse ; and from such
supposition, they adopt the practice of giving very
large portions of aloes. I have known ten, and some-
times twelve drachms of Barbadoes aloes given at one
time, and when the succotrine aloes have been given,
twelve and fourteen drachms have commonly been
the dose. There is no occasion for giving, at any one
time, so large a quantity of either of these aloes,
to any horse in training. It is not only attended with
considerable danger, but by physicking horses in this
manner, they often purge to great excess, which very

l36 ON PHYSIC.

mucli debilitates them, and they are a long time
before they recover their former strength and vigour.

Notwithstanding these occasional results, it has
alw^ays been the custom with training grooms, as long
as I can remember, to physic their own horses, or
rather, those which are sent to them by different noble-
men and gentlemen of the turf to be trained ; for,
to discover the proper course of treatment would puzzle
most men who may be in very high practice in the phy-
sicking of horses in common use, and who may physic
such horses very properly ; yet, if these same men
have not been in the habit of physicking race-horses,
and have not at any time lived in racing stables, so as
to have observed the different methods of preparing
horses there for their physic ; such men would find it
extremely difficult to purge strong horses when in
training; that is, if they were to pay the same attention
that a training groom would, not to impair the consti-
tution of a strong horse when in training, by feeding
him too freely on mashes, which would cause him to
be relaxed. For this is a soft sort of food, and
not sufficiently nutritious to feed a horse on for two or
three days, until his bowels have become sufficiently
relaxed, so as to admit of a less portion of aloes being
given to work him, without his going back in his
condition. This plan will not be found to answer
with such a horse, unless it is intended that he should
lay by for six weeks or two months. The treatment
for refreshing a horse under such circumstances is
very different, and will be fully explained in its pro-
per place.

ON PHYSIC. 137

1 will now proceed with my observations on phy-
sicking of race-horses that may have been in regular
training for two or three seasons ; and for the purpose
of clearly elucidating this matter, the horses I shall
fii'st make choice of, shall be those of pretty strong
constitutions ; I mean, such horses as are generally
selected for country running, and that are in high
training at the time there may be occasion to physic
them — say, for example, in the month of July, or
August; for at this time, their bodies have become
much changed from the state of condition which they
are in, compared with that state in which some of
them were when physicked in the autumn or spring.
The constitutions of such horses have become well
braced, from the high feeding and strong exercise
they have had ; and their intestines have also been
so much accustomed to the stimulus of aloes, that
it makes it extremely difficult to purge them when it
becomes necessary to do so, for the purpose of refresh-
ing them.

It is to be observed, that country-plate horses have
to come to post much more frequently than those
which are younger, and which are generally kept
in reserve by their owners, for the various great stakes
which are run for at Newmarket, York, Doncaster,
or Epsom. Those horses engaged in country running,
may be said, during the summer, to be travelling a sort
of circuit. They are contending for His Majesty's,
and the various country and town plates, which are
given at the different racing meetings. As they are

138 ON PHYSIC.

generally horses of strong constitutions, they require
to be kept in pretty strong work, and that, together
with their running and travelling, causes many of
them, as the season advances, to become more or less
stale in their condition, and also stale and round on
their legs, notwithstanding the great care and atten-
tion which is paid to them. These horses are more
liable to be amiss in this respect, when they are the
property of country trainers, than when in the pos-
session of noblemen and gentlemen of the turf, who
have their different motives for keeping them ; some
as a part of their establishment, and to preserve
a good breed of horses in the country, (their ances-
tors having done so before them); those who are
fond of racing, for the pleasure and amusement they
afford ; and some few others, who, after having had a
tolerable share of experience, may, with good fortune,
get money by them. Xbis last object is pursued by
the country trainer, as his circumstances seldom admit
of his keeping a race-horse merely for pleasure. This
man makes racing his profession ; and if, by purchase,
he should come into possession of a tolerably good
country plate horse, he calculates the price he may
have given for him, and the expense incurred in his
training, and for these, the owner becomes anxious to
be remunerated. His object is to win with him all he
can ; he therefore enters his horse at the different meet-
ings he frequents, whenever he thinks there is a chance
of his going up to the head and winning ; and it is in
this way, from repeated running and travelling, that

ON PHYSIC. 139

the horse somethnes gets abused, that is, he becomes
stale, and below his mark. He appears jaded in him-
self, and if brought out in this state to post, he will be
seen, when running, to go stiff and short in his stride.
It requires a jockey to be almost constantly persever-
ing with such a horse ; and however severely he may
get at him in the running, he cannot succeed in mak-
ing him run in the same form as when fresh. The
manner of refreshing such horses in training as may
have become stale from the above causes must vary
according to circumstances. When there can be
plenty of time allowed for the purpose, the most effec-
tual way of doing it is by laying them by in loose
places, giving them rest, with green meat and physic.
Any that may be thus treated, which are standing
in stalls, will require gentle exercise to keep them in
health. Now, to refresh a horse effectually by these
means, (green meat, physic, and rest), which are cer-
tainly the best for his constitution, would take a month
or six weeks, which is more time than can be allowed
for a country plate horse to lay by in the summer;
as, during such a period, he would miss running per-
haps at two or three of the principal meetings, a thing
which the trainer wishes to avoid. Therefore, to re-
fresh his horse with as little delay as possible, he must
almost solely rely on the use of physic. If it should
happen on the circuit which a horse may be travelling,
that the meetings follow each other so quick in suc-
cession as not to allow of sufficient time to administer
physic to him, so as afterwards to recover from its

140 ON PHYSIC.

effects, the better way will be for the groom to decline
running for a single meeting ; and if he makes his
mind up to this, the sooner he travels off with his
horse the better, to the place where the meeting may
be held at which he intends his horse to run. That is
the proper place to refresh the horse; and the best
loose stable that can be had there should be prepared
for him, if not on the ground, as near to it as possible.
Now, after the horse arrives at his destination, — whe-
ther the groom will give him a gentle sweat, with a
view to keep the length in him, and immediately after-
wards give him a dose of physic, — or whether the
sweat will be dispensed with, and a couple of doses of
physic be administered, and the horse afterwards got
ready, (which would, in fact, be a brief sort of second
preparation), — must depend entirely on the time al-
lowed, and the horse's work must of course be stopped
for a certain period ; but this matter will be more fully
explained when I am on the subject of training, and
travelling country plate horses.

I shall now proceed to point out the different ways
of preparing the bodies of strong constitutioned horses,
prior to giving them physic. I shall also speak of the
effects of the medicine on their constitutions ; and by
what means such horses become refreshed from its use ;
and although I may recommend strong physic to be
given to some few of them, yet I beg leave to observe,
that I am by no means an advocate for giving strong
physic generally. Nor do I approve of the practice
of giving dose after dose to some lusty horses before.

ON PHYSIC. 141

they have been put into training, and with only tlie
interval of a week or eight days between each dose;
which was much the custom with grooms when I was
first in the stables. Wlien craving horses are become
stale, from the causes already mentioned, and when
sufficient time cannot be allowed to refresh them by
long rest, it becomes necessary to attain this point by
the use of physic alone ; and then it becomes neces-
sary not only to purge such horses, but to purge them
briskly ; that is, the medicine beginning to operate early
in the morning, should, with the aid of exercise, con-
tinue to purge them freely, at intervals, until the shut-
ting up of the stables the last thing at night, when
it should shew some appearance of setting, and it
should be perfectly set on the following morning. Nor
must the groom be disappointed, if it can possibly be
avoided, as to the time of its operating : his being dis-
appointed in this respect would most likely be a loss
of time ; I mean, it would prevent his bringing his
horse well to post at the meeting he intended.

Now, when a groom is going to physic any given
number of his horses, he must, as I have already
noticed, regulate the quantity of aloes he intends
giving in each dose, according to the strength of the
constitutions of different horses ; for although they may
all be what is generally termed strong craving horses,
yet there will be some variation in this respect. It is
therefore more difficult to get the medicine to act on
some than on others ; but, in regard to this matter, the
groom must be guided by the observations he may

142 ON PHYSIC.

have made on the working and feeding of his horses,
and according to the difficulty he anticipates in the pur-
ging of one horse more than in the purging of another ;
so will he make his arrangements in preparing each
horse for his physic.

On the day previous to giving them their physic, it
is necessary, with a view, in some measure, to relax
their bowels, that they should be kept during the day
on ma.shes, with a small quantity of hay ; and at night
they should be sparingly fed with it. Let them have
half of their usual quantity : some would be much bet-
ter without any hay ; and such of them as are much
inclined to eat their bedding, should have their setting
muzzles put on them. On the following morning each
horse should have a double-handful of mash given him;
and after each has eaten this poition, they should be
got ready and taken out to walking exercise, for a cou-
ple or three hours. By taking these precautions, — pre-
paring them with a mash or two the evening before,
and keeping them over night short of hay — the next
morning while at exercise, they empty themselves, and
their bowels become relaxed ; and when they return to
the stables, their physic should be immediately given
them ; and the following morning, it is more than pro-
bable, the whole of them will be found to purge in due
time, with a less quantity of aloes than was generally
given to such horses. The groom may add half a
drachm or even a drachm of aloes to the quantity to be
given to such horse as he is of opinion may be more
difficult to purge than the rest; and he may keep him

ON PHYSIC. 1 !:>

out a little longer than usual at walking exercise, so
that he may be more empty when he comes in; and
instead of giving him the whole dose of physic at one
time, let the ball be divided ; — give one half immediate-
ly on his coming into the stable, and the other half at
six o'clock in the evening. This method of giving the
physic, with the strength of it a little increased, will
be found to answer the purpose of purging almost any
horse. The quantity of Barbadoes aloes used in each
dose of physic for craving horses, prepared as I have
here directed, should average from five to seven drachms.
It was usual to give ten drachms to these horses, and
the same portion was sometimes given to lusty ciaving
colts ; but there is risk in giving this quantity to horses
thus prepared. When a groom has not a thorough
knowledge of a horse's constitution, it would be advisa-
ble for him first to make trial of one or the other of
the first mentioned portions of aloes, in preference to
administering either of the two last, to a horse which
he may not have physicked before. There is another
method practised by training grooms in the purging of
their horses, with a view not only to get the medicine
to operate on horses difficult to purge, but also with a
view to lighten them of their superfluous flesh ; and as
it was one by which they almost invariably succeeded,
I have no doubt that many occasionally adhere to this
old practice, when they find horses putting up flesh so
very rapidly as some of them will do notwithstan-
ding the strong work which is generally given
them.

144 ON PHYSIC.

A groom, finding it difficult, by the means generally
adopted, to keep such a horse in proper form, to come
a long length at a racing pace, gives him a dose of
physic on the morning he sweats, in order to lighten
him of his flesh, as well as to take the staleness out of
him which the work has occasioned.

It is customary over night or very early in the
morning, to set this sort of horse for his sweat, and in
the morning he is clothed up, and goes over the sweat-
ing ground, for the length and at the pace the groom
directs. The horse, after being pulled up, is brought
in and turned round in the stall, and the customary
portion of clothing is then thrown on him, which occa-
sions the horse to discharge most profusely through the^
pores of his skin for ten minutes, or a quarter of an
hour. He is afterwards scraped, dressed, and clothed
up, by which time his respiration and pulse have be-
come tranquil. His physic is now given him, and he
is then sent out to take the usual gallop, whic h it is
customary for horses to take after sweating. This
gallop, I shall by and bye endeavour to prove, may,
in some instances, be advantageously dispensed with.
The horse, after taking his gallop, is brought into the
stable, is well dressed, comfortably clothed, and treated
as is usual on such occasions ; but from the length of
time he has been set, and from the profuse manner in
which he has been sweated, he is very anxious for his
food and water, both of which are given him as di-
rected by the groom; but as he is generally inclined
to take more freely of the latter than the former, it

ON PHYSIC. 145

promotes the operation of the medicine ; and a light
dose of physic, of six or seven drachms, given to a
horse thus prepared, seldom or ever fails in purging
hmi freely the following morning, when he may be
walked out, and treated as circumstances may require.
Now, although this method of physicking horses may
appear to many of my readers as rather resorting to
strong measures to get the medicine to act, yet, if the
physic is not giv^en too strong, no danger is to be ap-
prehended. But notwithstanding this, there is an ob-
jection to this mode of physicking a horse; for by
producing two such formidable evacuations, imme-
diately following each other, I have known them car-
ried to such an extent, as now and then materially to
affect the constitution. It is true the groom has ob-
tained his point. By setting, sweating, and physick-
ing, he has brought the horse very light; but from such
treatment, (more particularly should the physic have
been given a little too strong), a horse becomes too
much debilitated ; and were not such horses hearty
feeders, they would be a long time recovering their
fornier strength : I should therefore recommend grooms
not to have recourse to this mode of physicking horses
oftener than they can possibly avoid. "*'

Having thus spoken of the necessity there is of
giving physic to craving strong horses, I shall now
proceed to point out the advantages obtained from the
effects it produces on the constitutions of such horses.

A horse of the above description may have a dose
of physic given him a short period before he runs; it

L

140 ON PHYSIC.

may be gi\'en in place of his sweat. If it appears
that he has become stale, from the work he has been
doing, only observe to let him have the brushing gal-
lop, usual on the morning previous to his sweat ; and
if the time be judiciously chosen by the groom who
trains him, the horse will derive great benefit from the
operation of it ; for, from the stimulating effects of the
physic in promoting the various secretions of the sto-
mach, intestines, and the different glands of the body,
and from its also increasing, by the aid of exercise,
the peristaltic motion of the bowels, the whole mass of
those fluids become so rapidly removed by evacuation,
as to cause very considerable absorption to take place
throughout the whole system. From this circumstance,
some little debility will, of course, arise ; but, as the
horse is of a strong constitution, and is invariably a
good feeder, he soon recovers from the weakness re-
sulting from the operation of the medicine. His
general habit of body, as well as his legs, will have
become much cooled and refreshed ; indeed, it will be
perceived very shortly after the physic has begun to
work, that the horse's legs have become clean, cool, and
in shape ; and, to a certain extent, he is, both inside
and out, lightened of his flesh. In those two instances,
the physic will, with the exception of two points —
length and wind, — have produced the same advantages
as a sweat would have done ; and if the horse is after-
wards allowed a sufficient time to be at walking exer-
cise, merely for him to recover his appetite, he soon
becomes invigorated. The change produced on the

ON PHYSIC. 147

horse's constitution from the effects of the medicine,
will have improved him in a most extraordinary way.
This will, in a very short time, be perceptible in his
fresh and hearty appearance when at exercise. If the
groom do but regulate the horse's work properly, dur-
ing the interval of time between the setting of the
physic and the day the horse has to run, there is no
doubt but that he will come to post in good form.

Having offered such observations on the preparing
of strong horses for their physic, and having also made
such precautionary remarks as to the quantity of aloes
to be administered to such horses, as I hope may, in
future, prevent grooms from falling into errors, I shall
now proceed to give directions on the physicking of
horses of a more delicate constitution. I allude to such
of them as have more speed, are more lengthy, and
are lighter in their carcasses. They generally run
short distances, require less work in training, and are
therefore much sooner got ready to run than craving
horses. Consequently, these light horses are not so
liable to become stale, either in their condition, or on
their legs ; and to a certain extent, many such horses
would be much better without physic. This being
the case, it is necessary that I should make some dis-
tinction between those which may at times require
physic, and those which may not require it ; and this
distinction I shall make, by dividing them into three
classes. The class of which I intend now to treat, may
be called the second class. I should term them (to
use the language of the groom) light-hearted horses.

L 2

148 ON PHYSIC.

This term is applied to such of them as are generally
hearty and playsome when out at exercise ; and as far
as regards their constitutions, they are horses which
may be considered to be in the medium between the
very craving horse and the light one. This ixiiddle
class of horses certainly require to have physic given
them, but they do not require it so strong, nor so re-
peatedly, as the first class of horses do, which have
been the principal subject of consideration in this
chapter. This second class of horses may be prepared
for their physic much the same as horses in common
use, by giving them two or three mashes the day pre-
vious, and at night, keeping them short of hay.

The quantity of aloes necessary to produce the de-
sired effect of purging these horses will certainly never
require to be increased beyond five or six drachms.
The same directions may be followed for their treat-
ment during the time that their physic is working off, as
is recommended for such horses in the preceding chapter.

I now proceed to the third class. These are horses
to which various terms are applied by grooms, to ex-
press the delicacy of their constitutions, dispositions,
or tempers. Some of them are termed " light and
weedy," meaning that they are lengthy and light
in their carcases; some of them are termed "nervous;"
others, " irritable ;" and some again are called "flighty."
These terms are certainly very applicable to many of
this class of horses. But it is to be supposed, that
our breed of race-horses has been much improved
within these last twenty years, as to strength of con-
stitution, or at least, that this ought to have been the

ON PHYSIC. 149

case, tlierefore there may not be quite so many of these
delicate horses in training now as formerly; yet as
there may be a few of tliem now and then put in
training, it is necessary that I should make a few re-
marks on the physicking of such horses. As they are
invariably very delicate horses, they are seldom or ever
engaged to run but in short races, consequently they
require but little work in training; and as there is not
much waste or spare to come off them, they are gene-
rally better without either sweating or physicking.
Grooms were formerly very much inclined to physic
all descriptions of horses placed under their care ; and
I myself was much addicted to this practice when a
groom. If grooms are still inclined to purge horses
of this description, I should advise its being done by
giving the horse small portions of aloes — say a drachm
morning and evening. A delicate horse will seldom
take more than three or four drachms at most, before
his bowels will have become affected. The medicine
should then be discontinued. There will be no neces-
sity for giving mashes to a horse, by way of preparing
him previously to administering small balls of aloes ;
and during the period of his taking them, he may go
to exercise every day. This will assist the action of
the medicine, which may, in that case, be given in a
less quantity. This is an advantage ; for the less medi-
cine such horses take, the better, provided they are in
health. When any groom is desirous of giving a second
or third course of these balls, he should observe, that
the same time should be allowed to the horse to recover

150 ON PHYSIC.

from a course of them, as from a moderate dose of
physic. But I cannot refrain from again remarking,
that such horses, unless labouring under disease, would
be far better without being purged. I have here no-
ticed the classing of horses, only with regard to their
constitutions, and how physic may be expected to ope-
rate on each horse, according to the quantity of aloes
given. The classification of horses in their work, will
depend on the age, shape, and make of each horse,
individually ; for it is the structure of animals which
principally constitutes their physical powers; and it is
from the different points, such as the length, the depths
and breadth of certain parts of a race-horse, that a
training groom is guided in his opinion, with regard
to the speed or stoutness of the different horses he is
beginning to train, and which particular points in race-
horses, I can better describe when I am on the subject
of training.

I hope it will be considered by my readers, that I
have been sufficiently explicit, as to the general prac-
tice of physicking race-horses, according as their diffe-
rent constitutions may vary. But as to all the various
precise periods of giving physic to different horses
when in training, or at other times on the road when
travelling, this part of the subject will be fully ex-
plained in its proper place.

I shall here give a list of medicines ; and a table of
the weights and measures used in the compounding of
them. I shall also mention such apparatus as are ne-
cessary thereto ; as well as such other things as may

ON PHYSIC.

151

be requisite for administering or applying them. The
whole of these different medicines, and tlic other arti-
cles, are to be kept in the groom's private saddle-room.

MEDICINES.

Aloes, Barbadoes

Alum

Arrow Root

Basilicon, yellow

Camphor

Castile Soap

Ginger Powder

Goulard's Extract

Honey

Hog's Lard

Linseed Meal

Nitre

Oil of Carraway

Oil, Castor

Oil of Cloves

Oil of Olives

Oil of Origanum

Oil of Rosemary

Prepared Ammonia

Resin

Sal ammoniac

Spanish Flies

Sweet Spirit of Nitre

Spirit of Turpentine

Spirit of Wine~"' "

Salt, common

Soft Soap

Tar, Barbadoes

Tartar Emetic

Tincture of Myrrh

Treacle

Venus Turpentine

Vinegar

Vitriol, Blue

Vitriol, White

Verdigris

Wax

White Lead.

APOTHECARIES' WEIGHT.

Twenty Grains — One Scruple j Three Scruples — One Drachm
Eight Drachms — One Ounce | Twelve Ounces — One Pound

MEASURE OF FLUIDS.

Sixty Drops One Fluid Dram

Eight Fluid Drams One Fluid Ounce

Four Fluid Ounces A Measure or Noggin

Sixteen Fluid Ounces One Fluid Pint

Eight Fluid Pints - - One Gallon.

APPARATUS FOR COMPOUNDING MEDICINES.
A Box of small WEIGHTS and SCALES,
For the weighing of Medicine in small portions, as from a grain
to two drachms. The weights marked with English characters.

152 ON PHYSIC.

One Pair of Two-mince Scales — One pair of Pound Scales — One
Pound of Brass Box Weights.

A GRADUATED GLASS,

For the measure of Fluids — marked with Enghsh characters.

One Large and one Small Pestle and Mortar.

One Marble Slab, afoot and a half square, for mixing Ointments,

One Large and one Small Ladle.

One Large and one Small Pallet Knife.

ARTICLES NECESSARY TO BE KEPT FOR ADMINIS-
TERING AND APPLYING MEDICINES.

Improved Ball Iron.

Drenching Horn.

Flamiel for the applying of Fomentations and Poultices.

Woollen and Linen Bandages. •

Toiv, and broad coarse Tape.

A Cradle is sometimes wanted to be put on a horse's neck, wheB
his head is first let down after being blistered, more particularly if
the horse is turned into a loose box.

INSTRUMENTS.

Fleam and Blood Stick.

Tooth Rasp, with a Guard.

Seaton, and curved Needles.

Abscess Lancet,

Improved Docking Machine.

Firing, Searing, and Budding Irons,

Improved Casting Hobbles.

It is necessary sometimes to twitch some horses to make them
stand quiet ; but this sort of thing should be dispensed with when
possible, as there is a great deal to be done with horses by gentle
usa&e.

ON PHYSIC. 153

The instruments here set forth are to be had of Mr.
Long, Veterinary -instrument Maker to his Majesty,
the Veterinary College, and the Army, 217, High
Holborn.

The foregoing is a list of such medicines, instruments,
&c. as I think are necessary at all times to be kept on
the premises of a large racing establishment, for the
immediate relief of any of the horses that may fall
amiss. They are generally such as are used by expe-
rienced training grooms, who themselves bleed and
physic all horses entrusted to their care, as often as
they conceive it necessary in assisting in the getting of
such horses into condition. They also make use of
their own external applications — as ointments, lotions,
with bandages ; fomentations, or poultices^ which they
apply to their horses' legs whenever they may have
become amiss from strong work, or to their heels when
cracked by sudden work or travelling. Such compo-
sitions as are here mentioned, these men generally
make up themselves, and from practice in this way,
they become acquainted with the due proportions of
these medicines, both in their original and compounded
state.

But to keep their memories refreshed, and thereby
prevent. them from falling into error, I should strongly
recommend to them the second volume of a work pub-
lished by Mr. White, Veterinary Surgeon, of Exeter.
It is entitled the "Veterinary Materia Medica,"
and is a ver}^ useful book. I further recommend to
the owners of horses, to training, hunting, and more

154 ON PHYSIC.

particularly to saddle-horse grooms, that in case of any
horse falling constitutionally amiss with any active
disease, or being otherwise seriously injured by mecha-
nical injury, to call in immediately to the aid of such
horse, an experienced Veterinary Surgeon ; for, as a
training groom far surpasses in knowledge a saddle-
horse groom, with regard to the condition of horses, —
so does the Veterinary Surgeon, by long practice,
surpass the training groom in the knowledge and treat-
ment of any cases of serious constitutional or local
disease.

CHAPTER IX.

ON CLOTHING, ETC.

Various are the sorts of clothes, and various are
the purposes for which they are used, about a race-
horse ; but one very principal use of them in the
training of horses, is to lighten those of strong consti-
tutions of their flesh, without injuring their legs ; and
this they do most effectually, if they are sufficiently
and properly applied on their sweating days. To shew
that they are not to be dispensed with, let us, for ex-
ample, suppose a craving, lusty horse to be put into
training, and that he is to work without clothes. The
groom, with a view to have the horse light, must get
what is commonly called the waste and spare off him,
or the horse cannot possibly run his length at a racing
pace ; therefore, to attain the point of getting such a
horse clean in his muscle without the application of
clothes, the groom must give him not only very strong
gallops, but he would be obliged to sweat him often at
very long lengths ; at least, twice the distance he would

156 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

have to go in clothes ; and even then, should the morn-
ing be cool, the horse would most likely sweat but
little. He would, consequently, be but triflingly
lightened of his flesh. This is not the only inconve-
nience ; the length and pace being so often got into
him, perhaps on hard ground, his legs and feet, from
the weight of his body, together with that of his rider,
would soon become so seriously injured as to occasion
his work being stopped. Nor could physic be given
to such a horse often enough, to assist in lightening
him of his flesh, without too much debilitating his
constitution. In short, such a horse as I have here
described, could not be brought into racing form v\dth-
out the use of clothes. There are some very light
delicate horses which may be trained without either
physic or clothes. These are such as are naturally
light in themselves, are of good speed, and seldom
engaged but in short distances.

As well as describing the clothes which are used for
the purpose of training race horses, I shall also give a
brief description how every other article in the saddlery
line, which may be in use either in the stables or about
the horses, should be made. For unless a saddler is
constantly in the habit of working for a race-horse
stable, he would not know how to make many of the
things which training grooms have to make use of in
the practice of their profession.

The clothes used for race-horses when in training,
are in different suits. They are made of different
kinds of stuff, are divided into different parts, and are

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 157

called by the following names : — hood, sheet, quarter-
piece, breast-cloth, pad-cloth, and fillet-cloth, with
rollers to secure them ; these form a complete suit of
clothes. They are bound round the edges widi any
sort of fancy-coloured binding the owner may make
choice of. But the last mentioned cloth, which is
made of white swan's skin, I believe is now out of use
in most stables, the hood answering every purpose of
this cloth, which was formerly used to throw over the
horse's loins while feeding, after his being dressed ;
and it was sometimes used next to the horse's skin,
under other clothes, after sweating. But I shall de-
scribe a cloth much better adapted for this purpose.

Of the different sorts of clothes, those w^hich are
used on the most common occasions, should be made
of rather a thin light sort of kersey check. The check
which is made use of for gentlemen's hunters and
saddle horses, is much too thick and too heavy.
Clothes made of this check are not long in use with
race-horses before they become stiff and hard from the
sweat getting into them ; and if in this state they
should be used next the horse's skin, they w^ould (un-
less kept soft by being often washed) be very apt to
chafe a thin-skinned horse, when in work. A race-
horse's clothes should be soft and light ; and to obtain
the necessary warmth, they should be increased in
number as occasion may require. The hoods, breast-
cloths, and sheets are made for race-horses as for most
others, but the quarter-pieces should not be made so
deep as for hunters ; for when it is necessary to cover

158 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

the belly of a race-horse, either when he is sweating or
in physic, a body-sweater or sheet may be used for the
purpose. But these quarter-pieces should be longer
than those used for horses in common. They should
reach back within a hand's breadth of the top of the
horse's tail, and come well forward over his withers
and shoulders. And it would be well to substitute a
softer material for the leather, which is mostly placed
on this part of the quarter-piece, to give a firm hold to
the straps which secure the breast-cloth ; or if it be of
leather, I think that of which the seats of saddles are
made is to be preferred ; boys' knuckles would then be
less liable to be chafed when riding hard pulling
horses. Inside of the sheets and quarter-pieces, there
should be Igops to attach the quarter-strings to, to
prevent the clothes from blowing up at exercise when
the wind is high ; but when the horses are in the
stable, and working off their physic, they should be
taken off; and so they should also with mares. Or,
instead of these quarter-strings to keep the clothes
down when the horses are out on a windy day, I think
that loops on each side the centre and back part of the
quarter-piece and sheet would be more convenient, so
that a piece of binding might be attached to these
loops, in the way of cruppers, with such horses as
would bear it.

The clothes next to be described are those which are
termed the sweaters. They are made of white woollen
stuff called swan's skin. The hood is to be made
without ears, and this for the convenience of putting

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 150

On other hoods o\er it. And it is to be observed,
whenever there is occasion to use more hoods than one,
that the last is the only one that should have ears
to it.

The next cloth used for a horse to sw^eat in is called
a body-sweater. It should be made sufficiently long,
so as to reach from the top of the horse's tail up to very
near his ears ; and it should be sufficiently deep at this
part so as to lap round the neck, and cover the shoul-
ders. That part of the cloth which comes sloping off
from the horse's flanks must be made long enough to
lap well over under the horse's belly ; for this purpose,
the centre part of it should be nearly two yards and a
half long. This cloth, properly made, resembles in
form a common sheet, only that it is much fuller in
every part, so as to cover the horse all over, his head,
ears, and legs excepted.

The next cloth used in sweating is called a breast-
sweater. It should be made full three yards in length,
and three quarters of a yard in breadth. In the mid-
dle part of it, there should be a mark made by sewing
on a piece of stuff of a different colour, that its centre
may be easily perceived. This saves time and trouble
in putting it on. This is the last cloth put on the
horse when he is going to sweat, and it is a very
useful one. Indeed it cannot well be done without,
as it keeps all the other clothes down and in place,
and prevents the admission of air to the surface of the
horse's body when he is going rapidly along. In
addition to these sweating clothes, there are others

160 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

used with them, such as lengthy blanket-like sort of
quarter-pieces, or thick woollen blankets, with a com-
mon checkered quarter-piece on the top. But when a
horse has to sweat, four, five, or six times, doubly
clothed, the additional clothes then made use of, are
the old checkered clothes which have become so much
worn as not to be thought good enough for the horse
to wear in the stables by day, or to go out in to the
morning or evening exercise. These old clothes are
put in repair in the wintei", before the horses go into
regular training, and the leather and straps should be
taken off the withers of the clothes. There is no
occasion for leather about any part of the clothes a
horse has to sweat in ; and whenever they become stiff
and hard from repeated use, they should be washed
and perfectly dried ; they may then be rolled up with
the scrapers* in them, and put in a dry cupboard,
in the common saddle room.

There are other suits of woollen clothes, which are
made of white serge. They are for the horses to
wear in summer, when it may be too hot for them to
wear the thick clothes. On such occasions, these white

* Scrapers are wooden instruments, used for the purpose of
scraping' the horse after sweating, They are from 18 to 20 inches
in length, in breadth from two and a half to three inches, and made
round at the ends. The back part of them is about three eights of
an inch in thickness, and rounded. From this back part, they are
sloped off to the front edge, which should be smoothly rounded, of
a substance to give sufficient strength to the edge to stand the
scraping of the sweat oft' the horse's body. Scrapers are made of
elder, box, oak, ash or beech.

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 161

serge clothes are very useful. There are also suits
of white linen or calico clothes ; these are mostly used
in the hot months of July and August, for the horses
to go to exercise in the evening. They are very pro-
per for light delicate flighty horses, which are easily
alarmed and are often breaking out in sweats, and, in
some measure, they prevent the flies from annoying
tlie horses ; they are convenient on running days for
some horses to walk to the course in. There should
be with each suit of clothes a linen and a flannel
rubber.

It sometimes happens, that a horse bites and tears
his clothes in the stables ; any horse doing this sort of
thing, should have a quarter-piece made of horse hair,
to stand in the stable with. It should be lined inside
so as to prevent the hair from irritating his skin. It
should be made to answer the purpose of a breast
cloth, by its being allowed to come well forward ;
there should be a buckle and strap in front, to keep it
in its proper situation round the chest. When this does
not answer the purpose, a cradle, properly made,
is sometimes used, or what may answer the purpose as
well, a strong stick secured at one end of the horse's
collar, at the other end to the roller. These are all
the clothes which are necessary to be used in the
training of race-horses ; and how they are to be made
use of, for different horses, either in or out of the
stables, I shall fully explain when on the subject of
training race-horses.

Whether boots are considered as a part of a race-

M

162 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

horse's clothing is quite immaterial. As they cannot
be trained safely without them, I shall here speak of
their use, and describe how they are to be made. They
are to be worn at all times when the horses are at
exercise, and are, of course, for the purpose of pre-
venting them from injuring their legs; but more par-
ticularly when in strong work, by warding off the
blows they are apt to give themselves with their feet
in changing their legs, from being sometimes over
exerted in their sweats. Some horses strike the
fetlock joint; others strike between the fetlock joint
and the knee; and there are some few which will
at times strike very close under the knee, which is
termed " speedy cutting." The consequence of this
would be, if they had not boots on, that their legs
would become swollen, and highly inflamed ; and
as they would thence become lame, their work must
necessarily be stopped. However good and true a
goer a horse may be, it is highly improper that he
should go into strong work without boots, or indeed to
any sort of exercise, until his action is well known ;
not even to walk to the course to run, if it is a long
distance, should a horse go without boots. In fact,
there can be no objection to their wearing them at all
times when out, unless it is when they are im-
mediately coming up to the post to start ; they are
then to be taken off. Boots are on some occasions
useful on horses' legs, when they are in the stable ;
but this is with such of them only as are apt, when
being dressed, to throw their legs very much about in

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 163

tlie stall ; and from this habit, they will sometimes
give themselves blow^s on their legs. With horses
which do this sort of thing, and which may not have
been accustomed to fetters, it may be the safer way to
let their boots remain on after they come in from
exercise, until they are dressed and clothed up. A
trainer cannot be too careful of his horses' legs, but
more particularly of the legs of such horses as require
strong work.

Now, accordingly as horses strike themselves from
the fetlock joint to the knee, so should the length of
the boots be regulated, and their size must be accord-
ing to the size of the horse's leg. They should be
made of the same stuff as their woollen clothes. Some
boots may be made so short that two buckles are
sufficient to secure them on ; others require three
buckles, and some few may require four. This must
naturally depend on how high up different horses may
strike themselves ; at the bottom and front part they
should be hollowed out, to give freedom to the action
of the fetlock joint, and also to prevent friction in
that part. The edges of the boots on the outside of
the leg should be made to lap over about an inch,
to relieve the pressure of the buckles. Some boots are
made to tie with strings ; this is a matter of choice ;
I think the first mentioned security by far the best.
They should be lined inside with white serge or linen ;
and that part of the boot which goes up the inside
of the leg, should be padded, and the outside of
the same part should be covered with leather, such

M 2

164 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

as the seats of saddles are made of. Horses that

are tolerably even goers, and are not much in the

habit of changing their legs, or striking themselves,

may not require the boots to be made so very thick on

the inside. The edge of the boot may be bound with

the same sort of binding as the horse's clothes. That

part of a long boot, which is placed on the inside

of the horse's leg, should be shaped from its buckling

part on the outside, to a sort of oval at the top and

bottom on the inside ; that is, it should be made

to protect the inside of the leg, if necessary, from the

fetlock to the knee, but with as little incumbrance on

the outside as possible. There will be but few instances

in which a boot will require more than three buckles.

But there is one thing which all boots require, and

that is care. As the boots of race-horses are so

constantly in use, too much attention cannot be paid \

to their being kept clean and soft; if wet when

taken off, they should be well dried, rubbed and

brushed.

It is far the safest to travel race-horses in knee-caps,
which have low action, going carelessly and near the
ground ; and although knee-caps have been so long in
use, I have seldom seen any which were well made.
If they are properly made, there is no occasion for the
long strap which is sometimes placed over the horse's
withers, so as to reach sufficiently low down on each
side of the horse's leg to be attached to each knee-cap,
for the purpose of keeping them up. If they are made |

and put on as I shall here direct, they will not only

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 165

keep well up, but horses may travel very comfortably
in them. The size of the piece of check kersey of
whicli a knee-cap is made, should be seventeen inches
by twelve, and the longer length is that which is to go
round the bottom part of the fore-arm, immediately
above the knee. There should be two pieces of about
two inches, and of a triangular shape, cut out of the
centre of the top and bottom edge, and those edges
from which the pieces were cut are to be sewn together,
so as to make the centre of the knee-cap perfectly hol-
low, which will give all the liberty necessary to the
action of the horse's knee when on. This hollow part
on the inside of the knee-cap should be lined with a
piece of white serge, and between the lining and the
knee-cap, there should- be a little stuffing; but I see
no necessity for covering the outside of this part of
the knee-cap with leather. The edge at the top part
of the knee-cap should be turned down outside, for
the breadth of an inch, and either before or after it is
sewn, there should be a little stuffing put in here, to
form a pad round the top, and the surface of this pad
should be lined with a strip of soft shammy or doe-
skin. The upper strap and buckle, used for securing
the knee-cap, should be placed outside at each end, a
little below the centre of the padding. The strap and
buckle is sometimes sewn on all round the padding.
This should not be, as by its pressure it would do
away with the little elasticity the padding might other-
wise possess. A buckle and strap, must, of course, be
attached to the lower part of the knee-cap. When

16() ON CLOTHING, ETC.

knee-caps are to be used, such as I have here given a
description of, will, I think, be found to answer the
purpose. In putting them on, the upper buckle and
strap should be sufficiently tightened to keep the boot
from passing over the joint of the knee, nor does it re-
quire to be drawn very tight to answer this purpose, if
the buckle and strap below be left quite slack, so that
the horse's action does not produce any strain what-
ever on the upper knee-cap. Knee-caps being used
for travelling, are, like boots, exposed to wet and dirt ;
therefore, after they are taken off, they should be dried,
brushed, and made soft.

The things which are next made use of about the
fore legs of such horses as may require them, are fet-
ters. They are made similar to couples which are
used for the coupling of dogs together ; the chain
should be from ten to twelve inches in length, with an
inch and a quarter triangular link at each end. The
straps which are to go round the pastern of the horse's
leg is to be seventeen inches in length, and an inch and
a quarter in breadth. Along the inside, from where the
buckle is put on, those straps should be lined for the
space of eleven inches with check kersey, or soft lea-
ther. Whichever lining may be used, should be of a
a sufficient width to turn down over the edges of the
strap, to prevent friction.

Their use is to prevent horses from knocking their
beds about, and also to prevent them from throwing
their legs about at the time of their being dressed.
With such horses as have contracted this habit, thev

ON CLOTHING, ETC 167

should be worn at all times in the stable. They should
also be put on such young ones as are inclined to those
habits on their first being brought from their paddocks
to the stables.

The common Dutch collars used for tying up
the horses in the stables are as convenient as any
others; but for a horse which is in the habit of
getting himself loose by rubbing his collar off, it is
necessary to have a neck strap. There should be a
loop or runner on each cheek or side of the collar, for
the strap of the setting muzzle to pass through, to
keep the muzzle on, and more firmly fixed in its situ-
ation. It is safer, and much more convenient, than
tying a piece of string or tape round these parts of the
muzzle and collar, as was formerly the practice with
training grooms on such occasions. The rein of the
collar should be made to buckle on to it, and not to be
sewed. A dressing muzzle should be made of stout
neat's leather ; the bars or broad straps of this muzzle
ought to be in length from seventeen to eighteen inches;
in breadth, they should be from two and a half to three
inches. These straps should be lined with sheet iron,
crossed in the centre, and there rivetted together. The
strap which goes round and forms the top part of the
muzzle should be of the breadth of the two first men-
tioned, but in length it should be two feet four. The
strap for securing the muzzle when on the horse's head
should be in length three feet six, and the strap for the
buckle on the opposite side, should not be more than
two inches in length.

168 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

This is a stout and weighty muzzle, but it is a use-
ful one to keep in the home stables. A muzzle on this
principal may be made lighter, for the purpose of being
taken with a horse when he is travelling, and if it were
lined throughout with tin, (and the sheet iron omiitted,)
and holes punched in the tin, it might serve as a set-
ting muzzle; in which case there would be no occasion
to take more than the one muzzle, unless with a very
troublesome and vicious horse.

This muzzle should be put on all race-horses at the
time of their being dressed. One principal use of it, is
to prevent any horse which may be so inclined, from
biting the boy when cleaning him. But unless the
the groom orders it to be done, boys who look after
quiet horses, merely chain up their heads, and are apt
to neglect putting on the dressing muzzle. This neg-
lect should never be countenanced ; for a dressing
muzzle is veiy useful for all horses, either quiet or
otherwise, as thorough-bred horses are more or less in-
clined, when being dressed, to gnaw and bite at the
cribbing board. When they come in from morning or
evening exercise, most of them have to stand for some
time after being dressed, before they are fed, and when-
ever they have to stand in this way, they should stand
with their heads up and with their muzzles on, those
excepted which are very delicate.

Thorough-bred horses, when standing without any
thing before them to eat, are very apt to lick the stall
and manger rails. If they get much into the habit of
doing the latter, some of them become crib-biters; now,

ON Cl.OTHING, ETC. 169

if they have dressing .muzzles on, they cannot do this
sort of thing. Another advantage attending their being
on at proper times, is, that horses generally become
more reconciled to that in which they have to stand
when they are being set.

A setting muzzle should be of stout leather. From
within about three inches of the upper part, there are
rows of holes about three quarters of an inch in dia-
meter, and two inches apart. As well as these holes
being continued to the lower edge of the muzzle, others
are similarly punched in the bottom part of it. The
strap for securing the muzzle on the horse's head should
be three feet six inches in length. Being of this length,
it can readily be passed through the runners or loops
which I have advised being placed on each side of a race-
horse's collar, so that the horse cannot possibly get the
muzzle off. The nearer the. buckle on the opposite side
is to the edge of the muzzle, the better.

I will now make some few remarks on the different
reins, which are at times used for various purposes,

A leading rein is made similar to that which a post-
boy, when driving, makes use for the off-side horse,
and is buckled on a race-horse's bit in the same manner.
The use of this rein is to lead a horse to the course, I
mean, such a one as, when he is in his best form, is in-
clined to be riotous there, and he will more particularly
require to have this rein on if he has to cross the downs
alone for a long distance before he comes to the course ;
and it is also adviseable with such a horse, to put the
boy up who looks after him to ride him to the course.

170 ON CLOTHING, ETC. '

as well as lo have a boy with some powei- to lead him
to it ; and if there be more than one road to the race-
ground, he should be taken by that on which he is
likely to meet the least annoyance.

A martingal rein is made with buckles and billets at
each end, but it does not require to be so broad as the
snaffle rein which is sewn to the bit, under which this
martingal rein is attachM; and close up to each buckle
and billet there should be sewn across the rein a piece
of stout narrow leather. It must be of sufficient sub-
stance, breadth, and length, to prevent the martingal-
reins from passing over those pieces of leather, and
thereby becoming fixed or entangled in the buckles of
the rings, which would so confine the horse's head in
his exercise or running, as to be very likely productive
of very serious consequences both to the horse and the
jockey. The martingal to be used with this rein is
made as all common martingals are, only that it should
be made light in proportion to the rein with which it is
to be used for such horses as get their heads a little out
of place either in exercise or running. The martingal
rein is usually knotted and left on the horse's neck
until the rider finds he has occasion to take it up, when
by a gentle pull with it, he brings the horse's head in
place. There is another description of running martin-
gal, or martingal-reins, which are made in the follow-
ing manner, the leather at the bottom part, or end, must
be an inch and a half in breadth. When used, the end,
like that of the common martingal, is attached to the
girths of the saddle. From the girths, this part of the

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 171

martingal passes forward between the horse's fore legs
to about the centre of his chest, where the leather of
the breadth above-mentioned terminates. To this point
should be attached the two running reins, and these be-
ing sufficiently long, are passed through each eye of
the bit, into the lider's hand. The ends are here se-
cured together by a small buckle.

There are other running-reins^ some of which are
attached to the girths under the flaps of the saddle.
This will depend on the different positions that colts,
in breaking, or horses in training or running, may be
inclined to get their heads into, or according as they
may be more or less disposed to pull at the rider.

The top or head part of a gag-rein is flat for about
eighteen inches. The edges of the rein should after
this space be sewn together, and made perfectly round
for nearly a foot on each side, so as to admit of this
working freely through the ring of the gag bit or
snaffle. From the round part, the rein is left flat for
the length of a common snaffle or bridle rein. These
reins are generally used by the boys when they are
riding young ones in their exercise, to keep up the
heads of such as are apt to pull and bore with their
heads too low or too close to the ground.

The reins I have here described, when applied to
such horses as may require them, are of infinite service.
They are to to enable the rider to get up a horse's head,
and to keep it in its proper place, which empoweis
him more easily to hold a horse as he may be going

172 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

along in either his gallop, sweat, or race, as well as
to pull him up at the conclusion of either of them.

And such reins are found very useful to the very
small boys, when riding young ones in their exercise,
or when those light weights are put up to ride horses
which may have delicate fore legs, (which is not a very
uncommon occurrence,) and which may require pretty
strong work. Although some such horses may pull
fair, and with their heads in a good place, yet they
may pull much too strong for small light boys to hold
them in their gallops and sweats. To have a horse of
this sort break away, and make too free with himself
in his work, would not be well, nor would it perhaps
answer to put a curb or a Pelham bridle on, to hold
such a horse with. Being rode in either of these, he
may get to bend his knees too much, go high and
clamber in his work, which would be a loss of time,
and an inexperienced groom would be very loth, on
account of his delicacy of the horse's legs, to put up a
lad of a size and power that could hold such a horse
in a plain snaffle, which is the sort of bridle he should
•be rode in. The groom, therefore, in order to have as
little weight as possible on the horse's legs, puts up a
small light boy to ride him, and to give this little boy
sufficient power to hold the horse, the groom orders
one of the reins above described to be put on, which
he thinks will answer the purpose ; at the same time,
giving the boy orders how he is to use the rein so as
to be enabled to hold or pull the horse up. The bits
generally used for race- horses to run in, vary according

ON ( LOTHING, ETC. 173

to cireunistances. Those which are the most fre-
quently used, are snaffles. These as well as other bits
for racing purposes, should be made of steel, and as light
as possible, that is, they should not be of more sub-
stance than is absolutely necessary to prevent them from
breaking when holding a hard pulling horse in his ex-
ercise or race. It is adviseable to have the cheeks of
these bits made larger than those of bits in common
use. They should be six inches and three quarters in
length. For in riding a hard pulling horse, on a small
round course, more particularly should he be inclined
to hang at his turns, the rider, by persevering with a
horse of this description at the turn, so as not to lay
out of his ground in making it, may pull the bit, should
the cheek of it be short, into the horse's mouth, from
which circumstance the horse would have the power
of laying a long way out of his ground, and would
perhaps run out of the course. A horse which is
known to be very difficult at his turns, or which
is likely to bolt, should be rode in a bit, the inside
of the cheek of which should be armed with prickers.

The eye of a racing snaffle should be made large.
It should be an inch and three quarters in the clear ;
for when a horse has to run in a martingal, it is neces-
sary to have two reins.

The next bit to be noticed is the Pelham. It should
be made equally light with the snaffle, except the
cheeks of it, which are to be sufficiently stout in pro-
portion to their length, and the eyes of this bit should

174 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

be made of the same size as those of the snaffle, for it
is at times necessary to use a martingal with this bit.

With the exception of the eyes to the cheek and
the joint in the mouth-piece, it is made as a curb bit.
The Pelham is a useful bit, and it answers the purposes
both of a cinb and a snaffle, with the advantage of the
horse's having only one bit in his mouth. It is much
lighter than curb bits in general use ; and this is on-
other advantage, for care should be taken not to have
more weight about the head or feet of a race-horse
when running, than can possibly be avoided. The
curb rein of this bit, as with the martingal-rein of the
snaffle, remains knotted on the hoi'se's neck until the
rider has occasion to use it when the horse is making
too free with the pace.

The next bit to be mentioned is the Chiffney bit.
This bit was invented by the celebrated jockey, Mr.
Samuel Chiffney, of Newmarket, who, in my juvenile
days, was principal rider to his present Majesty. I am
not aware of any improvement having been made in this
bit since it was first invented. It is made as any other
curb, with the exception of the top part of the cheeks.
Instead of an eye to each cheek for the head part of the
bridle to be fixed to, there are two curb hooks working
on a pivot on the inside, for each end of the curb chain
to be attached. There are also two pieces of steel
about two inches long, the lower end of each piece is
attached to the outside of the cheek of the bit, a little
above the mouth-piece, also working on a pivot, in the
same manner as the curb hooks, but rivetted on the

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 175

outside. The top part of these pieces has each an eye
to which the head part of the bridle is attached. These
pieces, thus placed, act upon the principle of a lever,
and with little strength it becomes a very severe bit.

Chiffney, in his book, observes that this bridle
is to enable the light weights to hold their horses from
running away, and to run to order in, and that is
best for all horses to run in. He particularly recom-
mends the use of it to ladies Mdio ride and drive, as
they not only excel in holding horses from running
away, but make horses "stop with more safety, ride
more pleasantly, and carriage handsomer."

I think it is a good bit for these last mentioned pur-
poses, and with a patient rider it is a good bridle to
hold horses that pull hard either in hunting or on the
road; for in pulling at horses of this description, if
you balk them of their stride, there is no great stake
lost by it. But I must observe, that the principal pur-
pose for which Chiffney intended this bit, was to
enable light weights, the most of whom are boys, to
hold horses in their running, and to ride to order. But
I think it a dangerous bridle for boys to be entrusted
with, to ride a race in. It is a sort of bridle, which,
to be properly used with the advantages pointed out
by Chiffney, requires an experienced jockey, as he was
himself, who has a cool, clear head, and a very light
hand ; two things which boys are seldom possessed of.

If a horse should make very free with himself in
running, a boy would be likely to use all his strength,
and by pulling too I'ashly at the horse with this bridle.

176 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

would most likely pull him out of his stride. The
disadvantage that would arise from this, will be de-
scribed by and bj^e. The different bridles and martin-
gals which best answer the purpose for different horses
to run in, are ascertained from the observations the
groom makes in the working of his horses, together
with the account the boys gives of the manner in
which each horse may go in his exercise.

As the weights vary for different horses to run under,
so must racing-saddles vary in their sizes and weights
for horses to run in, to enable the different jockeys to
get themselves down to the weights for which they are
engaged to ride, without debilitating themselves too
much by wasting.

Racing-saddles are therefore made to weigh from
two pounds to two stone ; but these weights may be
said to be the two extremes, as they are more fre-
quently from three pounds to twenty-one. A two-
pound saddle is seldom used unless when a horse is
engaged to run under a very light weight. All saddles
should be made of the very best materials; but this
being a very light saddle, it is necessary that every
part of it should be strictly attended to.

A three-pound saddle is in more frequent use than
the two-pound saddle, and if well made, it is sufficiently
strong for a jockey of from nine stone to nine stone
seven to ride in ; unless, from frequent use, it is al-
lowed to get out of repair, in which case, a stirrup
leather, or stirrup, or even the tree of the saddle, may
break, if the jockey from necessity (as when riding a

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 177

hard-pulling horse) should have to depend more on
his stirrups than is his usual custom,

A four-pound saddle is to be preferred to either of
the above when it can be used, as it can be made
stronger and larger, and gives more room to the rider.
The flaps of this saddle may have a little stuffing in
them before the knee.

A seven-pound saddle is also used for horses to run
in, and if well made, it is as convenient to ride in as
a stone saddle. Saddles of this weight are also the
proper ones for boys to ride in when exercising. The
stone saddle is the common sized saddle, and is also
occasionally used for horses to run in.

Racing men endeavour, and I think very properly,
to keep the secrets of their stables as much to them-
selves as they possibly can, as weight impedes the
action of a race-horse in running.

One way to enable them to do this in the trjdng of
their horses, is by the manner in which they have
their saddles made, for the weight of saddles is com-
monly judged of by their size.

The saddles kept in a racing establishment are made
to vary in weight from those in common use. In
making saddles to run and try in, the trees of them are
occasionally leaded by the tree maker or saddler, agree-
ably to the directions either may receive from his em-
ployer ; and a four- pound saddle in this way is made
to weigh seven pounds. A seven-pound saddle is
made to weigh a stone, and a stone saddle is made to
weigh twenty-one pounds, or sometimes two stone. If

N

178 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

these saddles are properly made, it is impossible to dis-
cover by the eye what weight they are.

These are mostly used for the horse to be tried in,
and they are also used for the King's plate weights for
horses to run in ; and the number of them necessary to
be kept, will depend on the extent of a racing estab-
lishment.

The web-girths, circingles, and stirrup-leathers for
racing saddles, should be made in breadth, size, and
substance, according to the weight of the saddle.

There is another way of making up the weights
for horses to run and try in, when the jockeys are too
light. This is done by fixing trusses on the seats of
the saddles, and also on the thighs of the jockey, and
they are sometimes made to go round his body ; but
when jockeys want but little to make up their weight,
small bags of shot, weighing a pound each, or a piece
of lead of the same weight, and bent to the form of
the thigh, are carried in the jockey's breeches pocket.

Trusses are made by the saddlers, of blue and white
striped bed-tick, (leather, I think, is preferable.) From
that part of the truss which covers the pummel of the
saddle, along the seat part which covers the cantle of
the saddle, it is sewn in straight lines, leaving a suffi-
cient space between the lines of about an inch and
three quarters, or two inches at farthest. These spaces
form what is usually called the pipes or truss into
which the shot is put, that is, when shot is made use
of to load them with. The under or back part of the
truss is generally made of leather, and fits over the

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 179

cantle of the saddle. The upper edge of the tick is
bound with leather ; there are holes to be made in this
and the lower part, which holes should be punched
small and close. At this cantle part of the truss the
shot is put in, and to prevent its escaping, these two
edges are brought together by a strong leather lace.
I do not approve of this plan, as, from a truss which
has been long in use, and which has no other security
than this lace, the shot may partly escape, from the
pressure of the jockey and the concussion produced by
the stride of the horse in running ; the consequence of
which would be that the jockey would come in short
of vi^eight, which should not be allowed to happen.
I think the better and more secure way would be to
put the shot in at the pummel ; or perhaps, that which
may be preferable to either, would be to have some
canvass bags made, rather smaller than the pipes of the
truss ; fill these bags with the shot, and sew up the
ends. They may then be put into the pipe of the
truss, and the truss at the cantle part may then be
sufficiently secured by the lace in the usual way.

This plan of making canvass bags will, I think, be
found to be the most convenient way of loading the
truss, as the training groom may now and then have
occasion to make use of this same truss, for a purpose
rather the reverse of that for which it was originally
intended. But of this matter, I shall speak more fully
when on the subject of trying the horses. To secure
the truss to the saddle, there should be firmly attached
to the former, four pieces of stout leather, with two holes

N 2

180 ON CLOTHING, ETC.

punched in each piece. These pieces of leather should be
placed one on each side of the broad part of the seat of
the trusSj and one on each side in front of the pummel
part of it. These pieces meet similar ones which are
attached to the saddle, and by the cantle part of the
truss being made to fit over this part of the saddle, the
truss is perfectly steady if secured with leather laces.

The weight of this sort of truss varies, as much de-
pends on the size of the saddle with which it is to be
used. It may be made to weigh from fourteen to twenty-
one pounds.

There are also thigh trusses ; these are for the pur-
pose of jockeys making up their weight, when the
weights they are going to ride do not run very high.
But that these trusses may not inconvenience the
jockey, they should not weigh more than six or eight
pounds, three or four pounds on each thigh. They
are made of the same materials, and upon much the
same principles, as those used on the saddles. They
should be made to fit round or bend to the front part
of the jockey's thighs. If they are well made, and
have straps properly attached to them, to go round the
thighs and body of the rider, so as to keep each truss
secure to the thigh, they are to be preferred to a saddle
truss of the same weight, or even to the seat of the
saddle being covered with lead ; as the weight, being
so carried, is not so dead on the horse's back, as it
would be were it placed on the seat of the saddle.
There are also body trusses ; they are of the same ma-
terials, and made in the form of a double shooting belt.

ON CLOTHING, ETC. 181

andare buckled on roiiiid the waist. These latter are
not often used, unless to make up with saddle and
tliigh trusses, the weigh of a light jockey who may be
going to ride for any of His Majesty's plates, or per-
haps for a Welter stakes. The articles mentioned in
this chapter, are generally made to the order of the
training groom, by the saddler who lives in the neigh-
bourhood of a racing establishment, and who is in the
habit of working for race-horse stables — as at New-
market, York, Doncaster, or Epsom. But when such
things are made in London, I believe the saddler prin-
cipally employed is Mr. Tate, in Upper Grosvenor-
street ; and bits and stirrups are generally procured
from Mr. Latchford, in Piccadilly.

^ CHAPTER X.

/

ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

The ground requisite for the purpose of training
race-horses, should, of course, be large open downs.
They can scarcely be too extensive ; for, as I shall by
and bye shew, there are horses of a certain description
which will require a great variety of ground to exercise
upon. Indeed, the greater the extent of ground for all
horses to work upon in training, the better, as it
becomes necessary when a certain portion of ground
has been repeatedly galloped over by the horses, to
change them to other parts, with a view to keep the
surface of the turf level and free from holes and small
sudden rises, more particularly so on a red clayey soil;
otherwise in wet weather, the horse would get too
much foot-hold on such ground. This induces many
of them to go high, and clamber in their work, which
is a loss of time to them. When it can be con-
veniently done, it is a good plan (at proper time) to
roll ground that has been much worked, so as to make

i

II JLIZZH^II.

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 183

the surface of it perfectly flat. Hard ground has cer-
tainly its inconveniences, I allow ; but as far as my
own observations have gone on this subject, it is not
the hardness of the ground which so frequently injures
the horse's legs, but it is the uneven surface of it,
that so often occasions horses to break down, as it
is termed, on their fore legs, — I mean, the sideland
uneven parts of ground, such as small mole hills, or
in crossing small cart ruts, which scarcely appear of
any consequence. Should a craving strong horse
going along in his sweat, loaded with sweaters, and
perhaps a pretty big boy up to get him along at
the pace, having a long way to come in his sweat,
and being a little weary — should such a horse under
these circumstances, put his foot on any such uneven
surface as I have described, he suddenly and un-
avoidably throws a very unequal portion of his weight
on the main tendon, or on some of the ligaments of the
leg or joint. This might so injure the leg of a horse of
a strong constitution, as to render him incapable
of undergoing the training necessary to bring him
to post in his proper form.

I remember some years ago a mare being ordered to
go over the sweating ground, merely to keep the
length in her. She had a light boy up, and nothing
upon her but a quarter-piece and hood ; the ground
at the time was in good order, that is to say, it was
rather soft than otherwise. The mare was easily held,
and went over the ground in her usual stride, at a fair
and even pace ; on pulling up, she was lame, both her

184 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

hind legs being badly strained. She was never
trained afterwards. All Hien conversant with horses,
know that it is no uncommon occurrence for them to
break down before, but this is the only instance I ever
knew of a horse breaking in both hind legs at one
time. Horses sometimes break their legs in running —
I have seen two or three instances of this, and on one
occasion I had an opportunity of ascertaining the
cause. The horses having come to the post to run,
they were started, and had not gone more than a
quarter of a mile before one fell and broke his leg.
The ground was in good order, but on examining that
part of it where tlie horse had fallen, it was clearly to
be seen, that the horse's toe had come in contact with
a small mole-hill, which had occasioned the accident.
Most training and running grounds with which I am
acquainted in the southern parts of England are very
hard. In the hot dry months of July and August,
such grounds produce great concussion and heat in
the feet of craving horses, which are mostly in strong
work ; and in proportion to the length and pace they
are obliged to go on such ground in their gallops and
sweats, many of them become more or less feeling in
their feet ; so much so that at last, the pace and length
cannot be got sufficiently well into them, so as to
bring them into their proper form. They are then
sold or put out of training ; and if their feet are much
injured from this sort of work, they are of little use
except for slow draught. The more training grounds
vary, as to hill and vale, the greater will be the variety

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 185

of hills for the horses occasionally to work upon, and
the greater also will be the* variety of soft and cool
bottoms for them to walk or gallop on in the evenings
during the heat of the summer.

The downs adjacent to the town of Newmarket, still
afford a variety of tiaining and running ground, and in
my juvenile days when an exercise boy here, they were
much more extensive ; but a great portion of the downs
on the left and right of the road, leading to Bourn-
bridge, has been enclosed for some years past. On the
west side of the town, to the right of the Cambridge
road, are the different courses, which are kept in excel-
lent order. There is also good ground here for the
horses that stand at this end of the town to take their
gallops on, along the flat by the side of the ditch, and
home up the Cambridge hill ; and over the flat the
whole of the horses can sweat, without injuring the
courses ; coming home round the turn of the lands on
the lower side of the B.C. to the King's rubbing house
to scrape. On the east side of the town is the Warren
hill. This is the principal training ground for the
horses that stand at this part of the town to take their
gallops on. In the valley at the bottom of this hill,
round the gorse, there was some good walking exercise
ground ; and there is also some adapted for a similar
purpose, on what is called the cricket ground, on the
left of the high road leading to Bury. From the valley
up the Warren hill, there is every description of gallop
to be had for the horses that is requisite, as the seve-
rity of each can be regulated by tlie length and pace.

186 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

The first gallop which I shall notice, I will, from its
situation, and by way of distinction, call the outside
gallop ; it passes up by the side of the road leading to
Bury. As the horses are approaching the top, they
are turned to the right towards the plantation, and here
they have tolerably good ground to pull up on. The
second gallop is similar to the first, but not quite so
long ; it passes up from the valley in about the centre
part of the ground, between the first-mentioned gallop
and where the little stone building called the King's
chair, used to stand. A certain portion of this ground
answers very well for the purpose of what is called
setting the horses on their legs, previous to their taking
the longer gallops. In the centre of the ground, or
what may be called King's-chair hill, are some very
good gallops up to the front of the plantation. Here,
after the horses are pulled up, is some tolerably good
ground for them to be at walking exercise, sheltered
by the fir trees from the easterly winds. There is ano-
ther good long gallop which can be had, commencing
in the valley by the gorse, and going on a short dis-
tance towards the south, and turning to the left, pro-
ceeding to the top of the hill, and leaving the planta-
tion on the left. There is afterwards a good run home.
The surface of the whole of the downs here being on
a chalky soil, may be said to be rather hard in the hot
summer months, which produces great concussion and
heat in the feet of such horses as are in strong work ;
but for the convenience of training, and running so
great a number of horses as are at all times standing

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 187

in and adjacent to Nevvniaiket, these downs, from their
extent and variety, may perhaps be said to be more
convenient than any we have in the south of England.

The principal public training grounds in the north of
England (in Yorkshire) are four, each of which I shall
here separately describe, as the advantages in favor of
the feet of horses that are in strong work, when work-
ing over the soft and elastic surfaces of these training
grounds, must, I think, be very considerable, when
compared with the hard, unyielding surface of the
grounds in the south.

Black Hamilton is the most extensive ground of
the four ; its surface is on a red clayey soil, in conse-
quence of which, it becomes very hard in dry weather,
and would very much injure the feet of horses, if it
were not that the turf is intermixed with a great deal
of moss, which gives to it great elasticity, and prevents
the concussion that would otherwise take place in the
feet of such horses as have long lengths to go in their
gallops and sweats. A small portion of this ground is
situated in front of Hamilton House stables, Low
Hamilton House, and the Blucher Inn stables. This
space of ground is walled in on the west, north, and
east, the south part lying open to the high road leading
from Thirsk to Helmsley. It is a very convenient
piece of ground for the horses to go to walking exercise
in winter, when the weather may be uncertain ; or for
them to walk or canter on in the hot summer evenings,
or at any time when strong work may not be necessary
for them.

188 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

The most extensive part of these mossy downs,
which forms the principal ground for the horses to
train upon, lays open to the west. Its Hmits in the
east are terminated by the walls of different enclosures.
The horses in going to this ground, have to pass
through a wicket (a large gate here would be prefer-
able, and much safer); the groom may then make
choice of his ground ; but immediately on the horses
passing through the wicket, if they turn to the left,
and walk for a quarter of a mile, they arrive at an
angle formed by other wall enclosures ; here, turning
again to the left, a good gallop can be had, finishing
with a gradual ascent to the Botley or round hills,
which is the extent of the ground in this direction.
This is a good gallop, and the pace being regulated
accordingly, a horse's pipes can be well opened here.
These downs are also sufficiently extensive to allow
plenty of room for long striding horses to sweat over,
without their experiencing any inconvenience, in turn-
ing, to put them out of their stride.

Langton Wolds is the next ground to notice.
These wolds are divided by the high road leading from
the town of Malton. On the left of the road is the
training ground, and on the right of it is the race-
course. The distance from the training stables to the
ground is a mile or better; if this space of grovmd
were a level piece of turf, there could be no very great
objection to the distance ; but instead of this, the
horses must mostly walk upon the high road in going
from the stables on the left of Malton, to the ground,

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 18U

and from the stables on tlie right of the high ioa(],
there are three or four gates to be opened for the horses
to pass through : besides which, they have to ascend a
steep hill, previous to their getting on the training
ground. When they do get to it, it is certainly good,
being well diversified as to hill and vale. It is prin-
cipally covered with short heather, intermixed with
some moss, which gives to its surface great elasticity,
so that there can be but little or no concussion in the
feet of horses which are here in training. This
ground is sufficiently extensive for training any rea-
sonable number of horses. As the horses come to it,
they walk from the high road down the vale, turning
to the right, between Highfields and the Grimstone
hills. There are some good short gallops up these
hills, finishing at the top near the quickset hedge.
These gallops answer very well to set the horses on
their legs, before they take the long ones. As the
horses walk back down the hills into the vale at the
bottom, near to the gate leading to Settrington, they
can, by commencing here, and keeping on the edge
or side of the heather, leaving the Grimstone hills on
the left, and high fields on the right, have a good long
gallop up to the top of the hill near the road where
they are pulled up. In this same direction is a good
green gallop, which the horses can occasionally go on
in winter, or at any time that it is in good order. There
is also plenty of room on this ground for the horses to
sweat, pulling up within a short distance of the rub-
bing house ; or for any such horses as may be going

100 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

to run at Malton, they can take the last sweat or two
ov er it, with a view to give them a knowledge of the
course, provided that the ground is not too hard.
Stables and water upon these wolds would be of great
advantage to them ; for the want of both of these, the
horses, after taking their gallops, have to cross the road
down the hill, going a short distance along the .vale to
water; they then return to the bottom of the hill, lead-
ing up to the race-ground. The hill being very steep,
they canter gently up it after their water, leaving the
rubbing house to the left, and pull up by the side of
the course. All inconveniences of this kind would be
avoided were there stables and water on the ground.

MiDDLEHAM MooRS (for there are two) is the third
training ground. Tlie lower moor lies adjacent to the
town and stables ; it is a convenient piece of ground
for the horses to exercise on in winter ; or indeed they
may in summer take short gallops : but thei*e is too
much sideland ground, with too many ascents and de-
scents on this lower moor for long striding horses to go
here, either in their gallops or sweats, at a telling pace.
The upper mobr, although the smallest, affords by far
the best, and indeed very good galloping ground, but the
sweating ground here is rather too confined. Long
striding horses, sweating here, are almost constantly
turning, as it is not more than a mile, or at the farthest,
a mile and a quarter round ; yet this piece of ground,
might, with a little expense, be made sufficiently ex-
tensive for horses of every description to sweat over, at
a good sweating pace. If this were done, these moors

ON TRAIiNING (iROUNDS. 191

would be much more complete for the purpose of train-
ing horses ; as on the surface of the upper moor, there
is a great deal of long bent sort of grass intermixed
with moss, which makes it very soft to the horses'
feet.

The Whitclift Moors, on which the horses are
trained, are about two miles from the town of Rich-
mond. The high moor is the training ground; the
lower moor is the race-ground, and is within a mile
of the town. The former has been much more exten-
sive than it is at present. That portion of it which
now remains as a public training ground, is about a
mile long, and not more than a quarter wide, fenced in
by a wall. The surface of this moor is similar to that
of others in the same county, which have been already
described ; that is, there is a great deal of long bent
grass, short heather, and moss. This ground admits
of a tolerably good hill gallop ; and the horses may
take gentle sweats here. But to get the length into
horses at the pace which is sometimes necessary, this
public part of the ground I consider much too confined.
In the training of horses generally, it may answer
pretty well for the purpose of forwarding them in the
spring to a certain state of their condition. Another
objection to this ground is, that as the training stables
are situated, there is a steep bad sort of hill which the
horses standing in the town have to ascend and de-
scend, or come up the turnpike road, which is a distance
of two miles, with a steep hill at the commencement
of it. The stables at Belleisle are not at an unreasonable

192 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

distance from the exercise ground, so that the horses
standing there have some advantage over those stand-
ing in the town. The trainer who resides here has some
fields through which the horses can walk, and by
passing through two or three gates, reach the moor,
and thereby avoid the above mentioned hill in going
to exercise. This trainer has, I believe, also a certain por-
tion of the upper moor, which is his own property, and
which is adjacent to the public part of the moor, on
which the horses train. This gives him a decided ad-
vantage, for by opening two large gates which are here
situated, he has a communication from his own ground
on to the public one, and by this means he obtains a
tolerable fair portion of ground for the horses which
he trains to sweat over.

But that which greatly excited my astonishment,
was, that there was no rubbing house on any part of
these moors. Now that the trainer (and I may say
jockey, for he has been both) who is living in Belleisle,
is very competent, cannot for a moment, jbe doubted ;
and, therefore, I cannot conceive why he should have
neglected erecting so necessary a part of a racing es-
tablishment as a rubbing-house on his own ground.
It is true that there is every convenience for horses
coming into their own stables after sweating ; and that
all hands are at them until they are done and ready to
go out again to take their gallop with the other horses,
which are kept in to go up the gallop with them, so
that the stables may be shut up all at one time.
I allow, also, that taking up the dry cloths, wisps,

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 193

scrapers, &c. would be giving the boys plenty to do ;
but as craving horses generally have to take their
gallops after their sweats, a rubbing-house being on
the ground would save the horses going twice up and
down this steep hill ; or even if they go through the
fields of the above-mentioned trainer, they meet with
some hills, and gates to pass through. Under all these
circumstances, I am of opinion that a rubbing-house
on the moors would be very useful. The race-course
at Richmond, when not too hard, is the most conve-
nient for horses which stand in the town to sweat over.
They may go along here in their sweats at a fair and
even pace, and when pulled up, they may be taken
into the saddling house to scrape, and afterwards take
their gallop and go home.

The next ground I have to mention, and which is
the best I have ever seen for the purpose of training
horses upon, and perhaps, the very best ground known
in Europe, is the Curragh of Kildare, in Ireland,
which may indeed be said to be quite perfect for the
training of race-horses.

It is a fine large open heath, of nearly five thousand
acres of the most beautiful and elastic turf I have ever
been upon. It is so suitably diversified with hills,
vales, and plains, as to present every description of
exercise ground that can possibly be wanted. In the
months of July and August, when it is often exces-
sively hot, and when most training grounds are found
to be very dry and hard, the mossy vales of these
spacious downs, even at this season of the year, are

o

UH ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

modevately soft and cool, and every length of gallop
necessary for horses to take, can be had in them; and
by the boys being directed to lay a little out of their
ground either to the right or left, they may finish the
gallop with whatever rise the training groom may think
proper. It would be unnecessary to point out the
advantages of such bottoms as these, were it not that
I am writing rather for the information of those of
my readers who may be inexperienced on this sub-
ject, than for those who are in high practice of training
horses.

Such bottoms as I have just mentioned, are very
desirable for w^orking horses in the height of summer,
as there is great risk of injuring the legs and feet of
craving horses, in getting the pace and length into
them on hard ground.

Too much care cannot be taken in the choice of
ground for such horses to work upon. In the early
part of spring, after much wet, the vales of these
downs may be too soft; when this is the case, the
horses may gradually ascend the sides of the hills, or
if the wind is not too high, they may go along the
tops of them, where the ground is found to be very
firm and good, however wet the season of the year
may be. From the great extent of these downs, there
is a variety of excellent ground for horses to sweat
over. They can sweat here any length, with every
variety of ground a trainer can possibly desire. Long
or short gradual rises to teach a horse how to stride in
or get up a hill, can be had, as well as long ascending

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 195

lengths for the horses to finish with in coming home
in their sweats. I confess this is but a meagre de-
scription of the sweating ground; but by and bye,
when I am on the subject of training the horses, this
same sweating ground will be brought into use, and its
advantages will be more fully developed.

The ground next to be noticed is Gullane Links,
in Scotland, situated to the east of Edinburgh, close
to the sea. It is the best, and I believe, the only
ground in Scotland which will sufficiently answer the
purpose of training race-horses on. The surface of
this ground is a sandy soil, plentifully covered with
moss, which makes it very soft and elastic for the
horses' feet. It is at all times (frost excepted) in
good order for horses to work on, in the dry est part of
the season, as it also is in the wettest part of it; what-
ever quantity of rain may have fallen, is here com-
pletely absorbed in a (ew hours.

The extent of this ground cannot be said to be on
a large scale. It is therefore better adapted for the
training of country plate horses than for long striding
horses, such as are principally engaged in the large
stakes in the south of England.

The gallops to be taken on this ground may be oc-
casionally varied ; they can be extended from a mile
and a half, to a mile and three quarters. The horses
commencing their gallop at the lower side and south
end of the sweating ground, can proceed along the flat '
for about three quarters of a mile, when they have to
tui-n to the right, and here they find a good hill gallop,

o 2

196 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

which may be conliniied about three quarters of a
mile. On their arriving at the top, they are pulled up
near a small summer-house, called " The Whim."

The flat surface under the hill may be said to be the
sweating ground, on any part of which the horses may
begin their sweats, continuing to go round until they
have got in them whatever sweating length the groom
thinks is necessary ; after which, they may finish their
sweats up any part of the above hill ; but the sweating
ground is not, in my opinion, sufficiently extensive for
long striding horses.

Having now made mention of a sufficient number
of training grounds, and described the advantages and
disadvantages of each, I have but a few more remarks
to make on this subject. I shall merely observe, that
whatever exercise may be proper for horses in training,
the main object to be attended to is the selection on
different downs of such portions of ground as may best
answer the purpose for the different sorts of exercise
each horse, or each class of horses, may be ordered to
have, whether to walk, to gallop, or to sweat.

Walking exercise for race-horses, is principally had
recourse to in the w^inter. As the vales of dovv^ns are
somewhat sheltered by the hills fi'om the cold winds,
I should recommend them, at this season of the year,
as being most eligibly situated for the horses to be in
while at this sort of exercise ; but, should the ground
become hard from frost, and the frost likely to con-
tinue for a length of time, as there may be horses
in the stables which it would be absolutely necessary

ON TRAINING (JUOUNDS. 197

to w alk out, it would not only be advisable, but more
sale and convenient to lay (as is the custom) some
long dung in the front yard, and let them walk there
for the necessary period every day during the severity
of the weather.

The ground the horses take their gallops on, is
called the gallop ; that is to say, when horses in train-
ing are galloping on downs, they are said to be going
up the gallop ; and as I have already mentioned, the
greater the variety of ground such downs will afford
for forming these different gallops, the greater will be
the advantages in favor of the horses, if the training
groom is a good judge, and knows well how to vary
the working of his horses, as circumstances may
require.

A groom, in selecting ground for horses to take
their gallops on, should, as I have already noticed,
endeavour to get it with as few sudden rises and falls
in it as possible, particularly in going off in the gallop.
For the first four or five hundred yards it should be
level, but after this length, it should gradually rise the
whole of the way home, or where the horses pull up
should be a moderate sort of a hill.

The length of gallops for different horses varies
occasionally. There are two lengths in general use ;
but as these lengths are at times deviated from, I shall
here give four, namely, — half a mile — three quarters of
a mile — a mile and a quarter — and a mile and a half.
Generally speaking, the two middle lengths are in
most frequent use, as there are few horses so delicate

198 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

but will exceed the former length ; and but few so
craving but that the latter will be found sufficient for
them, the pace being properly regulated.

Horses which are long comers, are such as are con-
sidered to come well over the course, as the B. C. at
Newmarket (after much wet) ; but these horses are
seldom fast enough to go into any of the great stakes,
such as are run for at the present day, and at the
present lengths. Horses of the above description,
(most of them being of good constitution), are such as
are generally selected for country running. The main
object to be attended to in the training of such horses
is to begin with them early in the spring, for, unless
it has been very dry, most grounds, at this time of the
year, are in tolerable good order ; that is, the surface is
cool and moderately soft, so that, in working horses
while the ground is in this state, there is not so much
danger to be apprehended of their going amiss on their
legs or feet as some of them might do, if they were to
begin their work later in the season, at which time the
ground mayThave become hard ; and from the pace
strong horses would occasionally have to go over it,
great concussion would be produced in their feet, which
would be the cause of their becoming much heated.
Horses being previously prepared in the spring, have
their physic afterwards given them to take the little
staleness out of their constitutions which their work
may have occasioned, and also to cool and refresh their
legs as well as to assist in keeping them light. If this
preparation be sufficiently early and well attended to.

ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 199

according to the constitutions of the horses, and the
time of their engagements, there will be the less to be
done in the second preparation, at which time the wea-
ther may be hot and the ground hard. There are some
few strong, craving, large-carcassed horses (I allude to
such of them as may occasionally have to sweat as
often, perhaps, as three times a fortnight) which are so
frequently in strong work, that although the above
necessary precautions are taken of working them early
in the spring, yet they cannot be allowed to be kept so
long in gentle work after their physic as those horses
which I have just been speaking of; nor can they often
be allowed to go over the sweating ground lightly
clothed, and at such a pace as will just keep the length
in them, as many of the more delicate ones may do.
Such very craving horses have not only to go over the
sweating ground at a tolerably good sweating pace,
but most of them require to have a pretty good lot of
sweaters on, or it will, I expect, be found rather diffi-
cult to keep what is called the waste and spare off
them; and it is this sort of work on hard ground
which is the occasion of great concussion taking place
in the feet of many such horses, producing fever and
inflammation in them, and which sometimes goes on
progressively and imperceptibly until it terminates in
what is now termed the naricular disease, but what
was formerly called " being groggy." This is a de-
scription of disease which we do not find horses of
slow movement (as cart horses), affected with, not-
withstanding these last mentioned horses are daily

200 ON TRAINING GROUNDS.

working on turnpike and paved roads. It is certainly
true, that many horses' feet are naturally so perfect and
so well formed, as not only to require but very little
care and attention to be paid to them, but the feet of
many of them are so strong and well formed, as scarcely
ever to be affected by hard ground, although kept in
strong work. When race-horses have such very good
feet, the harder the ground is, the better some of them
have appeared to me to like it ; for when fresh, they
have seemed to enjoy shaking their toes in a gallop.
It may be fancy in me, but I often used to think, when
a boy, riding exercise, that many such horses like to
hear their feet tell and rattle on the ground as they
were going along; and I confess I rather like the sort
of race-horse that can come a running pace over hard
ground. I have now described, in the best manner I
am able, the different training grounds in England,
Ireland, and Scotland, and have given my opinion of
the advantages in favour of race-horses' feet, when
they are working over such training grounds as have
a soft and elastic surface, as those in the different
counties I have mentioned, and which are to be pre-
ferred to the hard surfaces (in summer) of many of
our training grounds in the south of England.

CHAPTER XL

ON THE RACE COURSE.

The form and length of a race course, must depend
on the space of ground the neighbourhood may afford;
generally speaking, our country courses are most of
them round. As four mile heats are not so much run
now as they formerly were, a well formed two mile
course, or a round course of this length, is quite suffi-
cient. In running for most plates, the starting post is
also the winning post. This gives the^spectators an
opportunity of seeing from the stand, the starting, as
well as the coming in of the horses, and this, at some
of our great country meetings, is as much an object of
amusement to them, as the running is of interest and
consequence to the men of business. At Newmarket,
where they do not run heats, and where they seldom
run long lengths, most of the courses are straight,''or
nearly so, which renders them much less difficult to
run over, than a round course, both for the horses and
jockeys. All the horses trained at Newmarket, stand

202 ON THE RACE COURSE.

in or adjacent to the town, which is a great advantage;
for as I have aheady noticed, horses give their races
more kindly in running to their stables, than in run-
ning from them.

But with respect to the making of race-courses, they
are sometimes made in the form of the figure 8, or of any
other figure that may be convenient, of from one mile
to four ; fortunately, however, a course not exceeding a
mile in extent is not very frequently met with. There
are too many turns in a round course of this length.
A long striding horse running on such a course is too
frequently turning, or if the turns are but few, they
are mostly difficult for such a horse to make at his
best pace. The little or middle-sized hearty horse, that
is a pretty round goer, has a short but quick stride,
gives his race kindly, is easily held, and is ready at
his turns, is the sort of horse most likely to come first
on such a course. Indeed, a large long striding horse,
and more particularly a free runner, cannot be got to
run in his best form, with safety, round so small an
extent of ground as a mile. The owner would be a bad
judge who would bring his horse to post, to run on so
small a course.

In making a two mile round course, the first thing
to be considered, after having surveyed the ground, is,
whether the horses shall have to run to the right hand
or to the left. This will depend on the most advan-
tageous way the ground can be chosen. Should there
be a very steep piece of ground, in any part of it, and
more particularly should it be in that part where strong

ON THE RACE COURSE. - 203

running might likely be made, or, where perhaps with
some horses it were proper to be made, to run up such
ground would be preferable to running down it, and it
would be giving an equal chance to different descrip-
tions of horses ; for the greatest part of the ground of
a two mile course is mostly flat, which, when not too
deep, is an advantage to the long striding horse ; but if
there is a pretty good hill in it to ascend, the little close
made horse, if he has good action, can generally climb
it the best 3 and if by making a course to run to the
left hand, we avoid running down a very steep hill,
it would be preferable to have it go in the above direc-
tion.

I have already observed with regard to running over
a two mile course, that the post the horses start from,
is also the winning post ; but in order to decide cor-
rectly the coming in of the horses, a second post is
necessary, and this must be placed immediately oppo-
site, or in a parallel line with that behind which the
judge stands; as one of the principal objects in placing
this post here, is, its being a fixed point to enable the
judge to decide accurately on the smallest part of that
horse's head which may first appear in a line with
these two posts. The post I have here mentioned may
be called the starting, the winning, or the weighing
post; as on a two mile course it answers all these pur-
poses. It is to be observed, that in fixing the above
two posts, they are to be so situated on the course, as
to divide the best part of the ground into two portions :
one of these portions of ground is for the start, the

201 ON THE RACE COURSE.

other, which is of far more importance, is for the
horses to run in upon. This part of the course should
be straight and level ; if it deviates at all from the lat-
ter it should be in a gradual ascent to the winning-
post. The whole of the posts for marking out the
ground should be painted white, and must be placed
at such convenient distance one from the other, as to
admit of each being easily seen by the jockeys in the
running ; and to prevent them from getting too close to
the large posts, the better way is to bank them up from
a pretty wide basis, for three or four feet, as advised in
the Racing Calendar by the Stewards of the Jockey
Club ; and for any particular purpose for which a post
may be intended, independently of its use in marking
out the ground, such post should be marked accord-
ingly on the top part ; for example, when shorter
lengths than two miles are to be run.

Supposing the course I am now arranging to run to
the right hand, and that there may be rather a difficult
turn to make in it. Instead of such a turn being made
by the jockeys' laying a little out of their ground suf-
ficiently early for the purpose of making it, as was
formerly the practice, and which was not only dan-
gerous, but has often been the cause of disputes on the
subject of foul riding, I would recommend the adoption
of the following plan, which would not only prevent
accidents, but every thing unpleasant which may occur
in running for the turn in the old way. The turn had
better be made by an additional number of sight posts,
which should be placed wide of such turn, sufficiently

ON THE RACE COURSE. " 205

early, so as gradually to form and enlarge the sweep
the whole of the way round as much as possible.
Making a turn in this way will not only be much safer,
and prevent disputes, but it will be giving a more
equal chance to the very light weights, who are many
of them boys, and who are not so experienced in
running for a sharp turn, as some of the older jockeys.
An experienced jockey coming well placed to a turn,
and having the whip hand, would not, perhaps, feel
much delicacy, when in rimning for it, to lay a young
inexperienced jockey boy a little out of his ground
here, the old one knowing that half a length got here,
is worth two or three in straight running.

I believe, on all courses, there is generally plenty of
room for any reasonable number of horses to run
abreast ; but in the running between the rails, as we
here form the breadth ourselves, we should take care
to have a clear space between them of twenty-five
yards. These rails, on each side the course, should
commence at least a quarter of a mile below the
winning-post, and should be continued two or three
hundred yards beyond it. Indeed, the further the rails
are continued on all courses, the better.

At such racing meetings as are numerously attended
by spectators, there is generally a space of ground of
about ten or a dozen yards in width, and about one
hundred or two in length, railed in on the right and
left of the course for people on foot. This is a very
good plan, as it protects them from the horsemen and
carriages. In coming in on the right of the course.

206 ON THE RACE COURSE.

there should be two distance posts ; the first of these
posts is to be erected two hundred and forty yards
from the winning-post — the second a hundred and
twenty from it. The fiist of these posts is the distance-
post, when the horses are running four miles ; the second,
when they are running two miles.

Attached close to, and in the rear of the winning-
post, should be a small wooden stand, erected for the
judge to stand in to decide which horse comes first in
the race. There should be to each of the distance
posts a similar but a more temporary sort of stand.
Each of these temporaiy stands may be made by put-
ting two posts at a suitable distance in the rear of each
distance-post, with a piece of board in the centre; but
this board at each of these posts should be two or three
feet higher than the floor of the judge's stand, so that
the man in the distance stand may clearly see the win-
ning-post, and be ready to drop the distance-flag imme-
diately with that at the winning-post.

The stand, or as it is sometimes called, the grand stand,
which is erected for the accommodation of the spectators,
is generally placed on the right of the course. The
under part may be conveniently arranged for the vend-
ing of refreshments. It should be built at a distance
of from twenty to five and twenty yards in the rear of
the rails of the course. The end of this stand need
not be in a direct line with the winning post, but may
come within about ten yards of it. The height and
dimensions of such stand must, of course, depend very

ON THE RACE COURSE. 207

much on the extent or importance of the meeting held
in the neighbomhood. Close up to, and in a parallel
line with the rails of the course, and opposite the cen-
tre of the grand stand, should be erected a small round
building, eighteen feet in circumference, clear of the
walls, which should be eighteen feet high. This build-
ing being divided by a floor in its centre, the lower
part is for a weighing house, (the door of which should
face the stand,) the upper part is for a stand for the
stewards, for whose convenience a communication may
be made by a staircase out of the weighing-house, and
on the roof there should be a bell to ring for saddling.
In the centre of the weighing-house, the scales and
weights should be placed. It is the case, at most of
our principal meetings, and it should be so at all of
them, that one scale should be made in the form of a
chair, and suspended the same height from the ground
as the seat of a chair would be, with a half back,
made round in the form of an arm chair ; and an iron
triangle of proper dimensions should be fixed to the
end of the beam, for the purpose of keeping the ropes
that are attached to the beam sufficiently extended upon
top so as not to interfere with the jockey's head when
he is weighing. This would be much more conve-
nient, as he could more readily sit down in this scale,
take his saddle and trusses in his lap, and weigh with
more dispatch and with less difficulty than with scales
put up in the common way. Thei-e should be seats
round the walls of this weighing-house, and pegs for
the jockeys to hang their clothes on. Cupboards would

208 ON THE RACE COURSE.

also be convenient here, to hold the trusses and small
weights, as occasion may require ; for there are many
jockeys at several of our country meetings who are
employed to ride for a variety of masters, and some-
times, different races for their first or principal masters,
which obliges them to vary their weights, and occasion-
ally to shift them from one saddle to another. When
the weights do not run high, and a jockey can come to
the weight himself, dead weight of course is not want-
ed. The trusses and small weights, belonging to differ-
ent trainers, are then left in the care of one of their
boys, or any convenient person who may be near at
the moment ; perhaps they are thrown down in the
weighing-house, and are thereby liable to be mislaid or
lost; or, not unlikely, some of the shot may be taken
out of them. Racing is now becme a game of such
importance to men of business on the turf, that nothing
which regards it should be done in an uncertain, idle,
or slovenly manner. These trusses and small weights,
when not in use, should therefore be given in charge of
the man who attends the scales ; by him they should
be locked up in the cupboards, and he should be made
accountable for them to the different persons to whom
they may belong.

The space between the weighing-house and the
grand stand is to be formed into a x^ard, enclosed by
rails about four feet high. This enclosure should
extend ten feet beyond each extremity of the front,
observing to leave the gateways in the positions as
marked in the plan of the course ; tliat near the judge's

ON THE RACE COURSE. 209

stand is for the jockeys to ride their horses through
to get to the scales to weigh ; and that near the stand,
for the horses to pass through in going to the rubbing-
house.

By closing the gates here, after the horses are rode
into the yard, the people on foot would be prevented
from passing in and crowding round the horses, which
they are apt to do while the riders are weighing. It
may be advisable at such meetings as commence early
in the spring, or late in the autumn, to cover this yard
with a mixture of gravel and sand, which would make
it more firm and dry to walk on, in case of much wet.
The ground thus fenced in, I shall call the weighing-
yard, into which none should be admitted but people
of business, such as the stewards of the races, noble-
men and gentlemen who own the horses, the trainers,
the jockeys, and the boys who look after them.

The weighing house and yard being situated and
arranged in this way, mistakes cannot possibly happen,
if the jockey does but keep on his horse's back after
having pulled him up at the conclusion of the heat or
race, until he gets to scale, as in going off the course
to weigh he must come to and pass by the ending or
winning post. Indeed it would be unpardonable in a
regular jockey to dismount until he has rode his horse
past this post in going to the scales. A jockey who
is in high practice of riding, is too good a judge to
allow such a thing to happen to him, let the scales be
placed in whatever situation they may. If he were so
unfortunate, through absence of mind, as to commit an

p

210 ON THE RACE COURSE.

error of this kind, I much fear it would be at the
expence of his character; but a gentleman jockey, on
a strange course, and who may not have rode many
races, may unintentionally fall into an error of this
sort, if not directed by the trainer who puts him up
how he is to proceed when he has pulled up his
horse. From want of experience or caution, a gentle-
man may make this mistake, either by not riding his
horse back to the ending post previous to his dis-
mounting to weigh ; or, he may, if liis orders are not
to run for the first heat, pull up within the distance,
and if the scales should be placed (as they often are)
inside of the winning post, he may, without giving it
a thought, ride to them, dismount, and weigh, without
even coming to the ending-post ; he would, conse-
quently, be distanced : but as I have observed, from the
way in which the weighing-house and the entrance to
it are here arranged, nothing of this sort can possibly
happen, if the rider will but keep on his horse's back
until he gets to the scales.

The ropes which are to be put up across the course
at the commencement of the rails, to shut out people
on horseback who have no business on this part of the
course, should be attended by very steady men, who
are to take care to be ready to remove the ropes at the
time of the horses' starting and coming in.

After the meetings are over, it will be necessary to
have chains put up here, and secured by locks, to pre-
vent horses and carts from going over this part of the
ground.

ON THE RACE COURSE. 211

If the ground be diversified with ascents and de-
scents at moderate intervals in a course of two or four
miles, I think it rather an advantage, as it gives an
equal chance to the little stout horse as to the large
long striding horse. Generally speaking, they all give
their races more kindly over such ground, than they
would do in running a similar length over a dead flat.

The next thing to notice relative to a course is the
rubbing-house, or as it is called by some, the saddling-
house, being used for both purposes. This building
should be erected at a distance of about two or three
hundred yards beyond the weighing-post. It will here
be somewhat out of the noise and bustle of the crowd,
and it will be near to where the horses pull up after
sweating or running.

The walls of this building should be in height, from
the surface of the ground, twelve feet, by sixty-four in
length, and the space between them, from eighteen to
twenty feet. The stalls in this building should be
eight feet wide, to give sufficient room to the boys to
work on each side of the horses after they have been
sweating, and at the time of their being saddled to run.
The partitions between the stalls should also be suffici-
ently high so as to prevent the horses from smelling to
each other over them, but there is no necessity for
either racks or mangers in any of these stalls. The
walls in front of the horses' heads should be boarded,
and rings should be fixed there to tie horses up occasi-
onally. Now, as it frequently happens that there are
horses from different stables not only going to sweat

p 2

212 ON THE RACE COURSE.

on the same morning, but most likely at the same time,
(as training stables are sometimes at so great a distance
from the ground as not to allow of the horses being
conveniently scraped at home, and as it would, be un-
pleasant to the trainers for the horses of different
stables to scrape at the same time in one rubbing-
house), I think the better way would be to divide
these eight stalls, by running up a wall in the centre,
and thus making two rubbing-houses with four stalls
in each, and with doors of the same dimensions as
those in the training stables ; and for the admission of
plenty of air and light, there should be two large win-
dows in each of these houses, and they should be on
the same plan as the lower part of those windows in
the training stables. (See jjlate.)

In the front of this building there should be a piece
of ground twelve feet in breadth by the length of
the building, walled in to the height of four feet and
a half, with rings placed at proper intervals in the
walls, for the trainers and riders to tie up their hacks
while the horses are being scraped or saddled. The
door is to be in the centre of this yard, and to be five
feet in width.

The subject which next presents itself, as being
immediately connected with the preceding one, is that
of the appointment of gentlemen to act as stewards
of the races, and the duties which devolve upon them.
I believe it is customary, at country races, for the
stewards of the preceding year to nominate their suc-
cessors, which, I presume, is intended as a compliment

ON THE RACE COURSE. 213

to the gentlemen who may be selected from among the
nobility and gentry of distinction in the neighboming
country where the meetings are held. It sometimes
happens, that gentlemen are appointed who are not
thoroughly acquainted with all the rules of racing.
Now^ for the information of such, and in order that the
business of the day may go smoothly on, I will here
give as brief and as correct a sketch as I am able, of
such rules and orders as they may be required to see
carried into effect : but with regard to the arrangement
of the duties emanating from the evening assemblies,
when the gentlemen have to divide equally their
polite attention in matching the young ones to sport
the light fantastic toe in the dance, and in placing the
aged ones at the card table to a quiet rubber, to play
the severities of the game for the odd trick, I must beg
to decline interfering. This important part of the
stewards' duties I leave to the better taste and judgment
of the gentlemen themselves.

The stewards of racing meetings should give their
orders in due time, for the making of such regulations
relative to the course, as they may conceive most
advantageous. They should fix the hour the horses
are to start, and they are accountable that all funds run
for in the meeting are paid before the horses start.
To the stewards, the gentlemen of the turf, the betters,
trainers and jockeys, all look up, to decide correctly on
any disputes which may arise. They should therefore
be in the stand appropriated for them during the time
the horses are running ; and they should here observe

214 ON THE RACE COURSE.

as far as they possibly can, any thing incorrect that
may occur, — such as foul riding ; or a race may be
claimed by the owner of the second horse, from other
causes. Their attention and observations here may
materially assist them in deciding disputes, which
(as recommended by the stewards of the jockey club)
should be immediately settled, since the witnesses may
easily be assembled, and in the weighing-yard, with
the gates closed, they may, unmolested by the crowd,
hear the evidence on each side relative to the dispute
in question, and give their final decision on the spot.
The next person to be mentioned, is the clerk of
the course, who is to act entirely under the direction of
the stewards, and whose duty it is to carry such of their
orders into execution as may be entrusted to him. He
should be a respectable, well conducted man, and
intelligent in the common rules of racing ; as at many
country meetings, with a view of giving as little
trouble'as possible to the stewards, the clerk's situation
becomes a place of trust. He is often commissioned
to receive and hokKthe whole or part of the funds,
such as the subscriptions to the plates and stakes, and
entrance^money, the money collected at the stand, and
the fees for the weights and scales, all of which he is
to be accountable for to the stewards. The horses are
generally named to the clerk of the course ; he should
therefore, in due time, be put in possession of the rules
and articles of the plates, stakes, and matches that are
to be run for at the meeting. He should make himself
thoroughly acquainted with all these things, as on the

QN THE RACE COURSE. 215

day appointed for the horses to shew and enter, he is
to see that every horse is duly qualified, agreeably to
the articles and rules as to age and pedigree, for what-
ever he is going to start, according to the certificates
produced. He is to be accountable that the course is
in all respects in proper order for the horses to run
over on the day the meeting commences ; he must pro-
cure such men as are necessary to be in attendance
during the meeting, and place them in their different
situations on the course : viz. — The man who starts
the horses, — the man who is judge to decide on the
running, — the men who attend the scales, — the men
who are to attend to the ropes at each end of the rails,
and such other men as may be necessary to keep the
course clear during the time the horses are running.

Several of the rules which I have here set forth,
relative to the duties to be performed[by the stewards
and clerks of country races, are by order of the stewards
of the jockey club, mentioned in the racing calendar,
from which book I have taken some of them. My
reason for having done so, is, that should this work
meet the approbation of that part of the public for
whom it is principally intended, it may, in some
measure, become a book of reference for those of my
readers, who may have much occasion for it, and for
them I should wish it to contain such useful informa-
tion as I conceive is absolutely necessary.

I believe I have now noticed every thing relative to
such training and running ground, which I conceive
best adapted for the purpose of training and running

216 ON THE RACE COURSE.

horses upon ; yet I am fully aware it will often happen
that from local circumstances, such advantages as
I have here pointed out — as to the extent and variety
of the downs — cannot at all times be obtained ; yet
from what I have stated on this subject, I hope I have
been sufficiently explicit to enable those who may not
be in very high practice in training horses, to form a
more general and perfect opinion on the subject, and
which may give them the capacity of properly select-
ing such parts from inferior ground as may suit their
purpose.

CHAPTER XII.

ON SADDLE HORSE GROOMS AND BOYS.

In most of the publications on the subject of horses
I have had an opportunity of perusing, much has been
said of the want of education in grooms. Some au-
thors go so far as to say, they are very ignorant of the
management of horses. How far these gentlemen are
competent to judge on this latter point, I shall not pre-
sume to say.

It is very true that grooms, generally speaking, are
not very highly educated ; nor am I aware that to get
horses into condition requires a very cultivated mind.
I have known very good training grooms that could
neither read nor write (I have lived under such men) ;
and, notwithstanding their misfortune in not possessing
either of these very useful acquirements, they were
good, practical training grooms ; that is, so far as re-
garded the working and feeding of their horses. Hav-
ing lived in various stables, I have had an opportunity
of ascertaining their abilities in this particular, and I

218 ON SADDLE HORSE

am quite convinced that they knew very well what
they were about. As the authors to whom I have al-
luded seem to be of opinion that grooms are so very
ignorant of the management of horses, and as' they
have been at some pains to abuse them, I think it
would have been but fair had these gentlemen given in
their writings, such rules, relative to the condition and
treatment of horses, as would, in some measure, have
guided those poor ignorant men, and particularly those
among them who train race-horses. But no — it does
not appear, in any of their works which I have read,
that those authors have done much in this respect
for these poor fellows, beyond that of recommend-
ing them to keep their horses in cold stables. This
part of their advice I shall, by and bye, endeavour to
prove is not only unnecessary, but that, when thorough-
bred horses (which have originated in a hot climate)
are to be got into racing condition, it is requisite that
they should be kept in a stable of a certain tempera-
ture of heat.

It is more than probable, that some authors who
have written on the subject of horses, may have been
led to form their opinions from observations made in
different saddle-horse stables, when they have been
called in to give their professional advice; and I have
no doubt, that they have often seen very improper
management in such stables, and which may have led
them to give their opinions rather too indiscriminately
of grooms in general.

The late Mr. White, Veterinary Surgeon, of Exeter,

GROOMS AND BOYS. 219

published a very useful work (as far as I am capable
of judging of its merits), on the nature and treatment
of the various diseases to which the horse is liable ;
and he has also laid down v»diat he calls "principles"
for getting horses into racing, or other condition.

Digressing a little from the present subject, I will,
with all due submission to this author's judgment, take
the liberty of quoting a passage or two from his work,
on "condition,''' merely to see how far his pi'inciples
can practically be carried into effect, in the training of
race-horses, since it appears to me, that were they to be
put into practice without being more fully explained,
they would be likely to lead those who adopted them
into error; and this it is which has induced me to make
my remarks on this subject, and not, by any means,
with the desire of detracting from the merit of the
author.

In the first volume of the work (page 227) the
author defines the word condition. In page 248 of the
same volume, he says —

" When, therefore, we undertake to get a horse into
condition, it is necessary first to enquire for what kind
of labour he is designed ; whether it be for the turf,
the chace, or the road. A horse, provided he is in
health, may have his condition and wind brought to
the highest state of perfection it is capable of, merely
by judicious management, in respect to feeding, exer-
cise, and grooming; and notwithstanding the great
mystery and secrecy affected by those who make
a business of training race-horses, I will venture to

220 ON SADDLE HORSE

affirm, that it is a very simple process, and easily to
be accomplished by any one who will attentively con-
sider the principles we shall lay down, and not suffer
himself to be influenced by an ignorant groom."

Again the author goes on to state, in the same
volume (page 254) —

" By thus gradually bringing a horse from a state
of nature, that is, from the open air and green food
to a comfortable stable and dry grain, he will be in
little danger of those troublesome diseases which are
often the consequence of sudden changes, and a diffe-
rent kind of management ; and by duly proportioning
his exercise to the nutriment he receives, and by gra-
dually bringing the muscular system to that degree of
exertion for which the animal is wanted, there is no
doubt that his wind, strength and activity, and general
condition, will be brought to the highest state of per-
fection it is possible of attaining."

I think these two extracts tend to shew that the
author considered himself quite equal to the task of
training horses for the turf. In the conclusion of the
first extract, he decidedly states this. In the second,
he cannot have meant any thing else (for it is to be
observed he is writing on the "condition" of horses)
when he stated, " the horse will be brought to the
highest state of perfection he is capable of attaining ;"
and this, I presume, is certainly a state of condition in
which a horse should be to race.

Now, my gentle reader, should you be a tolerable
judge of the subject under consideration, proceed

GROOMS AND BOVS. 221

quietly on with me, and all I ask of you is, just to
make your observations on the principles the author
has given us ; for, if I mistake not, he affirms, " that
any man who will attentively consider them, may
train horses for the turf." Well, then, let us again
quote, from the author's work, such of his principles
as appear to be connected with the subject of "condi-
tion." We shall then be able to form some idea how
far we may be likely to succeed in getting a horse into
racing form, by adopting them.

First, I shall commence with the author's reasons
for physicking horses on their being brought from the
fields into the stables, (page 252.)

" When a horse has been taken from grass about a
week, I think it advisable to give him a very mild pur-
gative, such as No. 1 (see physic). Not that I am con-
vinced of its being absolutely necessary, but because
it cannot do any harm ; and if the horse has been fed
too liberally, or not exercised enough, or should the
stomach or bowels be out of order, or have any worms
in them, a mild purgative will be of great service. It
is on this ground that I always recommend two or
three doses of mild physic during the time a horse is
getting into condition."

Now, in the above paragraph, we find the author
advising physic to be given as a preventative to disease ;
he also thinks it advisable to give a mild purgative
to a horse after he has been taken from grass about
a week ; "not that he is convinced of its being ab-
solutely necessary, but because it cannot do any harm."

222 ON SADDLE HORSE

However, to make further remarks on the author's
reasons for giving physic to horses to assist in getting
them into condition, will not in any way benefit my
readers. There are certainly two causes for giving
physic on those occasions — I believe, not more than
two — yet our author has not been pleased to notice
either of them, in any part of his treatise on
" condition."

Now, it is but fair to presume, that if the author had
been acquainted with the two causes (which are stated
in the preceding chapters on that head) for giving
physic, and the advantages to be derived from its effects
in getting horses of a certain description into racing
condition, he would have mentioned them. But he
tells us, in the commencement of page 252 — " As the
horse's allowance of oats is increased, so should his
exercise be ; and if this be properly managed, there
will be no absolute necessity for bleeding or medicine."

Thirdly, (p. 254) is the author's advice relative to
what kind of exercise is proper to bring a horse into
condition ; and from the manner in which he has con-
cluded the latter part of the following paragraph, I
presume he means also grooming.

" During the first week of the horse's being taken
into a stable, walking exercise is most proper ; but after
this, it may be gradually increased to a trot, or a
canter ; and if the exercise occasions any degree of per-
spiration, he should be carefully cleaned, and otherwise
attended to, as soon as he gets into the stable."

The principles the author has laid down in his

GROOMS AND BOYS. 223

writings, as a guidance for grooms to get horses
into racing condition, are, I think, mucli too laconic.
He merely says, " as the horse's allowance is increased,
so should his exercise be augmented ;" and by pro-
portioning the latter to the nutriment the horse
receives from the former, his condition will be brought
to the highest state of perfection.

This, generally speaking, is all very true; and we
are well aware, that from whatever cause a horse goes
off his feed, his work must be stopped. Nothing can
be done with him, in regard to condition, unless he
is sound, in perfect health, and takes his usual allow-
ance both of food and water. Yet, notwithstanding
this, there are a variety of circumstances, under which
horses are to be exercised ; and as this is one of the
main objects we have to attend to in getting horses
into high condition, it is much to be lamented that our
author has not been more explicit. In page 254,
the author gives something, by way of rules, as to
exercise and grooming. In speaking of the former,
he tells us, as I have already observed, that walking
exercise is most proper ; but after this, it may be gra-
dually increased to a trot or a canter, and if the exer-
cise occasions any degree of perspiration, the horse
should be carefully cleaned, and otherwise attended to
as soon as he gets into the stable.

Now, it is to be observed that there are three sorts
of exercise necessary for race-horses that are in
training, and that have to run pretty long lengths ;
they are to walk, to gallop, and to sweat, as occasion

224 ON SADDLE HORSE

may require. But, in the rules which the author has
given us, he only makes mention of the former of
these exercises, and, even here, he does not point out
the advantages horses will derive from its effects ; he
only observes, " that walking exercise is the most
proper for the first week," and after this period, he
tells us it may be increased to a trot or a canter. These
few words are the commencement and conclusion of
his rules for exercising horses in order to get them into
high condition. Immediately following, are our
author's direction for grooming. He says, when
speaking of the exercise which he recommends, "Should
it occasion any degree of perspiration, the horse should
be carefully cleaned, and otherwise attended to, as soon
as he gets into the stable." The above few lines
appear to be all the directions the author has given us
in his writings relative to exercising and grooming
horses. They are certainly very harmless, and may be
sufficient to keep some horses in health : but they are
of much too feeble a nature to be of any particular use
in the getting of strong horses into any thing like
racing form. Yet the author appears to have written
on the subject of "condition" with great confidence;
for, in his second volume (page 218), he again gives
the definition of the word "condition," and further
tells us that this subject has been fidly treated on in
the " Compendium." I have attentively read the
whole of the author's statement (which is not more
than forty-two pages) on the " condition" of horses,
and from them I have quoted such parts as I think are

(jU0()3IS and boys. 225

at all connected with the subject. The precautionary
measures he has given us on horses being brought
from a state of nature into an artificial one, are, I
think, very proper, and should, at all times, be care-
fully attended to. The principle which the author has
laid down for our guidance, namely, — " that as horses
feed and drink, so should their work be regulated," is,
to a certain extent, correct, and is commonly known to
all men connected with the turf, and indeed to most
other men wdio keep horses. But, without some more
practical or definite rules, it would be next to an
impossibility for any person to train race-horses so
as to bring them in a fit state to run with horses
trained by regular training grooms. Yet this is what
the author, in his first volume (page 248), affirms can
be done. However, those gentlemen who are inclined
to train horses by his rules and regulations, may
make the trial ; but I cannot help thinking, that,
should their horses be valuable ones, and heavily
engaged, they would be likely to pay rather dear for
such experiment.

But to return again to grooms. It is very well un-
derstood that the word " groom " is the name applied
to a man who looks after horses which are rode by
their owners for pleasure ; and if a man be sober,
honest, attentive to his business, and clean in his
person, one groom is considered, by the greater part of
the public, just as good as another. This conclusion
is erroneous; for, the knowledge which any one of
them may possess in a greater degree than another, as

Q

226 ON SADDLE HORSE

a stable-man, will very much depend on what stables
he may have been brought up in, or rather, the de-
scription of horses he may have been accustomed to
have placed under his care. According to the different
purposes for which pleasure-horses are employed, so
must their condition be varied. Race-horses are to be
treated differently from hunters, and hunters differently
from saddle-horses. Such men as are termed saddle-
horse or pad grooms, are those who, in the commence-
ment of their career, may be found to have been living,
as boys, in livery and horse-dealers' stables, in London,
and many of our princij)al towns. In those stables,
they obtain such knowledge in regard to the cleaning
and riding of horses, as brings them somewhat familiar
with the animal. This knowledge enables them, as
they approach the state of manhood, to undertake the
mechanical care (if I may be allowed the expression)
of such saddle-horses as they may be engaged to look
after. These grooms merely give food and water to
horses at stated periods in the course of the day, clean
them, and keep them well clothed, and when their
masters do not ride the horses out, give them such ex-
ercise as they think necessary to keep them in health.
If such horses appear tolerably fresh, kind in their
skins, and clean on their legs, they are considered by
the grooms, as also by their masters, to be in excellent
condition, and, for most of the purposes for which
they are intended, they may be so ; indeed, some of
them may be in good condition, which I will account
for hereafter. These saddle-horse grooms know no-

GROOMS AND BOYS. 227

thing of the eontlition of horses, farther than what I
have here stated ; at least, those of them who are bred
up as I have here described ; they are not capable of
bringing a hunter into a fit state to go a hunting, and
as to their getting a race-horse into a fit condition to
run, is quite out of the question. However, to do
justice to grooms in general, and to prevent any incon-
venience which might arise from an ignorance of the
proper department in which each groom should be
respectively placed, I shall divide these men into three
different classes.

Instead of the saddle-horse or pad groom, the stud
groom is the first I ought to have described ; but as it
is my intention, at some future period, to write on the
subject of breeding horses, as well as on the manage-
ment and condition of hunters generally, I shall, for
the present, decline entering into a description of the
qualifications necessary for the grooms above mentioned
to possess.

CHAPTER XIII.

ON TRAINING GROOMS AND EXERCISE BOYS.

In most trades and professions, men hav^e a peculiar
manner of expressing themselves, in ordering or ar-
ranging any thing in their business. In this respect,
training grooms and jockeys may be said to make use
of a language exclusively their own, and which may
not be generally understood by many of my readers ;
therefore, whenever I make use of any phrase such as
is used on the turf, I shall, if I see it necessary, accom-
pany the same with an explanation.

I now come to speak of the training groom. It is
highly requisite that I should enter into a very accurate
description of this man ; for it is of the utmost im-
portance to every nobleman and gentleman on the turf,
that a man undertaking the management of race-horses,
should be thoroughly acquainted, not only with every
thing relating to the business of training them to run,
but he should know how to guard against accidents,
and give the necessary orders how^ the horses are to be

ON TRAINING GROOMS AND EXERCISE BOYS. 229

rode in their different races, according to the constitu-
tion and temper of each particular horse. Therefore,
to enable my readers to judge how well qualified a
man may be to take charge of a large racing establish-
ment, I shall here give the gradual rise and progress of
a man of this description, from the time of his entering
the stables, which, if he is to become a good training
groom, he should do at the age of twelve or fourteen at
latest.

As the men who train horses are sometimes the
jockeys who ride them, the lighter such men are, the
less they will have to punish and sweat themselves ;
consequently they are stronger on horseback, which is
a matter of importance when they have to ride craving
horses, and have often to cut the work out with them,
or, in other words, to make the play. Sometimes, on
such occasions in country running (although not so
often now as formerly), they have to ride two, three,
or four, four-mile heats ; to do which, requires a man
to be not only of a strong constitution, but in tolerably
good condition, as such horses often require a great
deal of perseverance on the part of the jockey, to get
their races out of them, in coming such long lengths.
If a jockey is drawn too fine by wasting, he will be
in too delicate a state to render his horse the necessary
aid in running required of him. Under such circum-
stances, or indeed, under most others applicable to
grooms and jockeys, it is necessary to make choice of
such boys as are of small features, and whose parents
were of low stature. If the boys are coarse and bony-

230 ON TRAINING GROOMS

limbed, with large hands and feet, and their parents
were of tall stature, they can seldom be made jockeys;
they no sooner acquire a knowledge of their business,
and become useful to their employers, than they get
too big and too heavy to ride young ones in strong
work, or indeed, any sort of race-horse, and a groom
is often obliged to discharge such boys on this ac-
count.

If boys were invariably chosen as I have recom-
mended, it would, I think, be by far the best plan, for
training grooms who have under their charge a large
and permanent racing establishment, to have these boys
articled to them. They could not then so readily go
away when they thought proper, leaving the groom
quite at a loss how to supply the place of a boy, who
may have been looking after a horse difficult both to
ride and to clean. Another disgraceful jDractice would
thereby be put a stop to, — that of one groom enticing
a good riding boy away from another, which, I am
sorry to say, was formerly by no means an uncommon
occurrence; an attempt having twice been made to
entice me away from stables when a boy. But the
grooms of the present day are, I hope, above all such
mean and unfair practices. Good riding boys in a
training stable, I may say are invaluable; in fact, there
is no training horses properly without them. I shall,
therefore, enter minutely into the subject of how they
are to be taught their duty, both as regards riding
the horses when at exercise, as well as the attention
which is necessary to be paid to them in the stables.

AND EXERCISE BOYS. 231

It is tolerably well understood, tliat boys are, more or
less, inclined to be tricky ; nor are those in race-horse
stables different from the generality in this particular.
They are often in the habit of playing each other a
variety of mischievous little dirty tricks, which, of
course, are not of much consequence : but some boys,
when not strictly watched, are apt at times, to practise
rather dangerous tricks on the horses they look after,
and in which, I confess, I have often been an accom-
plice ; and, as I have reason to suppose human nature
has not much changed since, I shall, as I proceed,
make mention of such of them as I think necessary,
to put those grooms who may not have been brought
up in training stables at a very early period, on their
guard. I know some men, who did not begin to train
horses until they were some way advanced in years,
and to such, these hints may be found useful.

I expect training grooms teach their boys to ride
much in the same way now as they formerly did, being
fully aware that they are, at times, necessitated to put up
their best riding boys to ride their light weights, when
jockeys cannot be had, or when these cannot perhaps
get themselves down to the weight. Under these and
other circumstances, it used to be the custom with
most grooms, to caution and instruct their boys at the
time of their riding different horses in their gallops and
sweats, and more particularly in the concluding of the
latter ; at which time it generally is that the trainer is
endeavouring to ascertain the length of rally that a
craving or hearty horse (but not a flighty onej can

232 ON TRAINING GROOMS

live or come home in, at pretty near the top of his
pace. Unless a trainer ascertains this fact, he would
be rather posed, as to what orders he should give his
jockey, how the horse he may have been training is to
run, — whether the jockey is to make play, or wait with
him; or, .if neither of these, to what part of the course
he is to keep his place v/ith the company he is in,
imtil he comes to that part of it whence the length of
rally commences in which he knows his horse can
come well home. And very requisite it is for the
trainer to know this, and which all the best riding boys
ought to be taught, while they are riding different
horses in their exercise ; for instructions on these
points would be ill-timed at the moment they are being
put up to ride in a race. They have enough to do, on
those occasions, to observe the orders given them, how
the horses they are put on are to be rode in the race.

I shall now endeavour to teach an exercise boy how
to ride, much in the same way I was taught by the
different head lads and grooms whom I lived under
when I was a boy similarly circumstanced.

When a young boy is first put to look after a horse,
and ride him in his exercise, with a view to give the
boy confidence, the horse should be one that is toler-
ably quiet both to ride and to dress, and should have
been some time in training; so that with little trouble
he will keep his place in the gallop, make a run at the
end with the other horses, and afterwards be pulled up
easily. The stronger work such a horse is in, the less
likely he is to be calfish, or to give the boy, what is

AND EXERCISE BOYS. 233

commonly termed in the stables, a calf, — in other
words, he will be less likely to throw him. This is
the sort of horse a young boy should be put to look
after. Such boy should be instructed in every thing
appertaining to the taking care of a horse, as to the
manner of feeding, dressing, clothing, &c., by an older
hand, who is well acquainted with his business.

The time of teaching a boy to ride is, of course,
when the horses are at exercise. As race-horse stables
are mostly on or near the ground on which the horses
are trained, it is the custom (and a very excellent one
it is) before the groom sets his horses on their legs
(by giving them a short gallop) to order the boys to
walk them, at a proper distance from each other, round
a large circle, that they may stretch their legs, and
empt themselves before they commence their gallops.

It is generally during this period that the groom
gives his orders to the different boys, according to cir-
cumstances, how they are to go with their horses, as
to their length and pace, and the different sorts or
parts of ground they are to go on; but he seldom
troubles himself with the first rudiments of a young
boy's riding, that being generally left to the head lad.

Let us now suppose a string of race-horses to be
clothed up, turned round in their stalls, with the boys
on them, ready to go out to exercise. Before they start,
the head lad gives his instructions to the young boy; he
arranges the length he is to ride in his stirrups, by
making him stand up in them, and leaning his body
forward, with his fork over the pummel of the saddle;

234 / ON TRAINING GROOMS

his breeches being loose, should just lightly brush the
top of it as he is directed to move his body forward
and backward. This length answers the purpose well
enough at first, until the boy gets more inured to the
habit of riding ; he will then exercise his own judgment
in this respect. The bridle-reins are knotted at a well-
proportioned length, so as to enable the boy to have a
very firm hold of the horse's head, whenever he finds
such to be necessary. He should now be directed to sit
upright, but well down in his saddle, keeping his knees
and the calves of his legs tightly pressed to its flaps ;
his toes should be as much turned in and up as the hold
with his knees and the calves of his legs will admit;
and with his feet rather forward, he should have a pretty
firm hold of his stirrups. He is to be told the distance
he is to keep from the horse in front of him.

He is next to be directed almost invariably to keep
his hands well down ; more particularly when the horse
is going up his gallop, they must be well down on each
side the horse's withers. The boy's hands thus placed
give him some support against the horse whenever he
feels inclined to pull, nor is he to move his hands from
this position (walking exercise excepted) unless to take
a pull ; if the horse should be making too free with him-
self in the gallop, he may then move his hands to take
a pull, or rather, first gradually give with the reins, and
take the pull afterwards. By these means the horse's
mouth is kept alive, or, in other words, sensible to the
pressure of the bit; and thereby the boy is enabled to
hold the horse in the gallop, and to pull him up at the

AND EXERCISE BOYS. 235

termination of it. But he should be cautioned, that
when the horses are making their run at the end of the
gallop, as they will sometimes have to do, he is to lay
a little out of his ground to the right of the horses in
front of him, so that he may have room to pull
his horse up gradually, and not balk* him of his
stride.

A boy, having the above directions clearly laid down
to him, and going out occasionally twice a day with
the horses to exercise, soon learns (provided he be not
a very stupid fellow) how to take a quiet horse up his
gallop. When he is seen to sit carelessly on his horse
at walking exercise, sitting perhaps on one thigh, and
talking to the rest of the boys, there are hopes of his
becoming a good rider. The groom observing a boy
doing this sort of thing, thinks it will soon be time to
take him under his own tuition.

To prepare him for this, he changes him from the
quiet horse, and puts him to look after one that is not
only more difficult to ride, but in all probability, more
difficult to dress (of which I shall have occasion to
speak more fully hereafter) ; perhaps a sort of horse
which, in the language of the stable, is termed a hearty
one, and which, if not in pretty strong work at the
time, will be very likely, when on the downs, to begin
his gambols, and of this the groom is aware. He
therefore cautions the boy to sit upright on his horse,
but firm, and well down in his saddle, and to keep fast
hold of his horse's head, that he may not get it down;
as a horse of this description, when fresh, seeing the

236 ON TRAINING GROOMS

horses in front of him commencing their gallop, be-
comes anxious to get away with them, and he is very
likely to kick up, or make a bound or two just before
he settles in his stride. If he does not give the boy a
calf the first time of his riding him, he will not in all
probability do it at all ; but he will certainly give his
rider to understand that he requires some attention paid
him, or, more properly speaking, the boy finds he
must be on his guard with him, that he must keep a
firm seat, or occasionally be very quick in seizing
one.

As the groom sees the boy has confidence in himself,
and that he can manage the horse I have just described,
he should take an opportunity, whenever it is his inten-
tion to give three or four horses a good brushing gallop
together (perhaps the day before sweating), of putting
up this boy to ride one of them, just to give him an idea
of pace ; or whenever there are a number of horses
going a gentle sweat together, then, with a view to get
some length of riding into the boy, he should be put
up, for a few times, to ride any one of the horses at
the tail of the string, that will not want much persever-
ing with to keep him up with the others in going over
the sweating ground. This young boy, being light
of weight, and thus far forwarded in his riding, the
groom is now supposed to put him to ride such of the
young ones as may be going into strong work, and he
thinks him best capable of holding.

The boy having now been taught a certain portion

AND EXERCISE BOYS. 237

of his duty out of the stables, the next thing to be
done, is to teach him that part of it which it is
equally necessary he should perform when in the
stables ; and this will form the subject of the following
chapter, >

CHAPTER XIV.

ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES.

From the repeated and strict orders which a boy,
when first put to look after a race-horse, has given
him by the groom and head lad, and from his observa-
tions on what he daily sees other boys doing, together
with the precise regularity of the stable-hours, &c. he
must naturally conclude, in his own mind, that there
can be nothing on earth of so much importance as
a race-horse ; at least, such was my idea when, as
a boy, I first entered the stables. Nor is it by any
means an improper idea for a boy to entertain. Each
boy is made accountable for every thing used about
what he calls his own horse, nor does he even give
a thought to any other. If caught in the rain when at
exercise, he must take care to have his horse's clothes
thoroughly dried. If his horse's boots are wet or dirty,
they must also be dried, rubbed, and brushed. When

ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES. 239

a boy has been taught his duty, he seldom forgets
any thing relative to his horse; or if he does, the
groom is very likely, with the aid of an ash plant, to
refresh his memory in a way not very pleasant to the
boy's feelings. The duty he has to perform in the
stables with regard to the dressing of his horse, is
sometimes as difficult as that which he has to attend
to out of them when riding him.

As the dressing of race-horses (generally speaking)
differs very materially from that of most of our hunters
and hacks, I think it necessary to make a few remarks
on the subject. It is to be observed that race-horses,
on coming into the stables from their daily exercise,
are not in that dirty or sweaty state in which hunters
and hacks generally are, unless after sweating and
running, (this is another matter, and I shall come to
it by and bye) ; they, therefore, do not require to be
worked at by those who look after them with that
degree of labour which is so often requisite in cleaning
either of the former.

I shall first notice the regular method to be pursued
in the dressing of a quiet race-horse. The boy, in
coming in from exercise, rides his horse into the stable,
turns him round in the stall, dismounts, slacks his
girths, takes off his hood, bridle, and boots, unbuckles
his breast cloth, turns it and the front part of the
quarter-piece back, over the saddle. Having put
a bit of hay on the ground for the horse to eat, he
commences dressing his head, neck, and fore-quarters ;
first, by wisping them perfectly clean with a damp

240 ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES.

wisp of gardener's matting or hay, and then he uses
his brush in the same manner. This being done, he
sponges his horse's mouth, nostrils, and eyes, with a
damp sponge ; and then, with a hnen rubber he wipes
his horse's head and every part of his forequarters
perfectly clean ; combs out his mane and fore-top, and
giving his ears a few strokes with his hands, he turns
him round in the stall, puts on his collar and dressing
muzzle, and chains up the horse's head to the cribbing
board. The boy, after kicking a sufficient portion of
the litter well back, takes his rubber, spreads it on the
litter close to his horse's feet, puts into the rubber the
dirt which he picks out, and which he afterwards
throws into the middle of the stable. He then washes
his horse's feet clean, and after having given his legs a
few strokes down with some soft straw, he takes off
the saddle, and puts it in its place ; he then strips his
horse, throws the clothes into the manger, or puts
them on the top of the rack, and begins (on the off
side) to dress his horse's body, first, by wisping him
well over, twice on each side. In the same manner he
brushes him over on each side, then wisps him
again once on each side, wipes him over with
the rubber, and finishes on the near side ; he then
clothes him up, observing to place the wrong side of
of the pad-cloth up, with a view to keep it clean, as it
is sometimes wanted at the time of saddling when the
horse is going to run. The horse's hood and woollen
rubber are thrown over his loins, as from ranging
about in the stall while being dressed, he gets a little

ON DRESSING RACE HORSES. 241

warm ; the hood, therefore, is for a short time made use
of in this way to prevent the horse from becoming
chilly. His mane and tail being combed out, the boy
kneels down on the near side of his horse and rubs his
legs, first, with some soft straw, and afterwards with
his hands or a linen rubber. He then sets his bed
fair, and the horse is suffered to stand with his head up
and muzzle on until he is fed.

This is the manner of dressing a quiet horse ; and it
is a horse of this description that a young boy should
first be put to look after, being directed by the head
lad until he knows thoroughly how to do every thing
necessary, as far as regards the cleaning of a horse.
After which, he may be changed from one horse to
another, until he can dress one of a different descrip-
tion.

Race-horses, when they are sufficiently quiet, are
dressed as I have above-mentioned; but like other
animals, they vary much in their dispositions. There
are some of them which are high-couraged, thin-
skinned, short coated horses, many of which have to
sweat and scrape often. Take what methods we will,
some of them have a great aversion to being dressed.
They immediately become irritated on the boy's un-
buckling the roller to strip them ; they kick and lash
out and range about in the stall, and do every thing
they can to avoid being dressed. A groom or head
lad cannot too often caution a young boy to be cool and
patient in the dressing of such a horse. Indeed it
requires as much coolness and patience in the dressing

R

242 ON DRESSING RACE HORSES.

of some horses as in the riding of others, and until a
boy has been properly taught and long accustomed to
irritable, flighty, and high-couraged horses, he should
be strictly watched. When a boy knows how to
dress a horse, such as I have here described, and
when he can patiently bear with whatever the horse
may be inclined to do, without abusing him, he be-
comes as valuable to the groom in the stable, as a good
riding boy is out of it.

In the dressing of such horses, it is necessary to
take every precautionary measure we can, to avoid as
much as possible making use of anything likely to
annoy them. There is seldom or ever any occasion to
use a curry-comb about the body of such horses in
summer. The only use of the comb at this season of
the year is in the cleaning of the brush, which latter
is, at almost every stable-hour, in pretty general use ;
and what is termed a good one in hunting or saddle-
horse stables, is made of the best Russian hair, and has
been some time in use. This is a sort of brush that
few thin-skinned horses can bear to have applied to
their bodies. They endeavour all they can to shift
from it. Even quiet horses will show their dislike to
being brushed over with such brushes, by shifting and
ranging about in their stalls. Others of a more irrit-
able disposition I have known to become quite vicious
at the time of their being brushed over. One horse
may be seen endeavouring to fly at the boy, while an-
other may be observed trying to press the boy with
the whole weight of his body against the side of the

ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES. 243

Stall. A groom may prevent a great deal of this oc-
curring, by not allowing such brushes to be made use
of in the stables. Indeed there are many thin-skinned
horses which would, in the height of summer, be much
better without being brushed over at all, at mid-day
stables particularly ; wisping them thoroughly with
well-damped wisps of garden matting, and afterwards
wiping them over with the rubber, putting their clothes
straight, combing out their manes and tails, and hand-
rubbing their legs for a short time, is all I should re-
commend being done to them prior to their being fed
at mid-day stables.

As it has often fallen to my lot to look after such
horses, I shall endeavour to point out the best way to
dress them, so as to annoy them as little as possible.
Every thing that is done to the quiet horse in dressing
him is also to be done (if possible) to the high-coii-
raged, irritable one, but he will not permit its being
done exactly in the same manner. Therefore some
little stratagem, with good temper and great patience
on the part of the boy, is absolutely necessary, to pre-
vent the horse from losing his temper, becoming
violent, or breaking out in a sweat at the time of
dressing.

As I have just observed, some horses of this de-
scription are resolutely vicious ; they freely use their
legs and feet, and are inclined to be rather more fami-
liar with their mouths than is pleasant. They will watch
their opportunity, and seize even the boy who looks

R 2

244 ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES.

after them ; but this is not, by any means, a common
occurrence. To prevent this, the boy must be careful
at all times to secure his horse's head before he attempts
to do anything to him ; for example, when the horse
comes in from exercise, and has been turned round in
his stall for the purpose of having his head dressed
and his hood and bridle taken off, the boy, being on
his guard, begins by sponging his horse's mouth and
nostrils, and having wiped them dry with a linen
rubber, he puts on the horse's dressing muzzle, and
it may also be necessary to buckle his head up with
the pillar-reins (but this is not very commonly re-
quired,) before he ventures to dress his head and fore-
quarters. Having properly finished both the latter, he
turns the horse back in the stall, removes the muzzle
for a moment to put on the collar, when the former
is replacedj and the horse's head is again chained
up to the cribbing-board. His feet and legs being
done, his quarters are next to be cleaned ; and the
way this should be done is very similar to that in
which such a horse is generally scraped and rubbed
after sweating. The clothes and saddle are not im-
mediately to be taken off his body ; the former
should be turned back over the latter. The boy is
then quietly to set about dressing his horse's quarters,
first by working with his wisp. If the horse will
not; allow him to use it about his sheath, between or
inside his thighs, the boy should not be suffered
to persevere with it here. He should be directed
to lay hold of the horse's hock or tail, and by degrees

ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES. 245

try what he can do with a rubber, a soft damp sponge,
or his hand ; or after he has finished dressing his
horse, and has clothed him up, he may then try
to clean those parts. I have known some horses,
when clothed, stand perfectly quiet to be cleaned
about the upper part of their thighs, which would
not otherwise allow such being done. The horse's
quarters being dressed, that is, wisped, brushed,
and wiped over, his saddle and clothes should be
taken off; but previously to doing this, it may be
advisable to put on his boots, to prevent his injur-
ing his legs by striking them : for it often happens
that the horse becomes most irritable when a boy
is working at his body ; and in ranging about in
the stall, as I have before observed, kicking and
lashing out with hind legs, pawing, striking, and
stamping with his fore legs, a horse will occasionally
strike one of his feet against the opposite leg. If he
has not boots on to ward off the blow, the leg will
swell, which may oblige the groom (although perhaps
very inconveniently) to stop his work, or run the risk
of the horse going lame.

Another thing to be observed in a young boy
who is not much accustomed to dressing a horse
of this description, is his temper. He must be
strictly cautioned not to suffer passion to get the
better of his reason ; if it should, and the groom
not be by at the time, he will be very likely to abuse
his horse by striking or kicking him in the belly,

246 ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES.

or what is very much worse, in the fore legs. It
is therefore necessary just at this time to pay the
strictest attention to the boy, that he may not do
mischief. I have often watched the groom to the
lower end of the stable, and then kicked an un-
ruly horse I have been looking after in his fore legs.
A boy while dressing a horse of this kind, should
have a small ash plant in his hand, but should not
strike the horse with it if he can possibly avoid it.
Fighting with a horse of this description in any
way, seldom answers. Holding the stick up occa-
sionally, with a view to check him a little, is the
better mode ; and when the horse makes any attempt
to press the boy against the sides of the stall, he
has nothing more to do than to push him quietly
from him.

The cautions and directions given by a groom to
a young boy on his first being put to dress this sort
of horse, mostly puts him on his guard ; and if he
is not very stupid, from his former practice with other
horses, he soon finds out at what part of the stall he
can safely stand, and judges with great nicety the
different lengths of his horse's kicking and lashing out
with his hind legs, as well also as his pawing, stamp-
ing, and striking with his fore legs.

A boy, looking after a horse of this sort, soon be-
comes familiar with his tricks ; he then generally keeps
his temper sufficiently well, so as not to abuse him,
which gives the horse confidence in the boy. The

ON DRESSING UACE-IIORSES. 247

former becomes less mischievous, and the latter less
cautious, and after a time they generally agree toler-
ably well together ; nor should the groom part them
if he can possibly avoid it, more^ particularly if the
horse is inclined to be resolutely vicious.

CHAPTER XV.

ON THE USE OF DIFFERENT REINS.

There are some race-horses in training, whicii
are not easily held by the very light weights, in plain
snaffles or Pelham bridles, and it occasionally happens
that some horses are more delicate on their fore legs
than others ; therefore it does not answer to put up
great heavy boys to ride them in their gallops and
sweats, more particularly if they require to be in
strong work, or are young ones. Therefore, with
a view to preserve the legs of such horses, it is neces-
sary to put small boys up to ride them ; and to give
these boys sufficient power, the groom has recourse to
different sorts of reins, or martingals, just according as
horses are found to require them. Jockeys, of course,
are well acquainted with the use of them. The difficulty
lies in getting young, inexperienced boys to use them
properly ; for, unless repeatedly cautioned, they are
apt to pull too resolutely with almost any sort of

ON THE USE OF DIFFERENT REINS. 249

bridle, but more particularly when they have an
additional rein, by which they can more easily hold or
pull up their horses.

For the purpose of properly instructing those light
boys in the use of different reins, let us, by way of
example, suppose half-a-dozen horses turned round in
their stalls with the boys on them, and that the groom
is going to give these horses a good brushing gallop.
Considering three of these horses to be hard pullers,
and to have light boys on them, we will put on each
of these horses a snaffle bridle and an additional
rein. On the first horse we will put the common
mar4iingal and spare martingal rein, — on the second,
a gag bit and rein, — and on the third, the mar-
tingal running rein. Previous to these horses going
out of the stable, the groom gives directions to
each boy relative to the rein he has to use. First
speaking to the boy who has to ride with the
common martingal rein, he says, — " That spare rein
you have, is to keep that horse of yours from getting
his head up. You had better knot it and let it lay on
the horse's neck until you collect your reins. Just
before you are going up the gallop, if you find as your
horse is going along that he is inclined to get his head
up too high for you to get a fair pull at him, then use
the rein much in the same manner as with the snaffle
rein ; that is, give and take with it so as to keep your
horse's mouth alive, and occasionally take a long,
gradual, steady pull, until you have got his head
down and in place. In this quiet way, you will, as

250 ON THE USE OF DIFFERENT REINS.

occasion may require, use the rein as your horse is
going up the gallop."

To the boy riding with the gag rein the groom
says, — " You must knot this rein ;" or, perhaps, the
groom does it himself, telling the boy at the same
time the use of it, — "This is to prevent your horse from
boring with his head too close to the ground. Be
carefid how you use it. You had better let it lay on
your horse's neck until you go up the gallop with
him. Then, as soon as you have collected your reins
and the horse is settled in his stride, if you find he is
getting his head, as usual, too close to the ground,
shorten the purchase of this rein and take a gentle pull
with it. Thus, by gradually giving and taking with
this and the snaffle rein, you will have your horse's
head in place, which will enable you to hold him
much more easily ; and as yoin- horse is not a
flighty one, you may, as you find occasion, quietly
take this pull, without causing him to alter his
stride."

The groom, in giving instructions to the boy
who has to ride with the running martingal rein,
says, — " In collecting your reins, keep this rein
outside the snaffle, and use it much in the same
way as you would the snaffle rein, that is, give and
take in pulling at your horse, so as to keep his
mouth alive, in order that when you want to take
a good pull with this rein, it may have the desired
effect of bringing your horse's head in place, and
enable you to hold him so as to prevent his break-

ON THE USE OF DIFFERENT REINS. 251

ing away in the gallop, — or to pull him up at the
end of it. For I am of opinion you will find
that horse will pull rather resolutely at you, and
if he does, as the other horses are increasing their
pace, making more free than he ought ; and if you
think you cannot keep him in his place in the
gallop, let him go on with the pace, but do not
rattle by close to the other horses, but turn his
head off, and go to the bottom of the hill. Keep
his mouth alive and let him go a telling pace u})
it, and as you approach the top, sit you well down
and firm in your saddle, with your feet rather for-
ward, and take two or three determined pulls at
him with this rein. If you find, from the pace,
the hill, and the pull, that he becomes more collected,
and that you have sufficient confidence in yourself
both to hold and to pull him up, there will be no
occasion for you immediately to do the latter. Let
him go on with the pace (if you feel inclined) for
a mile or more. As he proceeds, speak gently to
him, take a turn to the right, and go up the short
gallop. Having pulled him up at the top of it,
turn him to the wind, give him his head, and let
him stand for a minute or two, or until he has blown
his nose. Then walk him down into the vale, and
let him be on the move until I come to you."

These orders, or others tending to the same end, are
such as careful training grooms give to young boys
on their first riding hard-pulling horses with either
of the above reins. As boys improve in riding, they

252 ON THE USE OF DIFFERENT REINS.

are occasionally changed from one horse to another,
and by riding a variety of horses in their exercise,
such boys as can ride well, soon find out how to
manage every description of horse they are mounted
on, and finish by having little difficulty in holding
almost any horse with the aid of proper tackle.

CHAPTER XVr.

ON RIDING A CRAVING HORSE IN HIS SWEAT,

Proceeding with my instructions to the boy in
riding, I will suppose him now to have been in the
stable for a couple of years. Being a light weight, he
has, during this period, been riding such young ones
in their exercise and sweats, as the groom may have
thought him best capable of managing. In advancing
in years, he has become stronger on horseback, and
gives promise of being a good jockey.

The groom, aware of the advantage of having such
a boy to ride different horses in training, proceeds to
give him further insti'uctions, and puts him up to ride
such horses in their sweats, as will bring the boy into
good riding condition.

It is to be observed, that the boy we are alluding to,
already knows, from the practice he has had in riding
exercise, how and when to make use of his hands and
feet in setting off a horse in his gallop. He also knows
how to sit quietly down in his saddle when his horse

254 ON RIDING A CRAVING HORSE

is well on his legs and settled in his stride ; and from
his having rode different young horses, he knows some-
thing of the pace a horse is going either in his gallop
or sweat. He also knows what strength to apply to
the reins in holding his horse, in order to let him go
quietly within himself, and not balk him of his stride
by pulling at him, but just to have a gentle pull, and
to give and take with his reins so as to keep his horse's
mouth alive ; and if he does this properly, he prevents
him from breaking away with him.

A boy being thus forwarded in riding, is next to be
put to ride such horses in their gallops and sweats as
will, by the exertion which is required of him, rouse
them into and rate them at a fair and even pace, and
make the boy very strong and determined on horse-
back. The horses which require to be thus persevered
with in their work, are such as are termed craving ones,
and to bring some of them through their sweats at the
pace they are sometimes ordered to go, is by no means
an easy task for the rider, whether he be man or boy ;
as in their sweats, some of them will hang, and swerve,
and lay out of their ground. Indeed, for the time it
lasts, it is often very laborious, much more so than
riding them in their races ; for in their sweats they are
not so easily got at, either with an ash plant or wis'p,
as they are when stripped for running.

When a boy is first put to ride such horses in their
sweats, the better way of doing it is to let the head lad
ride with a young boy of this class for a few times, on
any horse that is stripped or nearly so, that may want

IN HIS SWEAT. 255

the same length got into him. But it is necessary here
to observe, that this horse should be one of a very
placid temper, which is generally a horse whose con-
stitution will require him to be sweated once in about
eight days. He should be a horse that has a good
mouth, is easily held, is kind at his turns, and will
patiently wait or readily make play in his sweat,
either alone or with any number of horses, (just as
he may be called upon by the rider for either,) with-
out becoming alarmed or at all impetuous. Such a
horse should also be a kind and superior runner to
the craving one, so that when he is called upon to go
up and challenge the latter in his sweat, he should do
it with ease to himself, that is, he should not be at
the top of his mark at the time. Let the rally be of
what length it may, he should be going within himself.
If this horse is not fast enough, the point may be gained
by putting up a lighter weight.

The horses being clothed up, and the orders being
given to the head lad by the groom in presence of the
boy, how the craving horse is to go in his sweat, as to
pace, length, &c., the horses are rode to the ground
they are to sweat over. The head lad then desires the
boy to set his horse upon his legs, or in other words*
to start him off in a canter, and the head lad follows
him for a few lengths ; after which he goes close up to
the boy's horse, lays his own horse's head in at the
other horse's quarters, so as to be able to direct the
boy, to whom, probably, the first part of his directions
will be, (to use the language of the turf,) " to keep

256 ON RIDING A CRAVING HORSE

fast hold of his horse's head and kick him along." By
these directions, the boy understands that he is to have
a steady pull on his horse, and often to persevere in
urging him on with his legs and feet against the horse's
sides. They seldom proceed far before the lad sees it
necessary to speak again to the boy, (perhaps, rather
sharply,) as thus, — " Come, boy, sit well down, get at
your horse's head, and twist him along ;" meaning by
this, that the boy is to sit upright, but well down in
the saddle, to raise his hands off his horse's withers,
first giving a little to him with the reins, (but they are
not to be slack,) and then having a pretty strong hold
of his horse's head ; giving him two or three good
hustles, and persevering at the same time with his
hands and feet, he urges the horse on at a better pace.

Now suppose the horse in question to have gone a
mile and a half or two miles, whether more or less
must depend on what portion of the ground the groom
may have given orders for them to come home at a
sweating pace. At whatever point this order is to be
put in practice, the boy is to be apprised of it at the
proper time by the head lad, who again says, — " Come,
boy, get at your horse, for we must now go a telling
pace the whole of the way home." The boy imme-
diately gets himself ready to set-to, and as soon as he
has roused his horse into a still better pace, the head
lad, in order to continue the craving horse at it, gives
a quiet pull at his own horse, and goes up to the
other, head and girth. The craving horse being thus
challenged, and the boy now and then persevering

IN HIS SWEAT. 257

with him, continues at the pace for a good length : but
if the head lad sees him beginning to hang, and slacken
from what he considers a sweating pace, he desires the
boy to take a pull, and hustle his horse along. If he
still observes the horse does not come, when challenged
in this way, being aware that he is a very craving, idle
horse, and that unless he is persevered with rather se-
verely, the length cannot be got into him at the pace
necessary to get a good sweat out of him, the head lad.
says to the boy, — "■ Get up your ash plant, and flourish
it near your horse's head or over your own." And if
the horse does not come at a better pace when thus
excited to it, the boy is to be told to drop his ash plant
smartly down his horse's shoulders o r under his belly,
either with his left or right hand, for he should be
taught to use both equally well. Just at this time, the
head lad should make another run, get a little for-
warder, let the two horses be head and neck, thus pro-
ceeding at a fair telling pace until they are approaching
pretty near home, when the head lad should make
another run with his horse, getting so far forward as to
bring both horses nearly head and head. The ad-
vantage given to the craving horse should be about half a
head. The boy riding this horse should now vigorously
persevere with him, and of whatever length the last
rally home may be, he should be pretty near the top
of his speed immediately previous to his being pulled
up at the end of the sweating ground.

A boy thus instructed, and being often put to ride
horses of the above description in their sweats, soon gets

s

258 ON RIDING A CRAVING HORSE, ETC.

into good riding condition. He becomes not only
stout on horseback, but as occasion may require, he
becomes very determined in the riding of any craving,
idle, or sulky horse ; and in setting-to with such horse,
he generally succeeds in rousing him out of any sulky
tricks, and he is thereby enabled to put the groom's
orders strictly into practice, as far as regards how such
a horse may have to go in his sweats.

CHAPTER XVII.

ON RIDING A FREE-GOING HORSE IN HIS SWEAT.

Having, in the preceding chapter, given directions
for the instruction of a boy how to ride horses which
require perseverance to get them along at a certain
pace, I will now give the further necessary instructions
for riding horses of a different description. The horse
I will now make choice of for the boy to ride shall
be the one described in the foregoing chapter, sup-
posed to be sweating with the craving one. Therefore,
by way of example, I will sweat the same two horses
again, with only this difference — that of changing the
riders ; putting the boy on the kind, free runner, and
the head lad on the craving one. The horses having
arrived on the sweating ground, the head lad gives
his orders to the boy to sit quiet, to keep a gentle pull
on his horse, and to follow him. They then set
their horses on their legs at a quiet, striding pace.
They will most likely not have proceeded far, before

s2

260 ON RIDING A FREE-GOING HORSE

the head lad, looking back, by turning his head over
his shoulder, (for he must not move his body on
such an occasion,) calls to the boy to take a gentle
pull at his horse, and come up with him to his (the
head lad's) horse's quarters. The head lad rates his
horse a little faster, and the boy's horse, being one of a
placid temper, (that is, a sort of horse that will make a
race with anything, as it is called,) patiently waits, and
retains his place without any trouble to the boy what-
ever. Now, to regulate the boy's temper gradually,
and to bring him patient in riding a free horse, the
head lad, turning his head, should talk to the boy, and
point out to him the kind, easy, and free manner the
horse he (the boy) is riding, goes in his sweat, com-
pared with the craving one he himself is riding ; and
how necessary it is for him (the boy) to be very
still and quiet on the back of such a horse ; also, to
observe to him that whenever he wants to make a run
w ith his horse, he has nothing more to do than quietly
to lift his hands off his horse's withers, and give him
a gentle pull or two, which the horse knows (if he has
been well taught as trained) is a challenge for him to
make a run for the rally he can easily live in, — a sort
of thing the head lad is likely to order the boy to do
pretty often, to save himself the labour of persevering
with his craving horse.

When these horses which I am supposed to have
just ordered to sweat, come to that part of the ground
from which horses are sometimes- ordered to come
home at a sweating pace, the head lad should order

IN HIS SWEAT. 261

the boy again to take a pull, and come up with his horse,
head and girth, with the craving one, and wait there
until he orders him to come again head and neck, or
head and head. This is more for the purpose of teach-
ing the boy how to challenge a horse to run, than the
actual necessity there is for doing it to bring the crav-
ing horse through his sweat, for the head lad (if he is
any thing like a good one) can mostly do this him-
self without the boy's aid.

The horses having thus proceeded for a certain
length, the head lad may order the boy again to take
a pull at his horse, and go half a length in front, to
give the boy an idea of making play, or what is com-
monly called, — " cutting the work out." But he must
not be allowed to go too far in front, or he may over-
mark his horse. As they are concluding the sweat,
the head lad should go up to the boy, make a run with
him home, and finish the sweat at the usual pace,
which is mostly regulated according to the state of the
ground and the condition of the horses.

The boy, who by this time can ride tolerably well,
is becoming very useful to the groom, who often
changes him from one horse to another that is more
difficult to ride. If the boy is tolerably light, and has
a thorough knowledge of the pace which horses are at
times to go in their gallops, he is frequently put to lead
the gallop, and is also often put to ride such horses in
their sweats as require to be resolutely persevered with
to get them along.

Having been practised in this sort of riding for

262 ON RIDING A FREE-GOING HORSE

some time, he also begins to understand the pace
horses are occasionally to be rated at in this kind of
exercise ; and when three or four, or half a dozen are
going to sweat together, the groom, with a view of
giving the boy a still better idea of the thing, is very
likely to order him with a horse to go in front, and
rate the others in their sweats the whole of the way
home, and, perhaps, on a horse the boy may not
know much about with respect to his powers, either as
to stoutness or speed. If the boy should not know
this, he might not only overmark his own horse in the
pace, but by so doing he would, in all probability, also
occasion one or two of the other horses to tire in their
sweats, and in coming home in finishing them, they
would be quite abroad and uncollected in their stride.
Some horses meeting with repetitions of this sort, will
lose their tempers to a certain extent, which may be
seen by their becoming alarmed when, on sweating
mornings, the sweaters are being put on them.

Now, a good training groom, who has himself been
brought up from his boyhood in the stables, is fully
aware that those things I have mentioned may happen
from the boy's making too free with a horse of which
he may, as I have observed, know but little. But the
groom, to prevent any thing going wrong, cautions the
boy who is supposed to lead the sweat, either in the
stable or as he is going along on his way to the
ground. He talks to the boy much in the following
style, (the sweating ground being in good order, and
the horses having been for some time in strong work).

IN HIS SWEAT. 263

Calling him by his name, or perhaps, applying the
more familiar epithet " boy," he says, — " As soon as
they are well on their legs and settled in their stride,
(meaning the horses,) come away with them at a fair
even pace until you come to such a place, (naming
some land-mark, point, or object well known on the
ground). As soon as you get there, take a pull at
your horse, keep fast hold of his head, and come with
them the whole of the way home at a good sweating
pace." The groom, in concluding his orders, says, —
" Mind, boy, you do not overmark your horse ;" and
then he goes on to tell him how he is to proceed in
order to guard against so doing. He says, — " Be sure
you do not forget, in coming along, to call sufficiently
often on your horse, so as to know what he has left in
him to come home with them in the last rally."

Now, the boy we have been so long teaching to
ride is fully aware of what is meant by the groom's
orders, to call on his horse. Having reached that part
of the ground whence he is ordered to bring them
home at the pace mentioned, he takes a pull at
his horse and sets him a-going (the other horses
following) for whatever length he thinks proper, or
rather, as he finds the pace tells on his horse. If he
finds his horse goes freely, collectedly, and within
himself, he lets him stride away at the pace he was
ordered, if he thinks it is not too fast for the other
horses ; but the moment he finds his own horse
beginning to hang, or not going at the pace kindly
as he did at first, he quietly takes a pull and holds him

264 ON RIDING A FREE-GOING HORSE

together for a few strides. After which, he challenges
him again, by lifting up his hands and giving him a
hustle or two, to ascertain whether he is slackening his
pace being rather idle, or whether the pace and the
length he is going are telling on him. Now if the
boy, by challenging his horse, finds that he imme-
diately and determinedly gets at his usual stride,
he thinks, or perhaps he says to himself, (in the
language of the stables,) " Oh come, he has got plenty
left ; I shall hold him fast and let him go," meaning by
this, that he will keep a pretty fast hold of the horse's
head, and let him go on with the pace. And if
he finds the horse maintains his stride with ease
to himself, he will most likely not have occasion to
challenge him again until he is approaching near home,
or perhaps not even then, if he finds he is going well
within himself. But if he does not challenge him again,
it may be necessary that he should take a quiet pull
and hold him together for a few strides, that he may be
well ready when called upon to make a run, and
bring the whole of the horses home in concluding the
sweat, at a good telling pace.

This is the mode in general practice of making
play, or rating a horse, so as to run no risk of over-
marking him. Only observe that some horses make
more free with themselves than others in sweating
and running. It is therefore necessary for a rider
to challenge such horses often, (unless they are very
flighty), to ascertain how much they may have left in
them ; and holding them quietly together according to

IN HIS SWEAT. 265

their mouths and manner of running, will be the
means of preventing their breaking way, and over-
marking or otherwise abusing themselves in their
sweats, trials, or races.

In order further to instruct the boy in riding, let us
suppose, by way of example, half a dozen horses
of different ages under the care of one groom, to
have arrived at any place where a meeting is to be
held, a fortnight or three weeks prior to such meeting,
at which the horses have to run over a two-mile round
course. It is not customary for horses to leave the
ground on which they may have been training so long
previous to a meeting taking place. It is only usual,
on such occasions, for the horses to take the last sweat
on a course they have not run over. The object,
however, for having the horses brought to a round
course so long before running, is not only to shew the
old horses the course, but principally to teach the
young ones to turn upon it, as also to instruct the
young boy whom I am teaching to ride, how to make
a difficult turn, or, what used to be more commonly
called, '^ running for the turn," which is a sort of
thing horses as well as boys may be practised in when
are sweating over a round course, in preference to any
other way.

To arrange this matter properly, previous to the
horses going out to sweat, the groom, if he is a good
judge, puts the best riding boys on the young ones,
to teach and regulate^ them judiciously at the turns.
Those boys who ride moderately well will do on the

266 ON RIDING A FREE-GOING HORSE

old ones. As soon as the horses arrive at the sweating
ground, the groom orders the boys with the young
ones, to go to a certain part of the course, (what part,
will depend on the length they have to sweat,) and
to walk about until the other horses which have begun
and have to sweat longer lengths, come to them. The
young ones then follow in line as directed, the boys on
them having been previously cautioned to be very
careful with them at their turns, which, if they ride as
they ought, they know very well how to arrange.

Now, the boy I have been instructing to ride, should
on his first being ordered to ride a sweat over a round
course, be put to do it on an old horse — one which is
known to be easy and kind at his turns, and should be
placed second in the string ; and, to give the boy an
idea how he is to make his turns, the head lad, on one
of the horses, should lead the sweat, and previous to
his coming to a difficult turn, which requires some
caution, (otherwise it is not necessary) he should, in
time, turn his head and call to the boy to follow him.
The head lad should then also point out to the boy
how far it is necessary for him to lay out of his ground
so as to make the turn pretty close to the post without
in the least altering the stride or pace of the horse.
The head lad takes care to begin sufficiently early
to lay his horse a little out of his ground as he is ap-
proaching the post at which he is to make the turn.

It is very necessary for a boy to know this part of
riding well, in case he should be put up as a light
weight to ride in a race ; for if the boy properly ex-

IN HIS SWEAT. 267

ecutes a difficult turn, he is not only close to the post,
but he is immediately ready, without risk or difficulty,
to make a run from it, should his horse be challenged
there for running by any of the party. But if the boy
attempts to turn immediately at the post, he must lay
some way out of his ground in doing it, to make a
difficult turn in this manner ; the consequence of which
in a race would be, that an experienced jockey, well
placed, running with him, and having made this turn well
previously to his coming to the post, would not only
have the opportunity of running for the turn, but in
doing it, he would, if he chose, oblige the boy to lay
very much out of his ground. The experienced jockey
would then take a pull to set his horse a-going, would
slip the boy several lengths, and would thereby most
likely win the race ; for as I have before observed, a
length gained here may be worth five or six in
straight running, if the proper advantage be taken
of it.

I will just now state the advantages which may,
and often have been taken by experienced jockeys ;
and which advantage the groom is very likely to ex-
plain to a good riding boy, and more particularly if he
knows he shall shortly have occasion to put him up to
ride a race over a round course.

The groom therefore takes an opportunity, and
quietly talks to the boy of what may happen in the
running. If a horse bolts, or lays a long way out of
his ground, the groom says, — " If he is a good horse,
and it is heats that you are running, the best way.

268 ON RIDING A FREE-GOING HORSE

if a strong field, is for two or three of you to agree
to run for the heat, and distance the horse if you can.
If you do not succeed, his rider will most likely have
taken a good deal out of him in saving his distance.
In the second heat, if it can be agreed upon, those
that laid by in the first, may take him off from the
post and keep at him the whole of the way home : —
the others that waited in the second heat, may take
him off again in the third. If he is not to be beaten
by being thus run at, he proves himself to be very
superior to the compau}^ he is in."

The groom, continuing his directions to the boy,
says, — " Now, if the same sort of thing should happen
to you when riding a race over a round course, by
your horse bolting or laying out of his ground, you
must instantly pull your horse up, and get fairly, and
as quick as possible into the course again, and make
all the running you can to save your distance ; but
never, under such circumstances, run to win. Having
saved your distance, decline the heat, and pull your
horse up the moment you are within the distance post,
and walk him quietly to the scales to weigh. Your
horse will not be much abused, nor will the public
know any thing about him. But now, boy, if you
should be engaged to ride in a match, and the horse
you are riding against should swerve, or lay a long
way out of his ground, the instant you observe this,
take you a pull and make strong running with your
horse, until you see, by keeping your head occasionally
turned, the other jockey has got his horse into the

IN HIS SWEAT. 269

course again. Immediately you observe this, take
a pull at your horse in order to ease him, and wait
until the other horse, by persevering in the pace,
has got nearly up to your horse's quarters. As soon
as you perceive him close at hand, be you ready
to take a pull and come home with your horse at
his best pace. The horse that has been laying out of
the ground, (if the jockey thinks he has any chance
in the race,) must keep his place. If he can win under
the above unfavourable circumstances, he will prove
himself a most extraordinary good horse, or the horse
you are riding must be an extraordinary bad one.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ON RIDING A FLIGHTY HORSE IN HIS EXERCISE,
AND SWEAT.

I HAVE described in the last two chapters how the
boy should be ordered to ride a craving horse, and a
free kind going horse. Let us suppose the boy to
have been riding different horses of the latter descrip-
tion, and that his temper is thereby so much improved,
that he is become very cool and patient on horseback,
and can ride well.

As there is another race-horse to be trained, differing
in description from either of the last mentioned, and as
he is to be very differently managed in his riding, I
think it necessary, with a view further to instruct the
boy, to point out here how such a horse should be
rode.

The horse I now allude to, is in every respect the
very reverse of the craving one. He is delicate in his
constitution, irritable and flighty in his temper, and

ON RIDING A FLIGHTY HORSE, ETC. 271

easily alarmed, either in or out of the stables. There
is nothing to be done with such a horse,, but by the
kindest and most gentle treatment, which I shall more
accurately describe when on the subject of training
such horses.

To bring the boy to ride a horse of the above de
scription properly, the groom in giving his instructions_
seems to make a confidant of him, and commences his
conversation in the plural number. He says, — " We
must mind, boy, what we are about with this horse, or
we shall have him lose his temper, and if he does,
neither you nor I will be able to do any thing with
him. You must, therefore, be very quiet on him, and
go with him by yourself to such a part of the downs
(naming a part well known to the boy). When you
get there, let him do just what he likes, it being a
strange place to him. If he chooses to stand and look
about, let him do so ; you can at the same time speak
kindly to him, and make much of him by patting him
on the neck until he moves on of his own accord. If
you manage him in this way, he will not be frightened
at you ; but if you and he agree tolerably well, he may
now and then be a little calfish ; and if he should, you
must not pull rashly at him, but only just sufficient
to keep his head up. But whatever you do, never
attempt to hit him ; for if you do, it is all over, and we
shall never after get any good of him."

Pursuing his remarks, the groom says, — " You must
not attempt to give him a gallop, until you know him
well, and unless you think he is rather inclined of him-

272 ON RIDING A FLIGHTY HORSE

self to go off in one ; and even then, you had better
not attempt to hold or take a pull at him. If you do,
it will most likely alarm him. The best way at first
will most likely be, for you to sit on him as you would
on a hack, cantering along the road. In pulling him
up, you must do it very gently. Having done it, let
him stand to blow, till he chooses to walk away of
himself; and in coming to the troughs with him, if he
appears to notice them, do not force him up to them,
but turn him away and walk him about until the other
horses are coming up to water. He will most likely go
with them to the troughs without being in the least
alarmed."

The horse above described has generally good speed,
but is a jade in a greater or less degree. If his temper
can be preserved by gentle treatment, some little work
may be got into him, which will bring him something
stouter for the length he can come ; or perhaps in his
race he may be got to go his best pace a few strides
further than usual. The groom, with a view to attain
this point, will probably send him lightly clothed (or,
perhaps, without any clothes at all) over the sweating
ground on the morning this is to happen. If the dis-
tance is not too far from the stables, it is very probable
the groom will walk instead of riding to see the horse
go over the ground. As the groom is going along, he
enters into conversation with the boy, telling him how
the horse is to be rode. He says, — " You must mind,
boy ; you know your horse is a flighty one ; he may
perchance make too free with himself in some part of

IN HIS EXERCISE AND SWEAT. 273

the ground, which is what we do not want him to do.
You must, therefore, let him go off his own way as
quietly as possible ; and if he settles at any thing like
a gentle sweating pace, you must sit very still on him,
drop your hands, and keep your temper ; and do not,
if you can any way avoid it, move your body from the
first position you take. If he makes too free with the
pace, do not pull at him, but be perfectly still, and lethim
rate himself for the length he chooses, unless you find the
length he has gone is beginning to tell on him, and that he
is decreasing his pace a little. If so, speak softly to him,
and if you think, that without irritating him, you can
get a gentle pull, try to do it so as to collect him a
little, that he may finish the length (for it is hardly to
be called a sweat) without being tired or flurried. If
you think the pull will set him agoing again, you had
better not attempt it. He must take his chance now,
and by and bye, we will try another method with
him." But, after the horse is pulled up, if the groom,
on questioning the boy, finds that he and the horse
have agreed tolerably well in coming so long a length,
and that the horse is a good one (under the weights
for his year) for the length he can come in his race,
the boy must not on any account be taken from him.

CHAPTER XIX.

ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE.

The pull and hustle is better known to boys in
racing stables who are perfect in their business than I
shall probably be able to describe it; but as it is a sort
of thing (from the manner in which horses are taught
and trained) that answers the purposes for which it was
intended, and as it requires to be thoroughly under-
stood by all boys, riding gallops and sweats, I will,
for the information of such of them as may be learning
to ride, attempt to describe how and when this pull
and hustle is to be put in practice, and how it is to be
varied according to the effect which it is intended
to produce on different horses. And to bring this
matter more clearly before my readers, I shall again
recur to some observations previously made in that
part of this treatise which professes to teach a boy the
art of riding.

The method adopted by a good riding boy, head

ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE. 275

lad, or jockey, in holding a horse after he has started
in his gallop, is by putting his hands well down
on each side of the horse's withers. By this firm pur-
chase, he is mostly enabled to keep his horse's head up
and in place; for if, in the start, the horse gets his
head down, he will, if he feels inclined to do so, most
probably break away or begin his gambols, and
perhaps throw his rider. Yet it is not to be under-
stood that the rider is at all times to retain this firm
hold of his horse's head. When the rider finds that
his horse is settled in his stride, and that he begins, as
a horse sometimes will, to reach with his head for
a little more liberty of rein, the rider should (to pre-
vent the horse's changing his legs or altering his
stride) gently raise his hands off his horse's withers
or quietly let them slide along that part, and give him
the necessary liberty without letting the reins quite
loose. But if the horse makes too free with the pace,
the rider is to bring his hands gradually back to their
former position, and endeavour to keep the horse more
collected in his stride, by now and then giving and
taking in this way, as occasion may require.

As the horse is proceeding in his sweat or race,
whether he reaches again with his head or not, it
is necessary that the rider should occasionally have
recourse to the same method of easing and pulling
his horse, with a view (as has already been noticed)
of keeping his mouth alive and sensible to the bit.
I mean by this, that the rider is never to have what
is called " a dead pull" on the animal's mouth,

t2

276 ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE.

which, from tliis sort of thing, would soon become
insensible to the pressure applied to it; the effect
of which would be that the horse would have the pull
upon the rider, and would, moreover, have the power
of breaking way or bolting with the rider whenever
he is so inclined. The horse, in doing this, might
make too free with himself, both in the pace and
length, from which he is likely to be overmarked, and
get uncollected and quite abroad in his stride. In
short, to use the common phrase of the stables, the
horse becomes what is called a " spread eagle."

In my instructions given to the boy in riding, I have
observed that although it may be necessary for him
occasionally to make use of his legs and arms when
riding a horse that may require his so doing, he must
move his body as little as possible. But as this matter
seems to call for some further explanation, it may not
be out of place here to point out more fully what I
mean relative to this subject.

There are a few instances in which the boy in riding
is at times necessitated to move his body from the
upright position in which I ha\'e already directed he
is generally to keep it; but this very much depends on
the sort of horse he is riding.

The position a boy fist puts himself into when he is
endeavouring to set his horse on his legs to start him,
either in the commencement of his gallop or sweat, is
that of moving his body forward over the horse's with-
ers or part of his neck. The horse, if he has been any
time in training, knows, by this movement of the rider,

ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE. 277

that he is to get away in a gallop, which he does, if he
is a kind, free goer, without giving the boy the trouble
of pressing his heels against his sides.

When the horse is settled in his stride, the manner
of his pulling and going on with the pace will very
much regulate an experienced riding boy as to the po-
sition he will keep his body in. With a horse that is
not easily flurried, it becomes a matter of choice with
the boy as to the position he will take; but if it be a
light, flighty, irritable hoise that the boy is riding,
placing his hands w^ell down, he cannot be too still nor
too long in the first position he takes, nor can he, when
he has occasion to alter it perhaps to a more upright
one, be too quiet or too careful in so doing. For if a
flighty horse feels any sudden alteration or movement
of his rider, he either alters his stride, changes his legs,
or becomes flurried, and then he begins pulling more
determinedly. This must, if possible, be avoided, other-
wise a flighty horse soon loses his temper, and is then
of no use as a race-horse.

The horse that requires but little pulling or hustling
in his exercise is the free, kind goer. He generally
keeps his place both in his gallop and sweat. It is in
his race that he requires pulling or hustling, which is
sometimes occasioned by his being challenged by any
horse in the company he may be running in, or when
the horse we are describing has arrived at that latter part
of the race which is the length of rally in which he
can live the whole of the way home. The jockey's or-
ders (if the horse has not before been called upon) on

278 ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE.

arriving at this part of the course, are most likely to
watch his opporutnity, and to get the first effort. Ha-
ving done this, with his hands raised off the horse's
withers, he occasionally moves them gently up and
down, and gives and takes with his reins (but they are
not to be slack), pressing the horse's sides at the same
time as much as may be necessary with the calves of
his legs. Nor does a good jockey, in doing all this,
ever forget to catch with his body and hands the stride
of the horse. The jockey proceeds thus with his horse
in the rally until he comes within a few strides of home^
when, if he finds the race is rather too near to be plea-
sant, he gets more determinedly at his horse's head.
If he is a game horse, he stabs him a few times with
his spurs, then gets up his whip, and perhaps strikes
the horse two or three times, if he sees occasion for it,
in finishing the race, when within a stride or two of
the winning post.

The horse next to be noticed, and which is the one
that requires the rider's exertions to get him along, more
particularly in his sweats, is called the craving horse.

This appellation is applied to many of these horses
from their being addicted to certain propensities, which
are differently denominated by different training grooms,
just according as they find such horses go in their gal-
lops or sweats. They describe these by one or more
of the following epithets : — a craving, idle, sluggish,
sulky, heavy, hanging or lurching sort of horse.
These horses seldom give themselves the trouble to
swerve or go out; nor are they very apt to tire in

ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE. 279

their sweats; but some of them will shut up in them,
that is, they will sulk and slacken their pace; nor
can they at all times be got to struggle in a rally,
unless they choose to come of themselves, however
severely a rider may get at them. Whenever such
horses are going to sweat, they require to be rode by
boys that are in high practice in riding sweats, and
that are very strong and determined on horseback.

To describe how this sort of horse is to be pulled
and hustled, so as to get him along, let us suppose half
a dozen horses sweating together, an idle, craving
horse, with a good riding boy on him, being in front
to lead them. The usual orders being given to the boy
how he is to proceed with the pace as soon as the horses
are got well away, the boy leading them with the
craving horse soon finds he has to get at his horse's
head by giving him a pull or two to get his head well
up and in place, and to press him with his legs to keep
him going. Thus the boy goes on until he comes to
that part of the ground at which he is ordered to rate
his horse a little faster, or to come home with him at
the usual pace.

To assist in urging the craving horse on, it is likely
that one or two of the boys have received orders to
come with the horses they are riding in the sweat up
to the craving horse's girths, and occasionally to chal-
lenge him ; or the gFOom may have ordered a horse
stripped to come with the craving one from this part
of the ground home. Whichever of these orders is
given is not very material. It is from this part of the

280 ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE.

ground to the end of the sweat, that this pull and
hustle is often had recourse to, to keep a craving horse
going. The boy, firm and well down in his saddle,
his body upright, his feet rather forward, with his
hands raised, and a fast hold of his reins, sits thus cool
and determined, keeping his horseV head up and in
place ; and as occasion may require, he moves his hands
quickly up and down, now and then giving and taking
with his reins. If necessary, he twists or crosses his
hands over to the right or left of the horse's withers,
just as he finds him inclined to hang either to the one
side or the other. In this way, the boy can mostly
get the horse off his hanging, and when he has suc-
ceeded in getting him to go straight, he then pulls and
hustles him along, and having thereby roused him into
the pace he is ordered to go, keeps him at it.

The boy presses the horse with the calves of his legs,
and now and then he throws his heels quickly back
with all his force against the horse's sides ; at the same
time, he is very likely to get up his ash plant and
flourish it near the horse's head or over his own ; or, if
necessary, he drops it smartly down upon his horse's
shoulders or under his belly. The boy then gets again
at his horse's head, takes a pull and gives him three or
four good hustles. In this way, by pulling, hustling,
and twisting, the boy, I may say, as it were, lifts the
horse along at every stride. If the boy finds, that not-
withstanding this exertion, which sometimes exhausts
his patience and temper, he cannot succeed in suffici-
ently rousing his horse, he will then have recourse to

ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE. 281

some such rough expression as " Come, or go along,
you brute," to intmiidate and urge him on in finishing
his sweat.

This is the manner in which a craving, idle, sulky
horse is pulled or hustled, in order to get him at his
best pace in concluding either his gallop, sweat, or race.
In the language of the stable, this is called " getting at
a horse, or setting-to with him for the rally he can live
in ;" and although the boy who has to ride a horse of
this description must, in his exertions, use his hands,
arms, legs, feet, and occasionally turn his head, with
all his limbs in action at one and the same moment,
yet he should be well down in his saddle, nor should
his body move more than can possibly be avoided.

I am aware, from experience, that riding such
craving horses in their sweats is much more easily
talked about than done. Indeed, it is very laborious
to keep some of them going, and to rate them properly
for the lengths they have to come on those occasions.
Such horses require to have on them boys that are not
only in high practice in riding, but strong and deter-
mined on horseback. It is by no means a difficult task
to learn how to make the exertions I have here men-
tioned, and to v/hich all good riding boys are obliged
to have recourse in urging such idle horses on. The
youngest boy in the stable, from the directions of the
head lad or training groom, together with the observa-
tions he makes on what he sees good riding boys do,
soon becomes acquainted with this pull and hustle, so
much so that many of the boys are too apt, unless they

282 ON THE PULL AND HUSTLE.

are checked, to display their abilities in this way by prac-
tising this sort of riding in concluding the gallops and
sweats, with horses which by no means require to be
thus treated. These are precautions and instructions
which I think it is necessary grooms should give their
boys, with a view of bringing them to ride properly
and agreeably to their orders. The directions I have
here laid down, are such as I myself received when a
boy. It is the different orders daily given by experi-
enced training grooms how various horses are to be
rode in their gallops and sweats, that instil into the
minds of the boys who are riding them, the practical
knowledge of good riding. It is not riding a race now
and then that will make either a boy or a man a good
jockey, or many gentlemen would become very excel-
lent riders.

An exercise boy, when put up to ride in a race (unless
the groom is a bad judge) is, in all probability, as good
a rider as he ever will be ; and for the horse he is going
to ride, he may be, with very few exceptions, equal to
any jockey in the race. I shall take a more favourable
opportunity than is offered at the conclusion of the
present chapter, of making some few remarks upon
those who form these few exceptions.

CHAPTER XX.

ON THE DUTIES OF THE HEAD LAD.

By a head lad is understood a young man, or rather
one who, when promoted, is fast approaching to man's
estate. He is generally one who has been for some
years previously brought up under the tuition of the
groom, who is induced to select him for the situation
from his general good conduct, and from his having a
thorough knowledge of his business, both in the train-
ing as well as the riding of the horses, his private
character having always been distinguished by a regard
for secrecy, sobriety, and honesty — three very essential
qualifications for either a training groom, jockey, head
lad, or stable boy, to possess. Such a head lad, under
the groom, has full authority over all the boys and
horses both in and out of the stables. He instructs
and directs the boys in every part of their duty, parti-
cularly that of riding. He rides any difficult horse, as
occasion may require, in their gallops or sweats. Dur-
ing the absence of the groom, who may be attending

284 ON THE DUTIES OF THE HEAD LAD.

with some of his horses at any particular meeting, the
head lad, having previously received the groom's orders,
feeds and works such horses as may be left in the
home stables, and when he is thus employed, he should
be allowed the use of a hack. He is sometimes sent
with a horse or two to a country meeting, and is occa-
sionally entrusted to train and ride such horses. When
the groom is otherwise employed, he is also entrusted
with horses of value and in high repute that may be
going to travel to any of the great meetings. There
is one principle to which a head lad should strictly
adhere, and that is, — secrecy relative to any horse's
being amiss. He must not on any account communi-
cate his thoughts or suspicions upon such a point in
any way or to any person except to the training groom
under whom he is serving. It may be necessary to
caution a young beginner previous to his entering on
a situation as a training groom or jockey, how he is
to act towards his employer ; and this shall form the
subject of the next chapter.

CHAPTER XXI.

ON THE DUTIES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRAINING
GROOMS, AND JOCKEYS.

It is almost unnecessary for me to observe here, that
a man who is a training groom, either public or pri-
vate, should be a sober, honest, attentive, and intelli-
gent man. He must be perfectly well acquainted with
every individual thing relating to a race-horse. With
a clear head, his thoughts should be almost incessantly
occupied in studying the different tempers and consti-
tutions of such horses as may be placed under his
care to train. He should minutely calculate every
point, both for and against each horse, so that he may
be able properly to arrange the feeding and working
of the horses under his care. He must have a quick
eye, to observe in due time the changes any of his
horses may be likely to make. It is by strictly ob-
serving all such things, that he is able to bring each
horse to post in such foiin as will enable him to come
the length he may be engaged to run at his best pace,
and without the risk of injuring his constitution.

:286 ON THE DUTIES OF PUBLIC AND

Besides a clear head and a quick eye, there is one
more essential that a groom should possess, and that
is a still tongue. For, as public trainer, he is very
likely to have a large establishment of horses standing
in his yard, many of which, if not all of them, are
under his direction. Being thus engaged to train for
different noblemen and gentlemen of the turf, he must
learn to be silent in order to give general satisfaction
to every one of his employers, but more particularly
if any of the horses belonging to different owners
should be matched against each other, or engaged to-
gether in the same stakes or plates. It is true that it
does not often happen that horses so matched stand
together, and it is a sort of thing which should at all
times be avoided by the owners of such horses as are
training in the same yard, for it must necessarily be
unpleasant to the trainer (there being but one horse
that can win); and although he may endeavour to serve
all his employers Vvith equal integrity, yet from the
opinions formed by inexperienced sportsmen of the pro-
perties of their horses, disappointments in the result of
a race will sometimes occasion jealousy to arise in the
minds of the most liberal of those whose horses may
have been beaten. Noblemen and gentlemen vv^ho em-
ploy a public training groom w ill of course at times re-
quire of him how their horses may be going on in their
work, and they will, not un frequently, request his
individual opinion of them. He should always reply
cautiously. I do not mean to say that he should pre-
varicate, but the less he says to a young sportsman, the

PRIVATE TRAINING GROOMS, ETC. 287

better, unless he has any thing to communicate that,
without an accident, would be highly advantageous.
Advice, though well intended, given unasked to a young
nobleman or gentleman, may be displeasing to the em-
ployer, and will probably prove injurious to the groom,
by such noblemen or gentlemen ordering their horses
to be removed from his stables. But to an old expe-
rienced sportsman, who the groom knows has confi-
dence in him, he may open his mind rather freely, and
may even go so far as to recommend him in due time
to draw his horse, if he thinks there is no chance of
his winning. He may thereby save the horse from
being abused, and if the thing be well managed, it
may perhaps save the payment of forfeit or entrance
money. But under all circumstances, I cannot help
again remarking, that a public training groom, in giv-
ing his advice on such occasions, should be very cau-
tious indeed. The most proper channel of communi-
cating all such advice is through that which of all
others is likely to be most satisfactory to all par-
ties, — the private trials, or public running of the
horses.

The priv^ate training groom should, in every respect,
be equal to the public training groom, in regard to the
knowledge of his business. This man has a much less
difficult game to play than the public trainer. It is
not unfrequent for the private training groom to reside
on the premises of the nobleman or gentleman in
whose employ he may be, and to be training the
horses entrusted to his care, in his master's park,

288 ON THE DUTIES OF PUBLIC AND

and perhaps not in a racing neighbourhood ; as,
for example, at the Earl of Egremont's, at Petworth.
He has therefore an opportunity of keeping his horses'
properties secret, confiding them to his master only,
and he can enter freely and without fear into conversa-
tion with his employer, upon the qualifications of the
horses. This retired situation, removed from the pub-
lic eye of curiosity, enables them, both before Christmas
and in the spring, to make the necessary trials of the
various powers of their horses, and to form, in a quiet
way, a correct judgment, under what weight and what
length each horse will run to the greatest advantage.
By comparing the results of these trials with the mea-
surement which they may have had an opportunity of
making, in public running, of the powers of other
horses, the owner will be in a situation of entering or
matching his horse in public running, to a decided
advantage.

It is by training grooms that race-horses are brought
to post in the highest possible state of condition.
vSuch horses are trained by these men, according to
their ages, tempers, constitutions, and the running
properties each may possess, in the length he can best
run, under certain weights. These points can only be
known to the trainers who direct and superintend the
feeding, watering, and working of the race-horses en-
trusted to their care, and who should consequently be
the only persons to give orders, how such horses are to
be rode in their different races. Trainers also know best
how to select those jockeys who are in high practice,

PRIVATE TRAINING GROOMS, ETC. 289

and whose skill, and coolness, combined with judg-
ment and a quick decision, enable them to make the
most of every fair advantage that may offer in the run-
ning in favor of the horses they ride.

Such men as I have been describing are invaluable
to their employers. It is on the sound judgment,
integrity, and honesty of men of the above description
that many, many thousand pounds are often depend-
ing. I, therefore, strongly recommend to the notice
of both trainers and jockeys, at all times and on all
occasions, to adhere strictly to the old proverb, that
" honesty is the best policy ;" which principle in the
character of man, Shakspeare has so finely exemplified
in the following lines, —

" This above all, to thine own self be true ;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou can'st not then be false to any man"

CHAPTER XXII.

ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET, AND ON
SHOEING.

It is generally understood, that until horses are
brought into a stable, their feet require but very little
attention. While roving about in a state of nature,
they are generally sound and healthy. But it is to be
observed, that when a horse is taken up from grass
and brought into the stable to be got into condition, a
very great change is produced in his constitution by
the dry food on which he then almost solely subsists ;
but the change will, in a great measure, be corrected by
the horse himself; and he will assist (if allowed to do
so) the digestion of the dry food he eats, by the quan-
tity of water he chooses to drink at different intervals
during the day. But he has no power to meet or
counteract the very great change which is at the
same time taking place in his feet. This must be
left partly to the care of the groom who looks after
him, and partly to the smith. They should direct

•4 ? 5

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liii

ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET, ETC. 291

their attention to this point immediately on the horse's
coming into the stable, and while his feet are >^et in a
perfect state j for if they once become diseased, it is
difficult to get them sound : at least, I have found this
to be the case.

Hunters and horses in common use are not so much
exposed, nor for so long a time, to the same causes
which injure their feet, as race-horses are. The former
are only working through the winter, and then mostly
on soft or moist gi'ound. In the summer, these horses
rest, and if their feet are properly attended to during
that season, there is time for them to recover any com-
mon injury they may have sustained in the course
of their winter's work. Similar precautions may
be adopted with respect to carriage-horses or hacks, by
turning them out of work for a sufficient period; but
the race-horse cannot be so conveniently put out of
work as either of these.

A race-horse, unless an accident happens to him, is
kept up longer and more constantly in an artificial
state, than any other horse.

Two and three year old colts which are bred for the
turf, and are engaged early in great stakes, are often
in training as yearlings, in the winter as well as in
the summer -, and when they come to a more advanced
age as country platers, some of them have to come to
post early in spring, and run at different meetings
until late in the autumn.

Although these horses may not be actually abused
by a summer's running, yet many of them will become

u 2

292 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

very stale from it ; and for such strong horses, there is
not much more than tliree months in winter allowed
for them to rest, to put up flesh, and to get fresh,
before they must again commence training. During
the time they are laying by, they must have bedding
to lay on by day as well as by night.

It is almost unnecessary for me to observe here,
that the bedding of a race-horse cannot well be
dispensed with at any time, as horses in strong work
require to rest by day as well as by night, and maiiy
of them do lay by day, stretching and resting their
limbs and muscles ; so that they are, for sixteen or
eighteen hours out of the four-and-twenty, standing or
laying with their hoofs constantly covered up with
the warm bedding. This keeps their feet very hot and
dry, and is one of the principal causes which occasions
them to contract ; nor has the horse the same power
within himself of remedying this change produced in
his feet, as he has of counteracting the change which
takes place in his constitution, on his being brought
from a state of nature into an artificial one.

All grooms should endeavour to make themselves
acquainted with the nature of different horses' feet,
more particularly such training grooms as may be
travelling with country plate horses, — as a preven-
tative is better than a cure. They should not only
see that their boys are attentive in the common care
of their horses' feet, — such as picking them out and
washing them, — but grooms should ndeavour to
obtain a thorough knowledge of such treatment

AND ON SHOEING. 203

as may be necessary to preserve their horses' feet in as
healthy a state as possible. They should endeavour also
to make themselves acquainted w ith such remedies as
may be most advantageously applied to give relief
when their horses' feet are somewhat diseased or out of
order from being repeatedly shod and plated. For
race-horses can no more work, travel, or run with
bad feet than with bad legs. Grooms were for-
merly particularly attentive to the latter, but I have
known them neglect the former, unless when their
horses shoes or plates were put on by a strange
smith. This is very improper. They should, on all
occasions, pay the strictest attention to their horses'
feet, as Veterinary Surgeons in high practice are not
to be met with in every town, neither are good
shoeing or plating smiths to' be found at every racing
meeting.

The feet of race-horses are mostly small and strong,
with a deep or high crust. Their heels are also
high and strong and their soles concave. Horses
with such very strong feet have been known to work
for years without shoes, but then this has been under
peculiar circumstances.

The feet of all horses are liable to contraction.
This is easily to be observed, particularly in old
horses which have been kept in an artificial state ;
their feet become long and narrow, and their heels
contracted. Yet many horses with their feet in this
state may be observed to go perfectly sound.

294 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

The reason Professor Coleman gives why horses
with such feet are not lame, is, that nature some-
times accommodates herself to the slow progress
of the disease, and as the foot contracts in breadth,
so it increases in length. The professor is of opinion,
that by these means lameness is often obviated in
such horses.

But when contraction is sudden, lameness is more
frequently produced. This shows how necessary it is
to pay the strictest attention to houses' feet when they
first come into the stables, at which time they are in a
sound and perfect state, as the feet of racing colts in-
variably are, if they have received proper attention
while in their paddocks. In such situations their feet
are almost constantly moist ; even in the summer, their
feet are moistened by the dew of the grass, twelve hours
out of the four-and-twenty. And while they are in
their paddocks, they are almost always in action ; their
feet are exposed to the air on a soft, cool surface ; and
as colts are generally at this time pretty lusty, there is
a good deal of weight on their feet, which may much
assist in keeping them expanded while in the natural
moist state in which they are so long as they continue
in their paddocks.

Before I proceed to speak of the remedies necessary
to be applied to horses' feet with a view to keep them
sound and healthy, I shall give a description of the
external horny covering of the horse's foot, and how it
is divided. I shall compress and simplify the matter as
much as I can. For to enter minutely into the anato-

AND ON SHOEING. 295

mical structure of the sensible parts of the foot would
probably be more curious than useful to either grooms
or smiths ; but it may be advantageous to both to give
a plain description of the external covering.

The whole of the upper part of the crust, which is
connected or joined with the skin at the lower part of
the pastern, is termed the coronet ; the sides of the foot
are called the quarters ; and the quarters terminate in
the heels. The front and lower part, is the toe of the
hoof; this latter is the term sometimes given to the
external covering of the foot. The sole is of the form
of an arch, and situated round the bottom or under-
part of the foot, and has a certain limited motion
whenever the foot is in action. The bars are a con-
tinuation of the crust, — they are convex, and extend
along the sides of the frog. The frog is composed of
soft, elastic horn, is convex, of a wedge-like form, and
is situated in the middle of the sole, is pointed towards
the toe, and spreads as it advances to the heel. In the
centre of the broad part there is a fissure, which, when
diseased, is termed a thrush. It is almost unnecessary
for me to remark that the horny parts composing the
hoof, are for the defence and protection of the sensible
or internal parts of the foot, and should therefore, for
tliis purpose, be left of a certain substance.

Authors, who have published on the Veterinary art,
have given various opinions with regard to the uses of
the frog of the horse's foot. Whatever may be the
functions that nature intended it should perform, it ap-
pears to me to be highly necessary that grooms and

296 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

others, who have the care of horses, as well as the
smith who shoes them, should become well acquainted
with this part of the foot, as also, with all other exter-
nal parts of it. I shall therefore give my opinion,
though briefly, on this matter, as far as I am capable
of judging from the practical knowledge I have been
able to derive from directing and superintending the
shoeing of horses for the last eighteen years, in the
regiment in which I have now the honour to serve.
From this practice, I am induced to coincide with the
opinion of Professor Coleman, and to think with him,
that this part of the foot (the frog), from its elastic and
wedge-like form, is intended to receive pressure, — but
certainly, not constant, artificial pressure, to the extent
and for the length of time it has often been applied.
I think that wearing the iron frog in the stables, and
also wearing bar shoes, if continued for several shoe-
ings, generally bring on diseased frogs, — that is to say,
if these are applied for the purposes for which such
shoes are usually intended ; which is to take the pres-
sure off the heels of such horses' feet as may have
them diseased from corns or any other cause. Under
these circumstances, it is, of course, necessary to apply
bar shoes, having previously removed a certain portion
of horn from the parts diseased, to prevent, as much
as possible, such parts coming in contact with pressure.
Which being effectually done, the bar shoe is applied,
and the frog, if sound and of sufficient substance, now
receives a great poition of pressure, which I consider
to be artificial, and which, if continued for a long time.

AND ON SHOEING. 297

generally produces diseased frogs. This may be ob-
viated by making the bar part of the shoe unreasonably
wide ; which, however, is rather objectionable for
pleasure horses — as racers, hunters, and hacks. Yet
these bar shoes, properly made, are very useful for
draught horses, and indeed for any horses whose feet
may be so diseased as not to go sound without them.

From the manner in which cart horses working in
London and in many of our provincial mercantile
towns are shod, the frogs of their feet are seldom or
ever in contact with the ground, in consequence of the
very high caulkings of their shoes, which are necessary
to prevent their slipping when exerting themselves in
the drawing of heavy loads.

Now it is horses of the above description that are,
perhaps, more subject to that obstinate disease " can-
ker," than many of our pleasure horses are ; the cause
of which, I am of opinion, is the want of pressure on
the frog. Be this as it may ; whether draught horses'
feet become affected with the disease just mentioned
from the want of pressure, or whether it proceeds from
a want of proper attention being paid to their feet in
the stables, or from their feet not being properly
cleaned out at the smith's shop prior to their being
shod, — or, whether it results from a running thrush
having been long neglected, or from the discharge pro-
ceeding from the grease penetrating through the clefts
of the frog, and thereby occasioning the disease, — or
whether a horse becomes affected with it from any
hereditary cause, as that of being bred fiom either a

298 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

horse or mare which may have long been subject to
the disease, — it matters not. From whatever cause the
disease may proceed, whenever it does make its ap-
pearance, it mostly makes the frog its place of prefer-
ence ; and, if neglected, it spreads to the other parts of
foot. Now, the frog being thus affected with canker,
is in a highly diseased state ; yet notwithstanding this,
one of the first steps towards the cure of the disease is
to lower the horse's heels, so as immediately to throw
as much pressure as possible upon the frog, even in its
diseased state. So necessary is pressure to the frog in
forwarding the cure, that if it cannot be obtained by the
the above means, a bar shoe is put on ; and after the
dressing has been applied, the foot is stopped up with
tow as tight as it can well be done, so as to throw
all the pressure possible upon the frog, with a view to
keep down the fungous parts which are much inclined
to rise on its surface. So that even in a diseased state,
this part of the foot (the frog) will not only bear pres-
sure, but, that pressure being applied to it, becomes
one of the principal remedies for bringing it again to
its former healthy state.

From this it appears necessary that the frog of the
horse's foot should receive natural pressure, by being
allowed to come fully in contact with the ground.

The wall or crust of many of our large horses' feet
(such as heavy coach and draught horses) is much too
oblique, with low weak heels and convex soles. These
diseases, or perhaps, more properly speaking, the ill-
formation of many such horses' feet, more frequently

AND ON SHOEING. 299

proceeds from their being bred (as most horses of this
description are) in low, wet, moist situations, as in
the fens of Lincolnshire, than, as is often supposed,
from hereditary causes.

The horn of horses' feet which are bred in such
swampy places, being rapidly forced in its growth by
the constant moisture, becomes thin and weak, and is
soft and elastic from its being almost constantly ex-
posed to wet ; so that the wall or crust of the fore-foot
is scarcely ever equal to support the weight of such
heavy draught horses when bred in such situations.
From this cause, the feet of many such horses expand
to an unreasonable size, and the soles of their feet are
to be seen protruding more or less.

It is a pity that all such horses are not bred in drier
situations ; if they were, their feet would be good, and
strong in proportion to their weight and size, and they
could be continued more constantly than they are at
present at the work to which they are accustomed.
Their feet being strong and in good form, they could
be shod with much greater ease, and could wear plain
instead of enormously heavy bar shoes. I dislike such
ill-formed large footed horses, as much as coarse large
headed ones ; for both these defects (as they may be
correctly termed) are much more likely to retard than
to increase the speed of the horse ; nor would I breed
from either stallions or mares with such imperfections.

When race-horses, hunters, or hacks, have such feet
as I have just described, (which I allow is not fre-
quently the case, more particularly with race-horses,) —

300 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

when, I say, it does happen that these horses have
convex feet, it is customary not to make their shoes of
more substance or of greater breadth than can possibly
be avoided, according to the size of the foot and the
vv^eight of the horse, as these horses have to go a more
rapid pace than heavy horses of slower movements —
such, for instance, as those which work in harness.
Neither race-horses nor hacks have occasion for caulk-
ings to their shoes. The same may be said with re-
spect to hunters, unless when hunting. In shoeing such
of these horses as have convex feet, it is not an easy
matter for the smith to prevent the frogs from coming
somewhat in contact with the ground, in consequence,
as I have already observed, of the quarters and heels
of such feet being so very low and weak; from which
circumstance, the frogs are invariably large, and in a
most sound, healthy, and elastic state. This arises
from their being almost constantly in contact with the
ground. Whether such horses are standing in the
stables, or are m action, their frogs are exposed to what
may be called natural pressure, which I conceive to be
absolutely necessary ; and I recommend that it should
at all times be allowed to take place when it can con-
veniently be done, by the heels of strong feet being
kept moderately low, and the frog pared as little as
possible.

The horses belonging to the regiment in which I am
now serving are light, with some little breeding ; con-
sequently there are but few with feet of the above de-
scription. But when any of their feet are in such a

AND ON SHOEING. 301

state, they are not so niucli deformed, nor at all times
so deficient of horn, as many of the draught horses I
have mentioned. However, all such feet generally
require to be well furnished with iron. The breadth
and substance of the shoes must be regulated accord-
ing to the size and weight of the horse, and to the
sort of work in which he is engaged. And vuiless such
horses are shod under the superintendance of an expe-
rienced veterinary surgeon, or by a good shoeing smith
in high practice, their feet soon get out of order.

My method of having cavalry horses shod that
have convex feet, is, to shoe them often ; but I never
allow the soles of their feet to be pared to a greater
extent than is absolutely necessary until the crust or
wall of the foot has grown down. This is to prevent
their soles from further protruding,, which has been
brought on by their being kept too weak. To give
strength to the heels, I have the toes kept short ; and
if I see it necessary, I order bar shoes to be applied
on one or two occasions, or until the wall or crust has
grown and become sufficiently strong. When that is
accomplished, I order plain vshoes of a substance and
breadth equal to the weight of the horse.

Such feet seldom require to be moistened by the
application of water, but for the purpose of promoting
the growth of the horn and keeping it tough. Tar
ointment is the best application I am acquainted with ;
it is composed of equal parts of tar and mutton suet,
or lard. This ointment, as well as the ointment, yel-
low basilicon, have been long in use with grooms and

302 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

farriers, and most excellent applications they are for
keeping the horn of horses feet tough and elastic. The
application is to be used twice or thrice a week, and to
be well rubbed round the hoof. In applying it to the
soles, it should be spread on pledgets of tow, covering
the whole surface of the sole, and to be sufficient in
quantity or substance to give some degree of pressure
to the sole, wheieby the crust or wall of the foot
will be relieved of a certain portion of its weight ; and
the edges of the tow should be pressed under the
shoe, so as to give pressure to those parts in a similar
way.

By the method of shoeing and the treatment here
recommended, I have not only kept horses in work
that have been at head quarters ; but their feet have so
much grown, and become so strong, as to admit of
their being almost constanly shod in plain shoes.

I have thus far given my opinion with regard to the
application of pressure on the frog, and also such in-
structions for the shoeing and treatment of such feet as
the practice I have had authorizes me to give; and
which I hope will be sufficient for the guidance of
grooms and smiths who have the care and shoeing of
race-horses, subject to such imperfections.

With regard to the feet of thorough-bred horses
generally, I would observe, that these horses, having
their origin in a hot climate, and being bred on a dry
soil, their feet are, as I have before noticed, almost in-
variably found to be strong, upright, and small, with
the soles concave. This description is applicable to the

AND ON SHOEING. 303

majority of tlie race-horses now bred in this country,
which are subject, either from accident, inattention, or
other causes, to most of the diseases met with in the
feet of horses employed in common use. But the dis-
eases to which all horses vyith strong feet are principally
subject, are "bad thrushes," ''contraction," and, not
unfrequently, that which is termed " the navicular dis-
ease;" which latter was formerly better understood
by describing the horse as being " foundered or

The locality of this disease is between the navicular
bone and the flexor tendon, which latter passes over the
former in its way to be inserted into the coffin bone —
this is the seat of the disease. The surface of the na-
vicular bone, and that part of the tendon immediately
over it, become heated and inflamed when diseased ;
which is occasioned by the concussion produced in the
rapid pace horses are at times obliged to go over hard
ground. From a frequent repetition of these causes,
the inflamation increases to such an extent as to termi-
nate in an ossification of the parts, which are thereby
deprived of their natural action, and indeed, of all
action w^hatsoever; and horses which are severely affect-
ed with the complaint, may be seen going as much as
they possibly can on their hind quarters.

Race-horses are occasionally subject to the above
disease ; but there are some among them — such as the
craving ones, which are more liable to become affected
with the complaint than the light ones, in consequence
of their having not only to go long lengths in their

304 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

gallops and sweats, but occasionally to sweat three
times a fortnight, and not unfrequently, in the height
of summer — in the months of July and August, —
when most of our training and running grounds in the
south may be said to be very little better (in regard to
the hardness of their surfaces) than turnpike roads.
From the unavoidable necessity there is for keeping
these horses almost constantly in strong work on
such hard ground, the feet of some of them become
heated and inflamed, — so much so, that it is not un-
common for the groom now and then to observe a
horse in the string, when walking away first from the
stable (perhaps the morning after sweating) to go
a little stiff and feeling in his fore feet. The groom
(if he is competent) on observing this, takes the
earliest opportunity of recommending the owner to
put the horse out of work for a short time, and by
bleeding and giving him physic and rest, the inflamma-
tion in his feet subsides ; and to any but a very accu-
rate observer he will then appear to go sound. The
owner, acting upon the hint given him by the training
groom, will probably sell the horse. Should he not
be disposed of, he is, of course, again put into training ;
and the same cause (strong work) very soon pro-
duces the same effect, and the horse at last becomes
permanently diseased in his fore feet. He is seen by
the groom to go very feeling in them in his walk ;
and in his gallops and sweats, he goes stiff and short
in his stride.

The groom, now finding he cannot get the length

AND ON SHOEING. 305

into the horse at the usual pace, recommends the
owner to put the horse out of training ; and perhaps at
an age when there might have been a great deal of
good running left in him ; and in all probability, he
might have continued in training for two or three
years longer, had proper attention been paid to his
feet while he yet continued a young one.

To make further comment on the navicular disease
would be useless, as I am totally unacquainted with
any remedy by which it may be cured. Attention
should principally be directed to prevent, as much as
possible, this disease, or any other, from taking
place ; for when horses fall lame in their feet, it is
often difficult to get them sound again, unless the
lameness proceeds from a mechanical injury. I think
of the number of horses that become progressively
lame from strong and rapid work, not more than half
are again brought permanently sound, unless their work
is stopped, and early means resorted to for their relief.

It has been pretty generally remarked by those w
have travelled on the Continent, (and I have observed
the same myself,) that horses there are not to be seen
lame in their feet to any thing like the extent of our
horses in England. This circumstance has led many
people to suppose that there must be some veiy great
defect in the shoeing of horses in this country, which
does not exist on the Continent.

This is certainly not the fact. In proof of this
contradictory assertion, I shall take, by way of ex-
ample, the horses most frequently and the most

306 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

actively employed on the Continent — the French post,
or diligence horse. The hunters of that country I
know nothing about ; and as to their saddle-horses, I
have never seen any of them out of a walk or slow
jog-trot. It is to be observed, that these horses are of a
very different description from our English horses. The
French post-horse may be said to be a well-bred, light
sort of cart-horse. The French diligence horse is of a
similar description, but larger; both of them have
large, open, strong feet. These horses are net only
very differently used, but they are also very differ-
ently kept to what the mail, post, and stage coach
horses are in England. The French horses go much
shorter stages, many of which are not half the distance
of our stages ; and besides this, they travel a much
slower pace — not more than five or six miles per hour;
and often on paved roads, which, I am inclined to
think, is another circumstance in favour of the French
horses' feet.

The stables in which the French post and diligence
horses are kept are seldom or ever paved ; neither is it
by any means a general rule with the French stable
people to bed down their horses by day. Their horses'
feet are therefore much exposed to the cool, soft,
and somewhat moist surface of their stable floors.
But when we come to look at our English post, mail,
or coach horse, we find, that with regard to breeding,
he is altogether a different sort of animal, — his feet are
small and strong, and he is not only differently
employed and differently kept, but he is mostly going
at the rate of from ten to twelve miles an hour — a pace

AND ON SHOEING. 307

that produces great concussion and heat in a horse's
feet, and more particularly in hot weather ; and not
imfrcqucntly, many of our post-horses are driven this
telling pace for a distance of tvvelv'e or fourteen miles
before they are put into the stables ; and when they ai*e
thei-e, the}^ are generally np to their knees in bedding
necessary for them to rest and lay on, but which keeps
their feet very hot, notwithstanding the cow dung
with which they may be stopped at night. I am of
opinion, that it is the rapidity of pace and the long
lengths so often repeated, that subject so many more of
our horses to lameness in the feet ; and I do not
think (as is generally {Supposed) that the horses of
the Continent are less subject to it from any superiority
in the French method of shoeing.

I am inclined to think, that were proper attention
paid to colts immediately on their being taken from
their paddocks into the training stables, causing their
feet to be cleaned out as often as may be found neces-
sary, according to the strength and growth of their
feet, and their shoes with sufficient cover and sub-
stance to be properly fitted — aided by such other
treatment as I shall presently mention, there would be
but few race-horses, or indeed, horses of any descrip-
tion, that would become lame in their feet, from con-
traction, the navicular, or any other disease, unless
such as may be brought on by injuries originating
from accidents.

If the stables in which race-horses stand are on the

downs on which the horses are to exercise, (as is often

X 2

308 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

the case,) there will be no hard road for them to walk
over ill going to the exercise ground, the surface of
which, in winter (except in the time of frost) is soft,
moist, and cool. Some horses are two or three hours
a day at exercise, as many of them have to eome to
post early in the spring. Their feet, during this
period of exercise, become, to a certain extent, relaxed
and cool, more particularly if there has been much wet
during the night ; and if the necessary attention be
paid to their feet on returning to the stables, they may
be said to be kept nearly approaching to that natural
and healthy state in which they were previous to their
leaving their paddocks, provided they wear three-
quarter shoes instead of those which are made to come
full home to the heels of their feet.

Country plate horses that have become stale from
travelling and running during the summer, and that
have also their feet much broken from the repeated re-
placing of their shoes and plates, have seldom to come
out very early in spring. They are generally wintered
in loose boxes ; and during the whole of the time that
such horses remain in them and out of work, they
should wear on their fore-feet three-quarter shoes, with
a clip at the toe, and three nails on each side of each
foot ; but the nails should not approach closer to the
heels than is absolutely necessary to keep the shoes on.
Once in about every three weeks (depending much on
the growth and strength of the feet) the shoes should
be removed, and also the front part of the feet properly
cleaned out, and, if necessary, the toes should be
shortened ; the heels and quarters should be allowed to

AND ON SHOEING. 300

grow, but the detached parts of tlie frog may be re-
moved, so that, ^\•llen a horse is taken to Avork in the
spring, his feet may be put in [)roper form to have the
short shoes applied.

The treatment necessary to be adopted in the care of
such liorses' feet when they are kept in the stables, is
a subject to which grooms should pay the strictest at-
tention.

Horses that have strong feet, require to have them
more relaxed by the application of water, than those
which have weak feet ; the latter require more the ap-
plication of ointment to the foot to promote growth,
and to keep their hoofs tough.

Country plate horses that have strong feet, and that
are mostly in strong work in the summer, (at which
season it is that training as well as running grounds
are very hard,) are often travelling on hot dry roads ;
and unless moisture be sufficiently and properly ap-
plied to their fore-feet, much of the natural expansion
and elastic parts of their heels and quarters are de-
stroyed. Those parts become dry, hard, and brittle,
and the natural consequence is, that greater concussion
takes place in the feet of horses in this state, when they
are going at a rapid pace, as in running heats of long
lengths in light plates on a hard course than there
would otherwise be, were their feet in a more elastic
state.

To apply moisture to the feet of horses, the patent
sponge water boots have been strongly recommended.
They are certainly very useful, and it is probable the

i.

310 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

more convenient and ready way of softening and re-
laxing the hoofs of horses in case active inflammation
takes place in their feet from fever, or when contraction
comes on suddenly. For such purposes [ have used
the sponge boots with the best effects, but I should
never apply them to moisten the feet of horses that are
to be kept in work. On such occasions, I think they
relax the feet too suddenly; besides which they are
unwieldy things for a boy in a race-horse stable to
handle; they are also found to be very inconvenient
for horses to rest in, that are in health, and have to go
out to exercise twice a day, as most horses in training
do.

During my practice in the Cavalry for this last
eighteen years, whenever any of the troop horses
having strong feet, have become lame from their feet
having contracted, and the hoofs hard and brittle,
(which is common in a dry Spiing, or in the hot
Summer months), I have ordered them to stand in
clay and water, if I have plenty of spare stable room
hi the barracks. Their full shoes having previously
been taken off, their feet cleaned out, and three-quarter
shoes put on them. The period I allow these horses
to stand in clay and water depends much on the sor^
of feet they have and the state they may be in. The
stronger horses' feet are, the more they require to be
relaxed by moisture. Some horses I keep standing in
wet clay every day from morning till night, for three
weeks or a month, as I conceive it necessary ; others I
keep in it for ten days or a fortnight, and unless these

AND ON SHOEING. 311

horses are vei-y lame, they go to exercise morning and
evening, or do their dut}^ which ever I think best for
them. The feet of many horses soon become relaxed
and cool from this sort of treatment, and as the growth
of the liorse is increased by the moisture, the heels and
quarters expand, by which means many horses that
have been very feeling and lame in their feet, have
become sound.

When a horse has thus recovered, or perhaps a short
time before he is quite sound, rather than have a horse's
feet get dry too suddenly, I shorten the period of
his standing in wet clay, allowing him to stand in it
every other day ; and previous to his leaving the
hospital stables, I only allow him to stand in it twice a
week. During the intervals between these immersions,
I order his feet to be rubbed round with the tar oint-
ment, which is a very necessary application, to prevent
the feet from cracking, to which they are subject afteT
having been immersed in water. Some troop horses,
whose feet have been slowly progressing into a diseased
state, and which have not discovered any symptoms of
lameness until they have become old, I have seldom
succeeded with in getting them sound.

I do not pretend to know more in the cure of horses'
feet than otlier Veterinary Surgeons. I have merely
stated here what treatment I have adopted in the cure
of the feet of troop horses, and by what means I have
succeeded in bringing many of them again into a fit
state for duty.

But the feet of race-horses cannot be kept cool and

312 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

relaxed by the means which I have described as having
been applied for that purpose to the feet of troop
horses. The former must not have their work stopped
when in regular ti-aining. They can scarcely be al-
lowed to miss a single gallop, which by the training
groom may be considered necessary. They must also
have their beds to lay and rest on by day as well as by
night ; and under these circumstances, clay and water
could not be conveniently applied, nor do I approve of
the patent boots for the reasons I have already given.

My own horses and those of other officers of the
regiment, stand in the stables much in the same way
as horses in training do, — that is, their bedding is kept
under them day and night. Whenever any of those
horses have been amiss in their feet, either from con-
traction or from the horn becoming dry, hard, or brittle,
and some parts broken away, I have recommended to
relax and promote the growth of such feet, the moisture
being applied to them by means of a piece of common
coarse sacking, long enough to go round the wall or
crust of the foot, and soaked in water previous to its
being tied on round the hoof with a piece of string.
This application should be wetted every stable hour.
This is generally my method of applying moisture to
my own horses' feet. Pads made for the purpose are,
of course, more convenient; they may be made of
coarse canvass doubled to the breadth of the hoof,
stuffed with a sufficient quantity of tow or any other
material that may answer the purpose better, with
pieces of broad coarse tape fixed at the ends of each

AND ON SIIOK[Na. :]13

pad, and long enough to lie in front of the horse's foot.
The soles of horses' feet may be kept soft and cool in
a similar way, by taking a sufficient quantity of tow,
to form pledgets large and thick enough to fill up the
cavity at the bottom part of each fore-foot to such ex-
tent as to give a certain degree of pressure to the whole
surface of the sole. The edges of those pledgets should
be pressed round under the shoe with a picker, after
which each pledget of tow is to be wetted with a
sponge full of water, or the foot may be dipped into a
bucket of cold water every stable hour.

The tow, from the weight of the horse while stand-
ing in the stable, takes the impression of the foot, and
remains in it as long as the horse remains in the sta-
ble, whether standing or lying. But the tow as well as
the pads are both to be removed, previous to the horses
going out to exercise, and may be laid aside against
the wall at the back of the stall until the horse comes
in and has been dressed. The pad, if well made, will
last a long time, and the same stopping of tow will
answer very well for a week or ten days. This is a
clean and convenient way of applying moisture to the
fore feet of horses that are in regular work, and I be-
lieve is much practised at the college.

I have found it answer the purposes very well, and
it appears to have all the advantages of clay and water
in softening, cooling, and relaxing horses' feet. I
think the method of stopping with tow is certainly to
be preferred to the use of cow dung ; for if this latter
application is too frequently laid on over the frog, it

314 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

will occasionally bring on thrushes, whereas the wet
tow may be used without fear of its producing such
consequences. Indeed this latter can be more conve-
niently laid round the sole only — its application need
not extend over the frog of the foot, unless when
necessary.

When a horse is dressed and done up after sweating,
it may perhaps be as well to moisten the pads and tow
for his feet, in the same hot water in which his legs
were fomented ; at least, I expect this will be more
satisfactory to the groom.

Although I have had horses go to walking exercise
with their feet stopped with tow, and the stopping has
remained in until they have returned to the stable ;
some horses which are wintering in loose houses, are
a})t to i-ange about the loose house and exercise them-
selves by walking, trotting, or sometimes even canter-
ing round. To prevent the tow from falling out of
their feet, on such occasions, a couple of splints may
be laid across each other under the shoes.

The same precautions may be taken with horses that
are restless in dressing. I allude to such of them as
may stamp, and strike-out with their fore-feet, and
range about in the stall. To attend to all that I have
here mentioned relative to the application of moisture
to the feet of race-horses, will take but a very few
minutes in a stable hour. When the boy who looks
after a horse is too young to be entrusted with this
charge, one of the senior boys or the head lad may do

AND ON SHOEING. 315

it for him, after tlie horse is brushed over, his legs rub-
bed, and his bed set fair.

This is the sort of treatment I recommend to the
notice of training grooms in the care of their horses'
feet, and which should be attended to immediately on
colts leaving their paddocks, or rather, as soon as they
are broke and have been brought into the training sta-
bles to go into regular work. I think there cannot be
too much attention paid to the feet of horses generally,
and particularly race- horses, as many thousands are
often depending on them; to say nothing of the ex-
pense of training and entrance mone}^, both of which
must be paid whether the horse ]un oi' not.

The strictest attention should be paid by grooms as
well as by smiths, to the paring of horses' feet. Grooms
should also make themselves thoroughly acquainted
with this matter, so that they may be able to direct
any awkward country smith, whom they may occa-
sionally fall in with, how to shoe their horses when
travelling ; as there are many such smiths who are apt
to make rather too free with the knife, while others of
more experience are particularly careful.

A good shoeing smith, who has been properly taught
and long practiced in the shoeing of different descrip-
tions of feet, has made but bad use of his time if he
cannot, on examining the horse's foot, immediately see
from what parts it is necessary to remove horn, and
what parts he should leave untouched by the knife. If
he is a good judge, he will not remove the smallest
portion of horn from a weak convex foot, or indeed,

316 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

from any foot that is weak or much broken. With the
exception of any little detached parts, he should pre-
serve the horn as much as he can, with a view to
strengthen and support the foot to the utmost, by which
means he obtains a safer and more secure hold in the foot
for his nails. To give strength to the heels and quarters,
the toes require to be kept short ; but previously to re-
moving horn from those parts, the smith should see
what strength of horn he has there. Generally speak-
ins:, there is more horn at the toes of convex feet than
there is at the toes of horses' feet which are much
sti'onger ; yet care should be taken, (more particularly
if horses are to be kept in work,) not to remove the
horn from those parts to an extreme, as this would
occasion pressure on the nails.

In case it is necessary, the shoes may be nailed
round the toes, or they may be secured by putting a
clip here. This latter mode is to be preferred when a
foot is not in a state to admit of nails being driven
sufficiently far back at the quarters, for the purpose of
keeping the shoe secure.

Horses that have convex feet, have the largest and
most healthy frogs. It is only necessary to remoxe
from them any detached or ragged parts, so as to pre-
vent the gravel or dirt from accumulating there, and
producing thrushes. The foot cleaned out, and the
rasp run lightly round the crust to take the rough
edges off and level the foot, is all which is necessary
previous to the shoe being applied.

Race-horses' feet, generally speaking, are very strong.

AND ON SHOEING. 317

It is therefore as necessary for training grooms to be
quite as well acquainted with the paring or cleaning-
out of strong feet as weak ones. Men that are at all
conversant with horses, or that have paid any attention
to the shoeing of them, are fully aware, that if any
part of the shoe when nailed on, should come in con-
tact with the sole, lameness will eventually, if not im-
mediately, be produced. It therefore becomes neces-
sary to remove as much horn from the surface of a
strong sole as will give it the concavity requisite to
prevent the shoe from pressing on the sole, and pro-
ducing lameness. It should also be made suflficiently
concave to admit of a picker passing easily round
under the shoe, when on ; this can be done to strong
feet with safety as well as with advantage, and leaving
the sole at the same time of a sufficient substance,
which a good smith takes care to ascertain. After
having removed a certain portion of the sole, he ap-
plies pressure with his thumb, to discover the substance
of horn he has left there. If from the quantity that
has been removed, he finds the sole somewhat elastic,
he should desist from further weakening it. The horn
should be removed from the sole to a similar extent,
from between the bars and the crust, when the long
shoe is applied; but care must be taken that the
former forms a junction with the latter at the heels.
This will not only give increased strength to them, but
it will also present a wide and firm basis for the heels
of the shoes to rest upon. The bars are to be left pro-
minent, if for no other reason than to prevent the

318 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

smith from removing any portion of horn from that
part of the foot which is under them.

Jf the bars and the horn which is under them be
removed, the substance of the foot in those parts will
be much decreased, and the heels will then very soon
contract if the horse is in an artificial state. The horn
being removed from the surface of the sole of a strong
foot as I have here advised, the next thing the smith
has to do, is to make the wall or crust of the foot per-
fectly level, so as to produce an even surface to receive
the shoe.

• I am not prepared to state how shoes for race-horses
are now made ; but I very well remember, that those
M'hich were formerly in use were very light and narrow;
and I conclude that the object in making them in that
manner was merely to prevent the horses' feet from
breaking. I am decidedly of opinion that such shoes
are very improper for any horse, but more particularly
for such race-horses as are obliged often to be kept in
strong work. Light shoes must be nailed with four
nails on each side of the shoe, and these nails must be
driven further back towards the heels than is necessary
with shoes of more substance and greater width. Un-
less light shoes are put on in this manner, they are apt
to spiing a little at the heels when a horse is going a
rapid pace on a hard ground; and if this is not imme-
diately attended to, they soon become loose and are
thrown. This is not the only inconvenience ; for,
from these shoes being nailed so far back, the quarters
and heels of the horses' feet become, as it were, fixed

AND ON SHOEING. .'il 9

by this rim of iron, or sort of shoe ; and which is one
very great cause of contraction, as those back parts of
the wall or crust of the horse's foot, which are the
most elastic parts of it, are prevented from expanding.
Another disadvantage attending the use of long, light,
narrow shoes is, that they are not of sufficient breadth
and substance to prevent very great concussion from
taking place in the fore-feet of such craving horses as
are often obliged in summer to sweat long lengths over
hard ground. I think one of the principal causes of
such horses in training and in strong work becoming
very groggy in their fore-feet, is their wearing shoes of
very little more substance and cover than the plates
they run in.

I have for several years past, been much in the
practice of having short shoes put on the fore-feet of
many of our troop horses, and those belonging to the
officers. Such of them as have had strong upright
feet that were more oi* less contracted, I have occar
sionally sent to exercise on soft ground, keeping their
feet moist in the way already mentioned. Finding
that they went on very well in short shoes for two or
three months at a time," or until their feet have been
sufficiently expanded, I was inclined to try how they
would go when sent to their duty in such shoes.
Having made the experiment, I found that the horses
not only did their duty in the field, and on the road,
but they also marched very well in those shoes on the
hot roads in the height of summer, carrying the
dragoon, with the whole of the regimental appointments

292 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

weighing, upon an average, from seventeen to twenty
stone. These horses marched from fifteen to twenty-
five miles per day, for a distance of two hundred miles.
On examining the feet of those that wore these short
shoes, I found they had very much expanded and that
the heels and quarters were quite equal to the wear and
tear of the roads ; and as there was no complaint made
by the men, that their horses did not go equally well
in short, as in long shoes, I was induced to try how
long horses with strong feet could wear them without
inconvenience, and I have had horses in the regiment
wear them at head-quarters for upwards of a year.

Major Shirley purchased a horse, with his feet in a
bad state, being very much contracted. They had also
bad thrushes and corns. This horses' feet were
cleaned out and the short shoes applied, the horse kept
in regular work on the road and occasionally in the field.
In three months, the corns and thrushes got well, and
the feet became considerably expanded.

A charger in the regiment belonging to Captain
Phillips, had bad contracted feet with diseased frogs
and corns. The short shoes were worn by this mare
about four months, in which time the feet became
much expanded, and the frogs and corns got well.
As the mare continued to go on with her duty, both in
the field and on the road, and as there was no objec-
tion made by the owner of the mare to her wearing the
shoes, she continued them for twelve months.

In making short shoes for such race-horses as may
wear them, (which are those horses that have feet with

AND ON SHOEING. 321

high, strong quarters and heels, with wide crust and
good frogs, of which the soles are of course concave),
the breadth, length and substance, must of course be
regulated according to the weight of the horse and the
size of his foot. In order in some measure to guide
the smith as to the breadth and substance of such a
shoe for a race-horse with a small foot, I will say, that
its weight should be from eight to nine ounces, and
should be made about two inches shorter than a com-
mon long shoe to be applied to such a foot. The
surface of the shoe next the foot may be perfectly flat ;
but the surface next the ground should be gradually
bevelled off all round, from the fullering or nailing part
to the inner edge, to give the horse a firmer hold on
the ground with his feet.

In the fourth plate, figure 5, is represented a foot,
with a short stamped shoe and a strong clip at the toe.
The heels of the shoe approach to within about two
inches of the heels of the foot, to which it is secured
by eight countersunk nails. This shoe I recommend to
the notice of training grooms when they are doing a
little work with their horses in the spring, as, for ex-
ample, when they are forwarding them in their first
preparation ; for, on such occasions, horses in training
now and then throw their shoes, and more particularly
in their sweats; but as this shoe is nailed rather close to
the ends of its heels, this sort of thing is not very likely
to happen.

Figure 6 is a foot with a fullered short shoe, which
has a strong clip at the toe, put on with six nails. I

Y

322 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

recommend this shoe for horses that are in gentle work
in winter and spring, or for country plate horses that
are kept in large loose boxes during winter. I am of
opinion, that the feet of those horses last mentioned
would be much improved if short shoes were to super-
sede not only the use of long ones, but also the inju-
rious practice of altogether dispensing with shoes,
which was formerly a common custom on those occa^
sions. Nor will the short shoes get into the feet, if the
horse is shod, or his shoes removed, at proper intervals ;
and provided also, that the centre of the web of the
shoe at the heels, is placed immediately over the wall
or crust of the foot, so that the latter may be in the
centre of the heels of the former when nailed on the
foot. The two first nail holes, punched in the short
shoes, one on each side, may be at a distance of an
inch from the centre of the clip. The other nail holes
may be placed at a similar distance ; but the spaces
between the nails must depend on the size of the foot ;
only observing, that if the horses are in strong work,
the last two nail holes should be punched within an
inch of the ends of the heels of the shoe ; but when
race-horses are in gentle work, or out of work, and
standing in loose boxes in winter, the shoes will not
require being nailed further back than is necessary to
keep them in place. At such times, three nails on
each side, I think sufficient to keep them secure. No
nails having been driven into the quarters and heels,
they will be sound and strong, and will have ex-
panded j so that, should it be thought necessary in the

AND ON SHOEING. :523

heiglit of summer when tlie ground is hard, to put long-
shoes on horses in strong work, their feet will be found
to be in a good state to have such shoes applied. But
I must again advise, that the long shoes should be
made of more substance and cover than they usually
were. If made of the same substance and cover as
those applied to the feet of race-horses turned out of
training, and used as hacks on the road, I am of opi-
nion, that their feet would suffer less from concussion,
when in training on hard ground. Aged liorses in
common use, as coach and post horses, or hacks on the
road, that have their feet at all out of order, can no
more work in light neat shoes, than an old man with
tender feet could travel over hard roads, in a thin pair
of pumps.

In the fourth plate, figure 4, is represented a foot
the front part of which is pared to receive the short
shoe; the heels, quarters, and frog, are left sufficiently
high, so as to be level with the short shoe when put on.
In race-horses that have strong, upright feet, they soon
get sufficiently high for the purpose, unless their heels
are much pared every time they are shod. When the
quarters and heels are as above described, the smith, in
paring the foot to receive the short shoe, is to do it in
the same manner as he would, were he going to apply
the long shoe; only observing, that instead of levelling
the foot as for the long shoe, he i§ to leave the ends of
the heels of the foot, and the quarters to the ends of
the heels of the short shoe, a little, or as much higher
as may be necessary to bring the heels of the shoe

Y 2

324 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

and this part of the quarters with the heels of the foot
and the frog perfectly level with each other; so that
each of the above parts (that is, the heels, the frog, and
heels of the shoe,) may equally bear the weight when
the horse has his foot in contact with the ground, just
as if the long shoe had been applied instead of the
short one.

If these shoes are put on as I hav e here advised, there
will not be more weight on the tendons and ligaments
of the leg, than when the long shoe is used ; at least, I
have always found this to be the case. Nor will there
be, by any means, so much weight on them, as when a
country plate horse has three-quarter plates on, (to run
perhaps two or three four-mile heats,) which he almost
invariably wears when he is running; that is, if his
feet are out of order, for then no other plate can be ap-
plied with safety; and when running long lengths in
such plates, if the ground is hard, a horse's feet are
much exposed, and great concussion takes place in
them.

Training grooms who have had much to do with
country running are fully aware of this, from their
having observed the very painful and heated state of a
horse's feet at night, after running the above-mentioned
lengths in short plates; and they are also aware, that
such a horse's feet get well again after a few day's rest,
if properly attended to and kept moist.

This, I think, goes to prove, that to pay attention to
horses' feet by endeavouring to keep them as nearly in
a state of nature as possible, is quite as necessary as to

AND ON SHOEING. 325

adopt the best method of shoeing. But it is to
be observed, that short shoes can only be appUed to
such race-horses' feet as have ah'eady been describ-
ed. They must not on any account be applied to
horses' feet that are thin and weak, or that have low
heels; neither can they be worn by horses that are be-
come at all feeling in their feet, being what is common-
ly called, a little groggy, be their feet of whatever
strength they may. By way of experiment, I have put
short shoes on horses' feet thus diseased, and they could
scarcely move in them; but on taking off the short shoes
and putting on the long ones of more than common
substance and cover, the same horses have afterwards
gone comparatively sound; and this arises from the
substance and cover of the shoe diminishing in a great
degree the concussion produced by the horse's weight
when in action and going over hard ground.

If short shoes of substance and cover, are found to
answer the purpose of preventing concussion and con-
traction taking place in strong feet, there can be no
objection to their use in other respects; for it is to be
observed, that race-horses when in training, are not
going a rapid pace down very steep or slippery hills, or
on sideland ground, as horses often are that are hunt-
ing; and when race-horses are pulled up in concluding
either their gallops or sweats, it is almost at all times
on level ground, or if otherwise, it is on ground ascend-
ing instead of descending, so that there is no danger to
be apprehended from their slipping in pulling up if
their heels are sound and strong. However, as short

326 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET,

shoes were not worn by race-horses at the time I was
living in the stables, I cannot speak from experience
how they may answer, farther than from the practice I
have already noticed in applying them to the feet of
troop horses. Nor do I wish to press this method of
shoeing on the notice of trainers, but if they choose to
try the short shoes for the purposes, and at the seasons
of the year mentioned, I am not aware of any incon-
venience that can result from such a trial. On the
contrary, if the horses' feet in other respects receive
the attention and treatment I have advised, I am of
opinion they will be found in a more sound and per-
fect state than if they wore long shoes.

Previous to concluding this chapter, it may be ad-
visable to offer a few cautionary remarks to owners of
horses; as a thorough knowledge of those animals is
not so easily obtained as people who keep them are
led to imagine. In submitting these observations to
the consideration of gentlemen, I am led to hope I may
not give offence, which I assure them it is far from
my intention of doing. Men of education soon learn
to discourse familiarly on most subjects, and none ac-
quire knowledge so readily as sportsmen on the truf.
I have had frequent opportunities of hearing gentle-
men talk with each other on the condition of their
horses, and the best method of shoeing them, &c., as
if they really understood all that was necessary to be
known on such subjects.

I have already instanced mistakes which have been
made with regard' to the condition of horses, by those

AND ON SHOEING. 327

who have kept them. I have also known the owners
of horses oblige a good smith, (much against his will)
to attend to the neatness and cleaning out or paring of
their horses' feet, and often insisting on light shoes with
fine fullering being applied, without ever giving the
least attention to the sort of feet the horses may happen
to have had.

Theoretical knowledge is certainly very useful, I
allow, in teaching or explaining the principles of the
different arts and sciences ; and that neatness and uni-
formity in the erecting of a building are much to be
admired, I will also admit; but such rules can* seldom
be brought into practice, either in getting horses into
condition, or in shoeing them. That many gentlemen,
from practice, know very well how to ride across a
country, and that they may be tolerable judges of the
shape or make of a horse, and that they may occasion-
ally see some imperfections in them, I will readily con-
cede ; but to discover all the imperfections that may
at times be present in some horses, and which are often
the cause of unsoundness, requires the attention and
scrutinizing eye of men, who possess exclusive advan-
tages in that respect, the result of a long practical
experience.

The plating of race-horses is often almost the last
thing done to them previously to their coming to post
— that is, when they are plated on the course. But as
this chapter has already run to an extreme length, and
as plating may be considered distinct from shoeing, I
shall de\ ote a separate chapter to it.

CHAPTER XXIIL

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

Race-horses should always be plated before they
are brought to post, where it can be done with safety.
All men conversant with the turf are fully aware of the
very great importance of weight. They consider, and
very justly too, that every ounce is of consequence,
when horses are supposed to be equally matched, and
more particularly when they have to come long lengths.

I shall make but few observations on the plating of
such horses as are standing at home stables, as they
are principally young ones, particularly at Newmarket,
being mostly yearlings and two-year-olds. I have
never known the former travel, at least when in train-
ing, and the latter but in few instances. If, when
trained, they are found to be good ones, they are gener-
ally entered for stakes with horses of their own year,
and run the usual lengths. It is pretty much the same
with the three and four-year-olds as with the younger
ones ; for if those horses are in any repute, they are

ON PLATING RA€E-HORSES. 329

kept in reserve to run for the great stakes at the prin-
cipal meetings, and they are mostly standing in home
stables, where, under the superintendance of training
grooms, more than usual care is paid to their feet ; and
as they neither travel so much nor run so often as
country plate horses, their feet (unless naturally defec-
tive,) are very strong, with plenty of horn. The shoeing
smiths who live in a racing neighbourhood, are gener-
ally good hands at plating horses, being constantly in
the habit of receiving instructions, and as constantly
cautioned by training grooms to be careful in fitting
the plates, preserving the feet and driving the nails.
These advantages, together with their own experience,
in plating the number of horses kept every year by
the noblemen and gentlemen of turf celebrity in the
different counties where racing is known to be so
universally patronized, render them so expert, that
with such feet as I have here described, they are sel-
dom liable to accidents in plating horses. Yet it is not
impossible but that an accident may sometimes happen
in plating horses, even in these stables. It may there-
fore be advisable to plate such horses as may have good
sound feet, and that are standing in stables close to the
running ground, the evening prior to their running,
after their coming in from exercise. On the morn-
ing that a horse is going to run, it is usual to walk him
out on the heath and there let him take a short canter,
merely to see if all is right, and if he is well on his
feet and legs. If the horse is observed by the groom
to go stiff or short, and if the groom is of opinion that

330 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

this is occasioned by anything wrong about either of
the horse's feet, there will be time to remove the plates,
and to give the nails less hold or a different direction.
The foot may afterwards be relaxed in a biicket of
water, so that the horse may be brought to post, and
run without much danger of being lamed, if the
ground be not too hard.

Horses that may be heavily engaged, as some of
those which may be entered for either of the great
stakes, the Derby, or the Oaks, at Epsom, or that
valuable and interesting stake, the St. Leger, at Don-
caster, often stand high in public opinion. Under
these circumstances, to make all safe, and to satisfy the
public, it is usual, and indeed very proper, to bring
good shoeing and plating smiths to attend them, from the
different neighbourhoods where large training establish-
ments are kept. This arrangement cannot well extend
to country plate horses that are travelling during the
summer from one meeting to the other ; and from the
repeated necessity there is for removing the hoses and
plates of such horses, their feet are frequently in a
very broken and weak state on their return to the
home stables in autumn.

The foregoing are remarks which were made by me
at a time when I knew but little more about the feet of
horses than picking them out and washing them. I
have seen some few instances of race-horses' feet being
in a bad state, since I have been a Veterinary Surgeon
in the Army, and that, too, early in the summer. I am
of opinion, from the observations I made in those

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 331

instances, that the cause of the diseased state of the
feet might be traced to a want of knowledge on the
part of both the groom and smith, and not to any ne-
glect of either.

I have had the ordering and arranging of the plating
of a few horses in my time, some of which liave not
had the very best feet ; and as I have on such occasions
paid more than common attention to the subject,
I shall enter upon it, as far as I think necessary, to
explain to grooms, head lads, and countrj^ shoeing
smiths, the most advantageous methods to be adopted
in the plating of such feet as from peculiar circum-
stances may require much care and attention.

There are many shoeing smiths in the country who
shoe horses very well ; but there are many of them who
have but little experience in plating horses, and what
is worse, as it frequently happens, they have the most
difficult feet to put plates upon.

But I am of opinion, if grooms will take the
trouble (and I think they will) of paying proper
attention to the following remarks on this subject,
they may be enabled to give the country smiths such
precautionary instructions and directions as they see
necessary; and they may often suggest to them a
method of making the plates, and putting them on in
difficult cases, not only securely, but without laming
their horses ; for although, as I have just observed,
country smiths may shoe tolerably well, yet if they
have not had some experience in putting on plates, or
if proper directions be not given them, they may

832 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

unintentionally fall into error, and which, with race-
horses, I believe most racing men are aware must
be guarded against as much as possible.

Whenever horses are to be plated, the groom may
go himself, or after the stable hour is concluded, he
may send of the boys, to the smith over-night, with
orders for him to attend at the stables in the morning,
by the time the horses are returned from exercise, that
he may take measure of their feet, and make the plates
for such of them as may be going to run on the follow-
ing day.

The smith, when measuring the horses' feet, com-
monly makes use of two straws, for the purpose of
taking the length with one and the breadth with
the other, and if he does not understand figures,
he will, of course, do it more correctly this way than
by a rule. If there is any difference to be made
between the size of the shoe and that of the plate,
it is that the latter should be rather less than the
former in its circumference round the foot, so that the
plate may, to a certain extent, rest in the bed which
may have been formed by the shoe. The plate should
not, by any means, project beyond the edge of the
hoof; for, should a restless, irritable horse have to
saddle on the course, (which is the case where there is
no rubbing house) he may, from ranging about, tread
a plate off, unless the precaution is taken of setting
the plate level with, or within the edge of the hoof.
An accident of this sort not only keeps other horses
waiting, but it may create a dispute as to whether the

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 333

liorses that are ready to start at the time fixed should
wait or not.

Now, as the crust or wall of horses' feet which may
have been often plated, is more or less broken, the
groom should direct the smith as he is measuring the
feet, to make his observations on the most sound parts
of the crust, and as the nail holes of plates are placed
further apart than those of shoes, it sometimes gives
the smith the advantage of driving his nails into the
more sound parts of the foot. The groom, on such
occasions, cannot too strongly point out the necessity
of punching the nail holes in such parts of the plate as
will immediately correspond with the sound part of the
horn, provided those parts are so situated as to admit
of the nails being driven into them, and the plate ren-
dered secure without driving the nails too far back
from the end of the heels of the plates ; or if, to pre-
serve the hoof, the smith can safely drive a nail occa-
sionally into an old hole, it may be done.

From what has been already said, it will appear
pretty evident, that the making of plates must vary
according to circumstances. As plates are narrow, they
cannot well come in contact with the sole, so as to
occasion pressure there ; they may therefore be made
flat on both sides. Whether the horses' plates should
be made to come home to the heels of his fore-feet,
(and which I shall call full plates) or whether they are
to be made short, (which 1 shall call the three-quarter
plates) will depend o.n circumstances. I shall first
describe how the former should be made. The smith
is to observe in the making and fitting of this plate,

334 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES,

that the heels of it are to be broiiglit but just up or
home to the horse's heels when on, and not to project
the least beyond them ; and to prevent any hold being
taken by the toes of the hind feet, the heels of the fore
plates should be bevelled off.

If plates are properly forged, they require little or
no rasping, which only renders them weak. Plates
for moderate sized horses need scarcely ever exceed in
breadth three-and-a-half eighths of an inch. Middle
sized, light horses, running short races, and not heats,
(more particularly if the ground is soft) may not re-
quire them even of that breadth and substance. But
for large horses, whose feet are in proportion to their
size, the plate should vary accordingly. The fullering
or grove, which is made round the centre of the plate,
cannot well be too coarse, provided it does not too
much weaken the plate. The fullering must be made
in the centre, for if it is made to approach too near the
outer edge, it will weaken the plate, in which case the
smith cannot well get sufficient hold with his nails to
keep the plate secure.

The depth of the fullering must be regulated, and
the nail holes punched in it, according to the substance
of the plate and the size of the nails which are likely
to be used in putting it on ; that is to say, that by a
smart blow or two from the hammer after the nails are
driven, the heads of them should be buried and on a
level with the surface of the plates.

The situation in which each nail hole should be
placed, will depend in a great measure on the size of
the plates. In good feet, the nail holes should begin

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 336

where the toe may be said to end. There should be
four nails on each side ; the first and second nail holes
from the toe may be punched an inch or more apart.
Be this as it may, the smith must observe to regulate
the distance here between these two holes so as to
admit of his punching the third within the distance of
about an inch and a half of the end of the heel of the
plate ; and in the centre of the space there left, between
the third nail and the end of the plate, the last hole of
the foiu- should be punched ; otherwise the plates, par-
ticularly^ of the fore-feet, will spring at the heels, from
the concussion produced by severe running on hard
ground.

Horses that. are kept in reserve for particular races,
are consequently but seldom running. Their shoes
and plates not being often removed, their feet (unless
they have been neglected) are sound and strong, with
good heels and plenty of horn to nail to. For such
horses, the full plate is to be preferred, as it gives the
horse a more firm and level tread with his fore- feet than
the three-quarter plate can possibly do.

The three-quarter plate is made in most respects like
the full plate, except in its length. Being shorter, it
seldom requires for its security more than three nails on
each side ; and as in the first-mentioned plate, where
the toe ends, the first nail hole should be punched ; the
divisions being so arranged by the smith, as to the dis-
tance from each other, as to admit of the last hole being
punched within half an inch of the end of the plate.

A three-quarter plate is more generally used for

336 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

country plate horses, their feet having got out of order
from the repeated running and travelUng, together
with the necessity there is of frequently removing their
shoes and plates. The plate must not be made to ap-
proach nearer the end of the horse's heels than there is
horn sufficiently sound for it to rest upon ; and it
should also be sufficiently strong at those parts to give
the two last nails a firm hold, that the plate may not
spring at the heels when the horse is running.

Some horses' feet will allow of a plate of this sort
coming within half an inch of the end of the heels ; and
others may not allow of its coming within an inch or
more. It is the soundness and substance of the horn
at the horse's heels and quarters which must regulate
the length of the plates.

Country plate horses, if they are good ones and pro-
perly selected, are generally of pretty strong constitu-
tions ; and when they are sent on a circuit, or what is
commonly called, a roving commission, it is with a
view to pick up what plates they can ; and as the
season advances, unless great care is taken of them,
their feet, from the causes already mentioned, get into
a very indifferent state ; so much so, that it is often
difficult for even a good smith to put their plates on
with safety, and at the same time, securely.

The hind plates may be made as the fore ones, and
may be brought well home to the heels, as the heels
of the hind feet are mostly in a good state. If a horse
is a long striding one, and a free runner, he is likely
to be rather a diffieult one at his turns ; and although

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 337

it may be bad judgment to run such a horse over a
small round course, yet, if such should happen, it may
be advisable for the safety of both the rider and the
horse, to give the latter some hold of the ground, by
turning up the heels of his hind plates. But with a
horse of the middle size, that has a short but quick
stride, gives his race kindly, and is handy at his
turns, there may be no occasion to turn up the plates.
However, an experienced training groom, before his
horse is plated, generally puts himself in possession of
the sort of course he is going to run over, by previously
cantering his hack over it, and he should afterwards
regulate the plating of his horse according to circum-
stances.

The plates being made according to the directions
given, the groom must then decide whether they shall
be put on in the stable or on the course. This will
depend on the distance the former is from the latter,
and the sort of feet the horse may have.

Many of our country courses iiave not a stable near
them. On such occasions, the horses are often obliged
to stand at stables in the adjoining town, which is
sometimes at a \ery considerable distance, perhaps two
or three miles. This is much too long a length for
horses to walk in their plates ; indeed under almost any
circumstances, it is too far, unless it be on turf. If
there is no other way to the running ground except on
the hot surface of a hard turnpike road, I should
strongly recommend the groom to have his horse plated

z

338 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

on the course, more particularly if the three-quarter
plates are to be used.

I shall now make some few remarks on taking the
shoes off from race-horses' feet, preparatory to the put-
ting on of the plates. When the wall or crust of a
horse's feet is strong, and there is plenty of horn to
nail to, and the soles are of a good substance, the
shoes may be taken off in the usual manner, without
much risk of injuring the foot. The smith, in taking
them off, first knocks up the clinches with his buffer;
then with one side of his pincers placed between the
shoe and the sole of the foot, and with the other side
of them placed on the outside and upper edge of the
shoe, he gives sufficient strength in forcing them down-
wards and inwards, to draw the nails, and the shoe
comes off in the pincers. But with horses that have
thin weak feet, this method of taking off the shoes
must never be had recourse to. I have observed smiths,
who were not much in the habit of taking shoes off
from horses' feet use more strength than judgment. On
such occasions, if they would give themselves time for
a moment to examine the sort of feet from which they
may be going to remove shoes, they would find that to
use less of the former, and more of the latter, would
not only be considerably safer for the horses, but much
more advantageous to themselves ; for by doing the
thing properly, they would preserve the foot, and have
more horn to nail to.

In removing shoes from bad feet, the smith should
first knock up the clinches with one end of the buffer,

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 339

and with the other he should start the nails, and then
draw them out with the pincers one by one^ the shoe
would them immediately fall off. This is the way in
which the groom should insist on the horse's shoes
being taken off, so that the horn may be preserved as
much as possible.

In putting on a race-horse's plate, it will be observed
that, if the horse's shoes should not have been removed
from his feet for the space of three weeks, the hoof
will, during that peiiod, have grown, and with the ac-
tion and weight of the horse, the shoe will, in some
degree, have imbedded itself into the foot. After the
shoe is taken off, nothing should be done to the foot if
it can be avoided, as (if the plate is made as I direct)
there will be a sort of seat or bed round the crust in
which the plate will lay, and this will in some measure
support and assist in keeping it in its place. How-
ever, it may sometimes be necessary, after the shoe is
off, to run the rasp very lightly round the lower edge
of the crust. If the groom and smith see that it is re-
quisite to remove a very small portion of horn, so as
to level the foot that the plate may have an even surface
to lay on, it must be done; but this is all that can
be wanting. The heels of weak feet should be kept
strong, that is to say, nothing should unnecessarily be
removed from them.

Little need be said with regard to the nails which
are used in putting on plates. The sizes which are in
general use, are from No. 4 to No. 6, depending nuich
on the size of the foot, and weight of the plates. They

z 2

340 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

should be tough, and of the best quality ; and as it is
not necessary to drive them very high up in good feet,
the shorter they are, in reason, the better, as the
clinches will not be so coarse as a long nail; and this
is an object worth attending to, more particularly with
such horses as have thin crusts. The smith, having
carefully sized, straightened, and judiciously pointed
his nails, according to the sort of feet he is going to
drive them into, next commences putting on the plates.
If he takes but common care, there is not much diffi-
culty or danger to be apprehended in the driving the
nails into such feet as are strong, sound, and good.
But without the greatest care and attention possible on
the part of a good smith, difficulty will be encountered,
and danger is to be apprehended in driving nails into
weak, broken, and unsound feet.

A smith, on putting plates on such feet, must be
very careful, and pitch his nails a little in, or out, so as
to give the proper direction to each nail in passing it
safely either low down or high up through such parts
of the wall or crust of the foot. As he approaches
towards the quarters and heels, it will be necessary for
him to reduce the size of the nails, not only to pre-
vent those parts from being much broken, but to give
to each nail here, of whatever size it may be, a safe
and secure hold ; or when it is necessary to get a hold
higher up in the foot, and when a common shoeing
nail is used for the purpose, the smith should take care
in beating out the nail, to draw it rather fine at the

ON PLATING RACE-IIORSRS. 341

point, that in driving it ho may not break the upper
part of the hool more than can be avoided.

The nails being driven, the smith gives a smart blow
or two with his hammer on_ the head of each nail, so
as to drive it home and bring the head upon a level
with the surface of the plates ; he then nips off the
points with his pincers, and knocks down the clinches.
But a smith who may not have been accustomed to
plate horses is very likely (unless he is cautioned by
the groom) to do in this case as he would in putting
on shoes in the common way, which is, before he
knocks down the clinches, to make a nick with the
edge of his rasp under each clinch, so as to let the
clinches into the hoof. This should never be done in
plating horses, as it only tends to weaken those parts
in the hoof, and more particularly if the crust or wall
of the foot should be thin. There is another error into
which a smith may fall who is unaccustomed to plate
horses, if he is not cautioned. The error to which I
allude, is that of his improperly using his rasp in what
he calls finishing off the foot, by rasping over almost
the whole surface, and thereby weakening the crust.
This is not the only disadvantage likely to result fi'om
this method, for as the clinches of the nails used for
putting on plates are small, the most trifling rub with
a rasp may cut through them, or perhaps so much
weaken them as to render the plates insecure. If there
is any occasion to use the rasp after the plate is put
on, it can be only to rub down the head of a common

342 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

shoeing nail which may project, when tlie fullering is
not sufficiently coarse to let in the head of it.

I will, for example, suppose an instance at a country
meeting at which it is the custom to run heats. When
a horse has run the first heat he is pulled up and rode
to the scale for the jockey to weigh; after which he is
led out from the crowd to some convenient place to be
rubbed over, and to be got ready for the second heat.
This being done, and the horse's clothes put on, the
boy who looks after him, takes up his feet, and if
rnecessay, he picks them out. But there is one thing
which the boy knows to be very necessary, and that
is to see that his horse's plates are not only on, but
that nothing has happened to them ; that is to say, he
must see that the plate is neither broken nor sprung
at the heel. Such things will sometimes occur when
the ground is hard, and the plates light, or when they
are not nailed close to the end of the heels. If a
plate is thrown or broken, a fresh one must be put on.
If a plate has sprung at the heel, it must be put right,
which may be sometimes done without taking it off,
provided the horse has very strong sound feet. When
a plate can be put right on the feet without removing
it, or without any risk of laming the horse, the method
of doing it is this, — the smith should place his pincers,
shut or nearly so, between the plate and the foot, and
by giving a gentle blow or two with his hammer on
the end or heel of the latter, he brings it straight again ;
after which, as the foot is strong, he may, in order to
prevent the same thing from recurring, take fresh hold

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 343

liiglier up, or by making use of a larger sized nail in
the same hole, secure the plate. But when a plate
may have sprung at the heel of a weak foot, the groom
must never allow the smith to put the plate right on
the foot, or the odds are that the horse will be lamed.
The plate must be taken off and brought in place on
any hard level surface that will answer the purpose.
To prevent anything of this sort happening to a horse's
plates, the greatest care and attention should be paid
by the groom to the making of them, as also to the
putting them on; for when it happens that a horse's
plates get at all wrong, it sometimes occasions great
trouble and delay, if the horse be high-couraged or im-
petuous, and more particularly, should he have been
called upon rather severely, or perhaps punished a
little in running the first heat. From these causes,
together with the noise and bustle of the crowd, the
horse becomes so irritable and anxious, that it is at
times very difficult, where there may not be a stable
or rubbing house for the horse to go into, for the
boy who looks after him (even with the assistance of
the groom, — aye, and I will give him his hack into
the bargain) to pacify such a horse and get him to
stand quiet on the course for the smith to put the
plate aright on his foot ; or he may perhaps be obliged
to take it off for this purpose. Such occurrences shew
how necessary it is for the smith to be in attendance
on the race-ground, during the day the horse has to
run. Indeed, unless he is on the spot with his tools,
spare plates, and plenty of nails properly sorted and

344 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES.

well pointed, the horse caiiiiot (if a plate gets wrong)
start for the second or perhaps the third heat, the con-
sequences of which are too self-evident to need expla-
nation.

From incessant travelling and running a horse's feet
soon get out of order, unless great care be taken.
When they are in that state, the horse must run in
three-quarter plates, if he has to run long lengths, or
heats ; and if the ground be hard, his feet will suffer
much from concussion, and become very hot and
painful.

If the horse, after running, has a long way to walk
to his stable, perhaps on a hard road, his plates should
be carefully taken off on the course, and his shoes
should afterwards be as carefully put on. But when
a horse walks from the course to his stable in his plates,
I have known some grooms, after having the plates
taken off, let the horse stand without shoes. Of this
I do not approve. A horse with his feet in the state
I have described, cannot well bear the weight of his
body on them without shoes ; and until the heat and
pain in his feet subside, he is mostly seen lying down.
I should recommend grooms not to let a horse, under
the above circumstances, stand without shoes. It
is better by far to put them lightly on, driving the
nails into the old holes, and turning down the clinches
as easy as possible. A horse can then bear his weight,
and will stand or move about in his stall or box with
much more ease to himself, than when he has no shoes
on.

ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 345

Remedies for the relief of his feet can be much better
applied, but not bran poultices, as used to be the
custom. These are not good on such occasions, as the
weight of the horse when standing spreads them
abroad, and the heat of the feet soon absorbs the
moisture of the poultice ; and they are inconvenient
for horses either to stand or lie down in. It was the
custom, and a very excellent one, on a horse's arriving
at his stable after running, to foment his legs and
feet. I should afterwards put wet pads round the
crust of the fore-feet, and stop the bottoms with wet
tow, before the stables are shut up at night. The pads
and tow should be fresh wetted every stable hour.

If the horse be a craving one, and is likely to lay by
for ten or twelve days, I should recommend a dose of
physic to keep him light and to assist in getting his
feet cool. As soon as the inflammation and soreness
had left his feet, the wet pads should be removed, and
the tar ointment occasionally applied round the crust
of the feet, always keeping the bottoms constantly
stopped with wet tow. This is the treatment I should
apply to the feet of horses that may have got out
of order from the causes mentioned. If a horse's feet
are weak and his heels low, and he has to run on hard
ground, it would be advisable to let him run in his
shoes.

A horse that has strong feet may be plated in the
stable, and walk from thence to the course, and after
running, he may return to the stables in his plates, and
continue wearing them until he has performed his

340 ON PLATING RACE-HORSES..

engagements for the meeting, which seldom exceeds
three days. The groom will not want to do any
work with the horse, as his first day's race will keep
the length in him. If he requires any thing in the
way of exercise, it can only be walking, or at farthest,
a short hill gallop, both of which he may accomplish
in his plates, without injury to his feet.

CHAPTER XXIV.

ON BREAKING RACING-COLTS.

Noblemen and gentlemen who breed racing stock
with a view of either running or selling the produce,
generally keep an experienced stud groom to manage
an establishment of this description, whose method
and manner of handling the young ones, even from
the time they are sucklings, is such as will bring them
quite gentle and familiar, in comparison with other
common stock, which are allowed to range in large
fields in a wilder state. The former is certainly an
advantage ; for when colts and fillies were a year
and a half old, it was the custom with some men who
had conveniency of ground for the purpose, and who
bred principally for sale, to break and try their young
ones, particularly early, so as to ascertain the power of
speed each colt or filly possessed ; and according to the
result of these trials, they regulated the price of each.
On such occasions, young ones were generally taken

348 ON BREAKING RACING-COLTS.

up from their paddocks about the latter end of August;
and if, in a month or five weeks, tiiey could be got to
ride quiet, and follow each other up a short gallop,
they were considered sufficiently ])roke to be tried for
sale; after which, they were returned again to their
paddocks, to remain there until sold.

But, noblemen and gentlemen who run the produce
of their own stud, and who are not particularly anxious
about selling, do not have their colts and fillies taken
up before the latter end of September, or early in Oc-
tober, either as yearlings or two-year-olds, just as such
breeders may best approve ; and if such young ones
have been properly treated, they are, when brought
into the stables, but little alarmed at the people and
the things about them.

Those who have their establishments in the neigh-
bourhood of Newmarket, and who have also their
private training grooms and stables in that town, send
their young ones there to be broke and tried. When
the groom's time is not fully occupied with the number
of horses he has in training, he may, with the assist-
ance of the head lad and some of his best riding boys,
most likely arrange the breaking of the colts himself;
otherwise they are sent to the colt-breaker's residing in
the neighbourhood. But whether they are broke at
home, or sent to the colt-breaker's for that purpose, is
not very material. If the people who undertake the
management of them are in all respects well acquainted
with what they undertake to do, the thing is done
precisely the same in one training stable as in another.

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 349

The main object is to give them plenty of time until
they are perfectly broke.

Other gentlemen who have large breeding establish-
ments, and who keep in their employ proper persons
to make the necessary arrangements in every depart-
ment of it, as a stud groom, a colt-breaker, a training-
groom, and good riding boys, with other requisites,
such as suitable ground near the stables to exercise on,
or a park sufficiently large to train horses in, with a
two or four mile course in it. Such gentlemen as have
on their estates the above-mentioned conveniences, like,
as well for the sake of secrecy as for the pleasure and
amusement it affords them, to have their horses man-
aged at home. Other breeders who have not these
conveniences on their premises, are obliged to send the
produce of their stock to their own private stables, or
to public stables, to be broke, tried, and trained ; and
these stables may be, and indeed often are, at a veiy
great distance. Under these circumstances, I would
advise breeders to have their colts handled or broke in
a temporary manner at home ; although they may not
have an opportunity of doing this effectually, it may
be done to a certain extent by the stud groom, and
men on the premises. There will be no necessity for
backing them ; it will be found sufficient to put the
tackle on them, and have them led out for a week or
ten days, on the roads or downs, and now and then
lounged. This sort of treatment will bring them tole-
rably steady, which is a point worth attending to, prior
to their commencing a journey, as there is afterwards

350 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

less difficulty and danger in travelling them. Unless
this is done, they are very troublesome in passing carts
and carriages on the road ; and in struggling when
frightened, they may get loose and injure themselves.
Whenever they travel, having been only temporarily
broke, they should be led in cavesons with boots on
tlieir fore legs. If they have a long way to travel,
tliey should also be provided with boots for their hind
legs.

To shew the necessity of handling or temporarily
breaking young ones before they are permitted to
travel, J will relate an occurrence which happened to
some yearlings that were travelling from the stables in
Gloucestershire, belonging to Mr. Cook, to some others
in his occupation, adjacent to Maidenhead Thicket.
It was the spring of the year, that Mr. Cook had or-
dered these race-horses, accompanied by the head lad
and two boys (I was one of them), to be sent to the
Maidenhead stables ; and to travel with us, were four
unbroken racing yearlings, led in halters by four coun-
trymen, hired for the purpose, the whole being put
under the care of the head lad, who was strictly
charged to be careful of them. The first two days of
our journey, the colts, as might be expected, were
troublesome, and often alarmed by the different objects
they met on the road ; but as none of them got loose,
the head lad gave himself very little concern about
them, and we were often a long way in front with our
horses, and no doubt we were some way forward
when the circumstance happened which I am about to

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 351

notice. On arriving at about the middle of Marlbro'
Downs, on the third day, whether the men had become
careless and off their guard, or whether the colts, from
seeing so open a country, had made greater efforts than
usual to get loose, T cannot say ; but loose they all
got, and wild and unbroke as they were, they traversed
the open plain, gambolling about for some hours, very
much to the annoyance of the lad, who at length
became seriously alarmed for the safety of this part of
his charge. He was at a loss for some time to know
what steps he should take to regain them. At last?
however, he made up his mind that we should strip the
horses, and ride after the colts. We then proceeded a
little further to some men who were at work mending
the road, and in their care we left our horses' clothes,
muzzles, &c. We then put on our saddles, and after
giving directions to the men who had been leading the
colts to follow us, we went after them. After some
hours riding, they allowed us to get close up to them,
and one by one, we got them again, to the no small
gratification of the lad into whose care they had been
given. Now had these colts, before they left the home
stables, been but partially broke, and had been led in
cavesons, nothing of the sort could well have happened.
I remember, shortly after these colts arrived at their
destination, the groom, by way of giving them ex-
ercise, and bringing them handy, used to make the
boys lead them every day, between stable hours, round
a paddock. I was at this time very small, and the colt
I was leading soon began his gambols, and kicked me

352 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

very severely on the leg, and would no doubt have got
away from me, had not the groom, who was standing
by, looking on, come to my assistance. 1 recollect, he
gave me a good shaking and some abuse, and I should,
no doubt, have felt his ash-plant smartly over my
shoulders, (for he was rather familiar with his boys in
this way,) but, luckily for me, he did not happen to
have it with him. I was sent back to the stables with
orders to send a bigger boy to lead the colt, which is
what the groom ought to have done in the first in-
stance, as when a colt once gets the better of a boy,
he is very apt to try it again.

Let us, for the sake of example, and merely to shew
how racing colts are broke, consider a number of year-
lings to be taken up from the paddocks of noblemen or
gentlemen who, having a large racing establishment, are
breeding on an extensive scale, and train and run their
own produce. Instead of sending them to be broke at
the stables of a colt breaker, we will consider that a
man well qualified for breaking racing colts is kept on
the above establishment.

The month of October, or thereabouts, is generally
the time that colts come up, which are to be effectually
broke ; and it is about this time that many of the
horses of a certain age are put out of training, and are
removed from their stables to loose houses to winter.
In these stables, or any others on the premises answer-
ing the purpose, the colts and fillies may be put ; only
observe to class them properly, that is, the colts in one
stable and the fillies in another.

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 353

Having thus arranged them, the next thing to be
done in the stables, is to teach them to stand, tied up
in the stalls. The collars and reins used for the pur-
pose, should be very firm and good ; and care should
be taken, that the top part of the head of the collar is
fixed close to the back part of the colt's ears. Some
of these may be a little unruly at first, and hang back
a few times, but if they find they cannot get loose after
repeated attempts, they become reconciled.

They should now have their feet cleaned out and
properly shod. In first accustoming colts to be dressed,
they should be looked after by the big boys, until the}'^
come to stand quiet to be wisped and brushed over,
and the other necessary operations, such as combing
out their manes and tails, and picking out and washing
their feet. They should be brought gradually to the habit
of being properly dressed, with as little annoyance as
possible. They should always be accustomed to wear
rollers in the stables, with a girth round the chest, at-
tached on each side to the lower end of the pad of the
roller by a strap. This will prevent the roller from
getting into the flanks of those that get light in their
work. The girth being thus used, they will be less
shy of a breast cloth when it is first put on. Some of
^hem may be restless on their being first brought into
the stables, and may be much inclined to paw and
tumble the bedding about. Those which indicate a
disposition of this sort, should have the fetters buckled
on round the pastern joints, and continue to wear them
until they are brought to stand perfectly quiet.

A A

354 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

The breaking of yearlings or two-3^ear olds, was
formerly a business much hurried, and was thought
by some grooms not to be of much importance ; but it
should never be considered in this light, for, however
promising in appearance, or however well-bred a colt
may be, — whatever properties he may possess, the sort
of racer he will become must greatly depend on the
breaking ; as, from bad management, he may be totally
spoiled.

Horses, having, very retentive piemories, are seldom
made completely to forget whatever unruly tricks
or habits they acquire from being improperly handled
in the breaking. Therefore, whether they are broke at
home, or sent out for the purpose, it is highly neces-
sary that the colt breaker to whom they are entrusted
should be a man of experience, who thoroughly under-
stands what he is going about. Besides being a good
horseman, he should be a man of excellent temper,
never allowing his passion to get the better of his dis-
cretion when persevering with a colt. A man who
has been brought up from a boy in racing stables is to
be preferred, as he will know better how to forward
them for what they are intended, and will do more
with them in considerably less time than colt breakers
who are accustomed only to break colts for general
purposes.

I will now treat on the subject of breaking. The
first step, is putting on the cavesons ; but before the
colts are led out, long boots should be put on their
fore legs ; for when they first go out, they pull and

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 355

hang about, aiul will sometimes plunge a little, and
in so doing, they will now and then give themselves
blows on their legs, and thereby bruise and inflame
them. They had better wear long boots while they
are lounging. When the colts are in from exercise,
the groom or colt breaker may observe what part of
the boots may or may not be marked from blows, and
can accordingly change them for short ones. There
may sometimes be even goers which may not appear
to require boots, but it is rather a dangerous experi-
ment to attempt working colts without first putting on
either short or long boots.

The number of colts that should be got ready to go
out at the same time at different periods during the
day, must depend upon the number of men and lads
the colt breaker has to assist him. There should at
first be two to each colt ; and each man or lad who is to
hav^e the principal charge in the handling of a colt,
should be selected from among those who have had
the most experience in this way.

On their first being taken out, a steady lad should
walk in the rear, in case any colt should hang back, to
urge him quietly on by flourishing his whip or ash
plant, but not to strike him. Colts with their cavesons
and boots on, and thus attended, may be led out to the
downs, or into a large paddock. At either place they
may be taught to be led quietly about. As soon as
they become tractable in this way, attempts may
be made to lounge them, by first walking them in
a small circle to the right or to the left; and when

A A 2

356 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

tliej know how to go round at this pace, they may
be quietly urged on into a trot, gradually increasing
the size of the circle by giving them more length of
rein. In three or four days, or when they go boldly
and freely at full length of the rein each way in the
lounge for fifteen or twenty minutes, having by degrees
been brought to this pace and time of lounging, the
mouthing bits, rollers, and cruppers, may be put on
them.

It may here be necessary for me to give a short de-
scription how the two latter should be made. The rol-
ler may have a hook in the centre of the pad, but cer-
tainly a ring attached on the lower part of each side of
the pad, for the purpose of buckling on the side reins.
In the front or bottom part of the pad, straps should
be attached, as also to that part of the crupper, which,
when on, is immediately over the colt's loins. These
straps should hang down each side of the crupper as
low as the colt's houghs. On the near side where the
crupper divides to admit the colt's tail being inserted
into it, there should be a buckle to facilitate the putting
of it on. When colts are out at exercise in this sort of
tackle, these straps, from their action, together witli
the wind blowing them about, are almost invariably
striking against their legs, and lapping under their
bellies ; and although they are a little annoyed by the
tackle when first put on, they soon become accustomed
to feel the straps about them, which indeed is what is
intended they should do. By these means they are
taught not to be alarmed when the wind blows a

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 357

rider's coat against their sides, or when the wind is
strongly blowing the clothes against them ; or when
race-horses are travelling, it sometimes happens, from
the neglectful manner in which the boys put on the
different things about their horses, and by their not
making them sufficiently secure, that a breast-cloth may
get loose and hang down about a horse, or a muzzle
improperly put on, may hang down too low about
him ; and from either of these circumstances, a horse
which has not been broke in such tackle as I have just
described, may become alarmed, and will make great
efforts to get loose.

Colts should be attended in this way, until they are
sufficiently forward in their breaking to be entrusted
entirely to the care of one person, under the superin-
tendence of the colt breaker. For the first two or three
days of their having the mouthing bits put on them,
the bits should be allowed to play loosely in their
mouths; and in cruppering them, they should be han-
dled boldly and without fear. The hair should be well
cleared out from between the dock and the crupper ;
nor should the latter be drawn up too tight, at first.
The roller should also be tightened very gradually;
for if colts are suddenly girthed up tight, most of them
will set up their backs and plunge, and if they contract
the habit of doing this, it sometimes becomes a difficult
task to break them of it.

A horse which may have acquired this habit from
being badly managed in his breaking, requires great

358 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

care and attention in saddling whenever he is going to
run, or he will most likely throw his jockey. The
groom is obliged to begin saddling such a horse much
earlier than any other ; and when the saddle is put on,
the girth should be strained up but just tight enough
to keep it in situation. The horse may then be
walked about for a short time. It is at intervals
in this way that the girths should be tightened,
and when the saddle is made secure, and the surcingle
put on, the boy who looks after the horse should be
put up to walk him about, until the horses he may be
going to start with, are all saddled ; and to prevent an
accident, or false start, the boy may give him a canter
before the jockey is put up to go to the post with him.
But it is much against a horse that is flighty, or that
is easily alarmed, to be so long saddling, and to be thus
annoyed before he comes to post. The greatest care is
therefore necessary to be observed on first girthing
colts. It should be done very gradually, so that they
may not acquire a habit of plunging.

When colts have had this tackle on two or three
days, and have been lounged, and walked on the
downs three or four hours each day, the next step is
gradually to bear them up, which should be done by
attaching the side reins to the bits and rollers, but they
should not be strained too tight at first. They should
be shortened each day a hole at a time. From this
treatment their mouths will become sensible to the
pressure of the bit, and they will then get their heads
in of themselves.

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 359

As some colts may take a little less time in breaking
than others, the colt breaker should now and then stop
such of them as he may see have moist mouths, and
that are getting pretty forward. Placing himself in
front of any such colt, and taking hold of each side of
the check of the bit, he may, by a gentle pressure, feel
the state of the colt's mouth ; and if he finds it tolerably
sensible to the pressure of the bit, he may, by applying
pressure to it at short intervals, get himtoreinbackalittle.
Let the colt stand, and make much of him; this will give
him a notion of stopping or reining back by pressure
being applied to the bit when he is rode. But it must be
done in a very gentle way, and he should then be suf-
fered to walk forward again. As each colt progres-
sively improves, he should be handled in this way.

Having now got thus far forward in their breaking,
and having left off noticing the straps hanging about
them, it may not be amiss now and then to lead such
of them as are intended for country running, on such
public roads as are level and good, and which are not
too much crowded with vehicles, merely with a view
to accustom them to the different objects they are likely
to meet when travelling from one meeting to another.

As soon as they are sufficiently reconciled to the dif-
ferent objects on a road, so as to walk boldly on, with-
out noticing what they meet, the men walking by their
side, instead of walking on before and leading them,
they may desist from frequenting the roads. The colt
breaker should now direct the men as they are walking

360 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

by the side of the colts, in going to and returning from
exercise, to put their arms gently over the roller, and
each man, with his ash -plant, may lightly, but quietly,
keep tapping his colt on his fore and hind quarters, to
accustom him to the use of either the ash-plant or the
whip ; and with a craving colt, a little more strength
may now and then be used, with a view of giving a
colt of this description a notion of moving on and
more readily exerting himself from the application of
the whip.

When colts have been sufficiently practised to this
sort of treatment, they may next be brought to wear
the saddle. Each saddle should have three girths —
two in front, and a back girth; this last one not only
assists in keeping the saddle steady, but by wearing it,
colts become less shy, when on first going into training,
they have a body sweater or sheet lapped round them.
There may be also a crupper to each saddle, similar
to the one attached to the rollers; and the straps, be-
fore and behind, as with the rollers, may be buckled
on to the saddles.

For the first few times of putting on the saddle, a
little caution is necessary. The colt breaker should take
the colt's head, and should at the same time caress him.
There should be a lad on each side ; the one on the off
side, before he puts the saddle on, should take care to
place the girths and straps over the seat of it ; and
after the crupper is on, he should hand the girths
quietly to the lad on the near side, who should not pull

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 361

them up too tight at first. The stirrups may be allowed
to hang down, and when the girths are drawn up suffi-
ciently tight, the surcingle may be put on.

For a (e\y days, the colts go on at their usual exer-
cise of lounging and walking about the downs for three
or four hours a day, or for such further time as may be
thought necessary to steady those that may be rather
more flighty and unruly than the rest. But the time
of their being at exercise should in some measure be
regulated by the state of their condition ; for it is to be
observed, that the flesh comes off young ones rather
rapidly. It is therefore necessary, under these circum-
stances to attend particularly to their constitutions.

About this time of his breaking, the colt should be
accustomed to be led by the colt-breaker, he himself
riding on his hack. This is very necessary before a colt
is backed, as it accustoms him to see the man above
him. Having been used to be thus led, he should be
handled and fondled by the people about,' in every
possible way, previous to his being backed; and the
day on which he is to be mounted, he may be kept
a little longer working in the lounge, or may be led
about an hour or two longer than usual. A small
paddock, in which he may at times have been ac-
customed to be exercised, will be as convenient a
place as any other for this sort of thing; or he may be
taken to the ground on which he has usually been
lounged. It should be a calm, still day; there should
be nothing to alarm him until he has become quite fa-
miliar with his rider.

362 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

For the first few times of mounting a colt, or rather
until he stands quiet, there should be three men pre-
sent. The colt-breaker should place himself in front of
the colt, taking hold of each side of the bit, and a man
on the off side should have hold of the stirrup-leather.
While the man on the near side (who of course should
be a good horseman) is making attempts to mount, the
one on the off side should give the necessary weight or
strength in bearing down on the stirrup-leather, and
yield his weight or strength as occasion may require,
to keep the saddle from moving out of its place, and
thereby annoying the colt at the time the man on the
near side is making attempts to mount and dismount,
which he should do by first putting his foot into the
stirrup, and then taking it out again ; but of course
taking great care that his foot does not touch the colt's
side. This he may, perhaps, more easily accomplish,
by lengthening his stirrup-leathers a few holes. He
may repeat this once or twice, if he finds the colt does
not draw himself in, nor bend his body from him, nor
yet shift his position. Having got his foot into the
stirrup, he may (taking care that his toe does not come
in contact with the colt's side) raise himself gradually
up from the ground, until he is perfectly upright, and
bear, for a few moments, his whole weight on the stir-
rup. The colt-breaker should, just at this period, en-
deavour, by kindness, to engage the colt's attention,
while the man who is mounting may put his leg gently
over, and quietly seat himself in the saddle ; and for

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 36g

the little time be is sitting here, he should make much
of the colt. He should then take up the reins, but at
first he should handle them cautiously. The colt-
breaker should now lead the colt, and the man on his
back should sit perfectly still, and unless he is obliged
for his own safety, he should not immediately press
his knees or calves of his legs too strongly against the
colt's sides. If he feels himself setting up his back, and
thinks that he is inclined to make a bound or two, the
rid^' must, of course, sit firm and well down in the
saddle, and endeavour to keep the colt's head up. The
colt-breaker should check the caveson-rein, and also
assist in keeping up the colt's head. They should both
keep working quietly at his head until he desists. He
should then be led a few times each way round the
lounge ; if he appears tolerably quiet, he may be pulled
up and made much of, and then led about on the down
with the man on him, and the colt breaker riding by
the side of him on his hack.

As soon as the colt is perfectly reconciled to his
rider, he may be rode home. The man should take
great notice of him before he dismounts, and also
after he has dismounted, previously to putting him in
the stable.

In the breaking of a number of colts, it will be
found that some few of them will require more time
and perseverance than others. Before mounting such
colts, it may be as well to work them a little longer than
the others; and at the time of mounting a colt of this de-
scription, it may not be amiss to let a lad stand by, with

364 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

some corn in a sieve, and as he is directed, give him a
little to eat. Feeding a colt in this, way, when he is
hungry or fatigued, will very much prevent his noticing
what is going on with regard to mounting and dis-
mounting ; that is, if he is quietly and properly han-
dled, and also, at the same time, made much of. When
mounted, the rider should remain upon such a colt,
until he leads about perfectly quiet. The rider should
occasionally pull him up and caress him, and let him
have a mouthful of corn now and then. Previously
to dismounting him, he should be made much of by
the rider, as also after he is dismounted, before he is
put into the stable.

This sort of colt should be mounted and dismounted
with the greatest care, so as not to alarm him, and he
should also every day be led, until he is perfectly re-
conciled to his rider ; and on his first being allowed to
be rode without leading, he should be put in the midst
of a string of colts, with which he is being broke.

If the colt-breaker has an idea that the colt will
plunge much on being first mounted, it would be well
to mount such a colt in a paved street, where, not
having good foot hold, he will be rather afraid to
plunge. Horses that are restive seldom set up with
their riders in a paved town ; they are generally cun-
ning enough not to begin, till they have pretty good
foot hold, either on the turnpike road, or on the turf.

Giving time and taking pains with colts in this way
according to their different tempers, will give them
confidence, and they soon stand quiet of themselves

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 365

to bo mounted and dismounted, and they will then
most of them go quietly by the guidance of their
riders anywhere they choose to direct them. Their
cavesons may now be left off, and in place of them,
plain or head-stall martingals or running reins, as oc-
casion may require, should be substituted, to enable
their riders to get their heads in place.

The men and lads who may have been the most
accustomed to riding young ones, should continue to
ride them under the direction of the colt-breaker, from
whom they should receive instructions as to the man-
ner in which each colt should be rode, so as to endea-
vour to bring them all to ride well and with good
mouths. To accomplish this, requires a light hand in
the application of the pressure with the bit on the colt's
mouth. It should be done by the rider's giving and
taking by gentle pulls, and thereby keeping the colt's
mouth alive to the pressure of the bit. The rider
should occasionally gently press the calves of his legs
and heels to the colt's sides to uige him on and up to
the bit, pulling him up and letting him stand for a few
moments, and then reining him back a little, and
again moving him forward, teaching him to turn and
go in any direction that may be required of him, tieat-
ing him at the same time with kindness. Some of the
colts may not be so forward as others in regard to their
mouths. These should be put to stand for an hour
every day on the bit after they come in from exercise,
at the same time taking care to fasten them up to the
pillar reins, and to bear them up to the saddle, or what

300 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

is much to be preferred, to a spring cross, until their
mouths become more perfect.

There may be some few which may have one side
of their mouths more forward than the other, and this
arises from the same attention not having been paid in
handUng that side as the other. This is a matter of
importance, and the colt-breaker should be very atten-
tive to it. He should ride all the colts in turn him-
self, and if he finds a colt's mouth uneven, — that is,
one side of the mouth more sensible to the pressure of
the bit than the other, he should either continue to ride
such colt himself, or have him rode immediately under
his direction by a man of experience, who should feel
and handle that side of the mouth more frequently
than the other ; and as soon as this side becomes
equally sensible with the other, he should, now and
then, by lightly handling the bit, bring the colt's head
round towards his own knee ; and he should be fre-
quently turned on this side. The other side of the
mouth must not, however, in the mean time be neg-
lected.

All race-horses, from the manner in which they are
held by the boys when at exercise, pull more or less
in their work ; but this is of little consequence, pro-
vided they pull fair; that is, if their mouths are even,
and equally sensible on both sides to the pressure of
the bit, otherwise they are very difficult to guide. As
soon as their heads can be got sufficiently up and in
place, and their mouths are perfectly sensible on both
sides to the pressure of the mouthing bit, a second sort

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 367

of snaffle may be used, and several should every day
be walked out together, in line, on the downs, at a dis-
tance of two or three lengths from each other. They
should be exercised in this way, and gradually brought
accustomed to everything they may have to be put to,
or that ma}^ be required of them either in training or
in running.

When got ready in the morning, with their saddles
and bridles on, and turned round in the stalls, they
should be accustomed to be mounted there, and rode
out of the stables into the yard, and there walked about
until their saddles are settled to their backs, or rather
until they have done setting up their backs, as some
of them will most likely do after being girthed up
tight, which by this time they ought to bear without
much resistance. The next thing to which they should
be trained, is the noise and bustle of a crowd, and the
place, of all others, to bring colts to face a crowd in
running, is certainly near the rails of a course at a
racing meeting. These opportunities, except at New-
market, are not to be met with often enough at country
courses, so as to give colts the confidence which it is
necessary they should have in running home by the
rails. Therefore colt breakers, who may be breaking
racing colts in different parts of the country, should
frequent the neighbouring markets with such as may
not be intended to be sent to Newmarket.

The colt breaker, in first going to those places,
should ride a hack in front of the colts ; but they are
not immediately to be taken into the body of the

308 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

crowd; they should be suffered to stand at first and
look on. They are to be brought by degrees into
the most crowded parts, obsei'ving, at the same time,
to avoid any risk. They may be a little alarmed
at first, but with good riding boys up, and kind
and gentle treatment, they soon acquire confidence,
even in places of this sort ; and it is absolutely
necessary to take them into such situations, for unless
they will come freely up the rails of a course and
boldly face the crowd in running, they can be but
of little use as race-horses. In riding them on the
high roads to a market, some of them may be alarmed
at the difTerent objects they meet. Whenever this
occurs, they are by no means to be resolutely forced
up to them. It is, I admit, by no means uncommon,
to see men of all descriptions forcing their horses close
up to the object which has alarmed them, and some
who allow their passions to overcome their cooler
judgment, are apt to punish their horses very severely
on such occasions. I confess, that when I was a lad,
and have at times been riding at exercise by myself, I
have often been guilty of this fault when my horse
has started. To say nothing of the cruelty of such
treatment, it unquestionably betrays a very defective
judgment, for when horses are thus treated, they be-
come alarmed from two causes — the object they see is
the one cause, and the correction they dread from the
rider is the other. When they are frightened, no
matter where or at what object, they should be treated
kindly and made much of, and they should be kept

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 369

wide ill passing whatever they may have taken fright
at. This sort of treatment, with a good horseman up,
gives them confidence, and they soon come to pass
boldly on, without noticing anything they meet.

In breaking saddle horses for common use, such as
chargers, hacks, or troop horses, it may be very proper
to bring them boldly to face all objects ; but in break-
ing racing colts, there is no such necessity, for when
they are broke, and are on the road travelling as race-
horses, they are almost invariably led, and horses when
led, seldom become alarmed at objects they encounter
on the road.

Colts, when brought sufficiently accustomed to the
bustle and tumult of crowded places, so as not to be
alarmed at any thing in or about them, may gradually
omit frequenting those places. The long straps belong-
ing to their saddles may be left off, and they should
now be accustomed to wear their clothes at exercise as
well as in the stable ; not exactly with a view to keep
them warm or to bring them light, but merely to pre-
vent them from being alarmed in any way from their
use.

It sometimes happens that a colt may have a little
hereditary vice, or some few tricks, which may be
traced to the same source, and it may be necessary
when one of this description becomes unruly, to cor-
rect him. It is advisable that such a colt should have
a good and patient, yet, at the same time, a determined
horseman upon him ; for when once he has been
obliged to correct a colt of this sort for any thing

B B

370 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

wrong (although he is not to punish or abuse him
brutally) yet he must never give up the contest. He
must thoroughl}^ defeat the colt ; but this should be
effected with as few blows as possible, and a great
deal may be done by patiently persevering with him
and tiring him out. When the rider has carried his
point, he may then make much of his colt.

The colts which are troublesome in this particular,
are mostly the craving ones; and when such colts aie
put in training, they should, until their tempers are
well known, always have good riding boys upon
them. Such craving colts as have good and patient
riders on them may, before their breaking is completed,
be rode in spurs ; but they are to be accustomed to
them very gradually. They should be punished as
little as possible with the spurs, and even then not
rashly. Spurs should be used in such a manner as to
make the colt understand that when they are applied
to his sides, it is for the purpose of urging him on, or
making him exert himself in getting forward at a
faster pace. Light impetuous colts scarcely ever want
them; yet they should all be trained to them before
they are brought to post to try or to run ; otherwise
some colts, when stabbed sharply with spurs in severe
running, may resent the application of them by
kicking. Others, from such a circumstance, may
shut up and go out. From either of these occurrences,
a trial may be undecided or a race lost ; and as I have
just observed, this would then be the result of the

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 371

colt's not being gradually and properly trained to the
use of the spurs.

As by this time we may fairly presume that their
mouths are sufficiently sensible to the pressure of the
last mentioned description of bit, and that their heads,
when they are rode, are in proper place, plain snaffles
or pelhams, or any sort of bridle, as occasion may
require, may be put on them, and they may now be
taken every day on the downs to exercise. Colts,
breaking at Newmarket, should often be walked about
on the flat among the different courses, and at times
they should be made to leave each pother and walk
quietly away to different parts of the downs to exer-
cise by themselves. It is highly necessary to accus-
tom them thus early to leave each other, with a view
more easily to preserve the tempers of the light,
flighty, or delicate horses or mares, as in training it is
at times necessary to change their system.

When they are leaving the downs, they should be
walked home, following each other in line, up the
Cambridge hill and along by the side of the rails, and
when they have gone one hundred yards past the
weighing stand at the end of the B. C. it may be as
well to pull them up and walk them back again to the
weighing stand, and let them remain there a few
minutes. At other times, they may be brought home
across the flat, passing the weighing stand at the turn
of the lands ; and at the distance of one hundred yards
from it, they may be pulled up and walked back again
to the stand. The riders mav there dismount, and

372 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

make much of them for a short time. They may then
mount them and walk them quietly by the side of the
rails home to their stables.

During the meetings which are so frequent at New-
market, all opportunities should be taken by the colt-
breaker when the rails are open, to bring his colts
home up between them by the crowd, passing the
winning-post to where the horses usually pull up. The
colts should be pulled up here, and walked back again
to the weighing stand, and treated as before mentioned.
They should afterwards be kept walking about among
the crowd until the races are over ; and this should be
done every day during the meeting. The meetings
being over, they may occasionally be walked out to
Warren Heath, and here for a few days let them walk
the different gallops ; after which, the colt breaker may
teach them to follow each other in a canter for about
half a- mile up either of the gallops. When the colt
breaker intends taking the colts out for a short gallop,
he should be on a hack in front, so as to rate them off
properly. I do not mean by rating them properly,
that there is any great occasion to attend much to the
pace they may choose to go off at. They may go
from a walk into a trot, and from a trot into a canter,
or they may go from a walk into a canter ; this is of
very little importance at present. But it may be ne-
cessary to caution the boys to keep fast hold of each
colt's head, that is to say, to keep their heads up and
in good place ; and with any of them that are inclined
to pull rather more determinedly than the rest, the reins

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 373

should be knotted at a well-proportioned length, so as

to give the boy a good hold of his colt's head.

Although these precautions may be necessary with

some few of them, yet these few are not to be pulled

at rashly, for this would not only make them pull more

determinedly, but would induce them to go high and

clamber in their work, which is a loss of time. When

they are off, let them quietly measure their own stride,

and as close to the ground as they like. To hold

those that pull more resolutely than others, the boys

should be directed, in pulling at them, to give and

take, and thereby keep their mouths alive. In this

manner they should be ordered to hold them in their

exercise. It becomes necessary thus to direct such

boys as may not be in the habit of riding young

ones, and as they may be walking either way at the

bottom of the Warren Heath near the gorse, each colt

being at a proper distance from the one before him, the

colt breaker may give the lads direction to urge them

on after his hack, by pressing their legs and heels against

the sides of those that may require this excitement ;

and he himself should, as he is getting towards the

bottom of the gallop, rate his hack a little faster, so as

to endeavour to get them all to come off in a canter as

nearly as he can together. Never mind whether they

take the right or the left leg first ; but previous to their

commencing the gallop, the colt breaker should speak

to the boys, and caution each to endeavour all he can

to catch with the motion of his body the stride of his

374 ON BREAKING RACING COLTS.

colt as he is settling into a canter. Just at this time,
the boys should be particularly still on them, and by
no means pull rashly at them. Each colt having been
pulled up at the end of this short gallop, they should
be nearly in a line with each other. But where there
are a number together, there may be one or two that
pull more determinedly than the rest, and may pass
those that are pulled up for a few lengths, before a boy
can get a steady pull on such colt to stop him. To
obviate this, it is advisable the next time they go out,
to put up a more experienced rider on such colt. The
whole of them being pulled up, they walk quietly
about until they become cool and collected. They
may then go to the troughs and take their water. They
should here be made much of, particulaiiy the light
ones, as some of them may be alarmed from this little
exertion, and will naturally look and stare about when
at the troughs, and not like to take their water. Such
of them as may do this, should be watered in the
stable as soon as they enter it.

Most yearlings, being thoroughly well broke, and
afterwards being allowed plenty of time to be at their
exercise under the direction of an experienced training
groom, until they are properly taught, will be suffi-
ciently well trained to be tried for the lengths they
have to come in their trials.

Having now touched upon all the introductory
matter connected with my subject, I take leave of the
reader, proposing to pursue, in the second volume, the

ON BREAKING RACING COLTS. 375

system of training different racc-liorses more in detail ;
in which will be fully explained the particular mode of
treatment to be adopted in feeding, watering, and
working, according to the age, constitution, and tem-
per of the horse.

END OF VOL. I.

LONDON :

BLATCH AND LAMPERT, PRINTERS, GROVE PLACE, BROMPTON.

A TREATISE

CARE, TREATMENT, AND TRAINING

THE ENGLISH RACE HORSE.

A TREATISE

CARE, TREATMENT, AND TRAINING

ENGLISH RACE HORSE

SERIES OF ROUGH NOTES.

RICHARD DARVILL, V. S.

LATE OF THE 7tH HUSSARS.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON :
PUBLISHED BY JAMES RIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY.

1840.

LONDON :

BLATCH AKO LAMPEKf, PRINTERS, GROVE PLACE, BROMPTON.

CONTENTS

Introduction Page 1

CHAPTER I.

On the Formation of the Race Horse . . 5

CHAPTER H.

Difference between the thorougli-hred Horse and
the Coch-tail, and the manner of running one
against the other 24

CHAPTER HI.

The necessary Knowledge to be acquired by No-
blemen and Gentlemen of the Turf . . 31

IV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Practical Observations with which the Reader
should make himself thoroughly acquainted,
previously to his commencing the Training of
Horses to run 41

CHAPTER V.

First class of Horses and Mares returning from
a Summer's running to the home stables; the
arranging of those Horses and Mares in their
boxes; and the treatment of them therein, dur-
ing the three Winter months .... 60

CHAPTER VI.

The second class of Horses and Mares returning
from a Summer's running to the home stables;
the arranging of those Horses and Mares in
separate stall stables; and the treatment of
them in the stables ; as also when they are out
at exercise, during the three Winter months 83

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

Straw Beds for the Horses to exercise upon in
frosty and snowy weather; stating under what
circumstances it may occasionally be necessary
to alter the Betting 116

CHAPTER VIII.

Instructions to be given by the Training Groom
to half a dozen of his lightest and best riding
boys, such as will have to receive his principal
or secret orders, when they are put up to ride
Horses of a particular description . .128

CHAPTER IX.
Walking Exercise 139

CHAPTER X.
Galloping Exercise ........ 144

CHAPTER XL
Wind 164

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIL

Feeding Horses in Training on Corn . . 172

CHAPTER XHI.

Watering Horses while they are in Training 1 83

CHAPTER XIV.
Teaching Yearlings 193

CHAPTER XV.
Physicking Yearlings 216

CHAPTER XVI.
Training Yearlings 221

CHAPTER XVII.

Sweating the first class of Yearlings . . 230

CONTENTS. VU

CHAPTER XVIII.

Sweating the second and third class of Year-
lings 235

CHAPTER XIX.

Trying of Yearlings 239

CHAPTER XX.
Running Yearlings 252

CHAPTER XXI.

Half a dozen craving Horses doing their first
sweat early in March 267

CHAPTER XXII.

Sweating continued 298

CHAPTER XXIII.
Training of Two-year Olds 331

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Trying of Two-year Olds 342

CHAPTER XXV.

The Training Groom's Reflections, after having
tried a couple of Colts, both as Yearlings and
as Two-year Olds, with the opinion he has
formed of them as to how they may run 366

CHAPTER XXVI.

The Training Groom conversing privately with
three of his best Riding Boys . . . 375

ERRATA.

Page 17, line 2, for they, read it.
for their, read the.
68, ... 2, for it, read him.
371, •• • 9, dele except.

INTRODUCTION.

IF the training, running, and riding of race
horses is not to be considered as a science, I
think it may be fairly admitted, that it is a
species of knowledge that can only be acquired
by early experience, as by boys being put into
training stables at twelve years of age, there to
remain under a good practical training groom for
at least ten or twelve years; and that it is only
by the early impressions made on the minds of
steady attentive boys, w^hile they are going pro-
gressively on throughout the whole practical gra-
dations, both in and out of the stables, that they,
on arriving at a state of manhood, become equal
to undertaking, in every department of it, the
management of a racing establishment.

The first volume I published on the training
of the English race horse may be said to be a
VOL. II. p.

INTRODUCTION.

sort of ground-work or introduction, containing
such preparatory and essential matter as I consi-
dered was necessary for my readers to become
thoroughly acquainted with, previous to their
entering upon the more minute and detailed
parts of my subject, viz. the training horses to
run. And, as far as I have proceeded in the
subsequent chapters of this volume, I have en-
deavoured to lay down the rules for training race
horses with as much perspicuity as possible.

In the training and running of them, the chang-
ing of circumstances must occasionally alter
things, which of course will be the cause of ex-
ceptions to some of the rules I have made men-
tion of. I could readily quote a variety of ex-
amples, but such quotations would be but of lit-
tle use, beyond that of enlarging this volume — a
sort of thing I wish to avoid. I have therefore
thought it better to lay down generally the whole
of the practical principles, as well as all the
minute details. Thinking it necessary, I have
been led to mention, in different chapters, the
above general practical principles very frequently :
it may be considered by some of my readers, that
I have made too great a repetition in this respect ;
but those of them who know what little trifling

INTRODUCTION.

circumstances of neglect or mis-management will
cause horses in training to change considerably
for the worse, can well understand the necessity
of my being thus particularly minute, so as clearly
to elucidate, as far as I have gone on with the
subject, all matters relative to the management
of race horses while they are being trained.

In this volume, as in my first, 1 have in many
parts expressed myself in the language (if it may
be so termed) of the turf, not, I confess, because
such language is the most refined or gentlemanly,
but because I think it necessary for such noble-
men and gentlemen as are engaged in turf mat-
ters readily to understand the conversation of
the business people of their stables. This lan-
guage, used by trainers, jockeys, and stable boys,
when they are conversing with each other on
business, is very expressive, that is to say, they un-
derstand each other in very few words ; and where
I have thought the terms used not generally in-
telligible, I have explained them. Indeed, that my
meaning may not be misconstrued, I have endea-
voured, as far as I have proceeded with the man-
agement of the condition of thorough-bred horses,
to elucidate, as clearly as I possibly could, the
manner of feeding, clothing, watering, exercising,

b2

4 INTRODUCTION.

or working of all of them, agreeably to their ages
and constitutions. How correctly I may have
succeeded in arranging all these matters, I must
leave to the consideration of those of my readers,
who are known to be thorough good practical
judges of how race horses should be treated when
lying by in Winter, as well as how they should be
treated while they are in training during Spring,
Summer, and Autumn.

CHAPTER I.

ON THE FORMATION OF THE RACE HORSE.

Some authors have been of opinion that the just
proportions of a horse may be ascertained by
measurements, as that of multiplying and dividing
of different parts ; how far such measurements may
be correct I cannot pretend to say. The method
I shall take of describing the shape and make of the
animal is from practical observation. Nor is it
my intention to explain this matter by a greater
variety of anatomical phrases than is absolutely
necessary, as this would not perhaps be of much
advantage to those of my readers whose principal
object is to obtain a knowledge of the shape and
make of horses that are intended for the purpose
of racing; suffice it therefore to say, that the
bones of the horse, like those of almost all other

b ON THE FORMATION OF

animals, are of a white hard substance; they form
and support the animal's frame, and protect in a
great measure such of his organs as are import-
ant to life; they consist of many joints which are
connected together by strong substances, called
ligaments ; and the whole is termed the skeleton,
to which are attached the muscles and tendons ;
of which such as are under the will of the mind
are the organs of motion.

I now commence to describe what I consider
a well-formed race horse ; and I will here remark,
that it is this description of horse to which my
observations are principally confined. With re-
gard to the height of such a horse, I confess I am
not partial to a tall, overgrown one. I prefer
one moderately low, as fifteen hands, or fifteen
and an inch at most, having length with good
substance. If there is a standard of perfection for
the height of a race horse, for general purposes,
perhaps, his height may be fifteen hands two
inches. Yet, I do not presume to dictate to my
readers the precise height such a horse should be.
A horse of either of the above-mentioned heights,
but particularly of the first, if well formed and
having good actions, will be very likely to become
what may be termed a good fair runner, that is.

THE RACE HORSE. 7

when his speed as a young one, in the running of
short lengths, may in some degree have left him,
he afterwards becomes stout, and will, most likely,
be capable of running under high weights, as'
twelve stone for example, for any of his Majesty's
plates, at long racing lengths, as from two to
four miles ; which weights and lengths are still in
use at some of our country racing meetings. Tall
horses are those from sixteen hands to sixteen
and a half, or seventeen hands high, most of
which are bred in the south.

Of course, such horses are bred so over-sized
for no other purpose than to go into those great
stakes run for at Newmarket, as the two thou-
sand, the Riddlesworth, and other valuable stakes
and matches, almost all of which are run for over
straight courses of short lengths, as across the
Flat at Newmarket; the very high state of con-
dition into which such horses are brought to post
at two and three years old, enables them to run for
those valuable prizes at the above named place;
and from hence to Epsom, to run for the Derby
and Oaks; again from Epsom to Ascot — which
latter place has now become, from the very liberal
patronage of his late Majesty, one of the most
pleasing and respectable racing meetings we have

© ON THE FORMATION OF

in England. At each of the above-mentioned
meetings are those fine large long-striding horses
found to be running; yet such horses, generally
speaking, are seldom heard much of after running
at the above-named places; they are therefore
afterwards frequently turned to the stud.

Now, the low lengthy horse of substance, al-
though, as I have already observed, that his speed
as a young one, at two or three years old, may in
some degree have left him, yet afterwards be-
comes stout and capable of running on under
high weights, at long lengths, over any sort of
course, whether hilly or otherwise, and being, as
he mostly is, a round-goer, he is tolerably handy
at his turns ; and whenever such a horse is running
in the company of long-striding horses on a small
cock-pit or whip-top sort of course, he is almost
certain to be a winner. Indeed, as far as my own
observations have gone on this subject, I think
there is no comparison to be made as to which of
the two horses are of the most general utility. I
certainly prefer the low lengthy horse of substance
to the tall, oversized, leggy, long striding one.

I now come to describe, in as clear a manner as
I am capable of, how I think a horse should be

THE RACE HORSE. 0

formed to race. His head should be small and
lean; his ears small and picked; his eyes bril-
liantly large; his forehead broad and flat — we
mean by this he should have a deer-like sort of
face; and from the lower part of the forehead,
down to a certain portion of the nostrils, there
should be, for a small space or length, a gradual
curve or slight concavity; from this point down-
wards, the nose should be somewhat raised, and the
nostrils should be so large, as, when the horse's re-
spiration has, by exertion, been increased, the red
membrane lining them should be easily seen dur-
ing the time of his blowing hard. His muzzle,
or mouth, should be proportionably small, and his
lips thin, appearing, as it were, by their muscular
contraction in covering the gums and teeth, as if
they were closely attached to them. His throat
should be clean and fine from the butt of the ear
down to its centre, with a good wide space be-
tween the jaw bones, which latter should be thin.
The throat and the hollow space between the
jaws, if well formed, bears a strong resemblance,
in point of shape, to those parts in a game cock ;
and a man who is a good judge, on looking at
a horse and seeing him well formed about his
throat, would be apt to say (using a very com-

10 ON THE FORMATION OF

men expression), I like him in this part, for he
has a cock's throttle.

The neck should be moderate in length. I
prefer its being wide; I mean its width should
be formed by the substance of muscles which pass
along each side of the top part of it ; from the
withers to the head it may gradually rise a little
in its centre, but by no means to any extreme, as
I have a great aversion to a high-crested race
horse. Indeed, I would prefer that his neck should
be as I have described his face, rather of the ewe
or deer-like shape, than that it should be loaded
on top, which I will bye-and-bye explain. As to
the lower part of the neck, I have no very par-
ticular remarks to make, further than that the
trachea, or wind-pipe, should be spacious and
loosely attached to the neck on its way to the
lungs.

The withers may be moderately high, and, if
the reader like, they may also be moderately thin ;
but, with respect to this latter point, I am not so
very particular, provided the shoulders lay well
back. From the withers the back commences.
J confess, that appearances may be in favour of a

THE RACE HORSE. 1 I

horse that has his back a little low or hollow. As
a saddle horse, this may be all very well, but for
a race horse, to have strength and liberty of
stride, his back should be straight and moderately
long, with the shoulders and loins runing well in at
each end. The loins should have great breadth
and muscular substance, so much so as for them to
have the appearance of being raised as it were on
their surface; and those muscles posterior to the
loins should fill up level the top part of the quar-
ters to the setting on of the tail, which latter
should be set on pretty high up, and in its com-
mencement should extend a little out from the
quarters, hanging straight down to near the hocks.
At Newmarket, in my time, such tails were called
the " Bunbury switches." Bye-the-bye, there is a
part under the tail, of which, as I am now so near it,
and as it is a point of some importance, it may not
be out of place to give a short description : — the
anus, or fundament, should contract into a small
compass, nor should there appear much, or, in-
deed, scarcely any space round its surrounding
sides; for this is a part that should be small,
close, and well formed in all descriptions of horses.
The muscles by which it is surrounded should
be contracted into small folds ; nor can the main
sphincter muscle act too powerfully in contract-

12 ON THE FORMATION OF

ing the anus, not only after the calls of nature
are performed, but it should, I again repeat, at
all times be invariably small, close, and tight, and
rather projecting than otherwise, as it is one of
the best or as good a constitutional point as any
I am acquainted with belonging to the horse. If
the fundament of a horse is as we have here
described, and he has a great width between
his hips, with a good broad surface of loins, as
also a spacious chest, his having those four con-
stitutional points will make up well for any ap-
parent deficiency of the want of carcass; and,
further, a horse thus formed, as regards the whole
of the points mentioned, is at all times a good
feeder, and with little trouble he is soon got
ready to run, as he is invariably a good winded
horse.

I now come to speak of the body, or what is by
some people commonly called the '^middle-piece"
of the horse, and which is divided, internally, into
two cavities, by a muscular substance called the
*' diaphragm." The anterior cavity, the chest, con-
tains the lungs, the heart, &c. The posterior one,
the abdomen, contains the stomach, intestines,
liver, kidneys, &c. Now, with respect to the ex-
ternal form of the body, which contains and pro-

THE RACE HORSE. 13

tects all those numerous organs so important to
life, I shall first make my observations on the
chest. To use a common phrase, and somewhat
an expressive one, a horse in this part should be
what is called " well over the heart," that is, he
should be deep in his girth, round or well arched
in his ribs. I mean by this, that a rider on the
back of a race horse (as they are generally better
about the chest than horses in common use) should
feel he has some breadth or substance between
his legs; and there should be a good swell of
muscle before his knees, or the centre of the flaps
of the saddle. The chest, thus spaciously formed,
gives room for respiration, so that, in training,
the horse's wind can be brought to the greatest
perfection, which enables him to run on in long
lengths.

The next part to be treated of is the ab-
domen, or belly, or what is usually called the
carcass. — It may, perhaps, appear a little strange,
but I have a great aversion to what is commonly
called a good carcassed horse, nor am I particu-
larly partial to a large sheathed one. I like both
these parts to be in the medium, as I do, also, that
of his being well ribbed up. It is true, that a
horse's being well ribbed up denotes strength, and

14 ON THE FORMATION OF

a short close-made race horse is, in running, handy
at his turns, and, as I have ah'cady noticed, he is
generally a pretty good one under high weights
over a small round cock-pit course; but this de-
scription of course and sort of running is not now
so much practised as formerly, or rather, it is a
sort of racing that does not exactly suit long-strid-
ing horses, as most of those are that run at New-
market. Another thing is, that horses with large
carcasses are mostly great gluttons ; they put up
flesh very rapidly, and are very difficult and trou-
blesome to train, in consequence of their consti-
tutions being too strong, or proportionably too
much for their feet and legs. — Such horses not
only seldom remain long in training, but they
cannot be kept long in condition, without their
becoming stale in themselves, as also on their
legs, and those are my reasons for objecting to
very large carcassed horses ; yet, I do not wish
horses to be what is termed " tucked up," or
waspish in their carcasses. I like a horse's car-
cass to be in the medium, that is, it should be
straight and handsome from behind the girths of
his saddle ; and what will make up sufficiently well,
and give him sufficient strength of constitution, is
the well formation of the parts already noticed,
as the chest, the loins, and the fundament.

THE RACE HORSE. 15

To return to the fore-extremities. The shoulders
commence from a little below the withers ; they
should lie most particularly well back ; should be
deep, broad, and muscularly strong ; yet those
muscular parts should appear to the eye as being
moderately so, that is, not unproportionably
loaded : these muscles should be distinctly seen,
there should be no appearance of fat, or, as it is
technically termed, " adipose membrane." The
shoulders cannot well be too oblique in their de-
scent to the front of the chest ; here, on each side,
a joint is formed by the lower part of the scapula
or shoulder-blade being united with the upper
part of the humerus or arm-bone. Those joints,
thus formed, are usually called the points of the
shoulders ; which points should appear straight or
level. There should be no coarse, projecting, or
heavy appearance about the points of the shoulders
of such horses as are intended to race; nor indeed
does this often occur, unless where it happens
that the chest or counter of the horse is unpro-
portionably wide. In taking a front view of the
chest, it should appear moderate as to breadth;
and if its prominency is at all to the extreme, it
should be in consequence of the fullness or sub-
stance of those muscles covering the breast, which

16 ON THE FORMATION OF

muscles should be lengthy, and their divisions
distinctly to be observed.

The fore-arm should be broad and long, and
most particularly well furnished with muscles on
its top parts, inside as well as out; I mean by this,
that the muscles on the top and inside of the arm
should here be so large as to leave but a moderate
space between the fore-legs, immediately under
the chest; and which muscles should appear, as
those in front of the chest, distinctly divided.
The posterior part of the top of the arm is called
the " elbow :" this should appear (the horse in
condition) somewhat on a level with the body ; if it
at all deviates from this appearance, I would pre-
fer its standing in, to that of its standing unpro-
portionably out. The knee-joint should be large,
broad, and flat in front ; generally speaking, the
larger and broader all joints are in reason the
better and stronger they are; and the longer,
coarser, and rougher their projecting points or
processes are, the greater and more secure will be
the lever for the muscles or tendons to act upon,
provided such projecting parts or joints (as the
hocks and pasterns) do not amount to disease, as
that of producing spavins and ringbones. The leg.

THE RACE HORSE. 17

from tlie knee to the fetlock, cannot well be too
short, neither can they well be too broad or too
flat, nor their flexor tendon scarcely be too large,
or appearing too distinctly divided, as it were, from
the leg. The fetlock joint should also be large,
and the pastern proportionably strong, but its
length and obliquity should be in the medium.

The wall or crust of the feet should also be mo-
derately oblique, with the heels open, and frogs
sound ; this, indeed, is generally the state of rac-
ing colts on first leaving their paddocks, if their
feet have been paid proper attention to during
the time they may have remained there. Yet the
feet of such of them as have been some time in
work, will occasionally get out of order ; they
grow upright and strong ; the horn gets hard and
brittle ; and the heels more or less contracted —
almost all of which defects are too often occa-
sioned from the want of proper attention being
paid to them at the time of shoeing, and of pro-
per applications being applied to them in the sta-
bles. With regard to the structure of such horses'
feet, and the diseases of them, as also the method
of shoeing and plating them, a description will be
found in the different chapters on those subjects
in the first volume. Previous to concluding my

VOL. II. (.'

18 ON THE FORMATFOX OF

remarks on the fore-extremities, it may not be
amiss to observe to the reader, that, supposing
him to stand opposite to these parts of the
horse, if the animal is formed in them as I have
ah'eady described, the centre of the top part
of the fore-arm, to be well placed, ought to be
nearly or quite in a parallel line with the top
or front part of the horse's withers; and again,
from the top part of the fore-arm down to the
foot, for the horse to stand firm and well, and
have the power of using his fore legs M'^ell, he
should stand perfectly straight on them; I mean
by this, they are not to appear too much under
him, or too much out or away from him. Suppose
again, for example, a man standing in front of the
horse, and here taking a view of the foot, the
centre part of the wall or crust should be in or on
a parallel line with that lower part or joint of the
shoulder, commonly termed its point. A horse's
feet, thus placed, will neither be too much out
or too much in; but should his feet deviate
from what I have here observed, by amounting
to a fault, in turning too much out or too much
in, I should prefer their being a little out, to
that of the other extreme, of turning in, and
being what is called " pigeon-toed."

THE RACE HOUSE. 19

I shall now proceed to describe the hind-quar-
ters, or posterior extremities. As may be sup-
posed, the well-formation of those parts is of the
utmost importance to a race horse in his run-
ning; it is, therefore, necessary that they should
be, in breadth, substance, and length, of very
superior dimensions. The hips should have a
great breadth between them; and if they are a
little coarse or projecting, so much the better,
provided such coarse projections are not in the
extreme, or appear vulgar or unsightly. From
the centre and posterior part of the loins to the
top of the tail is called the " croup," and should
be of great length, and, if it deviates from that
of a straight line, it may be somewhat arched in
the centre; the croup being thus formed gives
great breadth to the top of the quarters, the
length of which, from the croup down to the
hock, cannot scarcely be of too great an extent,
in order that there may be sufficient room here
for the attachment of those broad, powerful,
lengthy, and distinctly divided muscles on the
outside of the quarters and thighs; and there
should also be a similar portion of such muscles
on the inside of the quarters and thighs ; so that
a man, who is a good judge, taking a posterior
view, may observe how the horse is made. In

c 2

20 ON THE FORMATION OF

this position he should be, as it were, struck by
the appearance of the great breadth and length
of the back part of the quarters ; and as he moves
his head to the right or left, the centre and out-
side of the quarters and thighs, and the swell of
the muscles, should appear beyond a level with
the hips. The upper part of the muscles on the
inside of the quarters should appear quite close
to each other, so that no vacant space should be
visible between them, as that of an appearance
of the horse being (if I may thus express my-
self) chucked up in the fork. Such should be
the lengthy and muscular quarters of a well-
made race horse.

The stifle-joint should be in a direct line under
the hip, and the length from this joint to that
of the hock cannot reasonably be too long, and
the farther out of the angular or oblique position
of the thigh bone the better, so as to admit of the
back part or projecting point of the hock ap-
pearing some distance out beyond the top of the
hind quarters; those parts being thus formed,
admit of a very considerable lever for the main
tendon here to act upon the tendon Achilles,
which, like the flexor one of the leg, can scarcely
be too large or too distinctly seen in its com-

Tllli RACE HJllSli. 21

mencement from the lower part of the quarter
to its insertion into the posterior or projecting
point of the hock — the os calcis. The hock
should he broad and wide, with a clean, lean ap-
pearance, and those soft parts, which are occa-
sionally the seat of thorough-pins and bog spa-
vins, in a sound well-formed hock, should appear
more as cavities than as having the above-men-
tioned projections, and which are sometimes the
cause of lameness. The hind leg, like the fore
one, should be short, broad, flat, and straight,
the trifling angle formed by the hock should, toge-
ther with the moderate obliquity of the pastern,
bring the extremity of the toe nearly under the
stifle-joint.

I now conclude my remarks on the formation
or shape and make of the race horse; how far
my description of the animal may meet the appro-
bation of my readers is another matter. I have
merely given my opinion as far as my own prac-
tical observation authorizes me, in the pointing
out of such parts of the horse as require to be of
capacious dimensions, and such other parts as
require to be of substance and length ; the former
giving strength to his constitution, and the latter

22 ON THE FORMATION

giving to the mechanism of his form force of
power ; both of which are very well known to be
requisite to all race horses in the running of long
lengths under high weights.

As it would be difficult, I expect, to find a race
horse as I have here described he should be,
allowances ought therefore to be made in the en-
gaging of any race horse to run, according to the
powers he may possess, and similar allowances
should also be made in the purchasing of this or
any other description of horse. The way I have
always made such allowances, in the purchasing
of horses, is, after having examined him tho-
roughly as to his constitutional and other points,
if I find the good points he has overbalance his
bad ones, and that he has action (particularly in
his walk), and is sound, I buy him, unless in-
deed the price asked for him should be very con-
siderably above his value.

Before I conclude this chapter, with due sub-
mission to my readers, I will here remark, that
1 think if breeders were to be more cautious in
selecting the horses and the mares they intend
to breed from, as to how they were bred, and the

OF THE RACE HOUSE. 23

running properties they may have possessed, and
if they were to be more attentive as to how they
cross their mares, they would arrive much nearer
at perfection than they do with regard to their
produce. But as this is a subject I intend treat-
ing on at some future period, nothing more need
be said of it here.

CHAPTER II.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE THOROUGH-BRED HORSE
AND THK COCK-TAIL, AND THE MANNER OF
RUNNING ONE AGAINST THE OTHER.

Why thorough-bred horses so far surpass half-
bred ones, is not only from the circumstance of
their being thorough-bred, but because they are
bred to race; consequently greater pains are
taken in selecting of the dams and sires of such
superior shape and make, with known good run-
ning properties, and kindness of temper, as may
be thought best to answer the purpose of in-
suring good stock to the breeder, as it is natu-
ral to conclude that the produce will, more or
less, inherit, either from their dams or sires, some
of the above-mentioned good qualities. If the
frame or bones of the blood horse be proportion-
ably well-formed, he will have a spacious capa-

THOROUGH-BRED HORSE, &e. 25

city of chest, with width of loins, together with
breadth, length, and substance of his muscular
and tendonous system. If the symmetry of those
parts all coincide with each other, they are all of
them, in the blood horse, much more compact, or
closer in their texture, than the half-bred one.
This description of horse is, therefore, unincum-
bered with any superfluous matter. In short, the
thorough-bred horse, being well-formed, has con-
siderably more power in less compass than any
other horse that may not have been so highly bred.
The advantage this horse has over the coarse
half-bred one is, that he is capable, when it may
be required of him, to go longer lengths in his
gallops and sweats. A good training groom can,
therefore, bring his wind and muscular system to
greater perfection, by which this sort of horse is
enabled to run on longer racing lengths, with
much more ease to himself than any other horse
of larger dimensions, that may not, as I have be-
fore noticed, be quite so well bred. Those are
the assigned reasons why a thorough-bred horse
can almost always beat a half-bred one in a long
race, provided that the former be made proper
use of sufficiently early in the running, what-
ever the length of the course may be, as a mile
or two, or more.

26 THOROUGH-BRED HORSE

Now, by way of example, let us suppose two
horses are engaged to run together in a match,
one a middling, good, thorough-bred horse, the
other a good cock-tail. The trainer of the well-
bred horse, in due time, on the morning the race
may take place, talks over the subject of his orders
to his jockey, as to how he wishes his horse to be
ridden in the race. The jockey, of course, being
a good judge of pace, the trainer says to him,
'* You must mind, although our horse is a ready
comer, he is no jade. Therefore, in making use of
him, take care you don't over set him; yet, be
sure you let him come off sufficiently early in the
race ;" the trainer, perhaps, naming at what part of
the ground he thinks it will be best for the jockey
to commence running with his horse. Again, he
goes on to say, '* Mind you come a pretty good
telling-pace with our horse, so as to draw their
horse well out to the top of his pace; having
done so, don't leave him, but stay with him and
keep him at the pace, until you are sure you have
got him thoroughly well beat, before you come
too near home. You may then finish the race,
to satisfy the crow d." Unless such a race as w^e
have described is run pretty much as we have
advised, the cock-tail, or half-bred horse, may
beat the thorough-bred one, if the latter is al-

AND THE COCK-TAII,. 27

lowed to run his own race ; that is, if he is allow-
ed to run within himself until he comes within a
short distance of home, when he is very likely to
be quite as fast, or, perhaps, a little faster than the
thorough-bred one, and, if so, he would conse-
quently win the match. Now, with regard to how
the cock-tail, or half-bred horse is to be ridden,
when running in company with a certain number
of horses, at a country meeting, five or six per-
haps, that may be entered in a stake or handy-
cap, at five sovereigns each, with something added
by the stewards, and that the whole of the horses,
according to their breeding and running proper-
tiesj are very fairly weighed — the trainer of the
half-bred horse, in quietly talking to his jockey
on the day of running for the stakes just men
tioned, says to him, " The horse we have most to
be afraid of in the race is such a one," naming
the horse to the jockey, observing at the same
time, that he will be rather a busy horse in the
running ; — " You must, therefore, not attempt to
go to the head with our horse, for the shorter the
race is for him the better he will like it; the
only chance we have to win is to wait, and if we
are not beat before we come within the distance,
we are, I know, faster than the majority of them
for this length; and we may, perhaps, be faster

28 THOROUGH-BRED HORSE

than the whole of them for it. But, if there
should be too much running made for our horse,
and he should be beat for pace before he comes
within his own rally, take a pull, and decline
the race; do not attempt running for a place.
In short, if we cannot be first pretty cleverly, it
is most likely we cannot be second; and, if we
could, it is a bad place, as it only exposes one's
horse; and, as the entrance money, in this in-
stance, is scarcely worth saving, we will not abuse
or punish our horse to save it." These are much
such orders as should be given by trainers to
their jockeys, when they are about to ride mode-
rate runners or thorough-bred horses, or pretty
good half-bred ones; as such a description of
horses do sometimes meet, and, to make sport,
they are engaged to run together, in a match, for
a plate or stakes, at some one country meeting.
But we shall shortly have to describe the very
nice, and most advantageous manner for jockeys
to ride such horses as may be heavily engaged, or
such of the young ones as the two or three years
olds, that may have to come out to run for those
valuable stakes at Newmarket, Epsom, and Don-
caster, on which the betting makes it so well
worth while to take the necessary pains to bring
a horse out to run in his very best form.

AND THE COCK-TAIL. 29

It may not be out of place here to give the
definition of a racing cock-tail. This term means,
as applied to the horse, that the animal is not
clean or thorough-bred, that is, he has some little
stain in his pedigree, when traced so far back as
the great-grandam or sire, or, perhaps, the great-
great-grandam or sire; that is, one or the other
of those, certainly not both, had some little flaw
in its pedigree, but of so trifling a nature, that,
if the cock-tail has good action, and is upon the
whole well formed, more particularly over his
chest, his wind, which is of the most material
consequence, can be brought to the greatest
perfection, so that the difference between him
and the thorough-bred horse scarcely at times
amounts to a distinction, as the former in run-
ning will occasionally beat the latter. Indeed,
the main object of attending to the breeding of
this description of horse is principally to qualify
him to enter and run with other half-bred horses,
and which he is certainly entitled to do, unless
the drawing up of the articles for a hunter's
plate or stakes should be so worded, as to shut
such a horse out of the race. And, although,
a cock-taJl horse, in the common acceptation of
the word, is not thorough-bred, yet he is so near
to being so, as to be able to beat any casually

30 THOROUGH-BRED HORSE, &C.

half-bred horse; which latter is generally under-
stood to be a horse tolerably well ; or, indeed,
he may perhaps be very near thorough-bred.
But then, this horse is bred so, more by chance
than by any premeditated design of the breeder
to breed such a horse for any other purpose than
that of making him a hunter; and if the owner
finds that the horse he has bred has pretty good
speed, he may perhaps enter him to run for a
hunter's stakes, in the neighbourhood in which
such a horse may have been hunted, and he is
thereby qualified to start in a race with other
horses that are much on a par with himself. But,
to allow a good cock-tail horse to be entered
into such a race as this, would be bad judgment,
unless he was heavily weighted ; for he is, in every
respect, so very closely connected with that of
the thorough-bred race horse, that he would most
likely, not only beat nearly all the half-bred
horses he may be running with, but he may oc-
casionally beat some very fair thorough-bred ones,
with which he may have to run.

CHAPTER III.

THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE TO BE ACQUIRED BY
NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE TURF.

The nobleman or gentleman who keeps a large
establishment of race horses is of course to be
considered as the master of them ; and if he in-
tend to be paid handsomely the expenses in-
curred by his horses, he must be industrious, and
make himself acquainted with all the practical
circumstances belonging thereunto. The first of
these circumstances is, he should be a good judge
of the formation and action of a race horse, and,
in the selection of those for his own stable, he
should not lose sight of what is termed fashion-
able or running blood. Secondly, he should
make himself acquainted with all the laws, rules,
and regulations of the racing calendar. Unless
he understands this book perfectly, and procures
for himself a thorough knowledge of the running

32 KNOWLEDGE TO BE ACQUIRED BY

of the different horses recorded in it; and parti-
cularly the length of the courses they run over,
and the weights they carried ; as well also as any
adjudged cases or items, that may be annually or
occasionally changed ; he will most likely not en-
ter his horses into their different engagements
with that degree of advantageous accuracy he
ought. Thirdly, he should turn his attention to
that of being on good terms with the people of
his stable, as the trainer, the jockey, the head lad,
and the best riding boys, of whose sobriety he
should be well assured, and that they are faithfully
awake to his interest. Fourthly, he is to endea-
vour, as far as it is in his power, to ascertain how
his horses are going on as to their bodily health
while in the stables, and how sound they may be
on their feet and legs when out of them ; as well as
also, how fit they may be with respect to the state
of their condition, so as to be able to perform well
what may be required of them, in their gallops,
sweats, and trials ; unless they are in a fit state to be
tried, the owner will be deceived in them. Fifthly,
he is to turn his attention most earnestly to the
system of betting, and narrowly watch the move-
ments and changes made in the betting market,
as to how justly, from his own private opinion, his
own horses or those of others may have been got

NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN. 33

up as favourites, or what others may have gone
down in the odds, by being made outsiders. Of
those matters, the owner may form some idea
from the private trials and public running of the
horses in his own stable ; that is, if the people of
his stable know well what they are about, and
that they are strictly honest to him; he can also
judge a little from the public running of other
horses in such races as his own horses have
been engaged to run, where they have, in
getting near home, come to a pretty close finish
on passing the winning-post. Sixthly, he must
be careful how he backs his fancy, or takes
the odds out of his own stable. As racing
matters are so very differently managed now
to what they were formerly, he cannot be too
cautious how he places confidence in the opinion
of others, which may be given him unasked; he
should be very careful in acting on such informa-
tion, at lea"st in such of the great stakes as are
made play or pay, as it is generally the case that
stakes thus made make the betting P. P. Under
the above circumstances, the old way of betting
round is the safe game to play, by beginning
early in all great stakes, as the Derby, the Oaks,
the St. Leger, and many other similar ones, as
some of those at Newmarket, and a few others at

VOL. II. D

34 KNOWLEDGE TO BE ACQUIRED BY

some of the meetings in the country. If a man
has money to back himself on, let him begin
early to lay the odds against all the horses in
every great play or pay race, where the bets
are P. P., as there is only one in each race that
can win. To play this game, he must attend on
such days as the betting market is open, and
watch narrowly the fluctuations of it, keeping his
own stable as secret and as much in reserve as
may best suit his book, which latter he must of-
ten and well con over; he must watch and see if
there is any favourable or unfavourable changes
in the market, that may induce him to lay on, or
hedge off, just as he may conceive is necessary to
bring himself safe and well home ; he is to look
cautiously at these matters, and in due time, as
a week before the running of each race, he
should compare his book with those of others
with whom he may have betted, who of course
are such men as are capable of paying their los-
ings, for lose they all must, by taking the long
odds in these great races, upon every horse ex-
cept one in each race. If a man has entered a
couple of good colts in any one of the above
stakes, and has proved such two colts to be
superior to any colt he had ever previously
tried out of his own stable, and that they

NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN. 35

liave neither of tlieni fallen amiss, either consti-
tutionally or from accident, — and that he has
been able to keep these two colts in the dark,
until just before the time of their coming to post
— if the owner of such two colts be a man of long
practical experience in racing matters, he will
have a right to expect to win one or other of the
great stakes mentioned, (let us say, for example,
it is the Derby, for wdiich stake the getting a
couple of colts ready to run will be described
in a future chapter). We will, therefore, con-
sider the owner to be a good judge, and capa-
ble of betting his money with as much advan-
tage as a betting man; by his being capa-
ble of doing this, he saves the expense of em-
ploying a commission better, and by his not em-
ploying this man he keeps the secrets of what
his colts can do more to himself, until the race
is over. Now, under these circumstances, the odds
would be likely to be high against the two colts
in question near the time of their coming to the
post — by the owner taking such odds as may suit
him, and afterwards hedging the little he would
lose in case of any thing unforeseen happening,
he will have made all safe; but, if either of
the colts should win the Derby, the owner will,
in casting up his book, previous to his paying

D 2

3G KNOWLEDGE TO BE ACQUIRED BY

and receiving, find he has a strong useful stake
in his favour, as well as in favour of the stable.
It is very well known, that the word '^stable"
is applied to a building erected for the purpose
of keeping horses in; but, in the present in-
stance, as that of a balance being in favour of
the stable, it alludes principally to the people
who are in the secret of what the horses in a
racing stable can do, (which, of course, the mas-
ter ought to be in every department of it), as the
private training groom, the private jockey, the
head lad, and perhaps one or two of the best
riding boys; should these people have kept
faithfully and honestly the secrets of what their
master's horses may be equal to doing, their
master should liberally reward them for their
integrity, by letting them stand their money to
a certain extent in his own book; and further, if
a master finds, in the settling of his book, that he
has won a good stake, as from five to ten or
fifteen thousand pounds, and that he is fully
aware that his good success has been occasioned
as much, or perhaps more, by the good manage-
ment and secrecy of his people than from his
own good judgment, he should, in addition to
allowing his people to stand their money with
him, give to each of them, according to the class

NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN. 37

or rank they may individually hold, a bonus for
their honest fidelity towards him.

Those who keep racing establishments will
find the above method much more beneficial to
their interest, than to employ commission bet-
ters; men thus employed may act honestly in
executing the commission given to them, whe-
ther it be to bet against your own bad horses,
to pay the expense of keeping them, or whether
it be to bet in favour of your own good ones, to
win a large stake on them : still, however, a bet-
ting man having performed his commission in the
market according to the orders he may have re-
ceived from the owner of a stable of race horses,
(who may not like to bet against his own horses
himself), has it in his power, and can, if he
chooses, from knowing the secrets either the one
way or the other of such stables, commence
doing what business for himself he thinks will be
the most advantageous for his own book; and
after having done this, he can also, if he chooses,
furnish one or two of his particular friends with
the information thus acquired, which they will
well know how to turn to good account.

I would recommend all noblemen and gen-

38 KNOWLEDGE TO BE ACQUIRED BY

tlemen who are on the turf to endeavour to re-
turn to the good old fashioned way of doing the
business of the stables and their horses, viz.
by keeping their private training groom and
jockey on their own premises. Honesty is the
best policy; and no doubt there are plenty of
men in each of the above capacities still to be
found that will do justice to their employers;
and when such men can be had, confidence,
should be placed in them, that is, if they are
found upon trial to be men of integrity they
should be encouraged in the way I have already
mentioned. It will not be found to answer
the purpose of the owner of a stable of race
horses to act towards his training groom and
jockey as he might do to the domestic ser-
vants of his family; the latter, if they did not
suit him, he might discharge, and hire others
in their places, without any great inconvenience
to his establishment. But for the owner to dis-
miss for a mere trifle either his trainer or
jockey, both of whom, we are to suppose, are
not only good judges of their art, but know
well the constitutions and tempers of the horses,
which they may have had for a long time un-
der their care, (unless they should be found to
be tricky), would be attended, for some time.

NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN. 39

in a variety of ways, with great inconvenience
if not considerable losses of money.

Lastly, we further advise gentlemen of the
turf not to be too fond of giving their own orders
to their jockeys, as to how they wish them to
ride their horses in their different engagements,
unless they are very good judges. A gentleman
having a horse going to run for a small stake,
as a fifty pound plate, and choosing to give his
own orders, on such an occasion as this, his
making his own arrangements with his jockey
is not of much importance — the orders given
by the owner may be proper enough, but by
chance they may be wrong. In racing it will
not do to trust much to chance; it is true,
chance may give a lucky hit now and then ; but
where a horse is deeply engaged, as having to
run in any of the great stakes we have men-
tioned, the most likely way to win the game
in the end will be to trust to the cool, patient
consideration and practical experienced know-
ledge of the trainer, who has had the feeding
and the working of the horse that may be
engaged to run, and knows what the lengths
were, and at what pace the horse was capable
of coming in those lengths; and he also knows

40 KNOWLEDGE TO BE ACQUIRED, &C.

what length of rally the horse could come
at his best pace in the finishing certain parts
of his work, near to the time of his rmining.
From these circumstances the trainer best knows
how the powers of the horse should be eco-
nomized, agreeable to the state and length of
the ground on which he is going to run, as well
also as his taking into his consideration the sort
of running that may be made by the party of
horses in which the one we are alluding to may
be engaged.

We shall now conclude this chapter, supposing
that every nobleman or gentleman on the turf is
perfectly acquainted with the matter we have
here laid down; at all events we shall consider
the owner of our racing establishment a good
judge of what is going on in his stables, and
this because we shall bye-and-bye want to make
use of him.

CHAPTER IV.

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS WITH WHICH THE READER
SHOULD MAKE HIMSELF THOROUGHLY ACQUAINTED,
PREVIOUSLY TO HIS COMMENCING THE TRAINING
OF HORSES TO RUN.

In speaking of the properties race horses should
possess, and the state they should be in previous
to their being put into training — The principal
requisites to be noticed in the animal are, that
he should have good blood, good speed, and good
temper ; if he is deficient in any one of the above
very essential qualities, there is but little depend-
ance to be placed on him, as a race horse, when
running. It may be almost unnecessary to ob-
serve, that a race horse should not have, previous
to his going into training, the least tendency to
unsoundness, either local or constitutional, as that

42 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

of any thing approaching to a chronic affection
of the lungs, which may occasion even a trifling
cough; nor must there be the slightest possible
disease or enlargement of any of the tendons of
the legs, or ligaments of the joints; and this
more particularly holds good in the training of a
gluttonous sort of horse. To bring such horse
to post with any thing about him as above stated,
would be throwing money away.

Let us next notice the state our horses should
be in as to flesh. Speaking first of the young-
ones, either as yearlings or two year olds — if
they have been paid proper attention to dur-
ing the time of their being in their paddocks,
they will, on leaving them, be sound, lusty, and
healthy; and this is the state they should be in
after being broke, previous to their going into
training; and it is, also, this same state that all
race horses, of all ages, and of all different con-
stitutions, should be in, while out of training, or
when they are put into training after their hav-
ing been laid by for the winter; that is, they
should have what is commonly called a " good bit
of flesh " upon them ; and we must be very care-
ful how we remove the superfluous flesh from the
surface of the bodies of all horses in training.

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 43

In training different horses, we are princi-
pally to be guided by their structure, age, and
tempers, which regulate the strength of their
mechanical powers, as to action, as well also as
their constitutional ones; and just according
as any one horse may vary from the other in
those respects, so will each horse require a dif-
ferent sort of treatment. And, that all those
matters, with regard to the training of horses,
may be properly carried into effect, it will be
necessary for us to explain sufficiently often the
different causes and effects, that may arise from
the various sorts of treatment we shall bye-and-
bye have occasion to adopt in the training of
every description of thorough-bred horses. On
my first entering the stables as exercise-boy, the
system of training horses was not so attentively
studied as at the present day. It was too much
the custom with grooms to work too many horses
together in one class, without their sufficiently
discriminating as to how their ages and consti-
tutions might vary, as well also as the lengths
their horses were to come in their different races ;
consequently, some flighty delicate horses lost
their tempers, and went off their feed; while
others, by being kept too long in strong work,
drew too fine, became stale, or, perhaps, got amiss

44 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

on their legs. Another thing, training grooms of
the old school were too much in the habit of
letting horses of all descriptions go on with
their work, until, as they considered, they were
drawn sufficiently fine to come the length they
had to run, not making due allowances that the
length a horse may have to run might be short,
and that the horse's wind, from the work he had
been doing, may be good enough to enable him
to go on in his race, and finish at his best pace,
without his being worked to too great an excess,
with a view to reduce him of his flesh.

This sort of treatment was too much adopted
with gluttonous horses, that were mostly en-
gaged, after a certain age, to run long lengths
under high weights, as in country running. As
such horses generally fed voraciously, it was
often difficult to keep many of them from putting
up a great deal of flesh; and as grooms usually
considered that those horses could not run, un-
less drawn very fine, it was, therefore, the cus-
tom with many of them, to work these horses ac-
cording as they fed, concluding that the more
work they could get into them, provided they
kept feeding, the lighter they would be in
flesh, and the stouter and longer they would be

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 45

able to nm. Those rules, in some few instances,
certainly stand good up to the present day, as
horses cannot run very long lengths if they are
very fat, but more particularly if they are
too fat in their insides, and which may be
known by the difficulty of their breathing, after
having been much exerted. But, if a horse is
clear and well in his wind, he is not very
likely to be too fat in his inside; and if he
has done the necessary lengths in his gallops
and sweats at the pace he ought to do them ac-
cording to the length he has to run, I should not
mind his being high in flesh, or appearing fat on
the surface of his body, provided the length he
had to run did not exceed a mile and a half; that
is, if the horse we are now alluding to is not more
than three years old. I believe there is no state
or habit of body a horse can be in, that renders
his constitution so susceptible of a dangerous dis-
ease, as that of his being very fat and full of
juices; and as horses on their first coming into
training are somewhat approaching to this state,
the greatest care must be taken not to hurry
them in their work, and more particularly young
ones; for, as they run but short lengths, it is not
necessary to draw them fine. Neither should large
long-striding horses be drawn too fine ; such tall.

46 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

large-framed horses should have a good bit of
flesh kept on them, they will then bear, occasion-
ally, a little brushing along, at intervals, in some
portion of their exercise. It is at Newmarket
that those long-striding horses are most in use,
and the main object to be considered in the train-
ing of them here, is to bring them as stout as is
necessary to come the short lengths in which
they may be engaged to run, and at the same
time to preserve their speed as much as possible.
In the north of England, and also in country run-
ning, horses are engaged for longer lengths than
at Newmarket, they are therefore trained to be
brought stouter, according to their ages, and the
length they have to come in their different races ;
and for this last-mentioned sort of running, I
prefer horses shorter on their legs, and rather
closer made than the horses are that run at
Newmarket.

It is to be observed, that the exercising of race
horses is one thing, and the doing of work with
them is another. The former is to keep them
steady and in health, and the latter, when pro-
perly administered, is to bring them clear in their
wind, to lighten those that require it of their
flesh, and to give tone and substance to the

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 47

muscles of their bodies and tendons of their legs ;
such are the advantages of proper exercise and
work for horses in training. Most of them will
more or less draw fine in training, depending on
the work they may be doing, and this in the me-
dium is what we want, provided that they are
hearty, and that they go cheerful to their work,
that their legs are cool and in shape, and that
they feed and drink well. We mean by the above
observations, that all horses in training should
enjoy both their food and their work; if they are
over-marked, as has already been observed, at
either the one or the other, they will not come
out to run in their best form.

By the word " form," as it regards the race
horse, is meant that the animal has been brought
by training into a fit state to perform or continue
his best exertions, as they may be occasionally
required of him, when he is running in company
with other horses; and in this state he is able to
continue those exertions with comparative ease
to himself, and without endangering his constitu-
tion, that is, if he is not unfairly over-matched
in any of his engagements, as by putting too much
weight on him, and engaging him to run long
lengths, to which he may not be equal.

48 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Be it further known to the reader, that when
a horse is engaged to run in a race of a certain
length, as, for example, two or four miles, which-
ever of these lengths he may have to run, he must
occasionally, and at a good telling pace, go a
little longer length in the concluding of his work
than he has to do in his race; and this when it
takes place is called " getting the length he has
to run into him ;" and unless this part of his train-
ing is well arranged, the horse cannot win his
engagement, although he may be the best horse
in the party in which he may have to run; and
what is more, he may appear to the eye to be in
very fine condition, and most likely he is so for
the running of a short length, but certainly not for
the running of a long one. The reader is there-
fore to bear in mind, that unless his horse is well
trained, according to the length he has to run,
however good he may be, he will not only be beat
by the company he may be running in, but that
company need not be of the most choice de-
scription to do so; in other words, he will often
be beat by bad horses, unless he is in the care of
an honest good training groom. Indeed, from
any casual circumstance, as if a strong horse miss
a sweat or two, and it should be near the time
of his coming to post, it would most likely be the

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 49

cause of his being beat in the race in which he
may be engaged.

As to the appearance of a horse in condition,
when brought to the post to run,-— He should ap-
pear (if I may be allowed the expression) bloom-
ingly ripe, fresh, and healthy in himself, clean and
unloaded in his muscular surface from what is
commonly called the "waste and spare;" in other
words, there should be neither in him, nor on him,
any superfluous flesh or adipose membrane (fat).
He should be clear in his wind, kind and glossy in
his skin, cool and clean on his legs, and, from be-
hind the girths of his saddle, he should be
straight and handsome in his carcass (if he is not
too great a glutton). The muscles of his body
should feel hard and springy to the touch, with a
sort of projecting swell or substance in the body
part of them, and particularly those of his hind
quarters, which should also appear as if they
were distinctly divided from each other. His
crest, not being too high, should feel firm and
closely attached to his neck. This is the appear-
ance, or state of condition, in which a horse
should be when brought to post to run; and the
orders to be given to the jockey, how such a
horse is to be ridden in his race, must be according

VOL. II. E

50 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

to the nature of the ground, and the state in which
it may be at the time, as also the company the
horse has to run in — and which orders, as we have
ah'eady noticed, cannot be correctly given but by
the training groom who has trained the horse,
and who will point out to the jockey how the
horse is to be most advantageously made use of,
in coming over the sort of course he may have to
run on, as also as to the length of rally he can
live in, in maintaining his best pace. And if the
horse in question is a stout, game one, and kind
in his temper, and has been as well taught as
trained, he will, when called upon to come by
his rider (who should be a thorough good one), or
challenged by any horse in the company he may
be running with, not only exert himself with
all the elastic muscular force which he possesses,
but will, as he is approaching near home, not
only boldly face the crowd, but, by his continued
exertions, will dispute the conquest for every
stride of ground, until he is pulled up past the
winning-post. Now, if a horse appear at the post
as we have just described him, he would then
be in a fit state to run ; but, with regard to the
beauty of his appearance, as that of his being
straight and handsome in his carcass, glossy in his
skin, and gay and animated in himself, he may

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 51

have all these last-mentioned appearances about
him, and yet he may not be in a fit state to run.
He may be short of work, as we have already
observed; he may not have done the necessary
lengths in it at the pace he ought; or he may
have been kept too long in strong work, and have
become rather stale ; or he may not have suffi-
ciently recovered, perhaps, from an attack of the
distemper ; and from any of those causes he
may be seven pounds or a stone below his proper
form, and yet, to the eye of a common observer,
he may be thought fit to run. I have met with
men, who profess to be very knowing on the turf,
rather too premature in making their remarks on
the appearances of horses at the post; some men
do not like bones, that is, they think some horses
are drawn too fine; others do not like horses
brought out too high, as having too much flesh
on them. However, those remarks are mostly
made by men who often know but little, or,
perhaps, nothing of such matters ; they are guid-
ed more by a theoretical sort of fancy than by
good, practical judgment. In fact, there are no
men who can, or at least ought to be so capable of
judging of the fitness or state, in all respects, in
which horses should be to race, as those who
have had the working, the feeding, and the wa-

E 2

52 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

tering of them. A training-groom must never,
^therefore, be led astray about the condition of his
horses by the opinion of others. Different horses
will vary, more or less, in appearance from the
ones we have just described; yet, notwithstand-
ing horses may more or less differ from each
other in those respects, as some of them being
rather coarser in their carcasses, and having more
flesh on them, still these horses may be in a fit
state to run. In short, it will not do to train
horses, as men would build houses, by fancy, or
by rule ; to adopt such modes of treatment would
destroy them. As we have already noticed their
ages, their constitutions, and the lengths they have
to run, must be separately and duly considered;
and according as those circumstances may vary,
so must each horse be differently treated.

The horses which are likely to be abused by too
much work are the five and six year olds, of strong
constitutions. Such of these as may have gone
somewhat off their speed for the running of short
lengths, are mostly engaged to run the longer
ones, as those of two and four miles, for some
of his Majesty's plates; and it sometimes hap-
pens, that such horses have no chance to win
but by cutting out the work, that is, by going off

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 53

from the start, and making as much running in
the race as may be necessary to draw any of the
young ones well out to the top of their pace, so
as to get them thoroughly beat before they come
too near home ; otherwise the latter would, on ap-
proaching the winning-post, have enough left in
them to make the last run, and go in and win.
Now, to enable the old ones to make the running
above described, it may be necessary to draw
some of them rather fine, that their flesh may
not fatigue them in running of long lengths. If
the training-groom finds that his horses are not
likely to suffer, either locally or constitutionally,
from the work he may be giving them, and that
they keep training on, that is, if he finds that
his horses can go faster and stay longer at the
pace by being drawn fine, the trainer will be
right in stripping them of their superfluous flesh,
still bearing in mind the circumstances which
have already been noticed, viz. that his horses
feed well, and go cheerfully to their work,
that they are cool and clean on their legs, and
sound on their feet. The hints here given as to
the feeding and working of horses are all of
great importance ; if there be any deviation from
any one of them, the animal's bodily health or
soundness of his limbs will suffer more or less. By

54 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

being forced on in length and pace at his work,
contrary to the powers of his constitution, the
horse will not only become stale in himself, and re-
laxed and large in his carcass, but stale and round
on his legs, which would be likely to lead to the
cracking and bleeding of his heels, which would
be the cause of their suppurating. From bad
management, a horse is brought into the state I
have here described, which renders him unfit to
run; his work must, therefore, be stopped, and
his engagement is not only done away with for
the present, but another race may not, probably,
be got out of him again for the whole season.

The grand criterion in training of horses, and
the best of all others (at least I found it so) for
a training groom constantly to bear in mind, is,
that Nature will ever claim her rights, in regu-
lating the whole economy of the animal system.
This she will do in spite of all our efforts to op-
pose her. Hardy, gluttonous, strong horses are
difficult to train, or rather it is difficult to keep
them from putting up flesh, so as to prevent
them from coming too fat to post ; and training
grooms have sometimes been led astray from the
circumstance, that, if horses are fat in their in-
sides, they cannot run on for any length ; nor can

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 55

any animal that is fat internally run its best pace
but for a very short distance. Yet this rule does
not in the same degree hold good as to the fat
there may be on the surface of horses' bodies.
If hardy horses in training do not draw fine on
their external surface, from the work they may
have been doing, they may, nevertheless, have
got rid of a sufficient portion of the superfluous
fat in their insides; and if I found them right
in their wind, for the length they may have to
come in their races, I should not mind their
coming out high. Such horses had better come
out thus to run, than that they should be drawn
fine for appearance sake, at the risk of very much
injuring their constitutions, and thereby disabling
them from running in their best form, for the
length in which they may be engaged.

Another thing to be observed in the training
of race horses is, that they should be got ready
to run precisely to the day on which their en-
gagements are to take place, as they will not
remain in the artificial state of condition to which
they may have been brought but for a very short
time; and unless they run on the day for which
they are prepared, they will change more or less,
and but seldom for the better, except indeed they

56 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

should not have been forwarded sufficiently early
up to the time they ought to run. Now, such
horses as are employed for purposes of pleasure,
as saddle horses, if regularly fed and exercised,
and in other respects properly looked after, will
be healthy and kind in their skins, with a suffi-
cient portion of flesh on them, and they are then
considered by the pad groom to be in condition;
and so they are, and in a very proper state for the
purposes for which they are intended to be used.
But even in those horses, if neglected in any
of the little essential regularities in the manage-
ment of them, as that of their being allowed to
lie by only for a few days, a change in their
appearance, from the healthy state described, will
soon be observed. Indeed it is good training
that will sometimes make bad ones win. There-
fore the observations we have made in this chap-
ter are such as we particularly wish our readers
to pay attention to; and that they may not lose
sight of such observations, we shall in the follow-
ing chapters, in the practical detail, when getting
the horses ready, occasionally repeat some of the
remarks noticed here, merely to prevent mistakes
arising, as very trifling errors will throw race
hordes back in their condition, more than can
well be imagined by those who have not been

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 57

accustomed to the training of them. Now, be-
fore we conclude this chapter, we will notice
some other little circumstances respecting the
entering of young ones. Those matters are
arranged in various ways —

In produce stakes, it is one of the regulations,
immediately after the mares are stinted, to name,
on the probability of their being in foal, that
their produce shall run at two or three years old,
in some of the best stakes ; and if such produce
be from untried mares, and got by untried stal-
lions, the usual allowance of weight given in
favour of such young ones, when they first come
to post, is three, or sometimes five pounds; but
should there be no produce, there is of course
no forfeit. But there is no weight given in
favour of produce that may be got by tried stal-
lions out of tried mares. Breeders and owners
have, therefore, to depend for the success of their
young ones on the goodness of the stock from
which they descend, as, agreeably to the regu-
lations, the above produce cannot possibly be
tried previous to being entered. These are some
of the arrangements laid down in the Racing
Calendar, to which book we beg to refer the

58 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

reader for further information on the entering of
different produce.

In the entering of young ones, as yearlings
and two year olds, into good stakes, whenever
the first mentioned of them have to be tried,
or have to run early, it is always in their own
class; the weights they carry, and the lengths
they run, are all laid down in the Racing Ca-
lendar; and the same thing stands good with
regard to two year olds, when running in their
own class. This, therefore, makes the matter
simple enough in the entering of yearlings or
two year olds. But should the latter be en-
gaged to run with horses of all ages, the thing
then becomes more complicated, on account of
the varying of the weights and lengths. For the
present we will defer explaining and simplifying
the effects of those matters until we come to the
entering of horses of all ages to run.

I must, however, here advert to some other
little circumstances with regard to the entering
of yearlings and two year olds. — If the owner
or breeder of them is fully aware that his young
ones are from good and tried stock, and has

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 59

tried them to be very superior, has plenty of
money to back himself on, and has his own pri-
vate trainer and jockey, he should, agreeably to
the articles or rules of the different meetings,
in due time engage his colts or fillies deeply;
for the greater number of good things they are
engaged in, the greater probability there will
be of their paying their owner : but he must take
care, in the entering of them, not to let their
engagements follow so closely in succession as to
cause them to be too much abused, or they will
win but few races.

CHAPTER V.

FIRST CLASS OF HORSES AND MARES RETURNING FROM
A summer's running to THE HOME STABLES',
THE ARRANGING OF THOSE HORSES AND MARES
IN THEIR boxes; AND THE TREATMENT OF THEM
THEREIN DURING THE THREE WINTER MONTHS.

Most of our racing meetings are over by the
end of September, the few which are run in
October are conchided by the end of that month,
with the occasional exception of the Newmarket
meetings, and one or two others. The various
number of plate horses, which have been en-
gaged during the summer in running at the dif-
ferent meetings, as also in travelling from one
meeting to the other, return in the autumn to
their different home stables to winter. Some
of them are taken for this purpose to the private
stables of their owners, and others to the public
training stables of the different trainers.

TREATMENT OF HORSES. 61

I will now, by way of example, and also
with a view to bring the subject more clearly
before my readers, lay down the treatment to
be adopted, supposing the whole of the stables
to be opened and occupied by any reasonable
number of horses and mares, say twenty for
example, of different ages and constitutions, and
at the different periods as they arrive home,
let us say by the 1st of October. We will
place them in such stables or loose houses as
may be most proper for them; for it is to be
understood, that all home racing establishments
have or at least should have every conveniency
for every description of horse. (See Vol. I,
Chapter 1st, on Stables.) It is also to be under-
stood, that the training groom who undertakes
the charge of a large racing establishment,
must be a downright good judge of his pro-
fession. For a description of each person's pe-
culiar department in a race horse stable, I
recommend to my readers a perusal of the fol-
lowing chapters in the first volume, viz. 13, 16,
17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. According to the num-
ber of horses the trainer has under his care, he
will engage such requisite assistance as may be
wanted, so that his orders may be properly carried
into effect — as a steady man, or a couple of very

62 TREATMENT OF HORSES

steady head lads^ with a good set of riding boys :
and whether a large establishment of this kind
is to be carried on at Newmarket, or Epsom,
or at any of the training establishments in the
north, is of no consequence. Bye-and-bye I will
point out the difference to be observed between
the training of horses in the north, and the train-
ing them in the south. I will just here remark,
that, when noblemen or gentlemen send their
race horses to a public training stable, and do
not send their own groom with them, it will
of course be necessary to put the public trainer
in possession of what information they can, with
regard to either the good or bad properties
their horses may possess. It is true, the trainer
will find out in time the good and bad quali-
ties of all the horses he may be training ; but
if he is immediately apprized of any little un-
favourable circumstance, he may take early pre-
cautionary measures, if not wholly to prevent,
at least to diminish, any trifling defects a horse
may have; as, for example, if a horse is tricky,
the trainer may put up a good riding boy, who
may in some measure be a check upon such
a horse ; and perhaps, if his tricks are not of
long standing, they may be got the better of
altogether. The racing properties of strange

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 63

horses should be clearly pointed out to the
trainer, what they beat, or what beat them ;
whether they gave or received weight according
to their different years ; and at what weights
and lengths they can best come, and what was
the state of the ground at the time. Of course,
the different engagements of horses and the time
of their coming to post, the weights and the
horses they are to meet, are accurately noted
in the Calendar. A trainer possessing the above
information respecting the different horses in
his stable, together with what he ascertains in
training them, as also by his constant reference
to the Calendar for a thorough knowledge of the
rules or laws of the Jockey Club and for the
public running of the various horses, will have
a tolerable good idea of what chance (barring
an accident) the horses he may have to bring to
post have of winning.

Having now made my preparatory remarks
relative to the horses coming to the home stables
to winter, let us now consider them as having
arrived there, as they usually do at different pe-
riods, as the various meetings conclude up to the
month of October, I will now, for example,

64 TREATMENT OF HORSES

place the above mentioned horses and mares in
the different stables of a public training estab-
lishment, according to their respective ages, as
young ones or old ones. It may not be out
of place here to observe, that a race horse, like
any other horse, is of age at five years old, as
a man is at twenty- one; but if a race horse
continues to run on until he is six or seven
years old, he is usually considered in racing an
aged horse, (although not eight years old), and
he is therefore considered in the stables an old
horse. As different horses arrive at the home
stables, they are to be classed off in them, ac-
cording to the condition they may be in, and
the running properties they may each possess.
The first class to notice are the craving ones,
which are mostly found to be running in the
summer as plate horses; they are four, five, and
six years old; they are of strong constitutions,
and many of them have been much accustomed
to strong work in their training; and in their
running, they have often had to come heats of
long lengths under high weights, as for ex
ample, in running for many of his Majesty's
plates. Such horses, on their return to the
home stables, are, many of them, drawn fine, in

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 65

other words they are low in flesli; and most of
them are stale in their constitutions, as also on
their legs; and from so often removing their
shoes and plates their feet are occasionally in
a bad state; and from want of proper atten-
tion during the hot weather, their backs are
sometimes also a little sore. Many of those
craving horses that return in autumn to the
home stables, are in this state or approaching to
it; such, whether horses or mares, if happy by
themselves, should be put into large loose boxes,
so that they may put up flesh, and recover the
tone and strength of such parts as may have suf-
fered from the repeated exertions they may have
undergone in training and running. When
horses have thus suffered from one or other or
perhaps all of the above causes, they are not in
a fit state, immediately on arriving at the home
stables, to go out to exercise daily, through-
out the winter, with the rest of the horses. It
is the custom, and a very good one, from the
1st of October to the 1st of January, to win-
ter the above horses in large loose boxes, or
barn-like sort of stables; and if they are well
managed in those places, they should be, by
the time I have mentioned, in a fit state to go

VOL. II. F

66 TREATMENT OF HORSES

again into training, that is, they should be
hearty, sound, and lusty.

Let us now make such remarks with regard
to the attention necessary to be observed in re-
gard to the loose box, in which a race horse has
to stand, as will suffice for the arrangement of
such loose boxes or stables generally. As to the
size of them, they should be thirteen feet by
twenty, (for the manner of ventilating it, see
Vol. 1, Chap. 3); the box being thoroughly dry,
it should be plentifully supplied with good clean
wheat straw; and be it observed, that, as, when
a horse lies down in his box to rest himself, he
mostly does it in the centre of his bed, it should
therefore be made of good substance in this
part. But, as horses get fresh from rest and good
feeding, there are at times some among them,
who, to amuse themselves, get into little tricks
and habits which are annoying to a trainer ; they
stand back close to the sides of the box, and
here rub their tails and tops of their quarters,
and they knock, and kick, and bruise their
hocks and feet, by kicking against the boards
or walls. With a view to prevent a horse as
much as possible from practising those habits,
every time his bed is set fair, the sides of the
box should, as it were, be banked up wide and

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 67

high all round with plenty of straw, so that
the horse cannot so readily get back to rub
or kick the sides of the box ; and if a horse is
inclined to paw, and knock his bed about with
his fore-feet, the fetters can be put on him.
The first thing in the morning a boy has to do
who looks after a horse in a box, is, when he
goes in, to chain up his horse's head, at such a
length as to admit of his feeding ; he then gives
him his corn, and while the horse is eating it
the boy is to set fair his horse's bed; in com-
mencing this, he is first to look about on the
surface of the bed, to see where the horse may
have emptied himself; he is also to feel about
under the straw for the same purpose, and throw
towards the door all the dung he can find; he is
next to shake up the straw all over the box,
leaving the greater part of it round the sides or
walls; and any part of the straw in the centre
appearing wet, from the horse having lately
staled on it, should be removed ; there should be
nothing allowed to accumulate here in the way
of dung; the box, in short, to use a common
stable phrase, should be mucked out twice a
week. But on all such occasions there must be,
previous to the horse being dressed, a sufficient
portion of the bedding put back to the centre of

f2

68 TREATMENT OF HORSES

the box, to allow of the horse having good foot-
hold for it to stand safely on while being dressed.
The boy having done these little matters, and
swept out the stable, after putting on his horse's
dressing muzzle, and having securely shortened
the rack-chain, strips off his horse's clothes, and
gives him a good dressing. This done, the horse
is re-clothed, and his saddle put on, and a hood
may be thrown over his quarters, while the boy
is rubbing his horse's legs for a short time ; after
this, he sets fair the bed, and again sweeps out
the stable. This being done, as the horse is not
now supposed to be in training, his head is let
down to the length of the chain, and a bit of hay,
by way of amusing him, may be put in his rack
or manger; the stable- door is now locked up,
and the horse is left ready (all but bridling) to
go out with the other horses, either before or
after breakfast, as the groom may direct, or as
weather may permit. The horse, having been
out and done his exercise, returns to his box ;
here he is dressed and attended to in every re-
spect as in the morning; having done his corn,
his hay is given to him. The boy should now take
the precaution to remove every sort of implement
out of the box; having put them away, he returns
again, and lets down his horse's head, leaving

DURING THi: WINTER MONTHS. 69

him perfectly loose; and in walking away from
him he strips the hood off his quarters; he then
goes out, and safely locks the stable-door, leaving
his horse to enjoy himself until the next stable-
hour, when he is watered, dressed, and fed as at
noon-day, and at the same time the other horses
are that stand in the stall stables.

Unless the horses in boxes, as well as those in
stall stables, are properly attended to during
the winter, it is not to be expected that they
will be in a fit state to go into training early in
the spring. These are my reasons for entering
so minutely into the practical detailed account
of how such horses should be attended to, while
they are standing during the winter months in
loose boxes, as have to go out daily to exercise at
the same time with other horses standing in the
stall stables.

There is a method of wintering a horse in a
loose place, which is to be had recourse to with
such gluttonous horses as may, as we have already
noticed, from the repeated races in which they
have been engaged, have met with more than
common abuse; such horses, on arriving in au-
tumn at the home stables, require some little
preparing before they are turned into the loose

70 TREATMENT OF HORSES

places it is intended they shall winter in, as they
are most likely very stale in themselves, as well
as on their legs ; and if they should have plenty
of flesh on them, but certainly not otherwise, it
may be advisable to give them a couple or three
doses of physic each to cool them. After the
effects of the medicine are subsided, they should
gradually be stripped of their standing clothes.
Their feet, which are mostly in a bad state,
should be examined and properly attended to
once in three weeks (See Vol. 1, Chap. 22, on the
Treatment of Feet and on Shoeing). Horses,
such as above described, being thus prepared,
should, with a collar on each of their heads, be
turned loose into a clean, well-littered, and well-
ventilated loose place ; here they should each re-
main in what is called the rough, that is, there is
no necessity for either dressing or exercising them;
they generally take care to give themselves quite
enough of the latter to keep them in health,
either by their walking, trotting, or, not unfre-
quently, cantering round their loose places. Such
of those horses as may have been running in
summer until late in the autumn should be al-
lowed to remain at rest until the month of March,
before they are taken again into training, as it is
hardly to be expected they can be brought out in

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 71

their best form before the end of May or begin-
ning of June. Now, the main object to be at-
tended to in the managing of horses in these
situations is, to water them, to feed them, to
set fair their beds at the accustomed stable-hours,
and to pick out their feet once a day.

I should not have been thus minute in describ-
ing how horses ought to be treated in their loose
places, but from the very negligent manner in
which I have repeatedly seen them attended to
in such situations, and this at no very distant
period. As I have a pretty good reason to re-
member the careless treatment in the wintering
of a horse in a loose place, I will, by way of ex-
ample, here mention the sort of inattention I
mean, as it happened to a horse I was at the
time looking after when a boy.

The groom had ordered me to put my horse
into a loose place, and here he was kept in the
rough during the winter. I fed and watered him
at the usual stable hours, and put clean straw
into his stable occasionally. My horse, therefore,
stood in his own litter, I think, for two or three
months, until at last the stable became so insuf-
ferably hot, that, in the morning, when the door

72 TREATMENT OF HORSES

was opened, the fumes arising from the pu-
trefaction of the accumulated manure issued
forth as if from a boiler of hot water. The
groom going with me on occasional mornings to
look at the horse, I presumed that he observed
what I have above stated, and at last he no
doubt saw the impropriety of allowing the stable
to remain any longer in so unhealthy a state,
as he ordered that it should be immediately
cleaned out, and which I very w'ell remember
gave two or three of us boys a very long job.
At the time the circumstance occurred to which
I have been alluding, I was too young and too
thoughtless to trouble myself more about my
horse's feet, either in a stall stable or loose place,
than the trifling orders of the groom obliged me
to do, so that I neither picked out nor washed
my horse's feet, that I remember, during the
time he had been standing as I have above
described; the consequence of which was, his
feet were in a very bad state.

But the cause of horses' feet getting thus out of
order, when they have been kept in the rough in
such loose places as may not have been sufficiently
often cleaned out, should not at all times be attri-
buted to any want of attention on the part of

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 73

the groom: sucli things more principally arise
from unforeseen circumstances; as, for example,
a strong constitutional country plate horse, that
may have been travelling from race to race dur-
ing summer, and occasionally, perhaps, running
three times a fortnight, such a horse's feet, on his
arriving at the home stables late in the autumn,
would be in rather a shattered state, from the
circumstance of his shoes and plates having
been so often removed, as to have occasioned the
wall or crust of his feet to be much broken; in
short, this used to be a very common occurrence.
A horse arriving at home in the state we have here
described, the training-groom considers, and very
properly, that such a horse will not be in a fit
state to go again into training before the month
of March; he is also aware, that this same horse
cannot be so well got fresh by standing in a stall
stable, as he can by being put into a loose place.
The horse being properly prepared, by being gra-
dually stripped, and having, if not too low in
flesh, as I before noticed, a couple of doses of
physic given him, the groom orders him to be put
into a large loose place, or barn-like sort of stable.
Now, with the exception of the horse's feet being-
broken away, there may be nothing more the
matter with him, unless, indeed, his back.

74 TREATMENT OF HORSES

perhaps, from the changing of saddles, may
have been bruised, and become sore; the irri-
tability of such a sore would be kept up from
the heat and friction of the clothing; but, by the
horse being turned stripped into a loose place to
rest, the causes which occasioned the back being
sore are removed, and the parts injured recover
of themselves; and of this most grooms are
aware, as they are also aware that the horse's
feet will be sufficiently grown, and that there will
be plenty of horn to nail the shoes to in the
spring. As regarded a horse's feet, this was
all a groom ever troubled himself about; nor
do I believe that smiths, in my juvenile days,
knew any thing more of the nature and com-
ponent parts of horses' feet than grooms them-
selves ; for, in their cleaning out horses' feet, they
cut away the horn, very injudiciously, from all
descriptions of feet, without even duly discrim-
inating, so as to leave the horn of a weak, deli-
cate foot untouched, or to remove a sufficient
portion of it from a very strong one, with a view
to aid, to a certain degree, the elasticity that
may be required in the latter. Neither were
smiths, at the time I have been alluding to,
too careful in the forging, fitting, or nailing on of
horses' shoes. Indeed, such things as regard the

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 75

treatment of horses' feet, and the shoeing of them,
can be known well only by such men as have
become familiar with horses, from their being
brought up with them very early in life, and
having, in due time, qualified themselves by
attentive study at the Veterinary College,
where they have had the opportunity, as well as
the inclination, industriously to employ them-
selves in practising in the right sort of school,
so as to obtain a good ground-work, or thorough
knowledge, on the subject of all such matters as
concern not only the treatment of horses' feet
and shoeing, but also the treatment of the various
diseases to which horses are subject, either local
or constitutional. But to return to the groom.

Now, it is not to be expected that this
man can possibly be well acquainted with all the
minute practical matters we have been making
mention of. In truth, a training-groom's atten-
tion is principally absorbed in considering the
constitutional health of the horse; the object the
groom is looking forward to, is to have the horse
hearty, with a sufficient portion of flesh on him,
and cool and clean on his legs, by the time he is
wanted to be again taken into training in the
spring; the groom, perhaps, never once think-
ing, that, as the horse's frogs were sound when

76 TREATMENT OF HORSES

he was put into the loose place, it would be
needful to pay any further attention to his
feet until the time arrived for his being shod,
when, on examining the horse's feet, at the end
of three months, it is mostly found that they are,
from want of being repeatedly attended to, in a
very diseased state, the frogs of them occa-
sionally being so undermined, as to have little or
no horny substance left, and the feet in all
})robability much contracted. These are ge-
nerally the bad effects arising from horses' feet
being neglected, at the time of their stand-
ing in the rough in such loose places as are
not sufficiently often cleaned out, and which
may in some instances be the case even
up to the' present day. Let us, by way of exam-
ple, suppose, that two or three craving horses
have returned from their summer's running to
the home stable of a racing establishment, and
that those horses, to put up flesh and get fresh,
are put to stand, for the period already mention-
ed, in loose stables, either in their clothes and
regularly dressed, or stripped and kept in the
rough, whichever may be thought, according
to circumstances, to be the most advantageous.
The last-mentioned way of keeping those crav-
ing horses that mav have been more abused
than others, is to be preferred, to their going out

DURING THK WINTER MONTHS. 77

every day to exercise, and returning to stand in
the small usual-sized loose boxes. These stale
horses will benefit more by standing constantly,
for three or four months, in large barn-like sort
of stables, than in the loose boxes, as the cold-
ness of the air in such situations braces up their
muscular system, if they are not inclined to give
themselves, in ranging about, too much exercise
in such places.

Let us now make a few remarks regardiner
another sort of treatment of such horses as may
have to winter in loose places. It was formerly
the custom with training grooms, and it may
most likely be practised by many of them up
to the present time, to give their horses, on
their having done their running in the au-
tumn, three doses of physic each, with an in-
terval of a week or eight days between each
dose ; this was formerly a standing rule with
those men, without their duly considering the
state of each horse's condition ; and again three
doses more were given to them, either about the
end of February or beginning of March, depend-
ing on the time such horses might have to
come to post in the spring. This method of in-
discriminately physicing horses ought to a cer-
tain extent to be done away with. Yet, I am

78 TREATMENT OF HORSES

fully aware that race horses, generally speaking,
cannot be brought to post in their best form,
without having physic administered to them as
occasion may require. But such artificial means
may be dispensed with almost altogether, parti-
cularly in the autumn; for it is at this season of
the year (the autumn) that many such horses as
we are alluding to are drawn fine, (light of flesh) ;
and notwithstanding that they may be stale in
themselves, and also on their legs, there will be
no occasion to physic such horses to the extent
we have alluded to. The few of them, such as
may be gross and fleshy, with their heels
perhaps a little cracked, may require a couple
of doses of physic, on their being laid by; but
only under such circumstances can physic be of
any use. Stale horses are no sooner laid by in
loose places, to eat, drink, sleep, and enjoy them-
selves, for three or perhaps four months, than
from this sort of indulgence they soon put up
flesh; and by the gentle exercise they take in
those places, they soon get fresh in themselves,
and cool and clean on their legs, without their
having so much physic administered to them.

We will now lay down some few plain rules
as to the manner of feeding the above horses.

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 79

which are supposed to have been stripped
and laid by in the rough, with an old collar
on each of their heads. These horses are to
be fed and watered at the usual stable hours;
and from their having been living so long on the
most nutritious dry food, as plenty of the best of
corn, there may be some of them a good deal
heated in their constitutions; therefore, to gra-
dually cool them, and keep their bodies of a
proper temperature, as also to prevent them
from becoming too costive, we will at first give
them some mixed food, which shall consist of
three parts ; — of oats, say a quartern ; one double
handful of bran ; one of clean sliced carrots ;
and the other of chaff, cut from the very best of
hay only. This may be considered a large feed,
but I know it to be a wholesome one. The por-
tion of corn will be quite sufficient to nourish
the horse's system, on his first being laid by;
the bran will cool and keep the bowels in a
good state; the carrots are sweet, nutritious,
and easy of digestion, and race horses are very
fond of them; the chaff is also nutritious, and
causes the horse to masticate thoroughly the
corn he eats. But if those sort of horses are
plentifully fed on corn alone, on their first being
laid by, it will be very likely to keep up

80 TREATMENT OF HORSES

that degree of heat and costiveness to which
some of them are subject on their returning from
a summer's running ; therefore, let them take their
usual quantity of hay, with the above-mentioned
manger food, and they will eat less of their litter,
and, from the succulent matter contained in the
carrots, will be inclined to drink less water. Oil
cake is very nutritious, we allow, and may be
very well to fatten oxen upon, but the manger
food, above recommended, we consider much more
natural for horses. Should any one horse appear
more costive than another, a mash of equal parts
of scalled bran and oats may be given him once
or twice a week, to keep his bowels in a good
state. Those sort of horses, kept as we have
here advised, will not only put up flesh, but they
will be less subject to inflammatory attacks, either
local or constitutional. Still, the progress of
each horse's putting up flesh should be duly ob-
served ; if a horse is found to get very quickly
into a plethoric state, it may be advisable to
bleed such horse, to the extent of four or five
quarts, (depending on his age, size, and constitu-
tion), to prevent him from going wrong in any
way ; indeed, it was the custom among grooms
(when I was a boy) to bleed their horses a fort-
night or three weeks after they had been laid by.

DUUING THE WINTER MONTHS. 81

from extreme labour, to enjoy that of extreme in-
dulgence. They bled those that put up flesh
quickly, to prevent them from falling amiss; and
those that did not thrive as readily as they could
wish, they bled rather sparingly, with a view to
improve their condition ; and as the practice of
bleeding horses on such occasions is a rational
one, I would recommend its still being adhered
to, whenever it may be considered necessary ;
the quantity of blood taken may be from three
to five quarts, depending, as I have just observed,
on the age, size, constitution, and condition of
the horse.

With regard to the second class, the hearty
horses, (the treatment of which is stated in the
following chapter), those that are valuable good
runners, feed well, and are content to be alone
without ranging too much about, will do well in
boxes, either dressed and clothed, and going daily
to exercise, or stripped and kept in the rough,
whichever the training-groom may consider they
will benefit the most by. As these horses are
not so gluttonously inclined as those which were
first described, and are lighter in their carcasses,
they may have corn alone given them ; and if
at any time they become costive, or, indeed, tc

VOL. II. G

82 TREATMENT OF HORSES, &C.

prevent their being so, they may have bran
mashes given them, as occasion may require.

As these horses take less work in training, con-
sequently, on their return to the home stables, in
autumn, they will not require the artificial aid of
physic, until they go again into training in the
spring, unless they may have become stale in
themselves and on their legs^ by repeated run-
ning, and then a couple of doses to commence
with will be sufficient, keeping a dose or two in
reserve, until they have done a certain portion of
their work.

We have now made such arrangements as we
conceive necessary to be attended to, with respect
to the first class of horses, whether they have to
lie by in boxes, or to be daily exercised during
the winter months, when they are out of training.

/

/

/

CHAPTER VI.

THE SECOND CLASS OF HORSES AND MARES RETURNING
FROM A summer's RUNNING TO THE HOME STA-
BLES; THE ARRANGING OF THOSE HORSES AND
MARES IN SEPARATE STALL STABLES, AND THE
TREATMENT OF THEM IN THE STABLES; AS ALSO
WHEN THEY ARE OUT AT EXERCISE, DURING
THE THREE WINTER MONTHS.

In the preceding chapter I described the ne-
cessary arrangements to be observed for three
months, in the wintering of the craving or first
class of horses in boxes or loose places. In this
I shall have to make the arrangement for the
same period, in wintering of the hearty or second
class of horses and mares in the stalls of the
home stables. This class consists of those horses,
as I have before noticed, whose constitutional or

g2

84 TREATMENT OF HORSES

physical powers are in the medium, and at three
or four years old may have been found to have
gone off their speed in the running of short
lengths for any of the great stakes at Newmarket.
These horses, under those circumstances, are
usually selected for what is called a campaign,
or roving commission ; in other words, they are
got ready as early in the spring as may be ne-
cessary; and are then sent cff to run as plate
horses, at the different meetings on the circuit,
in which they have to travel during the sum-
mer; and, like the horses of the first class, they
return in autumn to the home stables to winter.

These hearty horses are generally pretty good
ones, if allowed to have their day, that is, not
to come out to run too often. If they are brought
fresh to post, they can most of them come
tolerable good lengths under racing weights;
and as there are many of them that do not
require so very much work in training, and as
they do not run so frequently as the first class of
horses, they generally return fresher to the
home stables in the autumn. These hearty
horses or mares, not being gluttonously inclined,
do very well in stall stables ; indeed, many of
them do better than in boxes, as they feed bet-

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 85

ter in compan.y than when .ak^ ; but I must ob-
serve that theyT^ to be classed, the horses in
one stable, and the mares in another, for reasons
I shall bye-and-bye explain. But should there
be a horse of this class a valuable good runner,
that may have met with some little abuse, either
from severity of contest or frequency of running,
such horse or mare (if happy alone) would of
course be much sooner refreshed by lying by
two or three weeks in a box, than by standing
in a stall all night and the greater part of the
day.

The second class horses mostly run under
lighter weights and at shorter lengths than the
horses of the first ; those of them that are con-
sidered by their owners to be of sufficient
racing celebrity, are entered to run for the
lighter weighted King's plates or gold cups ;
and two or three of them now and then are
kept in reserve, to be entered into some good
stake or plate, with something handsome added.
When neither of these good things is to be
met with at a meeting at which such horses
may arrive, they are frequently, to help pay
expenses, if qualified, entered into any of the
weight for age county or town plates. The

86 TREATMENT OF HORSES

lengths for any of the above mentioned plates
or stakes, although they occasionally vary, do
not often exceed two miles ; nor is it an invari-
able rule at even these lengths to run heats.

As these hearty horses are not often en-
gaged to run under high weights or long
lengths at heats, they generally arrive, as I have
already noticed, fresher at the home stables in
autumn than the craving horses ; and as they are
more speedy than the last mentioned, they are
(previous to being laid by) the horses from which
one or two of the most superior runners among
them are selected, to try any of the two year
olds, or any horses that may have been longer at
home, and which it may be thought necessary to
try, to see what such horses may be entered into
in the following spring ; or perhaps to ascertain
whether they may be worth keeping in training
or not. But it is to be observed, that those
horses of the second class, on their return in the
autumn, are not to be considered to be in a
fit state immediately to try other horses, but
should have ten days or a fortnight's rest, if
necessary. When I say that these are to rest,
it is not to be understood that they are to lie by
and do nothing; I mean by the word " rest," that

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 87

it is not necessary they should be in very strong
work : their work should be such as will keep
them sufficiently clear in their wind, and light
and fresh enough in themselves, so as to come
their best pace for a little longer length than the
length of the trial-ground on which the two year
olds or any other horses may have to be tried.
The particulars of those and other trials will
be found fully explained in their proper places.

The third class of horses, as they will have to
winter with the second class, I shall only cursorily
mention them here as being horses of delicate
constitutions, as I shall speak more particularly
of them when I come to notice the different sort
of treatment to be adopted in the training of
different horses.

We now come to the noticing of the arrange-
ments necessary to be attended to in the treat-
ment of the second and third class horses for
three months. The days shortening as the au-
tumn further advances, the hour for opening
the stables in the morning gradually becomes
later, as of course does the time for the going
out of the horses in the morning to exercise.
After the middle or twenty-fifth of September,

88 TREATMENT OF HORSES

the going out of the horses twice a clay should
be discontinued, and they should now only go out
once a day to exercise, unless indeed the weather
should remain very fine and warm to the end of
the month ; they may, up to that time, walk out
on the downs in the afternoon, to stretch their
legs and empty themselves, and take their water
and a slow gallop after. The doing those little
things with them in the pure open air conduces
to their health, and affords them some amuse-
ment, if the weather, as I have just observed, is
really very fine. This method is to be preferred
to their being watered and brushed over in the
stables, unless indeed any of their coats have begun
to move, and that they are getting what is com-
monly termed "pen- feathered;" for at this critical
time horses are weak and faint, they sweat from
little exertion, and are very susceptible of cold;
and the sooner horses thus affected in autumn
have done their running, the better for them and
their owners.

The hours of opening and shutting up the
stables during each day, as also the going out of
the horses to and returning from exercise, cannot
well be precisely defined. In the commencement
of the month of October, if the mornings are

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 89

fine and warm, the horses may be out as early
as eight o'clock ; but as the clays are shortening,
and the mornings get colder, the horses must go
out on each succeeding morning later. The
opening of the stables, during this month,
should be at daylight ; and the business of
the day should be regulated by the training
groom as follows : — On his opening the sta-
bles, he immediately calls up his boys ; hav-
ing dressed themselves, they turn up their bed-
settles, take down the bales, and having clean-
ed out their horses' mangers, they immediate-
ly assemble at the corn-binn ; the groom being
here, gives each boy a feed of corn for his horse,
which, after it is well sifted, is given to him.
The whole of the horses having eaten their corn,
and the stables being set fair, the boys put on
their horses' dressing muzzles, and chain up their
heads ; the horses are then stripped of their
standing clothes, these being thrown over the
tops of the racks. The horses after being dress-
ed are re-clothed in their exercise clothes, and
their saddles put on ; their legs being rubbed,
the stables again set fair, and the bales put up,
they are left to stand with their heads up and
muzzles on; the stable-door being locked by the
groom, he and his boys go to their breakfast.

90 TREATMENT OF HORSES

After this meal they immediately return to the
stables; the bales being taken down, the horses'
bridles and hoods being put on, the boys mount
their horses ; and as each boy knows the place his
horse has in the string, and the distance he is to
keep him from the horse in front of him, they
are all in their turn ridden out of the stable into
the yard, here to walk round until the saddles
are settled to their backs, after which the yard-
door is opened, and they now proceed in line,
by the most private road, to the downs ; and fol-
lowing them at a suitable distance, so as to see
well what both boys and horses are about, (for
I have known the boys to be quite as tricky as
the horses), must be the training groom on his
hack.

For a moment I will just here observe, that,
during the whole of the time the horses are out,
the stable doors and windows are all to be left
open, to admit the pure air, so that the sta-
bles may be cooled and well ventilated by the
time the horses return ; indeed, this matter of
opening the doors and windows of the stables is
to take place on all occasions when the horses are
at exercise.

But to return to the string of horses we left

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 91

going to the downs — I shall just here remark, that
the reader is to bear in mind, that the horses
above alluded to are of various ages, as country
platers, and that they have all of them done their
running by the end of September; therefore,
they are to be considered, now, in the month of
October, as being out of training. I am aware
that the meetings at Newmarket, and some few
other places, are not concluded until the end of
October, or, perhaps, sometimes not until the
commencement of November. Indeed, to have
yearlings and two year olds ready to come to post
in Spring, the training of horses may be said to
be going on all the year round at Newmarket;
I shall therefore treat bye-and-bye of training
horses in November, as well as in all other months
in which it may be necessary to train them.

Now, then, with regard to the exercising of
the first and second class of horses, it is to
be observed, that the exercise for them, and,
indeed, for all other race horses that may at
any time be out of training, is to be such as will
keep them in good health. No matter at what
time of the year it is that horses are brought to
post, our object must be, when they have done
their running, to bring them, by degrees, from the
artificial state in which they have so long been

92 TREATMENT OF HORSES

kept, to that which approaches nearer to their
state of nature, and this is, of course, to be done
by a relaxation of their strong work. Their
exercise will, therefore, be principally that of
walking; and when it may be occasionally re-
quired to gallop them, it is only with a view to
steady those that, from indulgence, are getting
too hearty, and this must necessarily be done;
for, if a horse is allowed to get very hearty, he
may daily follow up his gambols, until he be-
comes decidedly tricky, and more particularly so,
should the boy, from being off his guard, get
thrown off the horse; this sort of thing, from
neglect, is not an uncommon occurrence.

As I shall shortly have to describe the dif-
ferent sorts of exercise for different sorts of
horses, and the effects these exercises are likely
to produce, under all the circumstances in which
it may be required, it will, therefore, not be ne-
cessary for me to say more at present, than that,
when the horses that are now supposed to be on
the downs have done the principal part of their
exercise for the morning, they may, during this
month (October), go to the troughs to water;
after which, they may take a short gallop. On
their being pulled up, they are to be walked back
to the stables.

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 93

Each boy having ridden his horse into his
stall, and turned him round in it, they all of
them dismount, and slack their horses' girths ;
they then take off their horses' hoods and
bridles, and if the horses' tempers are such as
will admit of it, each of the boys puts a handful
of hay on the ground before his horse's head,
for him to eat or pick at, while his head, neck,
and fore-quarters are being dressed. These
matters being done, the horses are turned round
in their stalls ; their collars and dressing muzzles
being put on, and their heads chained up, the
boys pick out and wash their horses' feet ; and
after giving their legs a few strokes down with
some clean straw, they take off their saddles and
body clothes, and dress their horses well ; they
then re-clothe them in their standing clothes,
throwing a hood over their quarters, their manes
and tails being combed out, their legs rubbed,
and their beds set fair.

The exercise clothing and other things in the
stable being put tidily away, as the horses are
not now in training, their muzzles are taken off,
and their heads let down to the length of the
chain; their mangers being cleaned out, the whole
of the boys immediately, as in the morning, as-
semble at the corn-binn, where each receives from

94 TREATMENT OF HORSES

the groom or head lad (for one or the other must
invariably be present during the whole of every
stable hour) a feed of corn for his horse : the
w^hole of the horses having got their corn, the
boys go out. The groom is nov^r to lock the
stable door, so that the horses may be left at this
stable hour to eat their first feed of corn undis-
turbed, during which time the boys may be
cleaning up the stable yard. By the time the
yard is done, the horses will, all of them, have
finished their corn ; when the groom again opens
the stables, and the boys as before assemble at
the corn-binn for a second feed of corn for the
horses ; which, when given, the groom and boys
again go out, the stables are locked up, and the
horses are left, as before, to eat their second feed
undisturbed, during which time the boys may
fill the water troughs and boiler. On the groom
again opening the stables, the boys immediately
betake themselves to the hay-binn, where each
boy carefully selects his horse's hay, which being
given, and the bales put up, the horses' quarters
are stripped ; the boys and the groom now go
out. The horses being done, the stables are again
locked up, which, in this month (October), should
take place at or as near to one o'clock in the
day as circumstances will admit. The boys now

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 95

proceed to their dinners ; after having taken
this meal, their time is generally their own, un-
less with those who may be looking after the
horses in the boxes ; those boys may have be-
tween stable hom's to wash and slice a few
carrots for their horses. If the stables are shut
up, as I have just observed, at one in the day,
they are opened again at four in the afternoon ;
but as this month approaches to its close, the days
are shortening, so that the time for the horses'
going out to be exercised in the mornings, of
course, becomes gradually somewhat later, and
towards the conclusion of the month the stables
will not be shut up much before two o'clock in
the day. Therefore, to equally divide the time
for the horses to rest, the opening of the stables
in the afternoon becomes proportionably later,
that is, if, by the end of the month, they are
shut up at two in the day, they are to be opened
again at five o'clock in the afternoon.

On the groom opening the stables in the
afternoon, a repetition of the same duties, as
in the morning, takes place, that of taking
down the bales and setting fair the horses'
beds. This being done, each boy, with his
bucket, repairs to the pump for water, and from
hence to the boiler ; the groom, or head lad, here

96 TREATMENT OF HORSES

takes care that the water is mixed of a proper
temperature; but unless the water is hard, it will
not now require the chill being taken so much
off as in the depth of winter. As the water is
got ready, each boy takes up his bucket, and
proceeds to the stable, and waters his horse as
directed by the groom; after which, the horses'
muzzles are put on and their heads chained up,
and the whole of them being stripped, their
bodies are dressed, when they are again re-
clothed ; their muzzles and collars being taken
off, they turn round to have their heads dressed ;
which when done, they are turned round again
in the stable, their collars put on, their manes
and tails combed out, and they now stand with
their heads secure to the end of the chain, until
their legs are rubbed and their beds set fair.
Those little matters being done, and the mangers
cleaned out, the boys now, as in the morning,
proceed to the corn-binn, where they each re-
ceive from the groom, or head lad, the corn for
their horses; which being given to them, the boys
go out as before, the groom locks the stable
door, and the horses are left to eat their corn
undisturbed, while the boys are removing from
the yard the manure swept out from the stables.
The groom, having considered that the whole of
the horses have eaten their corn, returns and

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 97

opens the stables, and, as the liorscs are not
now in training, he orders the boys to give them
a small portion of hay, to eat or amuse them-
selves with; their heads being let down, and the
bales put up, the stables are again shut at five
o'clock in the evening, or, as the month ap-
proaches towards its end, it may be a little later.
The horses are left to rest from this period un-
til about eight o'clock, when the groom again
opens the stables, and the operation of taking
down the bales, chaining up the horses' heads, and
setting the beds fair, is repeated. If the groom ob-
serves any horse to have lain down, and perhaps,
by rolling in his stall, to have displaced his
clothing, he is to order such horse to be stripped,
to be wiped over, and re-clothed. The hoods
being thrown on the quarters of all the horses
in the stable, their manes and tails combed
out, their legs for a short time rubbed, their
beds set fair, their heads let down to reach
the manger, and the latter cleaned out, they
are all fed, and the bales put up, when the
stables are again to be locked. While the horses
are feeding, the boys get their suppers; after
which they return with the groom to the sta-
bles, when the horses have their hay given them
and their heads let down, and their quarters

VOL. II. H

98 TREATMENT OF HORSES

stripped. The boys that sleep in the stable
now let down their bed-settles, and go to bed;
the groom having put out the lights, he goes
out, and locks up the stable door for the night,
which, in this month (October), generally takes
place at about half past eight o'clock. In the
month of November, the stables should be open-
ed by the groom at six o'clock in the morning,
but now, as at night, candles become necessary.

Before I proceed further, it may not be out
of place here cursorily to observe, that, at
the time of my juvenile days as exercise boy,
it was the custom with training-grooms to
go to their stables in winter as early as three
or four o'clock in the morning; the boys being
roused up, the horses were fed, stripped, and
brushed over; the stables being again set fair,
and the bales put up, the boys went to their beds ;
and the groom, having put out the lights in the
stable, left the door securely locked, and returned
to his own bed, where he usually lay till day-
light. Grooms went thus early to their stables,
not only with a view more equally to divide the
time of feeding the horses during the twenty-
four hours, but also to occupy the time of the
horses by giving them something to do; as it

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 99

was found that some thorough-bred horses, when
lying by in winter short of work, will, by way
of amusing themselves, get into as bad habits
or tricks in the stables as some others of them
will, from bad management, occasionally get
tricky out of the stables. The tricks that they
will at times get at in the night, in their loose
boxes and stalls, are various: some horses get
a habit of rolling, until they cast themselves;
others are inclined to kick with violence the sides
of the stalls ; others lick the sides of the stalls
or boxes; from this they go on to lick their
manger rails, some lay hold of them, and thus
take to crib-biting and sucking their wind ;
others of them will take to weaving, that is,
moving their heads and fore-quarters from one
side of the stall to the other; some take to
pawing up their litter, but this is easily pre-
vented by putting fetters on them. Now, that
those habits and tricks are very bad we must al-
low ; but I scarcely ever remember a horse, who
had been addicted to any one of those or other
tricks not here mentioned, to have been perma-
nently cured. When they are in strong work, as
in training, they do not appear to have so great a
propensity to practise them as in winter, when

100 TREATMENT OF HORSES

many of them are lying by idle. Therefore,
unless horses could be broken of their incon-
venient and objectionable habits, by going thus
early to the stables in winter mornings, I think
it is a pity to disturb them at such unseason-
able hours; for most of them that were not
tricky were found lying down resting themselves,
which is the very thing they ought to do, until
five or six o'clock in the morning; for, be it re-
membered, this is the season of the year that
race horses are allowed to rest, and enjoy them-
selves. But if it should still be thought neces-
sary to divide the time of feeding and dress-
ing, with a view to employ or amuse them,
perhaps the better way would be, instead of
shutting up the stables at eight o'clock at night,
to shut them up at nine, and open them again
in the morning at five, that is, should there be
any horses in the stables disposed to such
habits or tricks as have been noticed; for cer-
tain it is, horses will occasionally teach each
other bad habits.

But to return from this digression to the
month of November. In the commencement of
this month, the mornings may be somewhat mo-

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 101

derately warm and dry, and then the horses may
be out as early as nine o'clock; but, as the
month advances, the days get shorter, the morn-
ings get colder, and the weather is becoming
more uncertain, the winds are frequently high,
and it is often wet over head; the time there-
fore of the horses going out in the morning pro-
gressively gets later, indeed the hour of their
going to exercise in winter can hardly be said
to be generally determined; but, when all fa-
vourable circumstances concur, ten o'clock in
the morning is the most convenient hour for
the horses to go out at this season of the
year.

The clothing of the horses, either in or out
of the stables, should, at all times, be paid the
strictest attention to, by increasing or diminishing
their clothes, according as the temperature of
the atmosphere may vary; and, as the clothing
of race horses differs materially from that of
horses in common use, I shall make a few re-
marks on this subject. — The clothes the horses
sleep in at night and stand in during the day
are usually called their standing clothes ; these
consist of the old check clothes, and such of the
blanket-like sort of sheets, that, from use, have

102 TREATMENT OF HORSES

become too much soiled, and too thin to be put
under the exercise clothes for the horses to go
out in. The latter consist of the best sort of
check clothes, under which are placed (sufficient
in quantity) the most warm blanket-like sort of
sheets (see the different descriptions of clothing,
and their use, in Volume the 1st, Chapter the 9th).

When the horses are stripped in the morning
of their standing clothes, they are thrown over
the tops of the racks, until the horses are dressed,
when the standing or exercise clothing is put on ;
but which of the two will depend on the appear-
ance of the day. Let us, by way of example,
suppose that it rains when the stables are first
opened; the groom, being anxious not to miss
a day of going out with his horses, regulates
the duties of the stable as 1 have already noticed ;
and while the boys are dressing the horses, he
goes out into the yard to see if there is any like-
lihood] of the morning clearing up ; if not, he
returns to the stables, and when the horses are
dressed, he orders the boys to re-clothe them in
their standing clothes ; all the other before-men-
tioned duties being performed, a handful of hay
may be given the horses, for them to pick at
or amuse themselves with. The groom locking

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 103

up the stable, goes into liis house to breakfast,
and the boys into the hall to take theirs. The
former, still being desirous to get the horses
out, again goes out as before into the yard, to
make his observations on the weather, which
if not cleared up by eleven o'clock, he or-
ders the horses' water to be got ready. The
head lad, with the boys, arrange this matter ;
but the former must take care to see that the
water as ordered for each horse is sufficient in
quantity, as also that the chill is sufficiently
taken off. The horses having all had their water,
are again stripped and well dressed. As the
stalls of race horses are roomy, and as the horses
in dressing range about a great deal in them,
they do, by those exertions, give to themselves
a certain degree of exercise, which not only
excites some warmth in them, but moderately
circulates the blood and fluids of their bodies.

The horses being dressed, they are re-clothed in
their standing clothes, and the hoods and rubbers
are thrown over their quarters. Their legs are
now to be well rubbed for at least twenty minutes,
as they have most likely to stop in for the day.
Friction to their legs for this period is highly
essential; indeed, it may be considered as a

104 TREATMENT OF HORSES

local sort of exercise to them. The feeding the
horses, the setting fair their beds, and locking
up the stables at the mid-day stable hours take
place, allowing for any thing extra to be done,
at the times I have already directed. The stable
hours are the same as in the preceding month.
If the stables are shut up at) one o'clock, they are
to be opened again at four ; but if shut up at two
o'clock, they are to be opened again at five, when
the setting fair the stables, the watering and dress-
ing the horses, and particularly the rubbing of
their legs take place, as have already been noticed,
and the stables are again locked up until eight
o'clock. On their again being opened, the same
process takes place at this hour at night as I
have mentioned for the same stable hour in
the preceding month, with, however, two excep-
tions,— the one is, it being a wet day, and the
horses not having been out, the groom is to allow
the boys more time to rub their horses' legs; the
other is, as the horses have not had their usual
exercise for the day, so as to increase the action
of their bowels, and thereby promote their di-
gestion, the groom should give each of them, the
last thing at night, a luke-warm mash ; this is a
clean, cool, and relaxing sort of diet, and should
be given on such occasions as I have here di-

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 105

rected; indeed, this is a sort of food which should
be had recourse to on winter nights, with craving
horses that are out of training, as often as twice
or three times a week, if the weather be such as
to prevent them from going to their regular daily
exercise. The horses having had their hay given
them, the boys that feleep in the stable, having
previously had their suppers, now goto bed; and
at about nine o'clock the groom should lock the
stable door for the night.

Having made my observations on the arrange-
ments relative to the treatment of the horses
and the regularity of the stables, and on the
horses stopping in on a wet day, I shall now
proceed to state what are the requisites to be at-
tended to, when the horses go to exercise on a
dry day. The feeding the horses, and the duties
of the stable will be the same as have already
been noticed for the month of October ; but now,
as the weather gets colder, so in proportion must
the clothing of the horses be increased, as well
when they are standing in the stables, as when
they have to go out to exercise. Indeed, so
changeable is the climate of England, that this
attention to clothing is not only necessary now, in
winter, but at all times and seasons of the year.

106 TREATMENT OF HORSES

and more particularly so in the spring; for it is,
as I have before observed, at this season of the
year that race horses are very subject to fall
amiss in coughs and colds, or, what is much
worse, to get severe attacks of the distemper, from
which many of them are not only ill for the
greater part of the spring, but, what is very com-
mon, their constitutions suffer so much after-
wards, from the effects of the complaint, as to
render them useless for the greater part of the
racing season. This, therefore, shews how ne-
cessary it is, not only for grooms to attend strictly
to the clothing of their horses, but also, to pre-
vent their horses from falling amiss, to be most
particularly attentive to the ventilating of their
stables, agreeably to the various changes of the
atmosphere (see Vol. I. Chap. 3, on Ventilation).
The morning being dry over-head, the horses are
got ready to go out, being comfortably clothed;
next their skins they should have their soft, warm
blankets, which should be long enough to reach
from the middle or near the top of the horse's
neck, to the top of his tail, and they should be
broad enough to lap well under his belly, for I
have a great dislike to a race horse's belly being
wet; which would otherwise frequently happen,
as the water will occasionally lie in the vales or

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 107

hollows of some downs for a few days in winter,
that is, if there has previously been much rain.
My objection to a horse's belly being uncovered
and exposed to wet in winter is, that the horse
would naturally be cold and uncomfortable in this
part, and would most likely catch cold from it;
and when he returns to the stable, in dressing,
his belly would have to be rubbed perfectly dry,
and the rubbing of him here for any length of
time, if he is an irritable horse to dress, annoys
and puts him very much out of temper — even
this last-mentioned circumstance alone is quite
sufficient to sanction the covering the belly of the
horse when at exercise in the winter. But, to return
again to the clothing, in addition to the rugs, quar-
ter-pieces, and sheets, is to be added a sufficient
portion of check clothing, as occasion may require.
The saddles, bridles, and hoods being put on the
horses, they are now ready to go out; but, in
case of its being a very windy morning, it would
be advisable to put on their breast sweaters to
keep their other clothes snugly down in front,
and, for the same purpose of keeping them down
behind, their quarter-strings are of course to be
put on, or, if the groom approves of it better,
he may have some pieces of binding temporarily
put on to the quarter-pieces, by way of cruppers.

108 TREATMENT OF HORSES

The horses being properly clothed, the boys
mount them, and ride them out of the stables
into the yard; if, from bad weather the horses
have been lying by for a day or two, it would
be advisable to have them out earlier than usual.
The first part of their exercise is, of course,
that of walking, and which should at first in-
variably take place in the stable-yard. In sum-
mer, when horses are in strong work, it may not
be necessary for them to walk here longer than
until the saddles are settled to their backs, or
until some of them have done setting up their
backs. But, during winter, it is often necessary
for them to walk in the yard for a considerable
time, perhaps for an hour; for, should they, as
I have just observed, been lying idle for a day
or two, they would most of them have become
very fresh and hearty, and were they in this
state to be ridden out from the stables im-
mediately on to the downs, one or two of the
most hearty would certainly begin their gambols,
and wdiich would set all the rest a-going at
theirs; the consequence of this would be, that
some of the bad riders would get thrown,
from which I have occasionally known both
boys and horses to be seriously injured. There-
fore, to prevent such accidents from occurring.

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 109

the horses should walk, shut up in the yard, for
as long a time as the groom may think it
necessary to steady them, and prevent their
becoming tricky. Those precautions having been
taken, the yard door is opened, and the horses
are walked out ; being followed by the groom on
his hack, they proceed to the downs to exercise.
But, to make all as safe as we can, we will men-
tion another little precaution that the groom
may advantageously take when his horses are
very hearty from having lain by: — the horses
having been, as we have just described, walking
in the yard for at least an hour, by which time
they will have emptied themselves, stretched
their legs, and have got somewhat off their
calfish tricks, the groom should, before he
lets the horses out of the yard, give his or-
ders to the boy leading the gallop, by saying to
him — " Mind, Frank, they are rather hearty this
morning, (meaning the horses) ; as soon as you
see that all the horses have got as far on the turf
as will give them good foot-hold, keep fast your
own horse's head, and go right away up the
long gallop, at a good steady even pace." The
groom,in speaking to the rest of the boys, says —
" Mind, you all keep fast hold of your horses'
heads, and, in following Frank, be sure you all

110 TREATMENT OF HORSES

keep well up in your places ; do not let me see one
of you loose, or lay out of your ground in any part
of the gallop." This mode of galloping horses out
of training is only to be had recourse to with a
view to steadying them, which it mostly does; and,
further, it is not of course intended to include, in
this gallop, either yearlings or two year olds.

Generally speaking, the parts of the downs the
groom should select for his horses to exercise on
will depend on the uncertain or settled state of
the weather; if the mornings are likely to be
wet, the nearer to the stables the exercise ground
can be had the better, as, in case of rain coming on
suddenly, the horses' clothes would not be much
wetted. If the wind is high, and the mornings
cold, the warmest situations should be chosen for
the horses to walk in, as the vales, or indeed
any situations that may afford the most shelter.

Whatever exercise may be deemed necessary,
the training groom is to give his orders according
to the different effects he intends such exercise
to produce on the horses he may have under his
care, at this season of the year. But such other
exercise as is necessary to invigorate the whole
system of the horse, and bring the surface of his

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. HI

body into a proper state, as also to give strength
and firmness to his muscles and tendons, we shall
fully explain when we put the horses into training.
All we wish to say of exercise, on the present oc-
casion, is to speak of the effects we wish to be
produced on the horses, as regards their tempers
and constitutions ; which may now be pretty well
understood, from the publications of the various
authors that have written on this subject. It is
exercise, when properly administered, that will
create an appetite, promote digestion, and assist
in converting the food into nourishment; and it
also promotes all the secretions and excretions,
and gives room for a fresh supply of food. In
fact, unless horses are regularly exercised, or
kept in situations where they can exercise them-
selves, they cannot possibly continue in health.
Let us now return to the exercising of the dif-
ferent classes of horses we have just left out on
the downs.

The first class to be noticed are those that
feed voraciously, and when out of training put
up flesh very fast; their exercise should there-
fore be such as will not only keep them in
health, but will also keep them from getting into
a plethoric state: although it is absolutely ne-

112 TREATMENT OF HORSES

cessary that all race horses that are to go into
training should be well fed and have plenty of
flesh on them ; yet those among them, that do
not remain constantly in boxes, and that are
gluttonously inclined, should in winter, when
out of training, have such walking exercise and
occasional long slow gallops as will keep them
in a moderate state as to flesh. If the groom
regulates these exercises as I have advised, he
will not only keep them healthy and right as to
flesh, but he will obtain other very essential
points, such as keeping his horses legs cool and
in shape, and their tendons will receive suffi-
cient action to keep them strong and well braced,
and approaching rather near to what they are
when in training. These are circumstances that
should be strictly attended to, for it will not do
to allow such horses as these to become from
indulgence too much relaxed in their constitu-
tional or mechanical system, and more parti-
cularly if they have to come to post early in
the spring.

The second class of horses are those already
noticed as being in the medium; by this I
mean, that, although they feed very well, they do
not, generally speaking, put up flesh to the

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 1 1.*?

extreme the first-mentioned class of horses do,
but being, as many of them mostly are, very
liearty, they are often inclined to gambol and
play about when in the string, at walking exer-
cise ; and although they should be fresh and
happy in themselves at this season of the year,
yet they should not be allowed to repeat their
gambols too often, or some of them will become
tricky, and perhaps, as I have before noticed,
throw the boys. Therefore, when walking exer-
cise is not found sufficient to steady those of
them that are so very playfully inclined, recourse
must be had occasionally to giving them long
steady gallops.

The third class of horses are the delicate and
flighty — many of them become alarmed at the
most trifling causes; these the groom had better
send to some quiet part of the downs, and there
let them be exercised singly. The sort of exer-
cise these horses require is principally that of
walking. Now the groom must bear in mind,
that, by this exercise, there are two points he is
to endeavour to obtain in favour of these horses
— one is, to steady them and give them con-
fidence in themselves ; the other, to give them
an appetite for their food, as well as to induce

VOL. II. I

1 14 TREATMENT OF HORSES

them to drink. I confess it is difficult to get
them to do either the one or the other ; yet it
is the only method likely to answer, at least the
only one I am acquainted with.

Supposing the horses to have done their
exercise, the whole of them are of course to
return to the stables, where the business of
the day is to go on, as has been already suf-
ficiently described. One other little circum-
stance must be mentioned : the mornings at
the season of the year we have been alluding
to, will, of course, occasionally be wet, which
will prevent the horses from being taken out
to exercise at their accustomed hour. But,
that no opportunity may be lost, should the day
be likely to clear up by twelve o'clock, the boys
ought to dine half an hour earlier than usual,
so that the groom may, if the weather per-
mit, be out with his horses at two or about
three o'clock in the day, and give them the exer-
cise now they should have had in the morning ;
and regulate the stables in the evening and at
night accordingly. I have repeatedly spoken of
the taking down and putting up of the bales, as
also the setting fair^of the stables, which is to be
understood by the reader as invariably to take

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. 1 1.5

place before and after the feeding and dressing
of the horses ; the bales, in particular, must not
on any account be left down, unless it is during
the time the groom and boys are in the stables.

During the month of December the same re-
gulations and treatment are to be observed with
respect to the boys and horses as we have
already directed for the preceding month. ^

1 2

CHAPTER VII.

STRAW BEDS FOR THE HORSES TO EXERCISE UPON IN
FROSTY AND SNOWY WEATHER, STATING UNDER
WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES IT MAY OCCASIONALLY BE
NECESSARY TO ALTER THE BETTING.

Now that the racing season is over, and the
winter commenced, it becomes proper to describe
the arrangements necessary to meet the incon-
veniences that may arise at this season of the
year from the severity of the frost ; as, in a large
racing establishment, or neighbourhood, there are
mostly some young ones, and occasionally a few
old ones, that may have to come to post early in the
spring. Indeed, the training of young ones may
be said to be going on gradually the whole of the
winter ; and the old ones, that are early engaged,
must also (if of strong constitutions) commence
their physic in the beginning of January.

STRAW BEDS FOR HORSES, SzC. 117

111 this month, when the frost sets in, the
horses are prevented from going out to exercise
on the downs, consequently recourse must be had
to exercise them in rather a more artificial way.
The arrangement for this purpose, for the want
of a better, is generally made in the yard front-
ing the stables; such a yard is described in Vol. I.
as 180 feet by 354, and which may answer for the
forming of the straw beds tolerably well ; indeed,
I have often had to ride horses slowly in their
sweats in more confined situations than the one
I have there noticed. But it is my duty to state
what I consider to be a sufficiently commodious
place for the horses to be exercised in with safety,
without considering the expense, rather than run
the risk of having an accident happen to a valu-
able horse or two by being exercised in too con-
tracted a space.

The sort of place we would recommend for
the above purpose should be a long well-fenced
paddock, adjacent to the stables, about 200 yards
in length by 70 in breadth, with a wall round
it six feet high, entered by a boarded gate, of
the same height, by seven feet in breadth. The
space to be taken up round the inside of the
walls of the paddock, on which the beds of the

118 STRAW BEDS FOR HORSES

long straw-like sort of dung is to be formed,
should be five yards in breadth ; and, if arranged
agreeably to the annexed Platte, the corners be-
ing left well out, as laid down in the Plan, the
turns at the top and bottom, or each end, of the
paddock, will be safe and easy for the horses to
make, if proper boys are put up to ride them at
such times as they may be going to sweat here.
It is to be observed, that, where there is a large
establishment of horses, there is also, if it is not
too often removed, a sufficient portion of long
dung always at hand for the making the sort of
beds we want in the paddock, which is to be
of the breadth, as just noticed, of five yards.
This artificial surface is to be thick enough, not
only to give the horses good foot-hold, but also
to prevent any concussion taking place in their
feet when they have to sweat here from the hard-
ness of the ground. In case of a fall of snow,
there is nothing more to be done than for the
boys to brush the snow off the middle of the bed ;
and when the latter gets much worn from use, the
edges of it may be brushed into the centre, and,
if necessary, more long dung can be added. The
bed may now be supposed to be properly arranged
for the horses to commence their walking exer-
cise upon, which they should daily continue for a

IN FROSTY WEATHER. 119

few days, or until the dung, of which the bed is
composed, has become, by use, short enough for
tlie horses to go their sweats on; and which is
to be preferred to their sweating here when the
dung is fresh put on. The paddock I have here
arranged will answer the purpose very well; and
on the breaking up of the frost, it may be well
manured, so that by the first of May there would
be some fine spring grass. If the paddock were
to be temporarily fenced off in the centre, and
if, at a trifling expense, there were erected in
one of the corners at each end a loose house,
and at the other corners a small wooden trough
for water, two good paddocks would be formed,
in each of which might be turned out a mare
and foal, or three or four weanlings, or a yearling,
or any horse that may be on the premises re-
quiring to be refreshed.

Let us now proceed to describe the great ad-
vantage of our straw bed. We will first suppose,
what is very commonly the case, that the frost
has not yet set in, and that those horses which
have to come out to run early in the spring, have
been got through their physic by about the 26th
of January. After they have had a few days' walk-
ing exercise, so as to recover from the effects

120 STRAW BEDS FOR HORSES

of their medicine, they will begin to take such
gallops as will sufficiently forward them to com-
mence their first slow gentle sweats; and those
that may have to sweat often may have got over
two or three of them on the downs by the 10th
or 15th of February, by which time we will say
a frost sets in; this then obliges us to have im-
mediate recourse to the straw bed in the pad-
dock, for the time the frost may last. The horses
on the present occasion have been got ready in
the morning much as usual, the only little dif-
ference to be attended to is in the clothing and
booting of them. With regard to the former,
they must all be warmly and comfortably clothed
for walking or galloping exercise ; and the adding
or diminishing of the quantity of their clothes on
sweating days must depend, as has already
been mentioned, on the ages and constitutions
of each of them; for it is by exercise being pro-
perly administered, and particularly as regards
sweating them, that they are kept right as to
flesh during the severity of the frosty weather.

Let us suppose that our horses have been got
ready in the morning, that is to say, have been
fed and dressed, and their body clothes and sad-
dles put on ; the boys go out of the stables, the

IN FROSTY WEATHER. 121

groom locks the door, and the horses are left to
stand with their heads up and muzzles on. The
groom and boys, having got their breakfasts, re-
turn, and again open the stables; the horses'
bridles and hoods are now put on, the best riding
boys mount them, and they are now ridden out
to the paddock to be exercised. The exercise
they are first to commence with is to be that
of walking; this is not only for the purpose of
their stretching their legs and emptying them-
selves, but to let them see the sort of place
they are in, and to make them acquainted with
the turns at the top and bottom of the paddock,
as well also as to get the straw bed in rather
a firm or settled state, before the horses go a
faster pace on it. In frosty, as in windy wea-
ther, they are very apt to be playsome, and on
any strange object suddenly catching their atten-
tion to be alarmed, and if one or two in front of
the string start or fly out, the rest are almost
certain to follow their example; but, as the best
riding boys are to be put upon them, and the
groom at all times is present, there is not
much danger to be apprehended from those cir-
cumstances. On the first day the horses should
be walked here until they are steady, and have
become somewhat familiar with the place. After

122 STRAW BEDS FOR HORSES

they have been a sufficient time at exercise, as for
an hour or more, they may take their water (with
the chill well taken off), which the groom has pre-
viously ordered to be got ready in their buckets,
and placed on the top of the troughs in the stable-
yard. On their return to the paddock, after being
watered, the boys should be ordered to keep fast
hold of their heads, merely to collect them a
little; and then, by pressing with their legs, or,
if necessary, striking them with their heels, to
move them on briskly for a few minutes in a very,
very slow gallop, ^merely for the purpose of what
is called '*^ warming their water," or otherwise
preventing them from becoming chilly after tak-
ing it, when they are to be pulled up into a walk,
and continue at this sort of exercise until the
groom orders them into the stable; where, after
being fed and dressed, they are to remain for the
day.

The horses having now become a little fa-
miliar with the paddock and straw bed, on the
next and following days (if fine over head) they
are to be exercised here during the frost, as
they would be were they to go on the downs,
only with this difference, that of making allow-
ances for the confined situation in which they

IN FROSTY WEATHER. 123

have to exercise in, and the sort of surface they
have to go over, and then regulate the pace
accordingly.

Whenever the day comes round for any of the
horses to do their sweats here, they are to be set
and got ready as usual on such occasions. On
their coming into the paddock, they are to walk
for a short time, the groom having given orders
to the boys to keep fast their horses' heads, so
that they may be collected in their stride; the
head lad on a hack should be in front of them,
to rate them, not only at a very even pace, but
at a very, very slow one : and the length of time
it will take to sweat them here will not be for a
longer period, or at least very triflingly so, than if
they were sweating very slowly on the downs ; as
it is well known by those who have made their ob-
servations on such matters, that horses will sweat
more readily, either in clothes or out of them,
in winter, in cold frosty weather, than they would
do by the same exertion when the weather is
more open, and feeling in some trifling degree
warmer. This circumstance is said to be occa-
sioned from the air in frosty weather being a
greater non-conductor of heat. The groom is to
observe how his horses are going on, and be

124 STRAW BEDS FOR HORSES

guided by the usual circumstances, as to the
length of time it may be necessary for the horses
to keep on at the gentle sweating pace men-
tioned; and which may be ascertained by his
observing when the sweat begins to issue forth
from the fore- quarters, passing on to the top of
the fore-arm a little below the clothing; and the
same observations are to be made on the hind-
quarters, as at the top and inside of the thighs.
On these appearances being present, the horses
should be pulled up, and ridden into the stable,
and here treated the same as if they had been
sweated on the downs. And as regards their
going out to take their sweating gallop, if they
are well clothed, that is, comfortably so, there
is not that danger of their catching cold after
sweating as grooms were formerly so very appre-
hensive of. They may then go into the paddock
again and take a short gallop, and after their
having been pulled up from it, let them walk
round once or twice, so that they may not
come into the stable too much heated, which
may occasion some of them, as we have already
noticed, to break out into a second sweat ; they
are now to be finished in all respects as usual,
and to be allowed to remain in the stable for
the day.

IN FROSTY WEATHER. 125

The different advantages derived from the use
of a straw bed, in a paddock such as has been
described, are, that the horses may do their exer-
cise and sweats with some degree of safety during
the continuance of a frost; and should it continue
for a long period, as until about the middle of
March, and perhaps no signs then of its imme-
diately breaking up, under those circumstances
may be given, to assist in lightening the bodies
and cooling the legs of some of the strong glut-
tonous horses, a couple of doses of physic, which
the groom may or ought to have kept in reserve,
as we have elsewhere advised. If matters are
arranged as we have directed, the horses will be
kept from becoming too much loaded in their
muscular system, and the tendons of their legs,
from the exercise they have continually been
taking, will retain their strength and tone. The
only thing the horses will be deficient in will
be wind; but when the frost breaks, and they
have to go again on to the downs, this deficiency
is soon remedied by the brushing gallops they
will have to take to prepare them for their
sweats here.

We have said, by way of example, that the
frost sets in on the fifteenth of February, and we

126 STRAW BEDS FOR HORSES

will suppose it breaks up on the tenth of March.
Now, should the first spring meeting at New-
market, or elsewhere, not commence, as is some-
times the case, until near the end of April, we
shall have seven weeks for our horses to be on
the downs at their usual exercise, after leav-
ing their paddocks, which will give us as much
time as will be necessary to bring the most idle
of them in their best form to post. But, on
the other hand, should the frost continue until
towards the end of March, and the spring meet-
ing not commence at Newmarket till the end of
April, there would then be five weeks left, which
would be an ample portion of time for the young
ones to do what further work may be necessary
for them before they come out to post. But
if the spring meeting commences, as is some-
times the case, at the end of March, or early in
April, there might not be time to get the first
class horses sufficiently well ready to meet their
engagements; this, fairly speaking, would alter
the betting in the market, as most people who
are engaged in turf matters know well enough
that strong constitutioned horses coming out
short of work to run, are not very likely to be
winners; the second class, the hearty horses, re-
quiring less work than those of the first, the

«

IN FROSTY WEATHER. 127

change in the betting would naturally be in
favour of these, or perhaps of one or two of the
best of the third class, that may have to come
but short lengths in their races.

CHAPTER VITI.

INSTRUCTIONS TO BE GIVEN BY THE TRAINING GROOM
TO HALF A DOZEN OF HIS LIGHTEST AND BEST
RIDING BOYS, SUCH AS WILL HAVE TO RECEIVE
HIS PRINCIPAL OR SECRET ORDERS, WHEN THEY
ARE PUT UP TO RIDE HORSES OF A PARTICULAR
DESCRIPTION.

Boys, as I have elsewhere observed, are most of
them, more or less, tricky; and on no account
should they ever be trusted with race horses by
themselves, either in or out of the stables. I beg
strongly to recommend these precautions being-
taken by my readers, yet not more strongly than
my own early experience has warranted; for I
confess that when a boy I have, when opportunities
offered, been almost as mischievous as my com-
panions in playing off very dangerous tricks with
horses. The best course for the groom to adopt,
is, to select for instruction from the number of

INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING ROYS. 129

boys he may have (perhaps fifteen or twenty) luilf
a dozen of the lightest of them, that are the best
conducted, best riders, and least inclined to talk.
The com'se of discipline I would recommend is,
by mild and civil treatment, progressively to
make them acquainted with their duty, so as at
last to thoroughly understand such secret or
scientific orders as he may have occasion to give
them. It is true, that boys should be kept in
the dark ; but this is not at all times practicable,
especially with those that are good riders, as
these are often wanted to ride horses under par-
ticular circumstances.

A groom should take occasional opportunities
of talking to those boys in whom he has often
to place confidence, and endeavour to instil into
their minds, how necessary it is for them to be
secret with regard to what is going on in the
training of the horses; and to point out to them
the consequences that may arise from their being
too communicative with boys of other stables, or,
indeed, any persons they may come in contact
with in the neighbourhood in which they may
live, and more particularly with strange persons
whom they may meet when they are travelling

VOL. II. K

130 INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS.

with their horses on the road. lie should talk
to them on the subject of such orders as he is
aware he shall now and then have to give them,
and point out to them the causes and effects
of such orders, especially as to how they are
to ride some particular horses; and further, he
should explain the consequences that may result
from their deviating from the orders given them.
He should occasionally, when talking to those
boys in whom he will often have to place such
confidence, mention the very essential parts that
a good riding boy should be well acquainted
with; one of the first of those is, that of his
being a good judge of pace, so as to be able to
economize the powers of the horse agreeably
to the state of his condition, with that of the
state and length of the ground over which he
may have to ride different horses, so as not to
over-mark any of them, but rather to take care
to have a little left in them to finish or come
home with. It is the severity of the pace that
horses go in long lengths that is the cause of
their being over-marked, perhaps at a time when
they may be a little too fat in their insides, from
their having been kept too short of work. Now,
it is on such occasions as the above, that the

INSTIIUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS. 131

groom tshould caution his boys, and endeavour
to make them acquainted with the different
paces, as that of the slow-gallop which the horses
take to set them on their legs, and which is had
recourse to on hot summer evenings; and next,
the pace termed " half speed;" then the pace
termed " three parts speed." — " You must mind,
boys, on no accovmt, ever to increase or decrease
from the orders I give you, as to how you are
to rate your horses. To find out the different
degrees of paces, you must all of you attend to
Charles, (the head lad), when he is upon any
horse leading a gallop or sweat for you, as you
will always hear the orders I give him on those
occasions; and I will take care he shall be up
sufficiently often to rate you, till the clearest
headed boy among you can distinguish one from
another of each of the above-mentioned paces;
whichever of you can first discover this, I shall
put up to lead the gallop of a class of horses him-
self; and if he is attentive and steady on horse-
back, I shall put him forward, and let him ride
in public some of the light weights."

Again, the groom should point out to them
the symptoms of distress that horses will shew

K 2

132 INSTRUCTIO^'S TO RIDING BOYS,

in going along, should the pace they are going
be too fast for them. In speaking to his con-
fidential boys, he says, " If any one of yon find
that the horse you are riding, from not being
in very good condition, cannot keep his place
in the string, and should reach out his head
as he is going along, as if he wanted more
liberty of rein, it denotes he is tiring ; you
must instantly take a pull, and hold him to-
gether for a little way; never mind the other
horses passing you; let the horse you ride that
may be distressed come quietly on after them.
On the other hand, if you act otherwise than I
tell you, by persevering in the pace, your horse
will soon shew further symptoms of distress; he
will, to relieve himself, take a heavy sigh, and,
in his doing so, you will find he will spread
your knees out. You must mind, boys, never
to persevere with the pace of any horse you are
riding, either in his gallop or sweat, until he
becomes so distressed as to cause him to give
the sigh I have just mentioned; if it comes to
this with him, he will require a much longer
time to be held together to recover his wind,
than he would have done in the first instance,
when he stretched out his head. Therefore,

INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS. 133

mind, always take a pull in time, and never let
it come to the last-described symptom of distress
with any horse. Nor must any of you, on any
account, get up your ash plant, even to flou-
rish it over your own head or that of a hearty
horse; and this more particularly stands good in
your riding of young ones, as yearlings or two
year olds. The only instance in which you may,
now and then, have occasion to raise your plant,
is, when any of you may be riding a craving,
idle, game sort of horse ; such a horse will not
only bear a blow patiently, but will answer to
it by increasing his pace ; and it is necessary
that such an one should at times be roused in
coming along with him, so as to make him keep
his place in going on in his sweat, and more
particularly when he comes to that part of the
ground where he is to be made to further extend
his stride, as when he is about to finish his last
two or three sweats."

Such are the discourses, when opportunities
offer, that grooms should have with their boys,
so as to bring them not only to understand the
orders given them, but to understand such orders
in as few words as possible. For, bye-and-bye.

134 INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS.

when he comes to the training of horses that
have been some time in strong work, he will most
likely have occasion to call out to some one boy
or other, who may be riding rather an unruly
horse, to tell him what he is to do, to enable
him to manage his horse under any particular
circumstance ; as, for example, a horse may be
making rather too free with himself in leading
a gallop, and the groom may see it necessary to
speak to the boy, to give him confidence, by
calling out to him as he may be passing, " Sit
well down, Tom, get your feet before you, and
keep fast hold of your horse's head." To an-
other boy, that may be on an idle horse, the
groom may say, ** Get at your horse's head, and
twist him along, Frank." It will, therefore, be
better to give names to the half dozen boys in
question, which may be as follows — Francis,
Samuel, James, Henry, Thomas, and William.
We, when speaking to these boys, by way of
briefness, will call them Frank, Sam, Jem, Harry,
Tom, and Bill. The orders to be given to any
of the other boys that may be but inferior riders,
and not likely to improve, are merely to tell them
to keep their places in the string, and follow the
horses in front of them.

INSTRUCTIONS TO HIDING BOYS. 135

It may be considered by some of my readers,
that I have been rather too minute on the sub-
ject of exercise boys; but, by others, as those
who train horses, and have known the want of
good riding boys, and are best capable of appre-
ciating their vakie, my minuteness will, I hope,
be readily excused. To prevent the groom from
encountering any difficulty from a boy unexpect-
edly leaving him, the better way to obviate such
an inconvenience, and hold the boys in some
little check, would be to keep one or two s})are
ones on the premises, that know tolerably well
what they are about.

Having spoken of how boys that have to ride
race horses in their exercise are to be disciplined,
so as to make them useful to their employers, we
will now describe the sort of man we wish our
jockey to be, and the necessary requisites he
should be in possession of. His height should
be five feet five, he should be proportionably
well made, and very strong on horseback, have
good nerve, good hands, with a cool, clear head ;
added to this, he should be bold, ready, active,
and as quick of apprehension as occasion may
require of him, so that he may know well when

136 INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS.

to take any momentary advantage that may offer
in any race in which he may be riding; and he is,
of course, to be a secret, sober, honest man, and
an experienced good rider, in riding both young
ones and old ones, in trials as well as in races,
under all the various circumstances in which
they take place ; in addition to these, he should
know well how to win any race he is put up
to ride in, that is, if he is on the best horse
in the party; and he should do this without
discovering the whole of the properties such a
horse may possess. If our jockey can do these
things snugly, it is all we will ask of him, as the
best one among them can do no more.

I feel a little at a loss how to address the
trainer and jockey. Mr. Holcroft, in his in-
teresting Memoirs, observing upon the change
of manners, says, that there were no Misters
among training grooms and jockeys in his time;
nor, indeed, were there in my juvenile days, and
I came several years after the above celebrated
author. However, such, it appears, has since
been the progress made in the march of intel-
lect, that most of the above-mentioned persons
at the present day are, I believe, when spoken

INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS. 137

of by their exercise boys, or spoken to by per-
sons on business, who may be employed in
bringing the necessary suppUes to a racing es-
tabHshment, addressed as Sirs. Indeed, so re-
spectable a man as Mr. Robinson, late trainer
at Newmarket, and many other trainers as well
as jockeys that we could name, may fairly be
entitled to those ceremonious distinctions of
etiquette from such persons as those above men-
tioned.

There has of late years been a further change
in the style of addressing trainers and jockeys
by the noblemen and gentlemen of the turf them-
selves : in speaking to the trainers and jockeys
of their establishment, and in whom they re-
pose a familiar sort of confidence, they address
them by their surnames, instead of their Chris-
tian names; and, on some occasions, as that of
sending a verbal message by an exercise-boy, they
generally add the title of Misters. This change
of manners, now infused among the above class
of persons, adds to their respectability, and ap-
pears to us to be justly fair, at least, towards
those among them who have proved themselves
to be worthy of high trust; for in very high trust

138

INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDING BOYS.

they certainly are, at least those of them who
may have to train and ride such race horses as
may be deeply or heavily engaged; and as we
shall consider our own private jockey to be a
man of high integrity, we shall class him with
those of the Misters, and call him Mister Day.

CHAPTER IX.

WALKING EXERCISE.

To lay down all the precise rules for exercising
the different descriptions of horses, would occa-
sion the extending of this work to a voluminous
size, a thing of all others I very much wish to
avoid. Yet I shall endeavour to lay down, in
the most explicit manner I possibly can, the dif-
ferent sorts of exercise that should be adopted,
according to the circumstances that are likely to
occur in the training of a number of race horses,
with reference to the effects such exercises may
produce on horses of different tempers and con-
stitutions. In this chapter I confine myself alone
to the various uses or advantages to be derived
from walking exercise being properly adminis-
tered to horses, according as they may require it.

140 WALKING EXERCISE.

This exercise first commences in the morninsr
in the stable-yard. The horses should all walk
round here, as long as the groom considers it is
requisite, which will depend on the season of the
year, as also the state or condition the horses
may be in. In winter, should the weather be
unfavourable, as frost, their principal exercise
will daily be here; but in the summer they walk
here only for the purpose of allowing the saddles
to get settled to their backs, or rather until some
of them may have done setting up their backs.
But the time they may have to walk here in
winter will depend on whether they are in strong
work, as being in training; or whether, from in-
dulgence, they may have become pretty hearty:
if they are in the latter state, they will require
a longer time to walk here, to steady them, be-
fore they are allowed to be walked out on to the
downs: unless these precautions are taken, acci-
dents will, as I have already observed, sometimes
occur. If horses are in strong work, the walking
exercise they have to take in the morning on the
downs, previous to taking their gallops, need be
but for a very short time; they may walk here
in a large circle, merely for the purpose of al-
lowing them to stretch their legs and empty
themselves, during which time the groom is to

WALKING EXERCISE. 141

give his orders to the boys, as to what classes
each of their horses are to go into, prior to the
whole of them going up their gallops. Their
gallops being done, they may return to the usual
walking ground, where they are to walk until
they are perfectly cool and collected; they then
proceed to the troughs to water, and then, after
taking a short slow gallop, they are walked into
the stable; this, generally speaking, is the usual
or daily arrangement of their walking exercise.
But to what further extent this sort of exercise
may occasionally be continued must depend on
a variety of circumstances, such as the physical
or mechanical powers of different horses. The
walking exercise formerly given to horses glut-
tonously inclined was often carried to too great
an extent, and more particularly after they had
been sweating. For my own part, I am not partial
to more of this sort of exercise than is absolutely
necessary.

Walking exercise will be found requisite, first,
to allow to all horses time for emptying them-
selves, to give flexibility to their muscular system,
and keep fine their legs; and more particularly to
those among them that may have to be often in
strong work. Secondly, to assist in steadying

142 WALKING EXERCISE.

those horses which may be too hearty, and full
of their gambols. Thirdly, to give delicate flighty
horses an appetite for their food, as well as to
assist in steadying them.

To describe the precise time that may be re-
quired for horses when in training to be at
walking exercise, to accomplish the purposes I
have just mentioned, would be too tedious; suffice
it, therefore, to say, that some horses may not
require to be at this sort of exercise more than
half an hour, some others an hour or an hour
and a half; on some occasions two hours may
be given to very delicate flighty horses, for the
purpose of increasing their appetites and steady-
ing them. Horses that are in strong work, when
kept too long at walking exercise, get careless and
become stale and weary on their legs. There is
no greater proof of this, than that when they are
in the stables, and have been dressed and fed,
the stables are no sooner shut up, than they im-
mediately lay themselves down at full length, and
thus they lie stretched out until the stables are
again opened. Now, generally speaking, unless
horses are over fatigued in their work, they have
no natural propensity to lie down more than six
or eight hours out of the four-and-twenty.

WALKING EXERCISE. 143

Whenever horses may be at walking exercise
on a course, up between the rails, the groom is to
bear in mind never to let them turn to come
back, until they have passed the winning-post for
the usual length at which the horses are pulled
up after running, previous to their going home to
the stables. This rule stands good when horses
take their gallops on a course, and the same
when they may have to sweat over one.

To conclude this subject, we will suppose a
number of horses (say a dozen) to have had their
physic, and to have been long enough at walking
exercise, to have given sufficient strength and
tone to the tendons of their legs, so as to allow
them with safety to commence their gallops; the
use and effects of which we will speak of in the
next chapter.

CHAPTER X.

GALLOPING EXERCISE.

The gallops given to race horses in the morning,
when they are in training, is to a certain extent
for the purpose of improving their wind, and
increasing the strength of their muscular and
tendonous powers. Yet this sort of exercise must
be regulated, as to pace and length, just ac-
cording as it may be found to affect different
horses, as it produces very different effects on
some to what it does on others. Horses, there-
fore, in an early state of their condition, should
begin their gallops very gradually. Now, as the
trainer will have to increase the pace and length
of their gallops, previous to the horses begin-
ning their sweats, he will soon be able to judge
how^ each horse is likely to become affected by

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 145

this sort of exercise, as it is not at all an un-
common occurrence for gallops to produce much
more severe effects on some horses than even
long slow sweats would produce on others. It
must, therefore, be ascertained what sort of exer-
cise is best likely to suit each horse, or class
of horses. The pace and length horses may go
in their gallops may very well be regulated by
their eyes and constitutions, and the state of their
condition; yet these are not the whole of the
criterions by which the groom is to form his
judgment : he is attentively to look at and ex-
amine his horses when they are stripped and being
dressed ; and if he should observe any horse
drawing suddenly fine (losing flesh), or if he per-
ceives that any horse has become alarmed at this
sort of exercise, the daily repetition of his gal-
lops should immediately be discontinued, and a
different manner of treating him adopted ; walk-
ing exercise should be substituted for that of
galloping, and should be continued until he has
again put up flesh, and become reconciled in his
temper. When that he is again put to go up a
gallop, he should go by himself, for the length
that suits him, or, if his disposition will allow
of its being done, he may follow the horses,
VOL. ir. L

146 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

being last in the string, the groom ordering his
boy to pull him up after he has gone perhaps half
a mile. But even this short gallop is only to be
taken occasionally, as it may suit the horse ; and
Avhen he has taken it, he may be sent to walk by
himself, or if it is thought he will be happy by fol-
lowing the other horses at walking exercise, he
may do so; the method we shall take to bring
him stout for the length he may have to run, we
shall state in due time.

The gallops given mornings and evenings (but
more particularly in the mornings) to horses in
training, are principally for the following purposes:
— First, to teach them how to go up a gallop, and
to bring them into a knowledge of their own
stride. Secondly, by increasing the pace to im-
prove their wind. Thirdly, to steady those that
may be too hearty. Fourthly, to prevent those
that are gluttonously inclined from putting up
flesh too quickly from one sweating day to the
other. These objects are to be effected by occa-
sionally increasing the length of the gallopping
ground, (for the length of the different gallops, and
the description of ground on which they should
be chosen, see Vol. I. Chap. 10), as circumstances

GALLOPING EXERCISK. 147

may require, or according as the ages and con-
stitutions of different horses may vary.

The groom must bear in mind, that he is, on
no account, to allow of his boys being out of his
sight while they are riding the horses at any
sort of exercise. Boys are tricky ; at least,
they were so when I was one, and if they are at
any time allowed to take horses up their gallops
alone, they will suddenly spring and spurt them
along here and there ; this not only makes young
ones unsteady, but they get into the habit of strid-
ing too quick and hurrying themselves. Horses
in training are not to be hurried in any part of
their exercise or work ; they are at all times to
go a fair even pace, and when it does become
necessary to increase the pace in the concluding
of a gallop or sweat, it should be properly put
into practice by the groom ordering it to be
gradually increased from any one point or ob-
ject on the ground to that of another, and which
I shall presently take an opportunity of men-
tioning. Among the boys of a racing establish-
ment, there are invariably some of them that ride
much better than others ; and from among those
that are light and ride the best, the groom

l2

148 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

should take care to select those to lead the
gallop as have been accustomed to do this sort
of thing. Indeed there should always be, at the
time the horses are at exercise, an experienced
riding boy (in whom the groom has confidence)
placed in front of any class of horses, however
small. From the repeated orders the groom is in
the habit of giving to an intelligent boy who leads
the gallop, as to how he is to rate the horse he
is on, he will soon be brought to be a tolerable
good judge 6f pace, and from custom, in the rid-
ing of different horses in their exercise, he will
know pretty well at what rate any horse he has
before ridden is going; and, according to the
orders he may receive from the groom, he urges
the horse on in the concluding of the gallop to as
near the top of the horse's pace as he (the boy)
may have been required to do, without drawing
the horse quite out, in other words, extending
him to the extent of his stride.

Another circumstance to be attended to is,
that, among a number of horses in training,
there are occasionally some much more difficult
to ride than others. Such horses have sagacity
enougli to discover very quickly the sort of riders

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 149

they have on them ; they will almost instantly
take advantage of those that are bad ones, as
they will also of small light boys that may be
incapable of holding them, or of forcing them
on at such times as it may be necessary for
them to go at a breathing pace, as in the con-
cluding of a certain length of their last two or
three sweats, or in the last two or three gallops,
they will have to take on the two or three last
days previous to their coming out to run.

Whenever a groom intends giving any of his
horses a good brushing gallop, as perhaps a day
or two before sweating, or indeed more particu-
larly at the time I have just mentioned, as when
horses are about to finish their work before their
races, the groom must bear in mind, that, ge-
nerally speaking, those that are free goers are
much more difficult to be held when going a
good pace in company with others, than they
would be in going a slow pace when alone ; while
others that are idle and lurchingly disposed will
be quite as difficult to be made go at the pace
required of them. Under the above-mentioned
circumstances, the groom must change the light
or bad riding boys for bigger ones of much more
power and experience, who, when they are put up to

150 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

ride, are well able, as soon as they have got the
horses they are riding well off and settled in their
stride, to take a- pull and keep them together ;
those that may be on the class of free goers, (for,
as I have repeatedly observed, all horses that have
to go a good pace occasionally in their exercise
must be classed according to what they are), as
well as those that may be on the idle, lurching
sort of horses, will, as soon as they have them
settled in their stride, get determinedly at them,
and not only keep them straight in their gallops
as they are going along with them, but will also
draw them well out, and continue them on to the
end of the gallop at the pace the groom may
have ordered them to go. Nor will the additional
weight of the bigger boys be of any consequence,
at least at the particular time to which I am
now alluding, that is, the time the horses are
about to finish their v/ork before they come out
to run ; for, although at this period they have
to go faster in their gallops, the length they go
in them is somewhat shortened. In fact, it is
always the best plan, when horses have to go
a telling pace in any part of their exercise or
work, if firm and well on their feet and legs,
to put up boys of power to ride them, as they
not only make them go straight, and keep them

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 151

within their stride, but make them do, as to
pace, what is necessary they should ; and horses
go better and more kindly with good riders upon
them than when they are ridden by bad or in-
ferior ones, as with those last-mentioned they
are apt to take liberties. Unless, as occasion
may require, grooms regulate the selection of
their boys, as I have directed them to do in re-
spect to the riding of different horses, some of
them would get into bad tricks or habits, which
it may afterwards be difficult to get them out of.
Those among them that may be idle, lurching
horses would become cunning, they would, what
is termed, " shut up" with bad riders in their gal-
lops and sweats ; in other words, they would sulk,
and not go in them at the pace they ought.
Horses having got into tricks of this sort, it is
not only difficult, but often next to impossible,
for even a good and determined jockey to rouse
them out of such habits at the time they may
be running. If a jockey cannot succeed in get-
ting a horse to give his race kindly, the horse
will of course be beat. Other horses that pull
a little and are rather determined goers, and
that may sometimes require to be taken along
at a tolerable good pace in their exercise, if
on such occasions they are ridden by light boys.

152 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

most of them will endeavour to get tlie advan-
tage of such light weights ; if the horses succeed
in so doing, they will then go farther and faster
than it was intended they should; from these
circumstances they soon get to know their speed
in their exercise — a sort of thing that should be
avoided as much as possible; for, when a horse
gets to know his speed in his exercise, it is
but seldom he can afterwards be got to struggle
well in a severe contested race.

We now come to make our remarks on the
classing of horses in their exercise, the arranging
of which will depend on a variety of circum-
stances. First, as to the different ages of the
horses. Secondly, as to their physical powers,
as regards their stoutness. Thirdly, as to their
mechanical powers, as regards their speed.
And lastly, as to their tempers; but those that
are very irritable cannot well go into any class;
these will have to take singly, that is, alone,
w^hat little exercise may be required of them.

I have already observed that yearlings are in-
variably in their own class. Two year olds are
to be in theirs; three year olds in theirs; and
four year olds in theirs. Five year olds, six, and

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 153

aged horses, may be in any class. Yet the reader
must bear in mind, that some one or other of
the horses we have just classed according to
their ages, will occasionally have to be removed
from their own class (the yearlings excepted)
into that of a senior one, (taking care that the
length of the gallop is not too far for the young
ones) ; or a horse or two will have to be removed
froiTi a senior class into a junior; but this is
merely to ascertain, in some degree, how good
the best colt of a class of young ones may be:
there is no great difficulty in observing which
is the best colt or horse of any class; but it is
necessary, if possible, to know in due time how
much one colt may be better than others in
the same class in which he is. This cannot be
accurately known but by a private or public
trial, or removing the best colt of a junior into
a class of older ones, that are pretty well known;
or by putting an older one into a junior class
to lead the gallop for them. This brings us to
the subject of one horse leading others in their
exercise.

The horse that leads others in their gallops or
sweats is, of course, the one that goes first in
any string or class of horses; and when it is not

154 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

intended that horses are to go a fast pace in
their exercise, it is not of much consequence
what horse leads them, provided he is a kind
goer, that is to say, is not inclined in any way
to be tricky. But when horses are in strong
workj and have to go long lengths at a breathing
pace in their gallops and sweats, that the train-
ing groom may not be deceived, and that the
horse that leads others may not be abused or
over-marked, it is necessary that he should be
of superior powers, as to speed and stoutness, to
those that have to follow him; or, if he is not,
the thing may be managed by putting up on the
horse a much lighter boy, but then you must
take care that the boy is a tolerable good judge
of the pace his horse is going. But, if a horse is
very superior to the class he is leading, he should
have a strong, good riding boy on him, that
can rate him at such a fair and even pace as will
not be likely to over-mark those that may have
to follow him; and more particularly should
the horse in question be leading others in their
sweats.

It is also to be understood that a horse is
not, on every occasion, to be put to lead other
horses in their work, just because he is capable

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 155

of doing so; if he is too often made use of in
this way, he not only becomes stale and slow,
but he soon gets below his proper form, and he.
will, unless he is very placid in his temper, want
to be first in every thing, which may not, under
all circumstances, be exactly what is required of
him; in other words, he becomes difficult to be
held when going in company with other horses,
not only in his exercise, but what may be of
more consequence, in his races ; and if he is diffi-
cult to be held in those, a jockey may not be
able, when riding such a horse, to get him to
run agreeably to the orders he (the jockey) may
have received from the trainer. It is therefore
not only advisable that a horse should not too
often lead the gallop for others, but that such
horse should be put into a string to follow
others; or if a horse cannot be got to do this
sort of thing quietly, he should be allowed to go
by himself in his gallops.

Further, with regard to selecting a horse to
lead others in their work; the training groom of
a private establishment has the power of select-
ing anyone he may best approve of; but he must
recollect that the horse that leads is in want
of the same sort of treatment as those that are

156 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

to follow him. The public training groom may
sometimes have more difficulties to encounter
in selecting a horse for this purpose than the pri-
vate trainer; as the former may be directed by
some of his employers to work their horses by
themselves, while others may leave the working
of theirs entirely to his better judgment; and as
we shall here consider him to be an honest man,
the latter arrangement is to be preferred. (See
Vol. I. Chap. 21, on the Duties of the Public
and Private Training Grooms, and on Jockeys).

We next come to make our remarks on the
speed or pace of horses. How much faster some
can go than others, in their exercise or running,
must depend on a variety of circumstances.
First, on their physical powers, as to the strength
of their constitutions. Secondly, on their me-
chanical ones, as to how they may be formed in
the length, depth, and breadth of the different
parts of their bodies and extremities. Thirdly,
on their muscular strength, and on the state of
perfection to which their whole muscular system
may have been brought by their being well
trained. Fourthly, and indeed almost principally,
on the weight they may have to carry, and which
must ever regulate the length of rally that differ-

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 157

ent horses may be capable of continuing on at
their best pace. Fifthly, as to how horses may
vary in size ; this last-mentioned circumstance .
very frequently regulates their manner of going
as to stride.

We will first make some remarks as to how
different horses go in their gallops according to
their size and structure, and how each descrip-
tion of horse is generally found to vary in main-
taining their best pace either in their exercise or
running. A small-sized, close-made race horse
is mostly what is termed a " round goer," that is,
he is rather short, but quick in his stride ; when
drawn out to the top of his pace, to use a corn-
mon expression, he is generally a sticker in a
pretty long rally, and a good one in deep ground.
A horse somewhat larger than the one above
mentioned, as from fifteen hands one inch to fif-
teen two, if he has substance, and is well formed
over the heart and loins, with a ^ood straight
back and a moderate length of body, and not too
high upon his legs, and has good action, that is,
can get his fore legs well out, and can bring his
haunches well under him, is the sort of race horse
I very much fancy for general purposes — he can
mostly go on with the pace, and in good com-

158 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

pany too, for any racing length. The large-
sized horse, bred at the present day, is mostly
from sixteen to seventeen hands high. Horses of
the above size are generally engaged, at two and
three years old, to run rather short lengths, for a
few of the good things at Newmarket; and, as
the season advances, they (principally the three-
year olds) also run for other good things, at Ep-
som, Ascot Heath, Goodwood, York, and Doncas-
ter. From those horses being so very over-sized,
their length of stride is amazing; it is by their
stride when running that they tell out almost all
other horses that are lower in stature. These
very large-sized horses can seldom come but cer-
tain lengths, as from three quarters of a mile to
a mile and a half; which lengths generally suit
them best; when these horses are called upon to
come for the rally they can live in, in the finishing
of their races, their speed is tremendous, if the
ground is dry. But as such big horses are not
always so w^ell proportioned in their make as
the smaller ones, they cannot go so well through
dirt, as in their stride they pitch their feet, when
running, farther in the ground, if wet, than the
close-made horse that is more of a round goer.
Another thing is, those large, long-striding horses
cannot continue for so long a length at their best

GALLOPING EXKRClSli. 159

pace as the last-mentioned close-made horse, as
they cannot so readily collect themselves in their
stride, by quickly bringing their haunches well
under them. In noticing the action of a race
horse, that may be a speedy good galloper, it
will be seen, that, generally speaking, when drawn
out pretty well to the top of his pace, he can
(without bending his knees too much) put his
fore feet well out, and bring his haunches well
under him, that is, his hind feet will mostly be
seen to come nearly opposite, or quite in a pa-
rallel line with the outside of his fore ones.

The stride of different horses depends on their
size, varying from eighteen to twenty, or even to
two or three and twenty feet. But how long a
horse will be able to continue on this last-men-
tioned length of stride, will depend on the
weight he is carrying, as also on his formation,
structure, and muscular powers ; and, as we have
already noticed, he must have a moderate well-
proportioned length of body and breadth of loins,
together with lengthy, muscular, strong hind
quarters and well-formed back. Those unaccus-
tomed to observe the stride of different horses,
when going at the top of their pace, may not im-
mediately see exactly to what extent they bring

160 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

their haunches under them. Should a person,
under such circumstances, have a doubt as to the
action of any horse, he had better, if a pretty
good horseman, ride the horse himself; and, to
be certain of drawing out the horse he rides, he
should, if necessary, have another to go head and
girth with him in finishing the gallop, for what-
ever length of rally it may be ; and as the horse
alluded to is pressed on to the top of his pace, he
naturally, although fairly, pulls pretty strong at
the rider, which occasions him to sit well down in
his saddle, keeping good hold of its flaps with his
knees, as well as a tolerably good hold of his
stirrups with his feet, which, to give him power
in holding the horse with his hands, he places
rather more forward than is usual. The horse
now being drawn out to nearly the top of his
pace, it is^just at this time the rider should, for a
few strides, lean a little over to either side, and,
by looking down on the ground, see how near the
horse he is riding will bring his hind feet up or close
to the outside of his fore ones. The rider is not
to be astonished, if, in riding a number of horses
in this way, he should occasionally find a horse
bringing his hind feet a trifle beyond his fore
ones. If the horse can do this sort of thing to the
extent above-mentioned, he will be found to be a

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 161

difficult horse to beat, and therefore a dangerous
one to bet agahist, unless he gives away a great
deal of weight to those horses that he may be
running with. The manner above mentioned
of finding out a horse's stride was practised in
my juvenile days, and I have often had recourse
to the same method myself. I allow it is an old
fashioned way, nevertheless it will not be found to
be a bad one ; and I think it more certain than
that of measuring a horse's stride on the ground
he has gone over; as, to do this, the ground must
be wet, with some degree of foot hold.

Having mentioned all that appears to be neces-
sary on the subject of the action of race horses,
the next thing to notice is the pace they have
to go in their diiferent sorts of exercise, and how,
on various occasions, it is to be arranged. How-
ever slow the pace race horses may have to go in
their gallops, they, from the manner in which they
are taught to go in training, mostly put their fore
legs better out, and their hind ones better under
them, than horses in common use, and which
gives them (as has already been noticed), a
more settled and advantageous sort of stride;
that is, they will be observed to stride or gallop
along, instead of going the up and down cantering

VOL. II. M

162 GALLOPING EXERCISE.

pace of hacks and chargers. The slow pace is
mostly had recourse to, when the horses have
done the stronger part of their work, as in the
mornings after they have been watered. On an
hot summer's evening, the orders given by the
groom to the boy who leads the gallop, should
be — '' Tom, do not hurry them this evening, or
we shall have some of them breaking out in a
sweat." If the evening is cold, the groom's or-
ders are to be reversed, by saying to the boy
who leads — " Just go fast enough with them to
keep them warm."

Having noticed the slowest pace horses have
to go in their gallops, we will now rate them at a
little faster pace, which is termed half speed ;
this pace is generally had recourse to by way of
moderate exercise, that is to say, it does not
come under the denomination of horses doing
work. This pace is proper for horses on the
morning following the day on which they may
have sweated, that is, if the groom is of opinion
that any of them have been a little over-marked
m their sweats, perhaps from the horse that led
the sweat breaking away with the boy, and com-
ing too fast for some of the other horses ; or it
may be adopted when stronger gallops do not
suit them so well as slow frequent sweats.

GALLOPING EXERCISE. 163

The next pace to notice is called " three parts
speed." This pace horses have to go in finish-
ing a certain length of their gallops, at the
time the groom may be doing what is usually
called a "bit of work" with them. This is also
the pace horses go in their brushing gallops,
which they take the morning before sweating ;
and it is also the pace they have to go in the
finishing of a certain portion of the last two or
three sweats thay have to take just previous to
their running. It is also the pace that some
of the horses have occasionally to go in their
sweating gallops ; and it is this sort of pace a
little increased that they have to go on the first,
second, or third day (according to their constitu-
tions), previous to their coming out to run. But
the different paces, and the lengths that dif-
ferent horses will have to go in them, under a
variety of circumstances, will be more fully ex-
plained in the third Volume.

m2

CHAPTER XI.

WIND.

If the lungs of horses are sound, their inspiration
and expiration are equal, and forms what is called
" their respiration," or breathing. Race horses
that have large circular chests, formed by their
ribs being well arched over their hearts, and that
are moderately straight in their carcasses, have
mostly good winds; indeed, it is principally from
the circumstance of the chests of well formed,
thorough-bred horses having a more spacious
capacity; that their wind is brought to the highest
degree of excellence, or rather that it may soon
be brought to great perfection by the manage-
ment and exercise they have to undergo in train-
ing, which enables them to run on for long
lengths with comparative ease to themselves.

WIND. 16.5

To improve their wind, galloping or sweating-
exercise is to be had recourse to, whichever of
these two may best suit the constitutions of dif-
ferent horses. But it is to be observed, that it is
the first-mentioned exercise with which we must
first commence, and which is to take place as
soon as the horses have been suflSciently long
at walking exercise to recover from the effects
of their physic, which may be in about a week,
depending upon how their physic may have oper-
ated on them. Now, when the horses first
commence their gallops, it is with a view, in
some degree, of improving their wind, so as to
enable them to go through their first sweats.
A groom having sent his horses for a few days
up their gallops, is to begin to think about sweat-
ing some of them; but, previous to his allowing
them to undergo this exertion, he is to find out
whether the horses he may intend to sweat are
all sufficiently clear in their wind to admit of
their going through it without becoming un-
usually distressed. To ascertain this fact, he
must in due time speak to the boy who leads
the gallop for the class of horses that are to be
sweated, by saying to him, either in the stable or
as the horses are going to the ground — " Bill,
keep fast your horse's head this morning, and

166 WIND.

go along with them^ and finish them at some-
thing near a hreathing pace." To the other
boys the groom says — " Mind you all keep, your
places; do not be losing or gaining ground in
going along."

These orders being given, the groom on his
hack is to cross over, or, if the gallop is straight,
to go in time to that part of the ground on
which the horses have to be pulled up; here
he is to wait for the horses to arrive, and, on
their being pulled up in front of him, he is nar-
rowly to watch their breathing, and observe
how soon any one or two of them may blow their
noses. Those that can do this in half a minute
or a few seconds more (allowing for their struc-
ture), after they are pulled up, may be consider-
ed as being sufficiently clear in their wind to go
through their first gentle sweat ; others, that may
not blow their noses for some time longer than
the first period mentioned, should not be sweated
on the following morning; the better way will
be to allow the latter to go on for a few morn-
ings more with their gallops at rather a better
pace; and on some morning after these horses
have been ordered to go at a tolerable fair pace
up their gallops, the groom must^ as before, be

WIND. 167

at the top of tlie gallop in time to see them
pull up, and attentively observe what improve-
ment they may have made. By this time
their wind to a certain extent will no doubt
have improved, which may be seen by their blow-
ing their noses in a shorter time than when they
were first examined with the other horses. If
the groom has any doubt on his mind, as to the
time horses may take in blowing their noses, for
they will not all do this equally alike as to time,
he may in a quiet way count them out; that is,
immediately on the horses pulling up, the groom
may begin to reckon to himself, dividing the time
of each numbering, as near as he can, to the six-
tieth part of a minute. If the horses blow their
noses within the above-mentioned time, or in the
counting of seventy, or at furthest eighty, they
may sweat.

It is by the exertion which horses undergo in
strong exercise, as in their gallops and sweats,
that their wind is improved ; but it is more par-
ticularly so by the latter, as by this their lungs
are brought into strong action, not only from the
pace they go in their sweats, but from the ad-
ditional quantity of clothing which they have to
stand under in the rubbing-house after they are

168 WIND.

pulled up, which not only causes them to sweat
profusely, but forces them to blow hard. The
great absorption produced throughout their
whole system, by sweating, relieves them of their
superfluous fat, and gives room for their lungs
to expand : and from the increased action of the
lungs being so long continued, they acquire a
habit of quickly dilating and contracting them.
From these circumstances the air-cells, if not
actually enlarged, are improved and strengthen-
ed in their action to such an extent as to enable
horses to go at a tolerable good pace for a con-
siderable length (as, four miles, for example)
with comparative ease to themselves ; and when
they are drawn out or called upon to go at nearly
or perhaps quite the top of their pace, to finish
the above length, they will be found to do so
without feeling the least or very little dis-
tressed; or, if they are a little distressed on be-
ing pulled up, it is but for a short time, during
which period they may be seen to blow hard,
but free, clear, and strong, until they blow their
noses.

Light, delicate horses, are generally in good
wind, or, if not, they require but little in the way
of exercise to hnim them to this state ; to use the

WIND. 169

common expression of the stables, they will
scarcely blow a candle out after being pulled up
from a gallop. But hearty horses, and those of
still stronger constitutions, if short of work, can-
not be in good wind; and were such horses call-
ed upon to go for any thing like a length, at a
breathing pace, they would soon be obliged to
slacken ; or, if from bad judgment they should be
persevered with to go on, they would soon stop
of themselves, when they would shew marked
symptoms of distress; instead of blowing strong
and clear, they would stand panting with extreme
difficulty, and be a long time before they would
sufficiently recover themselves to blow their noses ;
for horses, unless in the act of coughing, never
breathe through their mouths.

When a horse has been pulled up from his
gallop or sweat, and is heard to blow his nose,
or snort with his nostrils, it is commonly supposed
that the horse is sneezing; this we shall not
dispute ; but, in the language of the stable, it is
termed '* a horse blowing his nose," on being
pulled up from either of the exercises we have
mentioned; and it denotes that his lungs have
recovered from the effi3rts they may have just un-
dergone, to their usual or natural tranquil state

170 WIND.

of respiration; and the sooner a horse can blow
his nose on being pulled up from a brushing gal-
lop, or from having finished his sweat at a
good telling pace, the clearer and better he may
be considered to be in his wind. Some horses,
while in training, and that are getting forward
in their condition, as they are going along in
their exercise get into a habit of snorting, as
they are expelling the air from their lungs; but
this is not the snorting we above allude to, nor is
it to be considered as any criterion for the read-
er to judge of the state of his horse's wind,

I shall mention another practice, for the pur-
pose of expressing my disapprobation of it, which
though perhaps of little or no importance, yet, as
it was of no utility, ought long since to have
been done away with. Exercise boys, in my
time, were very apt, on the horses being pulled
up from their gallops, itnd being, as is the
custom, let stand for a short time to recover
their wind before they walked away, to begin
making a noise with their lips similar to that
the horses made with their nostrils when they
blowed their noses. As horses mostly follow the
examples, tricks, or habits, of each other, the
noise thus made by the boys probably often

WIND. 171

induced the horses to blow their noses quicker
after they were pulled up than they naturally
would have done had not such example been
set them; for, I well remember, that, if we
stopped a little longer than usual at the top
of the gallop, the horses would keep on blowing
their noses, as we kept on repeating the noise
with our lips. Whether they did this sort of
thing from the example set them by the boys
or not, I will not pretend to say; but, as there
certainly can be no good derived from such
noise being made by the boys, it should not
be allowed to be done.

CHAPTER XII.

FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING ON CORN.

Various are the different articles of food, either
in a fluid or a solid state, by which the bodies
of animals are supported. Among the different
sorts, that which has been found the most nutri-
tious and wholesome for horses that are kept in
an artificial state (as race horses), appears to
consist of hay, oats, and hulled split-beans. On
the qualities of the various sorts of food, and
the different effects they produce on different
horses, see Vol. I. Chap. 4.

As the feeding of horses in training will re-
quire the most scrupulous attention on the
part of a training groom, it may not be amiss
here, previous to my speaking more at large

FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING. 173

on the subject, to give a plain statement of the
course of the food, as well as also a brief
sketch of the process of digestion. The food on ,
being taken into the mouth is immediately con-
veyed by the tongue to the upper or back part;
here it is acted upon by the teeth or molars,
which grind it down, and by the fluids of the saliva
glands, previous to its passing into the pharynx,
down the oesophagus, or throat, into the stomach.
Here, the food undergoes a further change, in
being acted upon by the gastric juice, which forms
it into a pulpy solution; this solution, is propel-
led by the muscular contraction of the stomach
into the intestines. Here, the food again under-
goes a further change, by its being mixed with
the bile and other fluids of the body; and,
by a process wisely ordained by nature, the
most nutritious parts of the food are now con-
verted into a fluid called chyle. This chyle
fluid is taken up by a system of absorbent
vessels, called lacteals, and by those vessels it
is conveyed into a tube called the thoracic duct,
which conveys it along the spine to the left
jugular vein, where it mixes with the blood.
That^part of the food which remains separated,
is acted upon by the muscular powers of the
intestines, and propelled forward to the rectum

174 FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING.

to be evacuated. By the chyle thus formed from
the nutritious parts of the food, nature is recruit-
ed and refreshed, or, in other words, the waste of
blood is supplied. I will just here remark, that
this last-mentioned fluid is propelled through all
parts of the body for the growth and support
of animal life, and from which all secretions
are supplied.

At a large public training establishment, it
will scarcely be possible for a training groom
himself to look minutely into every little indi-
vidual circumstance relative to the training of
a very considerable number of horses. If a
groom has not more than ten or a dozen horses
under his care, he may, by strict attention, and
the assistance of a steady head lad, and a suf-
ficient number of good riding boys, get on well
enough. But, if a training establishment should
consist of more horses than above mentioned, as
for example, from twenty to thirty, or perhaps
even more, the business of so large an establish-
ment must necessarily be divided; therefore, in
proportion to the number of horses to be trained,
so must the groom augment the number of per-
sons he may want to assist him. He is himself

FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING. 175

to work and water tlie wliole of the horses while
they are in training; he is also to direct and
arrange the different departments allotted to
each of his assistants. Among them there should
be a quiet, steady man, and experienced in the
training of horses. This is the person who
should be placed next in authority to the prin-
cipal trainer, and to whom the feeding of the
whole of the horses (if the number of them is to
the extent I have mentioned) is to be intrusted.
It occasionally happens that a horse will now
and then go off his feed — a thing which, when it
occurs, is of course immediately to be reported
to the principal trainer; for, as at the time of
their being out on the downs, he works and
waters the horses, he may at once be able to
account for such a circumstance. A flighty horse
may go off his feed from the boy and horse not
agreeing as they ought, while out at exercise, as,
the boy may in some measure have been too se-
vere with such horse, and alarmed him; or, a
hearty horse may have gone off his feed from
being rather over-marked in his work; or, a
gluttonous horse may, in his strong work, have
been kept too short of water, which may
have caused him to refuse his corn. No mat-
ter from what cause it arises, it is a circum-

176 FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING.

cumstance that must be immediately attended
to. The groom must quickly turn the thing
over in his mind, and consider whether it
may have taken place from any unintentional
little mismanagement on his part in the work-
ing or watering of such horse, or, as I before
observed, from the rash treatment of the boy
who may have ridden a flighty one. If a
horse should have gone off his feed from either
of the above-mentioned causes, the groom must
change his system of treatment, in the working
and watering of his horses, for one of less se-
verity, and which may be more suitable to the
horse's constitution. If, on the other hand, the
cause originates in the rash treatment of the
boy who rode him, one of a more placid temper
should supply his place. From whichsoever of
the causes just mentioned, a horse goes off his
feed, his work must be stopped, and the neces-
sary steps are to be taken to bring him again
to his usual manner of feeding; and of this, we
shall have occasion to say more presently. But,
should a horse go off his feed from indisposition,
this would be of much more serious consequence
than either of the first- mentioned circumstances;
therefore, a minute inspection must immediately
take place, so as accurately to ascertain with

FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING. 177

what disease he may have become affected; and
which can only be judged of from the symptoms
that may be present, as that of an increased
action of the horse's pulse and respiration, and
the degree of temperature of his mouth, ears,
and extremities ; or if he has a difficulty in
swallowing his water, and which may be gene-
rally known by his coughing immediately after-
wards. Now, if a training groom is not well
versed in the knowledge of those symptoms, or
any others that may be present, as well also as
the effects which may be likely to follow them,
and the treatment to be immediately adopted for
the relief and permanent cure of the horse, I
should strongly recommend him to call in, with
as little delay as possible, an experienced vete-
rinary surgeon.

I confess, I have digressed a little from the
immediate subject of feeding the horses; but I
have done so with a view of giving a brief
sketch of the course of the food, and making a
few remarks on the process of digestion, and
the causes likely to occasion horses to go off
their food. I have been induced to make
those remarks in due time, so as to prevent,
as much as possible, any inconvenience from

VOL. II. N

178 FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING.

arising, should any of them go off their food
at the time of their being in strong work.

But to return to the feeding of them during
the time of their being in training. Now, whe-
ther an establishment for the training of horses
is on a small scale, and the horses are fed by^ie
training groom himself, or whether the establish-
ment be on a large scale, and the horses fed b^
an assistant, the greatest care must be taken in
the feeding of every description of horse, agree-
ably to his constitution, and to add or diminish
to each horse's feed of corn according as each
may be inclined to feed. Horses that feed more
voraciously than others, not only put up flesh
quicker, but they put up more, in proportion to
their height, than those that are larger, and that
feed and drink less sparingly. Such are the na-
tural effects observed to take place as the size
and structure of different horses may vary ; and
however much flesh any of them may put up,
they must all be well fed. Most of the light
flighty horses are but indifferent feeders ; the
principal object to be attended to in the feeding
of these, is to feed them in small quantities,
as a dishful (a double handful) at each feed, gra-
dually increasing their different feeds, until it is

FEEDING HOUSES IN TRAINING. 179

ascertained what portion of corn they can be got
to eat during the day, and to observe that, what-
ever portion of corn may be given in each feed,
each horse eats up all that is given him. Any
horse that may not have eaten the whole of his
corn, should have that which he has left imme-
diately taken away, and his hay given him. The
means whereby the horse is again to be brought
to his appetite, we shall bye-and-bye describe,
when we are on the subject of doing a little bit
of work with such horses.

The hearty horses are those that have often
been noticed as being in the medium as regards
their constitutions; these are moderate good
feeders, will eat from a peck to a peck and a
half of corn in the course of the day, and some
few of them will now and then exceed this quan-
tity. Strong constitutioned, hearty-feeding horses
will eat, by measure, in the course of the day,
from a peck and a half to two pecks; and I have
known some very gluttonous horses that would
now and then exceed this quantity. Now, if we
speak of the feeding by weight, and suppose the
oats to weigh, w^hich they should at least, forty
pounds per bushel, the above horses would eat a
stone and a half, or perhaps rather more, during

n2

180 FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING.

the day. The very strong constitutioned horses
are mostly mclined to eat a great quantity of
corn, which, to a certain extent, is necessary, not
only with a view to nourish and strengthen them,
for they should be liberally fed, but with a view
to prevent them, as much as possible, from eating
too much hay, or, what is still worse, and which
many of them will do, eat a great deal of their
litter. Yet, notwithstanding this, these horses
should not at all times be permitted voraciously
to gorge themselves, by having their corn given to
them in very large feeds. There are times when
a little relaxation from such high feeding would
not only be advisable, but beneficial ; as, for ex-
ample, on wet days, when the horses have to stop
in; on such days, those that are gluttonously in-
clined should have each feed diminished a little,
and, if not too near the time of their coming out
to run, they should have a good mash at night.
Indeed, if they were to have, at each stable
hour, as much corn as they could eat, most of
them, from being thus over-fed, would soon loathe
their food, in the same manner as they would,
from being over-worked, get sulky when at exer-
cise; if these horses were kept long in strong
work, merely because they are good feeders, they
would become not only stale on their legs, but

FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING. 181

stale in themselves, and perhaps fall amiss con-
stitutionally.

At the time of my early days in the stables, I
have known all the above circmnstances occasion-
ally to have happened in the working and feeding
of different horses. Nor have I any hesitation in
acknowledging that such things have now and
then occurred to myself at the time of my having
horses to feed and work under my own directions ;
and this it is which has induced me to be so
explicitly minute as to the precautionary mea-
sures I conceive are necessary to be strictly ob-
served by those of my readers who may be en-
gaged in the training of horses to run. I will
here give a good old-fashioned maxim, and which
should never be lost sight of in the feeding and
working of race horses — that the horses should
love both their food and their work ; I mean by
this, they should go cheerfully to both, for, as
the one ever governs the other, if they are over-
marked by either, they cannot come out in their
best form to post.

Chaff being manger food, we will here make a
remark or two on its being given to race horses.
It should be cut from the very best and sweetest

182 FEEDING HORSES IN TRAINING.

of the hay, and may be advantageously given,
as we have already advised, mixed with the corn,
to all the horses in the winter that are out of
training; but horses that are gluttonously in-
clined, and mostly idle in their wind, had better
be well fed with corn alone, and afterwards have
their hay in the usual way. To some of the light-
carcassed hearty horses, it may be given occa-
sionally ; but for the light, flighty, delicate feed-
ing horses, some sweet rich clover hay cut into
chaff is preferable on account of its very nutri-
tious qualities, and may be given to them mixed
with their corn at any time, as they are always
in good wind. ChaflP being thus mixed with
their corn, causes them to grind it more per-
fectly.

CHAPTER XIII.

WATERING HOUSES WHILE THEY ARE IN TRAINING.

The precaution to be generally observed in the
watering of horses in training is, principally, to
regulate properly the quantity of water they are
to take at different intervals, which must be
arranged by the groom, according to what he
may be going to do with the horses.

We will first notice the watering of the light
flighty horses. As these drink so very sparingly,
they may at all times, unless immediately before
they are coming out to run, not only be allowed
to take what quantity of water they like, but
they should, by attention, patience, and kindness,
be encouraged to drink when they come up to
the troughs. If they are not inclined to drink

184 WATERING HORSES

the whole of their water at one time, they should
be allowed to sip it, until they are quite satisfied.
Their heads are not to be pulled up so long as
they are disposed to drink, with a view of making
them take half their water at a time, as is neces-
-sary to do with some other horses that we shall
presently have to water. Any of the light horses
that may not drink at the troughs should be of-
fered water in the stables, when they are round
in their stalls having their heads dressed; if they
will not take it at this time, try them again im-
mediately before they are fed; when, as the sta-
bles are less disturbed by the noise of the other
horses, they will sometimes drink, and they will
feed better afterwards.

As the hearty horses (those in the medium as
regards their constitutions) are mostly moderate
drinkers, they may be allowed to take their water
as they like, unless on the days before sweating,
trying, or running. Now, with regard to the
watering of the gluttonous craving horses, this is
a subject that will require our most particular
attention. The reader is to bear in mind that
the feeding of all horses in training, and watering
of them, is invariably governed by the working :
if a horse is over-worked, he will refuse his corn ;

WHILE IN TRAINING. 185

if he is too much stinted of his water, he will
also refuse his corn ; and if he is over-fed, he will,
of course, refuse his corn. In proportion to the
quantity of food that craving horses consume in
the course of the twenty-four hours, a greater or
less quantity of the different fluids of their bodies
will be exhausted in the process of digestion, and
which of course produces a greater or less degree
of thirst; besides this, these horses are much
oftener sweating than any others. Such are the
predisposing causes which occasion them to drink
larger portions of water, at different intervals,
than the lighter horses that feed more sparingly
and sweat less frequently.

As some few of the craving horses may be
disposed to drink larger quantities of water than
is absolutely necessary, either for the digesting
of their food, or quenching of their thirst, that
the groom may not be led astray in the watering
of such horses at the troughs, or perhaps some-
times at ponds, he should in the commencement
of training them measure the quantity of water
that each may be disposed to drink when they
are very thirsty. This is to be done by keeping
the above horses for a certain time short of water ;
as, for example, instead of allowing them to drink

186 WATERING HORSES

almost as they like, let them take in the evening
fifteen or twenty go-downs, (swallows of water).
On the following morning, previous to the groom
going out with his horses to exercise, he should
speak to the head lad, and tell him that he wants
to measure the quantity of water that two horses
gluttonously inclined may be disposed to drink.
The head lad, therefore, takes care to have a
couple of buckets full of water, (with the chill
well off), and puts them on the lid of one of the
troughs in the yard at about the usual time he
knows the horses will be coming to take their
water, as when they have walked for a sufficient
time to cool after their morning gallop. Now,
when the two horses in question come into the
yard to take their water out of the buckets, the
groom, being by, says to each of the boys that
are on the horses, " Mind that each of you be
very particular in speaking distinctly in counting
out the number of go-downs each of your horses
makes in emptying his bucket." Now, with re-
gard to the common size of stable buckets, they
are generally made to hold, when full to the
brim, three gallons and a half; but they are
rarely filled to this extent, as, for the convenience
of the boys carrying them, they seldom contain
more than three gallons. When, therefore, the

WHILE IN TRAINING. 187

number of go-downs a horse makes in emptying
a bucket is ascertained by the groom, he may
easily regulate the quantity to be taken at the.
troughs or a pond, by ordering the boys to allow
the horses to take such a number of go-downs as
is sufficient for them. The measuring of the wa-
ter of gluttonous horses is highly necessary, for,
as horses differ in size, so do most of them differ
more or less as to the capacity of their swallows.
Some horses, when thirsty, will drink three gal-
lons of water in forty or forty-five go-downs,
other horses in fifty, others in sixty. I have
known some make eighty go-downs in emptying
a bucket of three gallons ; and, unless we know
pretty nearly the quantity of water that those
craving horses take in a certain number of swal-
lows, we cannot bye-and-bye set them for their
sweats, trials, and races, with that degree of
nicety it will be requisite we should do.

As the gluttonous horses in training are mostly
in strong work, they must occasionally be stinted
of their water ; yet this must be done judiciously;
for, if they are allowed to drink large quantities of
water, their bowels will become too much relax-
ed, and, instead of their being moderately straight

188 WATERING HORSES

and handsome in their carcasses, they will become
coarse and large in them. The best criterion for
a training groom to go by is, in the early part
of such horses' training, gradually to stint those
that are inclined at one time to drink larger por-
tions of water than may be proper for them, by
letting them take a few go-downs less, morning
and evening, until they begin to get a little off
their feed, when the stinting of their water
should be discontinued, and they should now be
allowed to drink more liberally until they feed as
they usually did. The groom is to bear in mind
the number of go-downs of water that any horses
may have taken less than they would have done
at the time were they allowed to take what they
chose out of the buckets, in order that, when
there is again a necessity for stinting them, he
may be better able to ascertain the quantity to
be diminished. The groom, by the above ar-
rangement in watering of gluttonous horses, can-
not well be led astray in the stinting of them,
at a time when he may be going to set them,
as when he wishes to send them a good pace in
their gallops, on the day before they may have
to sweat, or for a certain period of time previous
to their coming out to run»

WHILE IN TRAINING. 189

The proper course to be adopted in watering
the gluttonous horses, when they are not in
strong work, as when they go out only once a .
day, as in spring, in the commencement of their
training, is to water them frequently in the
course of the day, in the same manner as the
delicate flighty horses are watered ; only with
this difference, that, whatever quantity is to be
given the former at one time, the latter are to
be made to drink it at twice, by pulling up their
heads, and letting them wash their mouths, and
then allowing them to take the remainder. By
watering those horses in this way, they will be-
come more satisfied with the portion of water
that may be allowed them each day, than they
would be were they permitted greedily to swal-
low their different quantities of water at one
time, either out of the troughs in the yard, or
out of the buckets in the stable.

In summer time, when the horses go out twice
a day, those among them that are great drinkers,
if the weather is very hot, should be indulged a
little, by allowing them to take a few go-downs
of water more at each time, merely to prevent
them from becoming so thirsty, as to take them
off* their usual way of feeding.

190 WATERING HORSES

Now, a groom in ordering his horses to be
watered in the evening should be regulated by
their different constitutions, and the different
sorts of work or exercise he intends them to do ;
on the following morning, therefore, he is to
give his orders accordingly to each of his boys
as they are riding their horses up to the troughs
to be watered. Speaking to the first boy, who
may be on a horse that is a moderate drinker,
(one that takes from twenty-five to thirty go-
downs of water, morning and evening), he says,
" Let your horse take twenty go-downs." To
a second boy, " Let your horse take twenty-
five go-downs, and let him take it at twice."
To a third boy, " Let your horse" (one that
if allowed to do so would take from fifty to
sixty go-downs of water) " take half his water,
and let him take it at twice;" and so on with
any other horses, allowing them to take more
or less water on all such occasions, according
to the sort of drinkers they are, or the time in
the morning, as before or after breakfast, that
they may be going to perform any particular
exertion.

Before I conclude this chapter, I will give
a few precautionary hints on the subject of bad

WHILE IN TRAINING. 191

water. I have already spoken on the qualities
of water, and on such as may be most proper
for horses, as also the effects it has on their
constitutions when hard, and the remedies to be
adopted to soften it, so as to prevent as much
as possible any injury arising to the health of
race horses from a change of water, as when
they are travelling from their home stables to
others in a distant neighbourhood. (See Vol. I.
Chap. 6).

Grooms cannot be too particular in their in-
quiries as to the quality of water at different inns
on the road, or at any of the stables which their
horses may have to stand in near to the course
it is intended they are to run over. Travelling
and change of air will occasionally alter horses
for the worse, notwithstanding every attention
may be paid to them. But what will still make
a much greater change in them is, their having
to drink bad water, such as hard pump-water,
drawn perhaps from very deep wells. Horses,
when in training, being accustomed to drink of
the most soft pure water, the effects of bad
water will be immediately evident ; however well
the chill may have been taken off such water,
they soon begin to tremble and shake, and their

192 WATERING HORSES WHILE IN TRAINING.

coats are to be seen staring or standing- on
end; which is to be attributed rather to the ef-
fects of bad water on the constitutions of race
horses when travelling, than to the change of
either air, stables, or food. Such water as may
have been found to agree best with horses, and
which they may have been accustomed to take in
the neighbourhood in which they have been
trained, is of course the water to be depended on.
And under very particular circumstances, as a
horse being deeply engaged, or that has been so
well tried as to induce the owner to think he
might, barring an accident, win the Derby or
Leger, water might be sent on from the home
stable to the place where the horse may be en-
gaged to run. But this cannot well be done on
a general scale, in consequence of the incon-
venience and expense that would be incurred.

CHAPTER XIV.

TEACHING YEARLINGS.

In the last Chapter of my first Volume, I have
described the manner in which colts or fillies are
to be broken, either as yearlings or two-year olds,
and I have there made my remarks on the early
and temporary trials of yearlings made by breed-
ers, for the purpose of ascertaining how to value
their different colts and fillies, according to the
good or bad qualities each may possess. For
the same purpose some noblemen and gentlemen
have also been induced to put their yearlings
into regular training, that they may ascertain
whether it will be worth the expense of keeping
them on or not.

It will require eight or twelve months, from
the time of the young ones leaving their pad-

VOL. II. o

194 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

docks, before they can be sufficiently well broken
and trained, or what is usually termed " brought
out ripe to post." But the reader is to bear in
mind, that, of the two periods we have given for
the getting of yearlings ready to run, the last is
mostly to be preferred, as some colts require
much longer time than others. It is further to
be remarked, that the training of either yearlings
or two year olds will not require twelve months,
that is, it will not take so long a time for the
regular feeding, working, and watering of them,
to bring them into the proper condition to run;
but it will require fully that time in teaching
them, before they can be said to be thoroughly
well capable of doing whatever may afterwards
be required of them as race horses, and for the
trainer to perfect them in all those little matters,
of which we shall make mention as we proceed,
and to bring them out, as we have said, fully
ripe to post.

Young ones, that come out to run thus early,
should be thoroughly well broken, and by the first
of November they should be in the training sta-
bles, under the care of the training groom : the
colts in one stable and the fillies in another;
and, by way of example, we will suppose there is

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 195

a dozen of them to be trained. As yearlings can
only run with yearlings, at least in my opinion
they ought not, they are to be considered as
being in their own class until they are two
years old.

Now, by way of putting grooms on their guard,
so that mistakes or accidents may not unexpect-
edly arise, it will be necessary to put those year-
lings we are about to train into separate classes,
and describe what are the probable habits or pro-
pensities, good or bad, of each class.

The first class to notice are those of strong
constitutions ; these colts are powerfully made :
they are short in their backs, wide over their
loins, are well arched in the anterior part of the
ribs, and have large carcasses; they are termed
in the stables " the craving ones, or gluttons."
These colts, as they advance in age, become stout
horses ; they are long comers under high weights,
and, not being very speedy, they are mostly used
as country platers.

The second class are those which have their
constitutions in the medium; if they are good

o 2

196 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

ones, they are well arched in their ribs, they are
wide over their loins, and rather straight in their
carcasses ; if they are not too leggy, they can
come almost any racing lengths under moderate
weights; they have generally good speed, and
are pleasant horses to train. They are termed
in the stables " the hearty ones."

The third class are those of delicate constitu-
tions: they are, generally speaking, much too
lengthy in their constitutional points, as well as
in their speedy ones; if they are deep in their
girths, they are more or less straight in their
ribs, that is, their ribs are not sufficiently well
arched; they are often long in their backs, nar-
row over their loins, very straight or light in their
carcasses, and are high upon their legs. For want
of more space in the former of these essential
parts, and less length in the latter of them, they
are but very middling race horses. It is true
they have good speed, but they are almost in-
variably great jades; the shorter their races are
the better they like them, as they cannot run
but short lengths. Newmarket is the most likely
place to do any good with them. Their being
easily alarmed, either in or out of the stables.

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 197

makes them mipleasant horses to train ; nor,
generally speaking, are they of much profit to
the owners.

The fourth class I shall suppose to consist of
three fillies, which makes up the number, twelve
yearlings, I proposed to train. Now, with regard
to their physical or constitutional powers, they
do not vary from the colts, but, like them, are
craving, hearty, and flighty ; and upon their struc-
ture, the same as with the colts, will depend their
different racing properties ; and their tempers
also are similar. But, as they advance on to
mares, they become in training more trouble-
some and uncertain than horses ; this proceeds
from their natural propensity to sexual intercourse,
which is greater in racing fillies and mares than
with other fillies and mares in common use.
The former require to be highly fed and warmly
clothed ; and from their standing in stables of a
warm temperature with entire horses, (which was
almost invariably the case when I was a boy),
their natural propensity more often predomi-
nates, and which, as I have before noticed, is
the cause of so strong and frequent a desire in
them for sexual intercourse ; and this, not only
as the spring advances, but at various other

198 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

times in the course of the year ; if the weather is
hot (to use a common expression) they become
very keen a-horsing. During the time they re-
main in this state, they are more or less debili-
tated and unhappy for the want of intercourse
with the horse. They frequently turn their heads
as far round in the stall as they can, looking dis-
consolate about them. They often refuse their
food, or rather they eat but little for the time
they continue in season. The groom cannot,
therefore, send them along in their work as he
could wish. When this happened to mares
near the time of their running, they were usually
considered to be seven or ten pounds below their
proper form. Indeed, however capable they may
have been of winning, it has sometimes been
found difficult for a jockey to make them do so,
in consequence of their being so much disposed
to lean or hang to the horse or horses with whom
they may be running ; and thus occasionally have
mares lost races in which they have been en-
gaged. When it is known that mares are thus
so repeatedly troublesome in training, the better
way is to stint them in the spring; they then go
on very well. These are my reasons for recom-
mending fillies to be invariably kept in stables
by themselves ; nor should mares (as of course

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 199

their nature is not changed) ever be allowed to
run in the company of horses, and certainly not
in the company of entire horses; for the less
frequent they get to wind entire horses, the less
likely they are to become a-horsing. For a simi-
lar reason, horses in training should also be kept
by themselves, as they will be more quiet and
contented, and will be less frequently calling
after mares.

I shall now proceed to give directions how
these yearlings are to be got ready to go on to the
downs, (say in the month of October), as by this
time the others (the older horses and mares) will
have done their running. The groom, having
looked out what clothing and saddles and bridles
are necessary, is next to select from among his
steadiest and best riding boys those of the light-
est weights, and, putting one to take charge of
each of the yearlings in question, he orders the
whole of them to be dressed; their body clothes
and saddles are then put on, as with the other
horses. The stables then being locked up, they
are all left to stand with their heads up and muz-
zles on, until the boys have got their breakfasts;
when they return with the groom to the stables,
the bridles and hoods are then put on to both

200 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

horses and colts; each boy now mounts in the
stable the horse or colt he looks after ; and the
whole of them are then rode out into the
stable-yard : here they are to walk for a short
time, till their saddles may get settled to their
backs. They then walk on to the downs, follow-
ed by the groom on his hack. The old horses,
for the present under the care of the head lad,
may go to any convenient part of the ground to
exercise by themselves, as directed by the groom;
but the yearlings must now be under the tuition
of the groom himself, so that he may be able to
obtain a thorough knowledge of how they are
likely to turn out. For, although we are to consi-
der them as being well broken, yet it is likely there
are some among them who may, from the neces-
sary indulgence occasionally allowed them, have
become hearty, and some others may shew some
little hereditary vice. A colt or two, becoming
unruly from either of those causes, may swerve
or bolt out from the string; if he do not break
way, he may rear up, spring forward, and then
lash out behind; in doing of which he may get
the better of a small light boy and throw him.
If a colt does this, he will, the first opportunity
that offers, (as the boy being off his guard), have
recourse to the same sort of thing again, with a

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 201

view to be master ; and if he should become head-
strong in this way, no matter how good he may
be as to stoutness or speed, he is most likely
spoiled for ever as a race horse, or rather there is
no dependence to be placed on him when running.
A colt being unruly from being too hearty, and
a colt being unruly from vice, are two very dif-
ferent things ; the former, with proper manage-
ment, is soon got the better of, and perhaps
without changing the boy, as we shall presently
shew; but the latter requires the immediate
attention of the groom, who will soon find he
must change the small light boy for one that is
bigger, stronger, and more determined on horse-
back, and that knows well how to forward a
young colt.

The groom should have his eye as much as
possible on both boy and colt, so as to give direc-
tions to the former, in case he should at any time
be inclined to be too severe in correcting the colt
for a fault. I have in the first volume, in teaching
boys to ride, directed, that they are, under vari-
ous circumstances, to be kind to colts and horses,
with a view to preserve their tempers. Yet those
orders of kindness are not to be carried to the

202 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

extreme with any of them, and more particularly
towards a colt that may from hereditary vice be
resolutely inclined to become decidedly restive.
A colt of this sort, as a yearling, may be got
the better of by keeping upon him at all times a
good riding boy, who, from being accustomed to
ride tricky ones, is mostly on his guard, and
soon finds out or feels when a colt of this sort is
inclined to be what is called " a little botty."
The moment the boy finds the colt is about to
begin any of his tricks, he should immediately
set-to with him as determinedly as possible —
by getting resolutely at him, and rousing him,
or rather frightening him, by taking suddenly a
determined pull at him, and chucking up his
head, then quickly shortening the rein on the
reverse side to that which the colt is inclined to
go, and, if possible, pulling his head round with
a certain degree of violent force, chucking up
his head again and handling his mouth roughly
with the bit, and, if he can with safety to him-
self, he should send both his heels back with
great force against the colt's sides. If the boy
finds he is getting the better of the colt, he should
take a straight, strong pull at him to pull him up,
and make him stand for a moment, just now

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 203

using rather loud and rough sort of language to
him, then make him go quietly up into his place
in the string with the other colts; and here the
hoy should have a constant eye upon him. I
have often found this sort of rough treatment
answer far better than striking a colt with an
ashen plant. I do not, as I have already ob-
served, approve of fighting with colts or horses,
if it can be avoided ; yet, it may sometimes be
necessary to have recourse to blows as a last re-
source, to endeavour to get the better of a thick,
sulky, ill-disposed colt.

I have given these precautions to the groom
and boy, with a view to put them on their guard
with a tricky colt, on his first appearance in the
string on the downs. I will now put the groom
and boy again on their guard, with respect to
colts commencing and going on with their work,
as some of them get cunning after having gone up
a few gallops. Craving colts, and hearty colts, may
occasionally require such correction as I have
just noticed; but the flighty irritable colts must
never be corrected ; for what, by many, are con-
sidered as faults in them, principally arise from
their natural timidity ; so that to fight with them
would alarm them, and in short spoil them as

204 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

racers. In what manner they ought to be treat-
ed, I shall of course state when I come to the
training of them.

A craving or hearty colt, become cunning from
having gone up a few gallops, may some morn-
ing, as he is approaching to, or commencing, one
of his gallops, look at what he is going about,
that is, if I may so say, he looks at the work he
is going to begin ; and, unless the boy is on his
guard, he is very likely to rear up and bolt round,
and perhaps try to break way ; or, if he do not
do this, he may, if a tricky one, in going up
the gallop, shut up and go out; in other words,
he will sulk and slacken his pace, and then bolt
suddenly out from the string, break away, and
get some distance before he can be pulled up.
An ill-disposed colt will sometimes rather unex-
pectedly tak€ these advantages of a small light
boy; when he does this, to prevent a repetition
of it, the slight boy must be taken off the colt,
and another put up, of more power and expe-
rience ; and, as he is apprized of the sort of colt
he isjgoing to ride, he strictly watches him, not
only as he is walking to the gallop, but after he
has commenced it. Now, a few lengths previous
to the colt coming to that part of the gallop

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 205

Avhich he may before have gone out at, the boy
should there persevere with him, to make him
keep his place in the string; and, if he finds it •
necessary, he should have recourse quickly to
such methods of correction as have already been
spoken of, with the additional aid (in his right or
left hand, whichever is found to be most conve-
nient) of his ashen plant, raised over his own head
or near to the colt's, and using occasionally rough
sort of language, in going along to the end of
the gallop. If the boy has been able to keep the
colt straight throughout the gallop to the end of
it, he should, after having pulled him up, notice
him a little, but not too much. If a thick crav-
ing rogue of a colt, or a hearty one, similarly
disposed, cannot be got the better of by the
treatment I have advised, further severities, as
having repeated recourse to blows, will seldom
be found to answer. Many a hearty colt may
become a little tricky merely from being too
fresh; such a colt only requires the quiet treat-
ment of a good riding boy, with an occasional
increase of work to steady him.

It is to be understood, that all these young
ones are to be taught in turn, not only to lead
the class to which they belong, as well in walk-

206 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

ing out from as in returning to the stables, but
also occasionally to lead the gallop.

After these yearlings have gone through what
I have laid down relative to them, it may fairly
be concluded that they have been long enough
under the care of the groom for him to have be-
come thoroughly acquainted with what they all
are, as regards their constitutions and tempers.

In getting ready the first class of these young
ones, (the craving ones), either to try or to run,
something like regular work should be given
them. The second class, the hearty ones, will
require less work, with more teaching. The third
class, the flighty ones, require very little more
than teaching alone; that is to say, if they are
properly taught, they are generally sufficiently
trained.

Now, according as the disposition of a colt
of the third class is steady or flighty, so must
his treatment be varied; those that are steady
enough to follow each other in their exercise
may do so ; but those that are easily alarmed had
much better go by themselves. All the colts of
this class should have good and patient riding

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 207

boys, not only for their exercise, but to look after
them in the stable. No matter where they
are alarmed, or at what they are alarmed, if
once they are so, it will be some time before
they get the better of a fright. The groom
must therefore carefully watch them and the
boys; and he must caution the latter never,
scarcely- under any circumstances, to strike
them, or even to pull more rashly at them than
is absolutely necessary to pull them up, or to
prevent them, when hearty, from getting the bet-
ter of them. If any of these colts become alarm-
ed by going constantly to one particular part of
the downs, where they may occasionally have
had a few gallops, the groom should immediately
take them to another part, and let them be there
at walking exercise for a few days; then take
them back to the old ground, but, instead of gallop-
ing them, let them walk these gallops, and walk
about other parts of this ground for two or three
days; then he should take them back to the
ground at which they were not frightened, and,
if they appear here pretty hearty, he should en-
deavour to steal a gallop into them, just letting
them go off as they like.

If any colt among these flighty ones will not

208 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

bear even the sort of treatment I have just de-
scribed, he should be taken on to the turnpike
road early in the morning, where he should do
the most of his exercise, and the more like a hack
he does it the more reconciled he will become;
and if he has good action, he may walk long
lengths, which will give him an appetite. If
there is in the neighbourhood a gradual good
sort of lengthy hill, that may perchance have a
narrow strip of turf running by the side of it,
the colt in question should walk occasionally up
such hill, and at other times, by way of change,
and with a view to forward him, he should (put-
ting him into a trot some way before he comes
to the hill, and giving him his head,) be allowed
to trot on up any portion of the hill as may be
thought sufficient to bring his lungs into pretty
good action. If the hill is short, he should trot
up the whole length, and, instead of pulling him
up at the top, he should be made to continue on,
on the level, for half a mile, then pull him up
and make much of him; then walk him quietly
home, if possible, by a different road from that
by which he came. At other times of his going
out, there should be a steady hack rode out with
him, by the side of him, following, or before him,
whichever the colt appears to be the most recon-

TEArilING YEAUMNGS. 209

ciled to. At other times, with the hack along
with him, he should proceed to any of the neigh-
bouring markets or fairs; here let them walk
quietly about in the noise and bustle of the
crowd, making very much of the colt, who can-
not here be treated too kindly, (see Colt Break-
ing, Vol. I. Chap. 24, pp. 483, 489), with a
view to make him rather fond of the crowd, so
that he may not be alarmed on being walked out
from the rubbing-house into the crowd on the
course the first time of his being brought out to
run. Indeed, unless a colt or horse will walk
out of the rubbing-house into the crowd, and
remain there unconcerned, and, in his running
and concluding a race, go freely up between the
rails of the course, and boldly pass through
the crowd, and is not more pleased than annoyed
by their cheering as he passes the winning-post,
I say of him, as Shakspeare has said of man,
'* Let no such horse be trusted."

The next thing the groom has to do is to
teach his colts, as they are approaching towards
two years old, to go by the side of each other in
their exercise, and also to stop by the side of
each other when pulled up on finishing their
gallops. But, previous to the groom practising

VOL. II. p

210 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

his colts at this, he should take an opportunity
of steadying them, by giving them, for two or
three days, such long walking exercise, with oc-
casional lengthy gallops, as their ages and con-
stitutions will safely bear ; then, on the morning
he commences teaching his colts to go in the
way just mentioned, he should put upon the colt
he intends to lead the gallop an experienced
good riding boy, who from practice knows well
how to forward a colt on this or any other occa-
sion, or perhaps as more preferable, if light
enough, the head lad, as the groom would only
have to say to the latter — " We must see how
these young ones will go by the side of each other
as they approach the close of the gallop, and whe-
ther we can get them to stop pretty nearly oppo-
site each other when pulled up at the end of it."
Two or three of them may now and then be prac-
tised together.

If it is a good riding boy that is to lead this
sort of gallop, he had better be put on a good
sort of hack, or a steady horse that has been
some time in training ; but we will suppose the
head lad to lead the above-mentioned gallop,
as he may do it on one of the most steady of the
colts. In the morning, either in the stables, or

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 211

as he is going along on his hack to the ground
with the colts, the groom cautions the boys, first,
by telling them what he wants done with the'
colts, and then bids them be steady, and mind
and attend to what will presently be said to
them by the head lad. The head ]ad, on arriving
at the ground, should say to the boys, as they are
approaching the gallop — '' Keep fast your colts'
heads, and follow me." When he sees that the
colts are off and settled in their stride, he again
says to them — " Come gradually on with your
colts until you are nearly head and girth with
my colt, parallel with my colt ; but mind that you
keep your colts sufficiently wide apart, so that
they may have no inclination to fly at each other."
By the time the colts have got in their places on
the gallop, as we have here described, they will
have arrived within a quarter of a mile of the end
of it. The lad, seeing them go on as they ought,
should again speak to the boys, and tell them to
take a steady pull at their colts, and direct them
at the same time to finish the gallop at a little
faster pace ; but to be careful not to pass him if
they can avoid it. On their having made this
little run together, they are to be pulled up as
nearly as possible in a line with each other.
They should now be let stand to blow their

p2

212 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

noses, if they like, during which time they
should be made much of; and, previous to their
going to the troughs to water, they should be
walked quietly about in line with each other,
but, as has been just observed^ not so close as to
allow of any colt becoming unpleasantly familiar
with the one that may be next to him.

Thus should colts be practised, not only until
they go quietly by the side of each other, but
until they will let other colts or horses come
rather suddenly up by the side of them, in a
gallop, a trial, or a race, without being alarm-
ed or swerving away from them; and until
they will, when pulled at, easily stop nearly in
a line with each other, under either of the above-
mentioned circumstances.

Any colt that may swerve or break away with
a boy while at this sort of exercise should on
the next, and every succeeding day, be ridden by
the head lad, until he has got the colt to do
what is necessarily required of him; and when
the head lad gives up riding such colt, one of
the best riding boys must at all times ride him
in his exercise. All the colts we have here been
mentioning should in succession be ridden by the

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 213

head lad, who should practise them occasionally
to go to what is called " the head," that is, a
little in front of the other colts, he (the lad)
having previously cautioned the boy that may be
riding a colt against him, to sit steady and not
urge his colt on beyond the pace he has been ac-
customed to go, while he steadily goes, for a short
way up the gallop, head and neck with the colt
against him. The lad, then taking a pull, should
go head and head for a few strides ; then for a
short distance, before finishing the gallop, he
should go out to the front, and take the lead for
a few lengths, just previous to the pulling up of
the two or three colts, whichever it may be.

Thus should the colts occasionally be prac-
tised on the downs; or, which is to be preferred,
up between the rails of a course, passing the win-
ning post, and pulling them up at the usual or
convenient distance beyond it; and after they
have recovered their wind, they should be turned
about, and walked back to the weighing-house;
here the boys, if not too small, may dismount
and make much of them, then get on them again,
and walk them quietly away.

Such are the precautionary measures to be ob-

211 TEACHING YEARLINGS.

served in the teaching of yearlings and two-year
olds on their first coming on to the downs to be
trained, with a view to preserve their tempers,
and prevent their becoming tricky; no matter
how good the racing properties of a colt may be,
if, from improper management, he should, at the
above early age, get into any of the habits al-
ready mentioned, he is, as I have before noticed,
most likely spoiled for ever as a race horse, or,
rather, there is no dependence to be placed on
him when he is called upon in severe rvmning,
nor can his owner ever think of backing him for
a single guinea.

Yearlings that are thus far forwarded by teach-
ing are many of them sufficiently well trained
for the length they have to come ; and with those
that are not so, as the thick ones and the hearty
ones, the groom may do a bit of work, and
get them into something like condition, that is,
he may get them about three parts ready, if the
weather keeps open, and they have not been
tired ; they also may, if the owner wishes it, at
the usual weights and lengths, have a spin to-
gether just before Christmas, merely to see what
may be good or bad among them.

TEACHING YEARLINGS. 215

This sort of trial gallop being over by the end
of December, the yearlings may now be laid by,
that is, they should be indulged for a month or
six weeks, coming out only on occasional days to
be lunged, with a view merely to keep them in
health. Two or three of the first class, more par-
ticularly if a little queer in their tempers, would
perhaps be the better of being ridden quietly
about, either daily or every other day, until about
the middle or end of February. Which of these
two periods must depend of course on the time
they are to come out to run as yearlings, that is,
whether it be in the middle or end of April.

All that we have stated in this chapter, with
regard to the teaching of yearlings, also stands
good in the teaching of two-year olds, that is,
if the latter do not leave their paddocks until
they are two years old.

CHAPTER XV.

PHYSICKING YEARLINGS.

Towards the conclusion of the last chapter, I
stated the necessity of the yearlings being laid by
(about the end of the month of December) for
the space of six weeks, to be somewhat indulged ;
and, considering that period elapsed, it brings
us to the middle of February. By this time the
yearlings in question are, as far as regards their
constitutions, in a fit state to have their physic
given them, that is, if they are sound and healthy,
and have plenty of flesh on them, and are to be
got ready to come to post to run at about the
end of April.

The groom will of course have the cavessons
put on those of the third class that have been

PHYSICKING YEARLINGS. 2 1 7

properly enough laid by to indulge, and from
which they will have become very hearty, and
have them walked out and lunged for a few days, ^/
so as to steady them a little before they are again
mounted ; or, as some of the horses in the stables,
of different ages, will have to come out to run
early in the spring, these will by this time have
begun their sweats, and on any mornings they
are going to sweat, the colts I am just alluding
to may go out at the same time with them, and
may be walked about and lunged a little; and
when the horses that have been sweating are
scraped and done, their sweaters may be rolled
up, and put securely on the colts' saddles, to be
carried home to the stables ; when, if the groom
thinks it necessary, he may order the cavessons
to be taken off the colts, their mouthing-bits to
be put on, and let them stand beared up on the
pillar reins for half an hour; their things may
then be taken off, and they may be dressed and
shut up with the other horses. This is not a bad
way of steadying some colts, that may be more
hearty or fractious than others. From the above
precautions having been taken, our colts and fil-
lies are become quiet, and ride now much as they
did when we left them in December.

218 PHYSICKING YEARLINGS.

The next thing to be done is to get them
through their physic, or^, more properly speaking,
to get their physic through them. $^er-4he-«ft9*t-
n^^oL preparing. them-ibr-theii-^hysic5-a&-alse
liow t^i^y ai'€^ ifr ev^ry respect to -be treated- while^
imder its -dpertttien^ -eithei'-in ^f out- ^f-training,
see Vol. I. Gh^p^r^fnSrST^^iir the- Various Causes
fbi' Pliy&i«k4ng-^ftac6'=^ofsiBs^.-^-

The reader is not to forget that the twelve
yearlings to be trained are in four different
classes. The colts are in three classes : "the first
are the thick, strong-constitutioned colts — these
will require physic ; the second class are the
hearty ones, there may be one or two of these
that may also require physic; the third class,
the flighty ones, scarcely ever require medi-
cine of any kind. The fourth class, the fillies —
there may, perhaps, be one of this class that may
be benefited by the administration of physic.

Now, there are some few precautions to be
taken in the physicking of these young ones :
first, it will be advisable, by way of experiment,
to begin with small doses of the best Barbadoes
aloes, as three drachms, or three drachms and a
half, in the first dose. To a colt of the first class.

PHYSICKING YEARLINGS. 219

the latter portion may be given; to a colt of the
second class, it will be best to give the former
portion; and, according to the effects the medi- .
cine may produce on each colt, so should the
interval of time be increased between each dose,
from eight to ten days; and, by the same rule,
so in proportion should the quantity of aloes be
diminished or increased in giving the second
dose. A third dose of physic may, no doubt, be
requisite for each of the colts in the first class;
yet it will be advisable to keep this third dose
in reserve, until the groom sees in what manner
the work these colts will be put to do will affect
their constitutions. We may give a third dose
to each of them after their first sweat, or we may
give it after their second sweat, or we may not
have to give it at all, if the weather keeps open,
and the groom is of opinion that the work
the colts have begun will, by being gradually
continued, bring them in due time sufficiently
clear in their wind, and straight and handsome
in their carcasses, without either abusing their
legs, or reducing too much their muscular system.
NoWj on the other hand, should a frost set in
early in March, and continue until this month
may be nearly or perhaps quite concluded, these
colts would then have to go to exercise on the

220 PHYSICKING YEARLINGS.

straw beds for three weeks or a month. Under
these circumstances it would be necessary, to as-
sist in keeping their legs cool and in shape, and
also to prevent them from getting too fat in their
insides, to have recourse to the reserve doses, by
giving, in addition to the two first, not only a
third dose of physic, but perhaps even a fourth.
For the second class colts, as they do not require
to be in as strong work as those of the first class,
two doses of physic each will be suflBcient, unless,
as I have already noticed, a frost should set in,
when a third dose may be necessary ; but I should
say not otherwise. The third class colts are too
delicate to do any thing like work, they therefore
seldom or ever want medicine, unless labouring
under disease.

The reader may now form some idea of the
purposes for which physic is given to colts or
horses in health, either in or out of training.

-CiiAPTEfr'^e^tr-

TRAINING YEARLINGS.

The time it has taken to get our yearlings
through their physic brings us now to the first
of March ; as they will not have to come out to
run until near the end of iVpril, we shall have
about eight weeks to train them. This allow-
ance of time will be amply sufficient ; not that it
is necessary for yearlings to be at constant and
regular exercise for the whole of this period, but
for the three first weeks of the eight it will be ad-
visable to be doing little and little every day,
or every other day, as in giving to those strong-
colts of the first class such walking and galloping
exercise as may be found necessary to steady
them, and keep their memories refreshed. We
shall then have five clear weeks for the doing

222 TRAINING YEARLINGS.

of what may be called a bit of work with them.
The first week of the five, they may go such
steady, brushing gallops as will bring them suf-
ficiently clear in their wind to enable them to
go with tolerable ease to themselves through the
first gentle sweat.

The first week of the five being disposed of as
above advised leaves us four weeks clear, which
is about the time, if the weather keeps open,
that these strong colts will take to be in regular
training. There may be a thick glutton of a
yearling, in this first class, that puts up flesh
very fast, and that is idle in his wind ; this sort
of colt would require to be as regularly worked,
in the lengths of his gallops and sweats, as an
aged horse, before he can be got sufficiently light
in himself, and clear in his wind, to be able to
come his best pace equally with those colts that
are much more delicate, and consequently sooner
ready. Unless the above precautions are taken in
the training of a thick colt, he may deceive the
trainer in his trial or race. The trainer must
therefore make allowances, and begin with such
colt accordingly; yet, the reader must observe,
that, upon a more general scale, yearlings do
not require to be drawn very fine, that is, not

TRAINING YEARLINGS. 223

stripped of what is commonly called " their waste
and spare." These young ones run but short
lengths, and, although they may be a little lusty,
their flesh is not likely to fatigue them before
their race is over, (provided they are in good
wind), at least not those colts of the second and
third class.

The second class colts will not take more than
four weeks to get them ready to run; the first
week of the four they should be getting ready
for their first sweat, much in the same way as
I have described should be done with the colts
of the first class, only allowing for the delicacy
of the former, by merely letting them have such
walking exercise as will give them an appetite
for their food, and such galloping exercise as
will steady them, and also bring them pretty
clear in their wind.

The third class of colts will for the present
require little more than walking exercise.

Let us suppose the twelve yearlings I have
been writing about to have actually been thus far
forwarded in their training; those of the first
class, from the exercise and physic they have

224 TRAINING YEARLINGS.

had, will alter very much from the state of con-
dition in which they were when they first left
their paddocks. There will also be some favour-
able changes in the condition of the second and
third classes: the muscular system of the bodies of
the horses of the three classes will have diminish-
ed in weight, more or less, while their legs will
have increased in strength; that is, the tendons
them will have enlarged, and become strong
and well braced, from the action they have
had; so that when they arrive in the morning
on the downs to exercise, (after allowing them
to walk long enough to have become steady,
and have emptied themselves), we may venture
to send them up their gallops, without much fear
of breaking them down. The length of gallops
that yearlings may go may be half a mile, a
little more or a little less, just according as the
groom may observe the length his colts are going
in their gallops may affect the constitutional
strength and temper of either the one or the
other of them.

Yearlings having been gradually forwarded as
I have advised, there will be no danger to be
apprehended from their going in their gallops
the above lengths, provided the boys are light.

TRAINING YEART.INOS. 225

the ground not deep, and that the colts are not
allowed to go beyond that of a steady even
pace; I mean by this, that they are not to.
be allowed in their gallops immediately to ex-
tend themselves. Those colts that are observed
not to do well by going gallops of long lengths,
let them go shorter ones ; and, with a view to
bring those colts stout, the deficiency of length
in their gallops can, if necessary, be made up by
increasing the length of their sweats. Why I
wish yearlings to go steadily a moderate good
length in their gallops is, that I wish as early as
possible to bring them somewhat acquainted
with the advantage of going steady and collect-
ed in their stride. To accomplish this, they
must all have good riding boys upon them, par-
ticularly the boy who leads the gallop; he should
be a good judge of pace, and know well how to
forward a colt. The groom, in giving his orders
to the boys as to how they are to ride their
colts, which we suppose to be on the downs,
should speak to them thus : — " Mind boys,
keep your places, and get quietly away with
them, and as soon as they are settled in their
stride, drop your hands and keep a light steady
hold of their heads." Although the groom gives
his orders generally to the whole of the boys, it

VOL. II. Q

226 TRAINING YEARLINGS.

is to the boy who leads the gallop, whose name,
for example, we will say is Tom, that he gives
his more important directions ; perhaps, just
as the colts are approaching the gallop, the
groom calls out — " Tom, mind you do not take
them too fast; and when you come to such a
part of the gallop, (naming an object well known
to the boy), take a quiet pull and finish steadily
with them in the little run you will have to
make to the end of the gallop." When they
are all pulled up as near in line together as may
be, they should be allowed to stand for two or
three minutes to recover their wind.

Going thus regularly on in their gallops,
teaches them how to make use of their legs, by
getting the fore ones well out; and the closer
they are together the better, provided their feet
do not interfere or come in contact with their
fetlock joints or legs, and, by so doing, cut the
former or bruise the latter. Their hind legs
should be well in, or under them, and the wider
apart they are in reason the better. Colts that
are kind in their tempers, and not hurried too
early in their work, soon become acquainted
with the advantage of their stride, and will, (if
properly ridden), when called upon to exert

TRAINING YEAnLINGS. 227

themselves, get gradually to the extent of their
stride, and will ably maintain their best pace in
a good rally, without being over-marked, and
made what is called " a spread-eagle of."

The increasing of the pace of yearlings in
their gallops, and the length they are to go in
them, especially with respect to colts of the
first and second classes, must be regulated by
the training groom, according to circumstances,
as that of his noticing how their different con-
stitutions may vary, or each colt may become
affected by the different gallops he may be
taking. And it is also to be observed that
the whole of these colts, although yearlings,
must go such a pace and length in their gal-
lops, as, from one sweating day to the other,
may be found necessary to keep them all suffi-
ciently clear in their wind, so as to enable them
to take the few sweats the^y may have to do with
tolerable ease to them^&lves. But the reader must
bear in mind, that the method I have here advised
for the teaching of^the first and second class colts
to stride steadily in their gallops, can seldom
or ever be practised in a similar way with any
of the third class, the latter being much too
irritable in their tempers to be taught in this
manner.

q2

228 TRAINING YEARLINGS.

To give the colts of this third class confi-
dence in doing their exercise, (as I have already
noticed), various are the means that must be had
recourse to, as that of changing from one system
of treatment to another, as often as may be found
necessary, so as to bring them reconciled to do
what you require of them, by walking or gallop-
ing them in different situations, by going from
one part of the downs to another, allowing
them to walk quietly about in retired places,
and now and then walking them on the dif-
ferent gallops. Long walking exercise not only
steadies them, but it gives to most of them,
what they are often in want of, an appetite
for their food. At walking exercise they may
follow each other in a string; but, in their gal-
lops, it will be advisable, with those that are ea-
sily alarmed, to send them singly. When oppor-
tunities offer, they may be walked out on to the
last mile of a course ; but let them first walk up
between the rails here, and pass the winning-post,
stop them and then turn them about, and walk
them off at that part of the course they would
have to walk off at had they been running. At
other opportunities, they may walk out to such a
suitable part of the finishing of the course, as to
allow them to go up between the rails a long
steady gallop singly — such a length of gallop as

TRAINING! YEAULINGS. 229

yearlings ought to take ; or, there may be two of
them that may quietly follow each other, putting
a steady two or three year old colt in front of
them, or a good sort of hack, I care not which,
so that the colts in question go content up their
gallops, and that, when they have passed the
post, they pull up and walk quietly off after-
wards. If they should walk contentedly away,
after having their occasional or daily gallops, for
a few times on one piece of ground, it will be
advisable to take them from such ground before
they shew symptoms of being alarmed, and then
to let them go on with a daily repetition of their
exercise on the new ground, being careful to re-
move them from this also before they become
frightened.

Considering our yearlings to have been long-
enough at walking exercise to have recovered
from the effects of their physic, and to have been
sufficiently long, also, at galloping exercise to
have got pretty clear in their wind, we will, in
the next chapter, get them through their sweats.

CHAPTER XVIL

SWEATING THE FIRST CLASS OF YEARLINGS.

We now coine to speak of the sweating of those
young colts of the first class, which are now
something more than two years old. The length
of their sweats should be from two miles to two
miles and a quarter. These colts being hearty
feeders, put up flesh very fast; and although I
do not by any means hold with that of drawing-
young ones fine, yet there are now and then
some among them so very thick and close made
as to require, even at this early age, their being
brought, by a repetition of gentle sweats, into
something like the shape and form of a race
horse. How often a yearling will have to sweat
must depend on what effect the first sweat may
have produced on him, in reducing the surface

SWEATING YEARLINGS. 2JU

of his muscular system, and on the time the train-
ing groom may observe the colt again putting up
flesh, according to which the interval should be
regulated from one sweating day to the other.
A groom cannot be too careful in observing how
a colt puts up flesh ; nor, on the other hand, can
he be too careful how he takes it off him. I
mean by this, that I prefer a young one, and
more particularly the sort of yearling to which I
am now alluding, to appear, on his coming to
post, (particularly if a big one), as to his muscular
surface, rather full or high, provided he is clear
in his wind, and that he has got a little longer
length into him than that he is going to
run. The groom is to ascertain these two last-
mentioned circumstances, by observing suffi-
ciently early how his colt is going on with his
work; and what more principally will guide
him is, how this same colt comes home in the
finishing his last two or three sweats. But he
must take care that the colt has on him, in
doing his two last sweats, a smart, light, good
riding boy, who knows how to put his orders
into practice.

It is to be understood that this colt in his
turn has kindly enough led the gallop or sweat

232 SWEATING THE

for others of his class; we will now, therefore,
put him to lead the last two sweats lie has to
do as a yearling ; and this is merely that the
groom may know to a certainty how he can
finish or come home in them.

The groom now cautiously gives his orders to
the boy that rides the colt; he says — ^'You must
mind. Bill, what you are about; come you off
with them presently" (meaning the two or three
colts of the first class that may be going to sweat
together) '' at a steady even pace, until you come
to such a part of the ground," naming some
known object as a guide to the boy, and which
object should be about three quarters of a mile
from where the colts pull up on finishing their
sweats. The groom, in going on with his direc-
tions, says, "■ when you get there, take a quiet
pull to set your colt agoing, and come with him
at a quiet sweating pace ; but as you know he is
rather an idle one, if you find it necessary to get
at him, by now and then taking a pull and hust-
ling him along, do so; for you must mind to
come home the whole of the way from where
I tell you at a good, fair, sweating pace." The
groom, knowing his hack (which he is upon at
the time) to be a pretty quick one for a short

FIRST CLASS OF YEARLINGS. 233

length, says to the boy as he is about to leave
him, " I shall be waiting for you within about half
a distance from where I told you to pull up, and
for about two or three lengths before you come to
me, take a pull at your colt, and twist him along.
I shall go head and girth home with you, for I
want to see how your colt will finish his sweat in
this length of rally ; but mind, you are not to be
too severe upon him, or you will overset him in
his stride." The groom, in speaking to the boys
on the colts that may have to follow in this same
sweat, says — " Keep a steady pull on your colts,
and endeavour, without severity, to keep your
places, that is, mind you do not persevere too
much with them."

The above colts having gone well through
their sweats, and the colt that leads having finish-
ed very satisfactorily, the groom now thinks, or
perhaps he talks the thing over to himself, and
says, speaking of the colt that led, " Well, he
has come in his sweat at a good, fair, sweating-
pace, for a little longer length than he will have
to run, either in his trial or race, and I know by
my hack that he finished in a rally of nearly half
a distance at something like a racing pace ; he
pulled up sound, and blowed his nose in good

234 SWEATING YEARLINGS,

time; and he walked away strong and well to
the rubbing-house." The groom, still talking on
to himself, speaking again of the colt that led
the sweat, says, " As he is in such good wind, he
cannot be very fat in his inside; as to his being
high is of no consequence, for his flesh cannot
fatigue him in the short length he has to come;
and by the time he has done what is necessary to
finish him, he will come out ripe and in good
form, at least I do not think, thick and close
made as he is, if well ridden, that he can deceive
me in running either in his trial or race."

The above calculations are such as should be
made by the groom in his getting ready to run a
strong constitutioned colt. Unless such precau-
tions as I have noticed are attended to, a groom
may be deceived in the trying or running of the
above-described colt; and such colt, from not
being in a fit state to be tried, may very unde-
servedly be considered much too slow to race, in
consequence of which he probably may be sold
greatly under his value.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SWEATING THE SECOND AND THIRD CLASS
OF YEARLINGS.

The constitutions of colts of the second class
have already been noticed as being in the me-
dium, and that they are also moderate feed-
ers. The reader must therefore bear in mind,
that however lusty they may be, on their first
coming into training, they will, by less work,
not only come more readily into shape, but
will be much longer putting up their flesh,
from one sweating day to the other, than those
colts of the first class : they consequently will not
have to sweat as frequent as those mentioned
in the last chapter. Although these second
class colts are rather more delicate than the
first class, yet there may be one or two among
them that will not do so well in being trained

236 SWEATING THE SECOND

by the usual or necessary repetition of gallops.
A colt of this sort generally does better with
rather longer walking exercise, (to increase his
appetite), but with shorter and more gentle gal-
lops before and after water. A groom, in train-
ing him, will in all probability find, that he
will do better by being sweated rather oft-
ener than those colts that will bear longer and
more frequent gallops; but he must observe, that
this colt, as also the others of this class, are
lightly clothed in their sweats, more particularly
if the morning should be warm.

On the first time of sweating these colts,
the groom's orders to the boy that leads the
sweat should be, " Come you off with them,
Tom, at a gentle and even striding pace." As
there will be no occasion for them to do more in
the concluding' of their sweats on each sweating
day than very gradually to increase the pace a
little, until they have to do their last sweat, at
the latter part of which they should come home
at a downright good sweating pace for a little
longer length than they have to be tried, it will
not be necessary for the groom to come home
on his hack, in a short rally with them, as I
have directed he should do with the first class
colts; but it may be as well for him to be

AND THIRD CLASS YEARLINGS. 237

in waiting, within about a distance of where
tliey pull up, SO that he may see how they all
finish their sweats, in passing him. If they
pull up sound, blow their noses in good time,
andwalk well away to the rubbing-house, they
will do; provided the little there is to be done
with them afterwards is properly attended to,
until they come out to run; and, as their race,
like all of their year, is but a short one, (see
the Racing Calendar), they cannot well come out
too high in flesh, provided they are clear in their
wind.

Now, with regard to the sweating of the third
class yearlings, a very little of this sort of thing
goes a great way, even with the best of them;
one or two of them may occasionally have to go
over the sweating ground with a view to bring
them somewhat stout for the little length they
have to come. But, as there is nothing to be
taken off the muscular surface of these colts,
and as they are light in their carcasses, they are
almost invariably in good wind. They should
therefore go over the sweating ground lightly
clothed, or, if the morning is warm, they may go
over it stripped. They may go in company with
each other, or singly, whichever may best suit
their tempers. Some colts of this class are so

238 SWEATING YEARLINGS.

very delicate and irritable that they never re-
quire to he taken over the above-mentioned
ground during the whole time of their being
in training.

I shall not here make mention of the fur-
ther treatment necessary to finish the training
of each of these classes of colts, as the different
brushing gallops they are to have given them
from their last sweating day up to the third or
second day before they run. Nor shall I notice
the setting them the night before their race,
nor the putting on their plates, or plaiting of
their manes, on the morning before they have to
come to post. Those matters will be fully explain-
ed in different chapters, when we are describing
the training of the horses of different ages;
for the same rule stands good in the finishing of
yearlings, (only allowing that they are yearlings),
from their last sweat to the day of their race,
as in finishing the horses of all ages from their
last sweat to the day of their race. We
will consequently consider the whole of the
former as being ready to come out to be tried,
and which will be the subject of the two next
chapters.

•e«AM:ER,-X*^

TRYING OF YEARLINGS.

In the last three Chapters on the Training of
Twelve Yearlings, I arranged them in four classes.
The three first consisted of colts, three in each,
and the fourth was the fillies. This was merely
intended to shew how the constitutions and dis-
positions of each class varied. But now, to give
the reader a clear idea of how yearlings are to be
tried, under all circumstances, I will, in this
chapter, by way of example, alter the arrange-
ment of the above twelve yearlings, by forming
them into two classes only, which we will con-
sider as consisting of six colts and six fillies in
each class. Let us suppose that the above year-
lings belong to one individual, and that there is
in the park or on the premises of the owner, a

240 TRYING OF YEARLINGS.

convenient and private piece of ground, with
posts erected at a suitable distance apart, to try
these young ones for a little longer length (as a
few strides) than they have to run in their races.
(See the Racing Calendar). Now, the best way
is to try each class separately, under the usual
weights, as eight stone on the colts and seven or
eleven on the fillies, care having been taken
by the groom that the colts are in all respects
ready to be tried at the appointed time.

On the morning of the trial, the groom says
to the head lad — " You must ride one of the
three-year olds to the beginning of the trial
ground, to set them on their legs; let the boys
give them a short gallop a little way along the
bottom from the start, and then pull them up,
and walk them quietly back again towards the
start; and as they are doing so, tell them to
walk their colts up in line with each other; then
tell them to keep a steady hold of their colts'
heads, and, on seeing as they approach the win-
ning-post, that they are all ready, and that you
are yourself ready with your horse to take them
off, give them the word ' away.' But, from the
pains we have taken in teaching them,/They, for
young ones, know pretty well whatjthey are

TRYING YKAIU.INGS. 241

about ; and, as they arc kind in their tempers, I
have no doubt they will all go straight enough to
the end, therefore you need not go farther with
them than to see them all settled in their stride ;
you may then take a pull, and gradually or im-
perceptibly, as it were, decline running on with
them, but just take care to wait as far in the
rear of them as to see how each of the boys gets
on with his colt. I shall be waiting for them
about the winning-post." The groom is next to
give his orders to the boys who are to ride the
colts, either in the stable, or as he is going along
with them to the ground. He says—'* You must
mind, boys, what you are about this morning, in
riding your colts in their trial ; mind what Charles
will presently tell you; and, as you are walking
up to the starting-post, be sure you are all ready
with your reins knotted, and keep a steady hold of
your colts' heads, so that when he gives you the
word to come off with him, take all the care you
possibly can to come away together; do not, on
any account, let any thing like a false start hap-
pen to any of you. But now, boys, you must
mind, after you are all well off, not to get pull-
ing or holding of your colts as if you were riding-
horses in a race; you must be sure not to do that
sort of thing." The groom, now addressing him-

VOL. 11. R

242 TRYING YEARLINGS.

self to a boy who looks after a colt that he has
some opinion of, says to him — " Sam, you must
mind what you are about, for that colt of your's
seems to me to be rather a resolute ready sort of
comer ; you must mind to be very quiet with him.
When you are all well away from the start, if he
likes to go to the head and make his own run,
you have nothing more to do than to preserve
your temper, and keep a good steady hold of his
head, and let him go on with the pace as early
and for as long a length as he likes, entirely of
his own accord. Sit well down, and be as still on
him as possible; and do not attempt in any way
to urge him on beyond what he chooses to do him-
self; you must not do that sort of thing." The
groom, now addressing himself to a boy that may
be on a thick glutton of a colt, says — " Bill, mind
to get well away with them, and begin early to
rouse that colt of your's, for he is rather an idle
one; get at his head, and twist him along, and,
if you think it is necessary, make use of your
spurs occasionally, to urge him to run fairly on
in the whole length of the trial, or he may de-
ceive us." The groom, in speaking to four of
the other boys, as Tom, Harry, Jem, and Fred,
that are on colts in the medium, (that is, such
colts as are kind in their tempers, and easily rode).

TRYING YEARLINGS. 243

says — " You must be geutle with those colts of
yours; as soon as you are all well away, and
your colts are settled in their stride, you have-
only to take a quiet pull to set them a-going, and
persevere with each of them by repeating the
pull just as often as you find it is necessary, so
as to keep them at their best pace for the whole
of the run home ; that is, if you find they can run
well on to the finish, but certainly not otherwise;
therefore, be careful to bear in mind at what part
of the ground, should it so happen, your colts
begin to tire or be beat for pace; and be sure
you do not for a moment attempt to persevere
afterwards with them, by either getting up your
ashen plants, or even to kick them with your
heels; you must never do this with young ones
that are kind in their tempers, and that will run
freely on as far as they can of themselves." The
groom, in speaking again to a boy that may be
on a free flighty colt, says — " Frank, you have
good patience, and you must be very quiet with
your colt; as soon as he is off, let him make his
own run, as early and for as long a length as he
likes; you have only to endeavour, by lightly
holding him, to keep him together, that is, as
much within his stride as you can. If, on ap-

R 2

244 TRYING YEARLINGS.

proacliing near home, you find him beginning to
tire, do not on any accovnit attempt to strike
him, or persevere with him in any way. Your
better plan will be, to take a strong steady pull
at him, as if you were going to pull him up, but
not so determinedly as to pull him entirely out
of his stride. The truth is, in case of your colt
tiring, I want you to try, in the way I tell you,
to get him as collected in himself as you can, so
that he may finish the little he may have to do
in concluding the trial, without, if possible, being
alarmed."

The groom, having given the above orders,
proceeds on his hack to the winning-post, placing
himself sufficiently wide of it to have a clear
view of how each colt comes in. The length the
colts have to run being but a short one, he can
see pretty clearly the sort of start they make;
and he must narrowly observe how they are all
coming, and immediately he sees the first colt
pass the winning-post, he must place the others.
Having done so, and questioned the boys as to
the running, hdf then forms his opinion of the
good or bad properties of each colt, agreeably
to how they were placed in the trial.

TRYING YEARLINGS. 245

On the following morning the six fillies should
be tried in the same way as the colts were ; and
the groom will judge of them as he did of the
colts, just according as they may be placed.

We will observe, with regard to riding a year-
ling in a private trial, when he is well on his
legs, and settled in his stride, that, if he should
feel inclined to go to the head, and, by in-
creasing his pace, he can get well away from
the company, he should be permitted to do so,
by being allowed to make his own run. The
rider should never pull or wait with a yearling
as he would do with a three or four year old
in a race. Although this might be very well
with one of the latter class, as he would have
some idea of what his rider was about ; yet it is
a bad way to ride a yearling when he has not
been long enough at it to know how to collect
himself, and wai't patiently. Pulling determinedly
at him would baulk him of his stride, by which
he would become flurried; indeed, if he was thus
to be ridden in a trial, it would be no trialRv'hat-
ever. If a yearling in a trial/ will readily take
the lead, the rider has nothing more to do than
to sit quiet, and with a gentle steady pull keep
his head straight, and let him go on with the pace

246 TRYING YEARLINGS.

he appears able to maintain to the end of the
trial ground.

Whenever colts and fillies are tried, they
should, on being pulled up after their trials,
be let stand for a minute or two to recover
their wind. As they are in good condition, if the
morning is moderately cool, being stripped, they
will not be heated in coming the length of the
trial ground, they may, therefore, walk in line
for a short time; or, if the water troughs are at
a moderate distance, they may be walked up to
them, and allowed to take a few go-downs of
water ; they may then walk away to the stables,
or, if none of them have been alarmed in their
trials, they may go gently up a short gallop, and
afterwards walk back into the stables. I recom-
mend this sort of treatment, after their being
tried, in order to make their trials appear to
them as much like their exercise as possible,
with a view to prevent their becoming alarmed.
If any of them are frightened, from the exertion
they have undergone in being tried, they will fre-
quently refuse their corn for a stable hour or two ;
but, by gentle usage, and by watering them rather
liberally, and not laying their corn before them
in too large a quantity, they soon come to feed

TRYING YEARLINGS. 247

as usual, and forget the little bustle they have
been engaged in.

It will now be advisable after a week or ten
days to put into one and the same class the win-
ner of the trial of the colts and the winner of
the trial of the fillies, and such other colts or
fillies of each class as were struggling near the
head, or were tolerably well placed, for another
trial. This trial will not only decide the dif-
ference between the colts and the fillies, but
which is the best of the year out of the whole
produce.

Supposing the trial to take place on a small
scale, as where a breeder is breeding from four or
five mares, the produce of which will, of course,
consist of both colts and fillies; these, as far as
regards the trying of them, may be tried together
in one class; and, according as they are placed
in the concluding of the trial, the groom will
judge of the speed each may possess.

We now come to speak of what may be consi-
dered a good trial, which is that of any colt or
filly singling itself out from a strong field of young
ones, by taking the lead immediately from the

2i8 TRYING YEARLINGS.

starting-post, and, from superiority of speed, get-
ting an unreasonable length in front of all the
others, and maintaining this sort of speed the
whole of the way to the winning-post, so that
the other yearlings in the trial are not only un-
able to catch such colt or filly, but to stop at
the pace in any part of the running. We shall
suppose that two of the yearlings out of the
twelve we tried were thus advantageously placed
in the trial on passing the winning-post, and that
one of the two was three or four lengths in front
of the other, which, of course, we shall hereafter
consider as our best colt. This is what may be
considered a good trial, and one indeed of some
importance to the owner; no matter what en-
gagement such colt or filly may be entered into,
as this is but a secondary consideration with the
owner. His first object is to keep this matter a
profound secret, and how this may be done shall
be spoken of hereafter.

We will now suppose another case, as a man
breeding from a single mare, and that he is de-
sirous of trying her produce as a yearling, being
aware that a colt or filly bred as above does occa-
sionally turn out to be of so superior a cast, as at
two or three years old to win some of the most

TRYING YEARLINGS. 249

valuable stakes we have at our principal meet-
ings. The owner having no opportunity of trying
his single produce privately at home, sends it to
a training establishment to be got ready to be
tried publicly, by entering it into a stakes with
other yearlings, which we shall explain in the
next chapter.

We will now notice some few arrangements
relative to the disposal of the twelve yearlings
we above supposed to have been tried. In the
trying of so large a number, it will of course
be found that there is a considerable variation
among them, as regards the good or bad pro-
perties they may each possess, as we have al-
ready shewn. Those of size that are thought to
have sufficient speed to come short lengths, as
across the flat at Newmarket, or others that are
thought to be sufficiently stout to come the Derby
length at Epsom, or the St. Leger at Doncaster,
will in due time be suitably entered by the
training groom into a few of such of the good
things as are to be run for at the above-men-
tioned places, either by two or three year old
colts or fillies. Such others of the twelve year-
lings as were proved not to be quite so fast as
those first mentioned, we will consider as forming

250 TRYING YEARLINGS.

an inferior class; some of which may be likely to
make good country-plate horses. We will turn
these out into separate paddocks, in each of which
there is of course a loose house and water trough.
These colts are to remain here to be well fed
with corn and hay until the month of September,
by which time they will be two years and a half
old, when it will be proper to take them up.
The few remaining colts of the twelve, which
were proved, on being tried, to be so inferior to
the others as to be totally useless for racing, are
generally ill formed as to their structure; some
of them are so big, leggy and unwieldy, as to be
incapable of supporting their own bodily frame in
coming a racing pace for anything like a racing
length. While some others may be equally in-
ferior from being small, under-sized weedy colts,
that have neither sufficient length, breadth, or
substance, in any of those essential points, which
would enable them to maintain their speed in a
long race. These inferior colts should be dis-
posed of as soon as possible to make room in the
establishment for other stock, as also to save the
expense of keep. Colts of the above description,
bred in the neighbourhood of Newmarket, are
there sold at the spring or autumnal meetings.
Others, bred in different parts of the country, if

TRYING YEARLINGS. 251

they cannot be sold, either by private contract or
public sale, in the neighbourhood wherein they
are bred, are, if the distance is not too far, sent
to London to Messrs. Tattersal's; here they are
mostly sold for what they will fetch.

Previously to the concluding of this chapter, it
may be necessary to observe, that the same ar-
rangements, allowing for the difference of the
year, stand good in the teaching, training, try-
ing, running, and disposing of colts that may not
be taken up from their paddocks until two years
old.

CHAPTER XX.

RUNNING YEARLINGS.

At Newmarket, Catterick Bridge, Malton, or
any other place at which racing meetings are
held sufficiently early, there are mostly stakes
opened for yearlings to be entered into. To have
a tolerable true run race, it will be advisable to
make the stakes worth winning; to obtain this
point, the subscription should be thirty sovereigns
each, ten forfeit; we will, to shew the reader
how the thing is to be done, say, that the annual
meeting at which the yearlings' stakes are to be
run for is but a few miles distant from our home
stable. We shall have to take a couple of horses
to run for something at the above meeting. With
the horses, we will take the two best yearlings we
are supposed to have tried, both of which we
found to be very superior to any yearlings we
had ever tried before.

RUNNING YEARLINGS, 253

Now, it is proper that our horses should arrive
at the stables in the neighbourhood of the meet-
ing on the fourth day previous to its taking place,
so that by exercising them every morning on the
course, (which they may possibly have never run
over before), they may become acquainted with
it ; and, to be certain that both our yearlings will
at the same time kindly go up between the rails
of the course, they must accompany the horses
for their own length. It is also advisable to
make the two yearlings follow the race horses
through the crowd on each day of their running
up between the rails of the course in concluding
their races.

Let us now proceed to shew how these little
matters are to be carried into effect. Sup-
ix)se the horses and colts to have arrived in
the stable prepared for their reception in the
vicinity of the meeting mentioned. On the fol-
lowing morning our horses and colts are to be
taken out to the race course. The colts being
ordered by the groom to go as far in front of the
horses as will give them time to walk on by the
side of the course up to where their gallop is to
begin, are to be kept there moving about until
the horses come up to them. The horses are to

254 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

begin their walking exercise from the starting-
post of the course, walking on as much of that
part of the course as may be necessary to give
them, in the latter part of it, a sufficient length
of ground to take their gallops on; and as they
are coming along in them, and are getting up
nearly opposite to where the colts are, these
latter should be ready to go off in their gallops,
and follow the former, the whole of the way up
between the rails, and pass the winning-post be-
fore they pull up. Thus are horses shewn a
course, and colts taught to go up between the
rails of one.

We now come to speak of how yearlings are
to be brought to face the crowd on a race course,
at the time of the horses running. The way to
do this is, on the first day of the meeting, and
on each succeeding one, about an hour before the
races begin, to take the yearlings in question on
to the race course, under the charge of the head
lad, who should be on a hack in the front of them.
The lad, on his hack, followed l)y the colts, should
go up between the rails of the course, and pass
the winning-post ; then being turned about, they
should be walked back, down the outside of the
rails among the foot people, (who are by this

RUNNING YEARLINGS. 255

time pretty thickly assembled), and near to the
most crowded parts ; here they may occasionally
be stopped, and allowed to look about them ;
after which they may be walked down to where
the rails of the course conclude, or, if a longer
length be necessary for the thick colt we shall bye-
and-bye have to run here, as far down as where
they, the colts, were before started off in their
gallops. On turning them about here, if the head
lad observes the course to be pretty clear, that is,
not much crowded in its centre by the people,
(which it ought never to be), he may start his hack
off at a good, steady, quiet gallop, and, being fol-
lowed by the colts, go up between the rails ; after
passing the winning-post, they should be pulled
up and made much of, to give them confidence ;
and they should be kept walking about near
to the crowd, as there is mostly great cheering
among the people as the horses are running past
them up to the winning-post. Should the colts,
at this time, appear to be the least timid, they
are to be spoken kindly to and much noticed by
the boys who ride them, so that they may not
become alarmed ; after which they should be
taken home. At the same time on the morrow
they are to be brought again on to the course;
here they are to be walked about between the

256 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

rails and in tlie crowd, as they were on the day
previous. When the bell rings for the saddling
of the horses that are going to run, the colts
should be walked down between and as far below
the rails as is necessary to admit of their getting
tolerably clear out of the crowd. Their having
arrived at this part of the course, the head lad,
under whose care the two colts are, speaks to the
boys who are riding them : he says — " Now mind
you are both ready to follow me with your colts,
immediately on the horses passing," (meaning the
horses that are running). As soon as the whole
of the horses are passed by, the head lad on his
hack, and the boys on their colts, immediately
follow the horses up the distance, passing the
winning-post. The colts, on being pulled up
here, should, as I have already observed, be
kindly spoken to and much noticed by the boys
on them; after which they may be kept walking
about near the crowd for an hour, or until they
have become cool and collected from the little sur-
prise the bustle they have been engaged in may
have occasioned, when they may be taken home.

Now, when a number of horses (say six or
eight) are running at a country meeting, they
mostly run heats. Some of these horses will

RUNNING YEARLINGS. 257

be ordered by their trainers to run for the
first heat, while others of them may not be re-
quired to run this heat. The orders given to the
jockeys who ride the last-mentioned horses is —
to wait, and not to run for the first heat. These
jockeys, therefore, follow as close to the horses
that are in front of them as may be necessary to
give to their own the opportunity to save their
distance. The jockeys, having done this, take a
pull at their horses, and allow them to go slowly
up the distance ; having passed the winning-post,
they pull them up, turn them about, and walk
them back to the scales, dismount and weigh.

In describing the running of horses here, I
confess I have digressed a little from my subject.
I have done so merely to shew my readers, that
there is no danger to be apprehended from colts
following race horses in concluding their races,
as the course is invariably kept clear from the
crowd, until the whole of the horses that may be
running have passed on to the winning-post.

As we are now satisfied that our yearlings will
boldly face the crowd when running, let us return
to the subject of the yearling stakes, of which

VOL. II. s

258 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

we made mention in the early part of this
chapter. In these stakes we suppose to have been
entered in due time one of the two yearlings we
brought with us to the meeting, (the second best
colt), the one that ran within three lengths of
the colt that won at the two trials of the three
classes of colts and fillies, and which we selected
as being the best out of the twelve yearlings we
tried in the last chapter.

Now, to ride our yearling we will put up our
own jockey, whom we know to be an experienced
good rider; he is an honest man, and has long
been in the practice of riding both young ones and
old ones, in trials and races, under all the various
circumstances in which such things are done.
This man is consequently a good judge of what
is called a racing pace; he is therefore fully ca-
pable of describing all the particulars of the
running, in any race in which he himself may
be engaged to ride. The instructions given by a
trainer to a jockey, as to how he is to ride
any colt or horse in a race, are termed '' a
jockey's orders." But as we are going to put
upon our colt our own jockey, it will be more
a matter of discourse between the trainer and

RUNNING YEARLINGS. ^59

the jockey, as to how the colt in question is to be
ridden, than any very accurate or strict order
to him on the subject.

Our jockey having brought himself down to
the weight he is to ride, the trainer in the morn-
ing of the day the yearling stakes are to be run
for, begins to converse with him as to how he
wishes him to ride our colt in the race. He
says to the jockey — " You must mind to get this
idle yearling of ours well away with the rest of
them from the start; as it is a short length you
have to run, you must of course keep your place.
But as our colt is not very likely to set-to of
his own accord to run early in the race, you will
be able to see what the rest of them are about,
and which among them are likely to run honestly
home. What I want you to do with our year-
ling is, to take as good a measurement as you
possibly can of all the others. I would much ra-
ther you did this than that you should call se-
verely on our colt to come with a view to win
the stakes, and perhaps, after all, you could
only be second, which you know is the worst
place you can be in, unless under certain circum-
stances, which we in the present instance have
no occasion to trouble ourselves about. However,

s2

260 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

should there not be running enough made for
our colt, you must begin making use of him
sufficiently early in the race, so as to draw them
out that we may know something about them."

Now let us, by way of example, suppose
that six yearlings were entered in the stakes
already named, and tliat they all came to post
and ran; that it was a close race with the two
first, and that our colt was a tolerably good
third, but that the three others were beat a long
way, or rather that they were not placed. The
race being over, the colts are taken home. Now,
after a race is over, it is an invariable rule for each
training groom to question his jockey as to how
or what running may be made by different colts
or horses that may be engaged in any race. I
shall therefore relate the sort of conversation
that may be supposed to take place between our
trainer and his jockey on the race in question,
not only as to how our yearling ran, but as to
how the rest of them ran in this same race. The
trainer, in talking the thing over privately with
his jockey, says — " You all of you got a good
start; you appeared to me to be running at a
good pace; and, as far as I could discern, I
thought the whole of you kept pretty well to-

RUNNING YEARLINGS. 261'

getlier, until you were within about a distance
and a half of home, so that you must have
had a tolerably good opportunity of seeing what,
the rest of them were about. Were you third
by choice or by sufferance ? How was the
running between the first and second colts?
Was the colt that won called upon severely to
come, or did he win easy ? As to the other three
colts, they appeared to me to be fairly beat some
way from home, and I suppose pulled off." The
jockey, in answer to the trainer's questions, says
— " The first part of the running was much as you
saw it. The three colts that were last were beat
for pace long before we made our run. The colt
that won is a free, resolute sort of goer, the conse-
quence of this was, his jockey had to keep fast hold
of his head, and make the running for the whole
of us. The colt that was second is also a ready
comer ; when we were a little more than half a
distance from home, the winner was here quietly
called upon by his rider to come, when he imme-
diately began running at a severe pace, and the
colt that was second got well away with him.
Our colt, being so very idle, I could not get him
out near his best pace quickly enough to lay close
up by the side of them, so that, in the commence-
ment of the run home, they slipped me rather

262 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

more than a length; but I clearly saw how the
running was; it was a true run race between
them, but I clo not think it was accurately so
with our colt; for, after I had got him pretty
well out, he kept his place in the run to the
winning-post, and as they (the two jockeys that
were in front) saw me persevering with our colt,
when they commenced their run, they would na-
turally conclude, as I was third, that their colts
were faster than ours, and more particularly so,
as they also saw I was obliged, in the early part
of the running, to take an occasional pull at our
colt to urge him on, merely to make him keep
his place ; but as I did not in any part of the
race call severely on our colt to come, he pulled
up fresh and well. The colt that won, and the
one that was second, appeared to me, as they
walked back to the scales, to have been at
all they could do; and I am pretty certain,
that, if they had much farther to have gone, at
the pace they were at in the run home, they
must in some degree have come back to me ; so
that if our colt is not quite as fast as either of
the other two, I am confident he is much stouter.
Indeed, if you had not been so very anxious
about the measurement of the five colts, I feel
quite certain, that if I had made more use

RUNNING YEARLINGS. 263

of our colt in the early part of the running,
I could have won the race." The trainer, in
reply to the jockey, says — " I have no doubt you .
could have won the race, but according to the
running that was made by the other colts, you
could not have ridden ours in a more satisfac-
tory manner, to please me, than you have done.
For it certainly is of more consequence to us,
to have taken the measurement we have of the
other colts, than that our colt should have won
the stakes, and that we afterwards should have
been left in ignorance as to the company he had
been running in, which in all probability would
have been the case. For had you, in the early part
of the race, gone out in front of them, and made
the running with our colt, which you must have
done to have won with him, you could not then
have had so good an opportunity of seeing whe-
ther it was a true run race or not with the whole
of the other colts, and as our colt was placed but
a middling third, the public, if they think any-
thing at all about him, will form rather a bad
opinion of him." Thus concludes the conversa-
tion between the trainer and his jockey.

The yearling race being run, and the meeting
concluded, our two horses and our two yearlings

264 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

are on the following day travelled off to the
home stable. This brings us to about the
middle of April, at which time it will be advisa-
ble for us to lay by for a short time our two
yearlings. The one w^e have so high an opinion
of, and that has not run in public, we will
get ready to turn out by putting him into a
cool loose box, and gradually stripping him of
his clothes. On the first of May, his shoes
being taken off, his feet being properly cleaned
out, and the lower edges of the crust rasped
round, we will, as we do not intend bringing him
to post for some time, put him for a couple of
months into a well-fenced paddock, in which
there is a good supply of fine spring grass. In
this paddock there is of course a water trough,
and a well-ventilated loose house in which the colt
may shelter himself from any severity of the
weather. The house is to be kept clean, and
properly littered as occasion may require, under
the superintendance of the groom or head lad;
the colt we put here is to be regularly and plen-
tifully fed with corn every day, by the boy who
looks after him. He may also have daily, if he is
inclined to eat it, some hay.

The yearling we have been running in public.

RUNNING YEARLINGS. 265

we liave described as being an idle, glutton-
ous colt, and, from the work he has been do-
ing, he may be considered as being a little stale.
But, as this colt is tolerably well engaged, and
will have to come to post as a two-years old in
the autumn, we cannot afford to lose more time
in refreshing him than is absolutely necessary.
Therefore, instead of turning him out into a
paddock for a couple of months, we will take off
his shoes, put his feet to rights, put some stand-
ing clothes on him, and turn him into a clean,
ventilated, and constantly well-littered loose box ;
here, at the accustomed stable hours, he is to
have his usual allowance of corn, to be wisped
over, his mane and tail combed out, his legs
rubbed, and due attention paid to his feet. For
the first three weeks or a month of his remaining
in this box, he is to be plentifully fed on green
food, as vetches, lucern, or clover grass. Those
grasses, whichever may be used, should be cut
daily, and a rubber full or two given every stable
hour by the boy who looks after the colt. For
what purposes green food is to be given to colts
and horses, see Vol. I. Chap. V. p. 105.

In the last seven chapters, I have described
how yearlings are to be taught, trained, tried.

266 RUNNING YEARLINGS.

and run. If the whole of the practical obser-
vations here laid down are carefully attended to
by the reader, in the management of his year-
lings, according as their constitutions may vary,
I have no hesitation in saying, that he will find
his colts will, in every respect, progressively come
into that state of condition in which they ought
to be when brought out to run, in either their
trials or races. If such yearlings be kind in their
tempers, they will, if properly ridden, be capable of
running honestly for the length they have to
come, that is, as they are not very cunning at this
early age, they will fairly shew what speed or
stoutness they may each possess; unless, indeed,
there are any very big ones among them, which
may probably require more time to bring them
into that fit state of condition, w^hich will enable
them to shew what racing powers they may have.

The two colts we just now placed in situa-
tions to get fresh, we shall return to bye-and-bye,
when they are two years old. The whole of the
subject, on the treatment of them as yearlings, is,
therefore, concluded.

CHAPTER XXI.

HALF A DOZEN CRAVING HORSES DOING THEIR FIRST
SWEAT EARLY IN MARCH.

Race horses that are hearty feeders, as I have
ah'eady said, put up flesh very quickly, and, as
they cannot run their best pace, when fat, but
for a short length, it becomes necessary to re-
duce them, which is done by sweating them as
often as occasion may require during the time of
their being in training. A repetition of this sort
of exercise may take place, with some horses, as
often as three times a fortnight; with others,
once a week; with others, once in ten days, a
fortnight, or three weeks. There are some horses
so very delicate, and have to run such short
lengths, that they may not require a sweat during
the whole time of their being in training.

268 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

How horses may have to sweat while in train-
ing, and the different methods to be adopted in
getting them carefully and properly through their
sweats, will, as I have elsewhere frequently
mentioned, depend (as must all other things
which are done unto them) on a variety of cir-
cumstances ; as, for example, the ages of the
horses, the strength of their constitutions, their
manner of feeding, the state of their condition,
the season of the year, the state the ground may
be in at the time, as that of its being very wet,
having too much foot-hold, or otherwise, as being
very dry and hard. I'he whole, or rather most
of the above causes, will in the end have refer-
ence to the three following: — first, whether the
horses are to sweat, principally, to get the flesh
off them, and which takes place in the early
stages of their training; secondly, the length of
ground sufficient to get a good sweat out of them,
which takes place when they are getting pretty
forward in their training; thirdly, to go fast
enough to bring them stout as to pace, and which
must be near the time of their perfecting their
condition. The very great extent to which it is
frequently necessary to sw^eat some race horses,
renders this sort of exercise the most severe of
any they have to undergo.

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 269

On the ground which race horses are to sweat
over, there is, of course, a rubbing-house, where
the stables are not conveniently near, (but in the
present instance we will consider them as being
sufficiently near), at a suitable distance from
where the horses may have to pull up. That
there may be no very difficult turns on the ground,
it should be of spacious dimensions, as of four,
or at least two miles in circumference; and if it
has a little degree of ascent and descent, I should
prefer it to its being a dead flat ; and further, if
we had the power of selection, and such a ground
could be found, I should choose one where the
commencement was a level surface for the first
mile and a half, or two miles, where the ground
is four miles in circumference, and then a gra-
dual rise for half a mile, then descending for
about the same distance, and then proceeding on
along a level surface until within about half a
mile of its conclusion ; in which latter part should
be another very gradual ascent (similar to that
of the finishing of some of our race grounds) to
where the horses pull up. Why I wish the ground
to vary a little is, that when the trainer is giving
orders how his horses are to go in their sweats,
he may direct the pace to be increased at those

270 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

little ascents and descents, if he conceives it ne-
cessary; thus practising the horses on the dif-
ferent parts of this ground where it resembles
the course they may have to run over with other
horses in their engagements.

The different lengths horses will have to sweat
will of course depend on their ages. A yearling
may go in his sweat two miles; a two year old,
two miles and a half; a three year old, three
miles, or three miles and a half; and a four year
old, four miles ; but if this latter colt should have
to run four miles, and the season is somewhat
advanced, he may occasionally come four miles
and a half; a five or six year old may at times
sweat five miles. Each of the above lengths will
occasionally be varied, depending on the consti-
tutions of the horses, and their condition, the
state of the ground, the temperature of the air,
and their ages as connected with the season of
the year.

Having now made mention of some of the
principal causes for the sweating of horses in
training, and the effects it produces on them, as
well also as having noticed the sort of ground.

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 271

and tlie different lengths horses have to go in
their sweats, I shall now proceed to state how
the whole of the practical detail is to be carried
into effect.

Horses, in commencing their training, sweat
very readily; they should, therefore, go at a slow
pace, and as they proceed on gradually in their
different sweats, their bodies will be diminishing
in weight; and while their legs will be increasino-
in strength, their muscular powers and wind will
also at the same time be progressively improving.
As woollen cloths are bad conductors of heat,
they are consequently the most proper and con-,
venient for the purpose of horses sweatino- in;
and the quantity or number of them are to be
increased by the directions of the training groom,
according to the different effects he intends they
are to produce. (For a description of different
sorts of cloths, and their various uses, see Vol. I.
Chap. 9.) The groom therefore orders the head
lad, on the sweating morning, to lay out the pro-
per quantity of sweaters behind each of the
horses that are to sweat. Most horses that have
been accustomed to be trained, and that have
been habituated to sweat often, are more or less

272 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

alarmed, or nervous, on their sweating days ;
they feel apparently conscious, from their having
been set over-night or in the morning, that they
will shortly have to undergo more than their
usual daily exertions, and which they imme-
diately shew in various ways. On seeing their
sweaters being brought into the stables, just
before they are stripped to have them put on,
some of the strong craving horses will stretch
out either their legs or their carcasses, others
empty their intestines or bladders, while some
others, as the more delicate ones, may be seen
trembling, and some may have a little palpitation
of the heart. The first mentioned of these habits,
the strong horses should be allowed quietly to
perform, after which they soon become recon-
ciled. The light, delicate horses do not get rid
of their fears so readily as the stronger, they
therefore require to be treated in the most kind
and gentle manner possible at the time of their
sweaters being put on; when they are clothed
up, mounted, and ridden out on to the downs,
their apprehensions generally go off.

The training groom will now, on opening the
stables in the morning, proceed :ff'\ih the same

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. !27.*J

arrangements as he did in the winter season before
the horses began their training, with the addition
of the preparatory matter of finishing the setting
of those that may be going to sweat. Strong
constitutioned horses, that may have to come to
post at the end of March or beginning of April,
will have to begin their sweats (if the weather is
open) early in February. At this time, and,
perhaps, even to the end of March, the mornings
are seldom either fine or warm enough for the
horses to sweat, until after the boys have got
their breakfasts. On the approach of summer,
the horses sweat earlier; and, should it be ex-
cessively hot in the months of July and Au-
gust, it will be necessary, to prevent the horses
becoming jaded or languid by the heat, to sweat
them in the cool of the morning, perhaps before
the dew is off the grass.

Many of the horses that put up flesh quickly,
will, as I have observed, have to sweat as often
as three times a fortnight. Should the morning,
on the days they have to sweat, be cool, it will
be advisable to defer their sweating until the
day is farther advanced, as nine or ten o'clock;
it will be better to do this in the early stages
of their condition, than afterwards, to produce

VOL. II. T

274 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

the desired effect, to overload them with
clothes, or hurry them in their pace. Horses
that may only have to sweat once in a week or
ten days require but little in the way of flesh
(even in the early part of their training) to be
taken oflP them; and, on approaching near to
their best form, they are then only sent over the
ground with a view merely to keep the length in
them, and to clean their skins. Their clothing
and pace should therefore be arranged by the
groom accordingly.

We will now mention a few arrangements
to be made on the morning horses have to
sweat, no matter whether before or after break-
fast. In the first place, the number of horses
that are to sweat at one time must be regulated
by the number of boys there may be on the
premises of any racing establishment ; that is to
say, when horses pull up from their sweats, there
must be not less on such occasions than three
boys to attend each horse ; five to each would
be a more proper number for the finishing of
the horses quickly.

When there is not much to be done, and the
mornings are not very hot, for the conveniency

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 275

of shutting up all the stables at one time, the
horses that do not sweat are occasionally left in,
until those that have sweated are roughly dressed
over and re-clothed. The first-mentioned horses
are then got ready to exercise at the time those
that sweated come out to take their sweating
gallop.

When the sweating days of the different horses
come round, the number that have to sweat may
be gradually diminished. If eight or ten, or per-
haps more, have to sweat on the same morn-
ing, they should be put into classes, or, if they
have to sweat together in one class, care should be
taken that all, as nearly as possible, require the
same treatment. Should there be any material
variation among them as to age or constitution,
some artificial modes must be adopted to bring
them as nearly as possible upon a par: as by
increasing the quantity of clothing on those
horses that may be rather high in flesh, and by
clothing lightly or putting up lighter boys to
ride on those that may want but little flesh
coming off them, .and by regulating the pace
they are to go in favour of the young ones. If
these precautions are adopted, it is not likely
that any thing wrong will take place.

T 2

27(3 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

In the clothing of horses that are going to
sweat, there are two other things invariably to
be observed: the one is, not to let the clothes be
to such an extent in quantity as in any way to
incumber the horse, so as to interfere with the
pace he ought to go; the other, not to let the
pace in the early stages of his condition be faster
than is absolutely necessary to produce a good
sweat from him.

Horses, in commencing their first sweats in
spring, are all more or less unclean in their
skins, and more particularly those of strong con-
stitutions that may have been stripped and al-
lowed to lie by in a loose box during the winter.
There is an accumulation on the surface of those
horses' bodies of an unctuous, scurfy, or dusty
sort of substance, which, in the first two or
three sweats, mixes with the perspiration, and
causes the fluid scraped from the horses' bodies
to be of a frothy, glutinous, greasy and unclean
nature; and therefore, until these horses have
sweated two or three times, I should recommend
the oldest of the sweating clothes being used
next their skins.

Horses, as they are improving in their condi-

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 277

tion, are more difficult to be got to sweat tlian at
any other time. Whenever this is known to be
the case, it becomes requisite, not only to make
some little addition to the clothing of such horses,
but also to increase the length of the sweat-
ing ground for half a mile, or perhaps more ; and
if they are, which is mostly the case, strong-con-
stitutioned horses, and are drawing near the time
of finishing their training, the groom should or-
der the boy who rides the horse that leads the
sweat to increase the pace somewhat earlier in
concluding the length of the ground, than is
usual with other horses on more common occa-
sions. It is of course to be understood, that
whatever horses are to sweat, they have been pre-
viously prepared, that is to say, they have been set
according to what they are. The muzzles have
been put on some of them over-night, perhaps
on some others very early in the morning.

We will now proceed to state the way in which
horses are to be got ready that are going to
sweat: and first as to the manner of putting on
their sweating clothes. These we have already
observed are ordered by the training groom to be
laid out in sufficient portions behind each horse.
The morning the horses are to sweat, as the hour

278 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

approaches for them to undergo this exertion, the
groom, with a sufficient number of his boys,
enters the stables, and each boy goes into the
stall of the horse he looks after, and takes off his
muzzle and collar; the horses then come round
and have their bridles put on. When any thing
is being done to a race horse, unless he is very
vicious, the boy who looks after him is mostly
the one appointed by the groom to take charge
of his head. We will now suppose this boy to
have hold of the reins of the bridle in each hand,
strained pretty tight, and to be standing at a
convenient distance in front of his horse's head;
while two boys, (one on each side), of more ex-
perience, are clothing the horse up for his sweat.

We will now state minutely the directions for
putting on the sweating clothes of one horse, and
which of course will answer for the clothing of
any other ; only observing this difference, that the
quantity of clothing is either to be increased or
diminished, according as the age, constitution,
or condition of the horse may require. Being
stripped of his standing clothes, the first part
of the clothing to be put on him is his hood,
which should be lined throughout with white
serge; if it should be necessary to apply two.

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 279

the first should be without ears. The hoods be-
ing put on, and tied under the horse's jaws and
throat, the neck part of the hood is, for the mo-
ment, turned far enough back towards or over
the horse's head, to admit the body sweater, (a
white swan-skin sheet), which, being put on
next his skin, should reach from the top of the
horse's tail to half way up his neck. Towards the
end, and on each side of the centre part of this
cloth, there should be a small buckle on the one
side, and a strap to meet it on the other, so that,
when buckled, it may perfectly cover the neck,
shoulders, and chest of the horse. To these
clothes may be added one of the blanket-like
sort of rugs; over this may be an old quarter
piece; if the horse is very lusty, and is in the
habit of putting up flesh quickly, that is, if he
is a difficult horse to keep in any thing like
racing form, a second quarter piece may be
added. These body clothes being put on, and
the neck part of the hood turned back to its
proper place, the cloth next to be applied is
the breast sweater, the centre of it being placed
on the centre of the chest of the horse. Each boy
must lay the front part of the ends of the rug,
the quarter pieces, and shoulders of the hoods,
as smoothly over the shoulders of the horse as

280 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

he can, previously to bringing the sides of the
long sweating cloth up each side of the horse's
shoulders to the top of his withers, where the
ends of this cloth are to be crossed over, and
continued as far back as they will go towards the
horse's loins. The saddle, and, if reruisite,
a martingale, being put on, it may now be
girthed up.

Previously to the horse going out of the stable
the groom must see that the bottom part of the
breast sweater is not too tight, this he is to as-
certain by putting his hand up between it and
the horse's chest; if it should be too tight, he
has only to draw it sufficiently out at the bot-
tom part, so as to give room for the free work-
ing of the points of the horse's shoulders. Un-
less this little precaution is taken, the horse's
shoulders will become galled, from the friction
occasioned by too much pressure of the breast
sweater during the time the horse is galloping-
over the sweating ground, and more particularly
so, should he be a delicate thin-skinned horse.

The old-fashioned long breast sweater might,
I think, be advantageously done away with, and
a less inconvenient one substituted; for example.

SWEATINGXRAVING HORSES. 281

I would recommend this sort of cloth to be made
like a common breast cloth, with only this differ-
ence, that it should be much fuller, and lined
with white serge or swan's skin; and instead
of having two buckles at the top ends of this
cloth, it would be better to have a buckle on the
near end, and a strap on the off one, which can
be passed through a loop that may be placed
long ways on the top of the outside of the wither
part of the old quarter piece, that is used outside
of the other clothing the horse sweats in ; and on
each side, at about the middle part of the fore ends
of this quarter piece, there should be fixed two
straps to meet two buckles that are to be simi-
larly placed on the centre or side ends of the
breast cloth. These straps and buckles, thus
fixed, will answer tolerably the purpose of keep-
ing the other clothes in place, as well also as
preventing the admission of air to the surface of
the body of the horse as he is going along in his
sweat. The advantage of a breast sweater being
thus made is, that when the fore parts of the
horse are to be scraped, this cloth can be more
readily removed than the long breast sweater;
for, in removing or pulling this cloth from under
the saddle, the horse's body clothes are loosened,
or indeed in some measure removed — a sort of

282 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

thing which should not be allowed to take place,
until the saddle and clothes are all taken off at
one time, for the horse's body to be instantly
scraped. The old-fashioned long, narrow body-
sweater being an inconvenient one to put on, has
long since been dispensed with; and as the long
narrow-breast one is quite as inconvenient to
take off, I see no reason why this cloth might
not give place to one similar to that I have been
describing.

Having now described the manner of clothing
horses in their sweats, we shall proceed to the
sweating of them. It is to be understood, that
the six horses we have taken for an example have
all been in previous training, some for two, and
others for three years; and that they have also
been doing some little portion of work in their
gallops, merely to clear their wind in a slight
degree. We have noticed in the Chapter on
Galloping Exercise, that, whenever the training
groom wishes to do any thing particular with re-
gard to the working of his horses, he puts up a
boy to lead them in their work, who is a good
judge of the pace of any horse he is riding; this
boy, by the time he has become proficient in this
part of his duty, will also have become acquainted

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 283

with another very essential qualification, viz. to
understand the brief manner, on various occa-
sions, in which the groom, in a language rather
peculiar to himself, gives his orders as to what
pace he is to rate any class of horses in their
work. Now, as this boy is very steady, and can
ride well, he is, of course, of the greatest utility
to the groom ; and, as we shall frequently have
to make mention of him, that we may do so in
as few words as possible, we will call him Thomas,
or, more familiarly, Tom. To this boy, or some
other such one, or to the head lad, if the latter
is sufficiently light, the groom will have, under a
variety of circumstances, as he proceeds in the
training of the horses, to give his orders. To
give the reader a small specimen of our boy Tom
coming into use, we will introduce a training
groom giving to him the necessary orders as to
how the six horses already clothed up are to go
over the sweating ground. " Tom, you must
mind what you are about this morning with these
horses ; it is their first sweat this season, and they
are very lusty, and there is a good deal of foot-
hold in the ground ; be sure to take them steadily
along, do not attempt to go any thing like half
speed; just go as fast the whole of the way with
your own horse as will bring the other horses into

28 t SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

a slow even striding pace; if you rate them as I
wish you, there will be no danger, lusty as they
are, of any one horse going too fast for another."
The groom, in speaking to the boys on the other
horses, says — " Mind you keep fast hold of your
horses' heads, and keep in your places as when
you started, until you pull up."

The groom, on his hack, is to observe how his
horses are going on in their sweats; he should
also take care to be early enough at that part of
the ground where the horses are to be pulled up.
Having been pulled up, they may be let stand for
a moment to recover their wind a little; they
should then be moved quickly on into the rubbing-
house or stable. The boys having ridden the
horses into the stalls here, and turned them about,
dismount, and immediately slack their horses'
girths, and take off their horses' boots. Each boy
having moved as much of the bedding round the
front of his horse as will prevent him from
slipping about at the time of his being scraped,
takes charge of his horse's head, in the same
manner as he did at the time when the horses
were being clothed up for their sweats; while
tlie other boys, who were left behind to assist in
getting the horses done, immediately put on to

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 285

each horse (as directed by the groom) an addi-
tional portion of clothing, as hoods on their
heads, and quarter pieces on their bodies, reach-
ing back to the tops of their tails. By this
additional clothing, the respiration of the horses
is immediately increased to a very considerable
extent. The stables being shut up, the heat of
them soon becomes augmented, from the hot va-
pours arising from the surface of the horses, as
well, also, as from their lungs. These circum-
stances, combined with the exertion the horses
have just undergone, cause them to break out
into a violent perspiration, which proceeds through
the pores of their skins, in that well-known wa-
tery fluid called sweat. By this discharge of the
superfluous fluids of their bodies, they are, what
is called in the language of the stable, drawn fine,
or stripped of their waste and spare flesh; or,
more properly speaking, are sufliciently light-
ened, both internally and externally, of their su-
perabundant adipose membrane or fat.

By properly accomplishing of this object, we
obtain a variety of others. First, we give free ac-
tion to the muscular surface of our horse's body ;
secondly, we give the same to the internal organs,
as those of his abdomen and thorax ; thirdly, we

286 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

give room for the circulation and respiration of
the animal ; which, with other proper treatment,
in due time enables him to undergo great exer-
tion, not only without endangering his constitu-
tion, but with comparative ease to himself; and
even if the horse be in a plethoric state, and, after
having gone over the sweating ground, the per-
spiration is encouraged to pass off from the surface
of his body to the extent I shall presently speak
of, he will be preserved from any inflammatory
attacks, as that of fever or inflammation of his
lungs.

How long the horses in question that have
been over the sweating ground will have to stand
breaking out under their additional clothing,
must depend on circumstances. The time they
will have to stand may be from five to ten or
fifteen minutes, just according to how quickly
the perspiration may begin to flow down their
fore and hind quarters. While waiting for the
horses to break out in their sweats, the various
spare boys should be employed about each; one
boy may untie the first and second string of the
hood under the horse's jaw ; and pushing the
hood a little up, he may with a rubber, without
annoying or interfering at all with the respira-

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 287

tion of the horse, wipe quietly his face, eyes,
and moutli, and between his jaws; while two
others, after having taken off the horse's boots,
may be engaged in quietly rubbing the legs with
a little soft straw, by which the horses will be
considerably refreshed.

The groom in the mean time is to be looking
on, and as soon as he observes the sweat begin-
ning to run down the extremities of his horses, he
should pass his hand under each horse's clothes,
and feel on the lower surface of their shoulders;
and if, on drawing the back of his fore-finger
with some degree of pressure down these parts,
he finds the perspiration passing freely on before
it, he may consider the horses as being in a fit
state to be scraped. Having ascertained this
point, he cautions the boys who are in charge
of the horses' heads, to keep their reins strained,
and to be sure to keep their eyes constantly fixed
on those of the horses they are holding. He
then directs the other boys (of whom there
should be four to each horse — two to the fore
quarters, and two to the hind) to untie the
horses' hoods, and immediately to remove them
and the breast sweaters; they are then quickly

288 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

to turn the front and back parts of the clothing-
over the horses' saddles. The boys now, with
as little delay as possible, commence very quiet-
ly and steadily to scrape the necks and fore
and hind quarters of the horses. (For a de-
scription of the wooden instruments used on
these occasions, see Vol. I. p. 194). As soon
as the horses are sufficiently scraped in those
parts, which may be known from the sweat no
longer passing on before the scrapers, they are
to be wisped with soft dry straw ; as the wisps
get damp, they are, of course, to be changed.
While the bigger boys, at the hind quarters
of the horses, should take an opportunity, as
directed by the groom, to wipe with their rub-
bers, as gently as possible, up between the inside
and back part of the horses' thighs; and they
should endeavour, also, by degrees, to do the
same to their sheaths and testicles before the
perspiration has dried on the surface of those
parts. This I am aware, with some horses, is,
at times, rather difficult, but much may be done,
even with those that are refractory, by gentle
usage and patient perseverance; by such means
I have often succeeded. The fore and hind
quarters of the horses being thus far forwarded.

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 289

their saddles and body sweaters are taken off.
Tlieir bodies are then to be scraped and wisped
as their quarters were.

It will now be advisable, (if there is ready in
the stable a bucket of luke-warm water), just
previously to the whole surface of their bodies
being well wiped over with rubbers, to give each
horse, out of a wooden bowl, two or three go-
downs of water; this small portion of fluid is
not only pleasingly grateful to their tastes, but
moistens, lubricates, and cleanses their mouths
and throats, and thereby relieves those parts
from that parched unpleasant feeling which has
been occasioned by the great exertions they
have undergone; and if their lips and nos-
trils are sponged and wiped dry with a linen
rubber, they will afterwards feel much refreshed.
Their bodies being now done, they are, to pre-
vent them from becoming chilly or taking cold,
to be clothed up in warm, dry, comfortable cloth-
ing, as soft blanket-like sort of rugs, next to their
skins, with as much more of their other body
clothes as may be necessary, according to the
state of the weather and the delicacy of their
constitutions. Their saddles and boots being
again put on, and their manes and tails combed

VOL. II. u

290 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

out, their hoods are to be put on; the boys that
look after them now mount them, and ride them
out of the stables on to the downs. If the morn-
ing is not cold, they may walk for a short time
to stretch their legs; but should it be cold, the
sooner they take their sweating gallop the better.

While the horses are out, the boys that are
left in are immediately to throw open the
doors and windows of the stables. The horses'
beds are to be set fair, and their sweaters,
which have just been used, are to be removed; if
the weather is sufficiently fine, they are to be
laid out on the rails round the back yard; but
should the weather be unfavourable, they are to
be taken to the boys' hall, and there placed on
wooden horses before the fire ; when thoroughly
dried, they are to be rolled up, with the scrapers
in them, and put away in the saddle-room. For
the convenient arrangement of these little affairs
see Vol. I. pp. 16, 20.

As this is their first sweat, and it having
taken place early in the season, the weather is
not likely to be warm; and as we do not wish
to risk our horses catching cold, there will be no
occasion for them to walk longer afier they have

SWEATING CRAVING IIORSKS. 291

taken their sweating gallop than will allow of
their becoming sufficiently cool, or in such good
state as to admit of their being thoroughly well
dressed, without being disposed to break par-
tially out into sweats. It is most likely, that
their walking quietly down to the stables from
where they pulled up at the end of their gallop
will, as they have gone slowly in their sweats,
answer the purpose of preventing them from
breaking out into second sweats as above de-
scribed.

Our horses having arrived in the stables, and
turned round in their stalls, the boys as usual
dismount, slack their horses' girths, take off
their hoods and bridles, unbuckle the near side
of their breast clothes, and turn them and the
fore-part of their quarter pieces back over the
horses' saddles. If the horses are kind in their
tempers, they should now have laid before
them a bit of hay to be picking at while
their heads, necks, and fore quarters are being
dressed. Those parts being done, and their
manes and fore-tops combed out, the horses are
turned round in their stalls; their muzzles being
put on, their heads are chained up; their feet
being picked out, their legs are now to be fo-
u2

292 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

mented in warm water up to just above their
knees and hocks. This is a very necessary ap-
plication to the legs of horses that may have
been going very long lengths in either their
sweats, trials, or races, and more particularly so,
should the latter be heats severely contested for;
warm water thus applied to those parts relaxes
the vessels, and gives a free passage to the circu-
lation of the blood, thereby allowing or aiding
those parts to perform their proper functions.
Their legs after being sponged dry should be
bandaged up, from the coronets to the bending
of the joints of their knees and hocks. Imme-
diately previous to the horses being stripped of
their saddles and body clothes, I would advise
their water, rather warm, to be given to them. I
am fully aware that this is rather against the old
practice, but I will state why I recommend it,
bye-and-bye.

The horses' bodies and hind quarters are now to
be perfectly dressed; that they may not be kept
too long stripped, there should be two boys em-
ployed about each horse, that is, if the tempers
of the horses will allow of it ; if not, the boy who
looks after a bad-tempered horse had better
quietly dress his own horse himself The horses'

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 293

bodies and hind quarters having been well dress-
ed, they are to be comfortably re- clothed in their
standing- clothes; a hood having been thrown
over their quarters, and their manes and tails
combed out, their bandages are to be removed,
and their legs well rubbed. The stables set fair,
the horses are to be fed, hayed, and done up as
the other horses, which will most likely be at
about one o'clock ; it may be either a little
earlier or later, depending on what time in
the morning the horses in question began their
sweats. Their quarters being stripped and
their heads let down, the whole of the stables
are now shut up until four, or perhaps five
o'clock; for the horses at this season of the year
will only have to go out once during the day.

At whichever hour the stables are again open-
ed, they are to be set fair, and the horses having
been watered, their dressing muzzles are to be
put on, and their heads chained up; they are then
to be stripped, brushed over, and re-clothed,
their legs rubbed, their beds set fair, the whole
of them fed and hayed, and the stables again
shut up until eight o'clock ; at which hour they
are again opened, the horses' heads being secured
as usual, and the beds set fair.

294 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

To prevent my so often repeating that the
horses' beds are to be set fair, suffice it to say,
that the business of setting them fair is invari-
ably to take place immediately on the stables
being open, after the bales are taken down; and
they are again to be set fair immediately after
the horses are finished dressing. Any horse that
from lying down may have displaced his clothes,
should be stripped, wiped over, and re-clothed.

The manes and tails of all the horses being

combed out, their legs rubbed, and their beds

set fair, their muzzles are taken off, and their

heads as usual let down to the end of the chain,

and the whole of the horses in the establishment

are now to be fed. But they are not all to be fed

alike. Those horses that have been sweating

should have given to them a warm mash, of equal

parts of scalded bran and oats, which have in

due time been got ready, and have been allowed

to stand covered up in buckets until cool enough

to use. Those horses that are rather light in

their carcasses will require but a small portion of

mash, say a couple of wooden bowls full; (see the

dimensions of this bowl in Vol. I. p. 40). But the

horses of strong constitutions, and thai are apt

to be costive, and some of them are more par-

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 295

ticularly so utter sweating, should have four
bowls full of mash. As soon as these horses have
eaten their mashes, and the others their corn,
their hay is to be given them; and their heads
being unchained, their quarters are stripped.
The boys having had their suppers in the early
part of the evening, now let down the bed set-
tles, make their beds, undress themselves, and
go to bed. The lights are to be put out by
the groom or head lad; and the stables at
about nine o'clock are locked up until the next
morning.

I wish, previous to my concluding this chapter,
to make some few remarks on the advantages and
disadvantages of applying bandages to the legs of
horses in training. It was not the custom at the
time of my juvenile days, in the stables, to make
use of bandages about the legs of race horses,
unless in case of their being amiss on their legs;
woollen bandages are, under those circumstances,
if immersed in proper fluids, of the greatest
utility. Why I have recommended them to be
applied to the legs of horses, after they have
been sweated, is merely for the purpose of drying
their legs quickly; they should be put on in the
way I liave already directed ; but they are not to

296 SWEATING CRAVING HORSES.

remain on longer than while their bodies are be-
ing dressed after long sweats or severely contest-
ed races; and more particularly are they useful
in case of horses having run heats of two or four
miles. On no other occasions than those just
mentioned are bandages to be used about the
legs of horsesy (diseased legs being excepted);
nor should they remain on for a longer period
than 1 have advised; if they were allowed to re-
main on all night, the probability is, that the
groom would be led into an error. For, as it is
an invariable rule with him, or at least it should
be, the first thing in the morning to examine
the legs of those horses that may have sweat-
ed the day previous, if the bandages remained
on, their legs would most likely be found per-
fectly fine, although perhaps one or other of
a horse's legs or fetlock joints may have received
an injury — on the tendons of the former, or
ligaments of the latter — neither of which inju-
ries may be visible on examination, as the band-
ages, being left on up to the period above-men-
tioned, would from heat, and a certain degree of
pressure, act somewhat upon the principle of
fomentations and poultices, in preventing the na-
tural enlargement that would otherwise arise
from an injury done to any part; and thus, as I

SWEATING CRAVING HORSES. 297

have before observed, the groom would be led
astray. But, if the bandages are taken off the
horses' legs immediately after their bodies are
dressed, there will be time by the next morning
for any part of a leg injured to become enlarg-
ed by inflammation. The groom, on examining
his horses' legs in the morning, if he observes
the leg or joint of any one of them to be out of
shape, immediately stops his work. But, on the
other hand, if the bandages are continued on
during the night, and the groom in the morning,
on examining his horses' legs, finds them clean
and in shape, he, verjf naturally, would take his
horses out to go on with their usual exercise;
the consequence of this would be, that a horse,
which may previously have injured one of his
legs in going along in his sweat, would now, by
taking his gallop, make it much worse; in all
probability the horse would pull up lame. This
sort of thing happening to a horse near the time
of his running, would of course do away with
his race.

CHAPTER XXII.

SWEATING CONTINUED.

In the last chapter I endeavoured to enumerate
the practical details in giving liorses their first
sweat in the early part of the season, and which
are also to be observed in the sweating of almost
all horses while in training; during which time,
unless they should be unwell, they must not miss
a single sweat ; but the number of sweating days,
and the intervals between each, must be regu-
lated, as we have already stated, by the constitu-
tion of the horse. But as horses are getting into
condition, (and more particularly so as they ap-
proach the time of their running), some little
alterations must progressively take place, as to
the length and pace they will have to go in
their sweats; and there will also be some little

SWEATING HORSES. 299

precautionary measures to be observed in the
treatment of them afterwards.

After giving horses their first sweat, and when
the stables are sufficiently adjacent to the train-
ing ground, they should be immediately taken
into them, to be scraped and dressed. But as it
more frequently happens that the stables are at
an inconvenient distance from the sweating
ground, which is the case even at Newmarket,
with the exception of a stable or two at the west
end of the town, they must be taken into the
rubbing-house on the downs, to be got done,
after they have gone through their sweats. On
such occasions some little previous arrangements
must be made, as taking there a change of dry
clothes, with scrapers, straw, and rubbers. The
number and quantity of the articles to be taken
to the rubbing-house will depend on circum-
stances, as the number of horses that are going
to sweat, and the season of the year ; if early in
the spring, and the weather cold, more dry
clothes would be wanted than in summer.

The usual way of packing up the dry clothes
is, by doubling up the spare clothes a convenient
length, so as to admit of their being rolled snugly

300 SWEATING HORSES.

up inside the quarter pieces spread for the pur-
pose, which latter are to be tied round their ends
with rubbers; and whatever straw may be want-
ed, for wisping the horses, may be tied up in
rubbers, which the spare boys, who go up to
help to get the horses done, can carry with them,
as also the scrapers. But in the spring of the
year, when there may be more dry clothes want-
ed than the boys could conveniently carry, the
better way would be to take them up on a hack,
or, if there be a colt or two in breaking, they
might be strapped on to the saddles, and carried
up by the colts: the same course is to be adopted
in taking the sweaters back to the stables. They
should then be immediately unrolled and put to
dry on the rails in the centre paddock in the
rear of the stables; or, if the weather will not
allow of their being dried here, they are to be
put before the fire in the boys' hall, as we have
already stated in the preceding chapter.

We now proceed to speak again on the subject
of sweating different horses, under the various
circumstances in which they may be required to
undergo that operation throughout the whole of
their training. We will first notice the horses
of light, delicate constitutions. As these are

SWEATING HOUSES. 30 1

very irritable and flighty in their tempers, and
^vill not bear mucli exercise of any sort, (as
we have ah'eady noticed), but as, on the other
hand, they are mostly in good wind, nor, gene-
rally speaking, are they disposed to put up flesh
to any very great extent, there is therefore the
less to come ofl* them, be their ages what they
may. There are two motives for sending these
light horses over the sweating ground; the prin-
cipal one is, to get something like a length into
them, so as to bring them a little stouter for the
distance they have to come in their races; the
other is, that clothing them up when they come
into the stable or rubbing-house causes them to
sweat sufficiently to relieve their constitutions,
and the scraping tolerably well cleanses their
skins, and makes them afterwards appear fine and
glossy in their coats.

Some of these horses may have to go over the
sweating ground once in a fortnight, others once
in three weeks, others not during the whole time
they are in training. The commencing their sweats
will depend much on the month in which their
engagements are to take place: if in the begin-
ning of April, they will have to sweat early in
the spring, and after breakfast, the mornings then

302 SWEATING HORSES.

being generally cold; but if their engagements
are later, they will not be required to sweat before
the season is more advanced, and the mornings
warmer, in which case they would take their
sweats before breakfast.

The precautionary measures to be adopted, as
to how they are to sweat, must of course be de-
termined by the good sense of the training
groom; having had the horses in question for
some time under his care, he is supposed to know
their tempers, and has previously arranged pro-
per boys to ride them. He will probably say to
himself, and which is most likely to be true, that
such a horse of the above description will per-
haps go more peaceably over the sweating
ground alone, than in company with others; and
should this be the case, the horse is of course to
be allowed to do so. If the morning is cold, the
horse may be moderately clothed; but if it is
warm, he may go in a single light quarter-piece
breast cloth and hood; or, should it be in the
middle of summer, and the morning hot, he may
go stripped. These little arrangements must
very much depend on the horse's temper, as
must also the orders given to the boy how he is
to ride him. If the boy who looks after the

SWEATING HORSES. 303

liorse is a good rider and kind in his temper,
and has always been on good terms with his
horse, he may be the most proper one to ride
liim in his sweat. But if the groom has any
doubt in his mind as to the capability of the
above boy to ride the horse as he could wish, he
had better put up one of the six named in the
chapter on the Instruction of Boys in Riding.

The description of horses we are now alluding
to require little or no preparation in the way of
setting; walking them out on the downs for a
short time, merely to allow them to stretch their
legs and empty themselves, (which latter they
very readily do), is almost all that is necessary.
But the groom must observe that the length any
horse has to sweat is to be regulated according
to his age, (which has already been noticed in
the preceding chapter on Horses doing their first
Sweat, p. 270.)

We will now mention the necessary orders to
be given, as to how we wish this sort of horse to
be managed by the boy who is to ride him over
the sweating ground, and which ground may,
perhaps, be a four-mile course. The groom may,
either in the stables, or as he is going with the

304 SWEATING HORSES.

horse and boy to the course, speak to the latter
much in the following way — " Frank, you must
mind to sit very still on your horse, and let him
go off as he likes, only endeavour as soon as you
can, and in as quiet a way as possible, to get an
easy steady pull at him; the sort of pull, you
know, must be with that degree of strength
which will best answer to keep him, while he is
going along, as collected in his stride as you can ;
and as soon as you find you have done this to
your wish, should you feel him getting at all
anxious to increase his pace, speak softly and
kindly to him, and endeavour now and then
gently to give and take with your reins to keep
his mouth alive, so that, if you find it necessary
to draw on him quietly, you may the more rea-
dily do so, with a view to keep him striding
quietly along the whole of the way home to the
passing of the rubbing-house. (See the situation
of the Rubbing House, in Plate the 3rd, Vol. I),
After which, give him a sufficient length of
ground to be pvdled up on, and give and take
with your reins in pulling him up, until he feels
inclined to stop almost of his own accord. Be
sure you do not pull rashly or suddenly at him,
with a view to stop him in a short length ; if you
do you will alarm him — a thing, of all others,

SWEATING HORSES. 305

you know, we wish to avoid. (For further in-
structions on the riding of this sort of horse, see
Vol. I. Chap. 18).

The horse having been pulled up, and let
stand just for a moment to recover his wind, is
to be walked back into the rubbing-house. The
boy, having turned his horse round in the stall,
dismounts, slacks his horse's girth, and then
takes charge of his head. As there is no neces-
sity for reducing the muscular surface of a horse
of this description, (he having but a short length
to run), he may, if the morning is warm, have
been sent [over the ground very lightly clothed,
or perhaps stripped: be this as it may, it will be
necessary, on his coming into the stall of the
rubbing-house, to throw an additional portion of
clothes on him, to produce a sufficient degree of
perspiration to relieve his constitution, or rather
to prevent any bad effects from arising — fever or
inflammation. This is a circumstance which
grooms should particularly attend to with all
horses when sweating, and more particularly in
their first sweats; for, although I have directed,
in the preceding chapter, that they are to go
slow in their first sweats, it is still necessary that
they should be made to sweat profusely when

VOL. II. X

306 SWEATING HORSES.

standing in tlieir stalls under their additional
clothing; and for this reason, that when horses in
training begin their sweats, they are not only fat
on the surface of their bodies, but they are also
very fat in their insides ; and consequently in this
state they are more liable to become constitu-
tionally diseased from exertion, unless, as I have
observed, they are allowed to sweat in the stables
to the extent I have already noticed.

If the precautions in sweating horses in the
stalls of the stables or rubbing-houses are adopt-
ed as I have advised, there will be no occasion for
grooms to bleed their horses after their first
sweats, as was formerly too much the custom, for
fear that they should take cold, and be heard
coughing on the following day. After the horse
we have sweated has been scraped and dressed,
he is to be comfortably re-clothed, agreeably to
the state of the weather, and ridden out on to the
downs, where he should take a short quiet gallop ;
and on being pulled up he is to be walked about
for an hour, if it is a fine pleasant morning, to
give him an appetite for his food. Should he
have been a little alarmed by the exertion he has
undergone, the boy who rides him may, by speak-
ing kindly to him, and making much of him.

SWEATING HOKSES. 307

clapping him on the neck and foncUing him, re-
move his fears. This is so very important a point
to gain, that no trouble should be thought too
much to produce a good temper in a light, de-
licate race horse.

We now come to the sweating of the horses
of the second class, which we have termed
the hearty ones. The sweating of them will also
depend upon their constitutions. Some of them
may require to sweat once a week, others once
in eight days, and others once in nine; and it
may occasionally be necessary to deviate from
these periods, depending entirely on the effects
produced upon them by their sweats. Some of
them, that are more delicate than others, may not
require more than four or five sweats during the
whole time they are in training, while others
may have eight, nine, or ten sweats within the
same period.

As few horses of this class will bear being
drawn fine, that is, having their muscular surface
much reduced, and more particularly those of
them that are young, as the two and three year
olds, it becomes highly necessary that the greatest
attention should be paid to them on the part of
x2

308 SWEATING HORSES.

the training groom; — he is to bear in mind that
all horses on beginning their sweats are to go
slow in them; he must observe in due time what
effect a first or second sweat may produce on
each, and afterwards in their other sweats regu-
late their clothing accordingly; and, if he sees it
requisite, make their days of sweating more or
less frequent. Should a horse in this class be
more flighty than any of the others, that is,
if he should be of too irritable a temper, such
a horse, like those of the first class, should sweat
by himself. How many horses of the second
class may sweat together, will of course depend
on the number there may be in training, and how
often the sweating days of each may come round,
which is to be arranged by the groom according
to the conclusions he draws from the points to
which I have directed his attention. But be the
number what they may, as six, eight, or ten, as
soon as they are pulled up at the end of their
sweats, they are to be allowed to stand a moment
or two, that they may blow their noses ; they are
then to be moved rather quickly on to the rubbing-
house. On their being turned round in their
stalls here, the boys are to dismount and slack
their girths; and, as I have elsewhere observed,
their additional clothes are to be thrown over

SWEATING HORSES. 309

them. They are then to be allowed to stand blow-
ing (with a boy at each horse's head) until they
are in a fit state to be scraped, the mode of doing
which I have described in the preceding chapter.
Horses are said to scrape well when the per-
spiration is observed to pass on before the scrapers
in a sufficient, or rather a considerable quantity,
from the whole surface of their bodies.

As soon as they are scraped, and rubbed per-
fectly dry, they are to be wiped over with rub-
bers, and, being comfortably re-clothed and sad-
dled, they are to be ridden out on to the downs
to take their gallops, and afterwards walked
about till the time arrives for them to go into
the stables to be well dressed and done up with
the other horses.

Before we proceed to the sweating of the third
class, it may not be out of place here to make
some further remarks on the tempers and dis-
positions of thorough-bred horses that are in
training ; for those of my readers who may not
have become familiar with such horses early in
life, or who may not have made them their parti-
cular study, can have but very confined ideas of
the sagacity and resolution some of these animals

310 SWEATING HORSES.

possess. Those of the first class are timid and
easily alarmed at mere trifles; this may be con-
sidered as a constitutional infirmity, and as pro-
ceeding from nervous irritability ; they, therefore,
require (as we have already observed) kind and
gentle treatment. Of the second class, the hearty
horses, if I may be allowed thus to express my-
self, are more courageous, that is, they are not
so easily alarmed by trifling circumstances, and
when out at exercise they are playful and full of
their gambols ; nor, with but few exceptions, have
I found them much addicted to vice, either in or
out of the stables. The horses of the third class,
which consist of those of strong constitutions, of
course differ in their tempers ; some of them are
quiet, others are disposed, in the stables and
rubbing-house, to be vicious, and, speaking of
them generally, they are almost all inclined to
be idle or sluggish at exercise, requiring great
perseverance to get them along in their gallops
and sweats ; at least such was my experience of
them in my juvenile days.

As the horses of this class are very great
feeders, they put up flesh quickly, and the con-
sequence of this is, that a groom is obliged to
give them a great deal of work. They have.

SWEATING HORSES. .'H 1

tlierefore, frequently to go long- gallops, and
many of them have to sweat at least three times
a fortnight. I have known some, from having to
undergo great exertions in this way, to get sulky
with their work; and, when they do, it is ex-
tremely difficult to make them keep straight on
with the pace it may be necessary they should go
in their exercise; they lurch or swerve, or they
will, in spite of the boy's exertions, slacken their
pace, and then suddenly run right out from the
straight course in which it was intended they
should have gone. A horse that does this is
said, in the language of the turf, " to have shut
up and gone out."

Whatever habits, as to vice or tricks, horses
may be addicted to, it has been thought, by most
of those who have had the care of them, that
tjiey are hereditary in them, and I am myself
much of this opinion; notwithstanding, I do not
think that it is by any means the natural disposi-
tion of horses to be vicious, if well and kindly
treated. Horses of the description we are now
alluding to must in times back have undergone
as great and repeated exertions in their training,
to have brought them out in a fit state to run, as
the same description of horses have to do at the

312 SWEATING HORSES.

present clay; and it was most likely, from the
mismanagement of people in former times, who
had the care of such horses, that their tempers
have been totally spoiled ; and whatever habits of
vice were thus acquired, they have occasionally
transmitted them to their progeny. To this
source I attribute the disposition to vice so fre-
quently observable in the craving horses while
in training ; and let me here observe, that such
horses are never more disposed to shew their
bad dispositions than at the time of their being
scraped or dressed in the stables or rubbing-
houses, after being sweated.

As we have already noticed, with regard to
the first and second classes, as soon as they are
pulled up from their sweats, they are to be
ridden into the rubbing-house, where they are
turned round in the stalls; their girths being
slacked, and their additional clothes thrown on
them, they are then allowed to stand to blow
for the usual period, or until they are fit to
be scraped.

It was the custom in my time to select the
smallest of the boys to take charge of each horse's
head. This was done by the groom for the pur-

SWEATING HORSES. 313

pose of having the bigger boys to work at
the horses in scraping, wiping, and finishing
them after their sweats; and such an arrange-
ment is proper enough, provided all the horses
are kind in their tempers. But should there be,
among a number of horses that may have sweated,
one or two having a propensity to vice, the small
boys ought never in such a case to be allowed
to take charge of the heads of such horses at the
time of their being scraped, as accidents might
probably occur, not to the horses, but to the
boys, in consequence of their not having suffi-
cient strength to keep the reins of the bridles
wide apart and firmly strained, which is at all
times absolutely necessary, but more particularly
so in the present case, to prevent these horses
from forcing themselves on too near to the boys,
when, if they have become irritated from scrap-
ing, they will watch for their opportunity to
seize them. Accidents of this sort will occasion-
ally occur from the mismanagement of the groom,
either in not giving proper orders on such occa-
sions, or by putting boys of insufficient strength
to hold the heads of such horses as are disposed
to vice. By way of example, I will here mention
an instance that occurred when I was an exercise
boy : — I had been riding my horse, which was

314 SWEATING HORSES.

very vicious, in his sweat, and, on his being pulled
up to be scraped, the groom ordered a little boy
that had lately come into the stables to take
charge of my horse's head. I knew the disposi-
tion of my horse well, and had my doubts of the
capability of the boy, as regarded both his
strength and knowledge, and was afraid of what
might happen ; nor was it long before my fears
became realized, for we had scarcely begun to
scrape the neck and fore quarters of the horse in
question, when he seized the poor boy by the
upper part of the arm, and, raising his head at
the same time, he drew the little fellow off the
ground, and with apparent contempt threw him
from him. The groom then ordered me to take
charge of my horse's head myself, which is what
he ought to have done at first. I repeat, that
a small boy should never be entrusted to hold
any horse's head disposed to be vicious, at the
time he is going to be scraped. Other accidents
similar to the one just described often occur
where the small boys are imprudently selected,
and cause their being laid by for some time ;
which was the case in the instance above al-
luded to.

The manner of dressing race horses in the

SWEATING HORSES. 315

stables daily, and particularly those that are vi-
cious, has already been noticed in Vol. I. Chap. 14.
But there are a few other rules to be attended
to in regard to the management of thorough-
bred horses, and which are also applicable to
almost all other horses of courage. Now, there
is a kind of familiarity with which all horses
should be treated, but this must not be carried to
too great an extent; they should on no account
be played with, as they will be found to be rather
rough playfellows, and, by making too free with
them, they are apt to become tricky. Thorough-
bred horses while in training should be kept by
those who look after them at a respectful dis-
tance. The boys, as I have before noticed, should
on no pretence be trusted alone with them,
whenever any thing is to be done to them that is
likely to annoy them, as particularly the scraping
them after their sweats. The boys on these oc-
casions have not at all times sufficient patience;
and those who do not possess too much of this
virtue are apt to be too handy in applying their
scrapers to an improper use, in striking the
horses with them, if they are not narrowly
watched, either by the training groom or head
lad. If a horse's mane is thick and long, a boy
may be permitted to strike the sweat out of it;

316 SWEATING HORSES.

but beyond this he should never be allowed to
strike a horse with a scraper, or indeed with any-
thing else, more particularly should the horse be
disposed to vice; for such a horse will some-
times wait for an opportunity to resent such un-
fair treatment.

As horses go progressively on with their
sweats, some of them, towards the conclusion of
their condition, draw rather fine or thin, from
being stripped of what is commonly called their
waste and spare, by which their bones become
more exposed to the pressure of the scraper
when it is applied to them after their sweats,
and this causes many of them on such occasions
to be extremely irritable. However, if there is
any danger to be apprehended from the scraping
of a vicious horse after his sweat, the best way is
to get his head and neck done first, and then
turn him round in his stall; put on his collar
and muzzle, and, having chained up his head,
get his quarters and body done as we have
already directed, the groom being particularly
careful that the boys do not give more pressure
to their scrapers than is absolutely necessary to
remove the sweat from the surface of the horse's
body.

SWEATING HORSES. 317

By taking the above precautions in not irri-
tating a vicious horse more than can possibly be
avoided, and if the plan of turning him round
and securing his head be adopted, he will be de-
prived of nuich of the powerful advantage he
would otherwise have in being held by a boy
alone. Notwithstanding the savage disposition
of some horses, yet, generally speaking, most of
them, as I have elsewhere noticed, if properly
treated, appear to be more inclined to shew
kindness towards us than otherwise; even a vi-
cious horse seems to attach himself to, or make
a favourite of, the boy who looks after him. I
speak here from a tolerable share of experience.
The former is seldom known to injure the latter,
unless indeed the boy should be so churlishly
rash as unprovokedly to insult him by unneces-
sarily striking him. As a proof of what I have
here stated, the vicious horse I looked after,
and which I described as seizing the boy by
the arm that was put to hold him while be-
ing scraped, I was once travelling with alone,
and I well remember being tired of sitting
on his back as he walked along. I got down,
leaving him loose with the reins on his neck.
I moved a little in front of him, and then spoke
to him to follow me, which he did very quietly

318 SWEATING HORSES.

for about a couple of miles, on a public road,
where vehicles of different descriptions were fre-
quently passing and repassing. I confess what
I did was very wrong, but I was very young at
the time, and knew no better. I have merely
mentioned this circumstance, by way of example,
and, indeed, I could state a variety of others
equally thoughtless and neglectful ; but the one
I have here given may suffice to shew how very
incorrect it would be in any groom to intrust
a valuable horse to the entire care of a young,
thoughtless, inexperienced boy. I confess I have
made a long digression from the subject with
which I began this chapter; I have done so
merely to give my readers such necessary hints
as I hope will guard them against any negligent
sort of errors, which might, if allowed to take
place, be the cause of serious inconveniences or
accidents occurring among the horses.

Let us now return to the sweating of the third
class of horses. In the preceding chapter on this
subject, we described six horses doing their first
sweat in the early part of the season, and we
stated that a difference of a week or ten days
would perhaps take place in the sweating days of
different horses; the period when these days may

SWEATING HORSES. 319

come round depending upon their constitutions.
But the six horses we are now about to sweat
are very nearly alike as to their constitutional
properties ; and therefore they will all have to
sweat within a day or two of each other, some of
them sweating three times a fortnight, others
once in six days. Be this as it may, the groom is
at all times to endeavour to arrange the sweating
of this class of horses so as not to have any one
of them sweat alone; that is, there should be a
horse of the second class, who may be kind in
his temper and wanting a sweat, to lead any idle
horse of this third class that would otherwise
have to sweat alone, his sweating day coming
round oftener than that of the four or five others
of the same class, whose constitutions are not
quite so strong.

Now, as the class of horses in question proceed
in their sweats, the various changes produced by
them will be readily observed in each horse.
Some of them will of course undergo much greater
changes than others: onfe boy finds, in buck-
ling on his horse's body-clothes when he is done
after the sweat, that his roller buckles up a hole
tighter ; another boy finds, in doing the same thing,
that his horse's roller buckles up two holes tighter.

320 SWEATING HORSES.

Thus, as these horses proceed on with their
sweats, so in proportion will the whole surface of
their bodies have become more or less diminished.
The groom, therefore, after his horses have come
in from taking their sweating-gallop, must, just
previous to their being clothed up, observe how
each horse may have become affected by his
first two or three sweats, and, indeed, by every
sweat, but particularly by the first two or three,
as it is from the effects produced on them by
these that he must arrange the different in-
tervals of time that each horse will have between
one sweating day and the other, as well as the
quantity of clothing he will require.

The groom being fully aware of the lusty
state his horses were in before they began their
sweats, must now steadily watch the changes
their sweats produce on them. He is to go up
into the stalls of each of his horses, previously (as
I have just observed) to their being clothed up;
on these occasions he is not only to look them
well over, but he must feel and handle them in
such parts as are likely to guide him as to how
each horse may have become affected by his
sweats. He should first feel the crest of his
horses, to ascertain how they handle in those

SWEATING HORSES. 321

parts as to substance and firmness, and whether
it will be necessary to make the addition of an-
other hood in the next sweat> or to remove the
thick sweating hood for a lighter one, which may
answer the purpose better ; this will depend on
whether a horse has a thick high crest, or a low
thin one. Having examined the neck and crest,
he should pass his hand from the top of the
withers down the muscular part of the shoulder
to the top of the fore-arm, and then round the
front to the muscles of the chest, and here ascer-
tain whether the horse is light, or too much load-
ed with flesh about those parts ; then, placing his
hand on the centre and posterior part of the
shoulder, he should give it that degree of pressure
which may be necessary to imbed it, as it were,
in or on a level with the muscles here ; and then,
with the same degree of pressure, he should pass
his hand straight along the centre of the ribs
to the centre of the horse's flank, a little below
his hip ; in doing this he is to observe what height,
portion, or substance of muscles goes before his
hand, as he passes it along. Having ascertained
the state and portion of muscle here, the groom
is next to examine the muscular substance and
firmness of his horse's loins ; which parts ought
to feel hard, firm, and springy. In proceeding

VOL. II. Y

322 SWEATING HORSES.

on^ he is next to bring his hand to the top of
the horse's quarters, that space between the hip
and the setting on of the horse's tail, and examine
carefully what alteration may have taken place in
those parts, as whether the muscles of the pos-
terior part of the quarters, which extend from
the croop down to the haunches or lower parts
of the horse's thighs, are gradually beginning to
shew themselves, by the depth of the cavity which
divides them, and which is so well marked in all
thorough-bred horses, as they are progressively
getting into their best form or condition. Those
muscles, like almost all others on the surface of
the animal's body, should appear distinctly di-
vided, with a plump swell or bulk in the belly
part of them.

The method I have here described, of examin-
ing or handling horses in training, to ascertain
how they are going on in their condition, is an
old-fashioned one 1 allow ; yet it is the best with
which I am acquainted; and it is one I would
strongly recommend grooms strictly to adhere
to, while their horses are proceeding with their
work, and particularly their sweats. According
as the horses become affected by the latter, as in
suddenly drawing too fine, or not drawing suf-

SWEATING HORSES. 323

ficiently fine or thin, agreeably to their ages and
constitutions, or the length they have to run, the
groom is to increase or diminish the number of
sweaters, and regulate the intervals of time be-
tween the sweating days of different horses, as
occasion may require, after the examinations he
may have made.

Having set them over-night, we will now pro-
ceed to sweat half a dozen of the craving sort of
horses, the arrangements for which will be much
the same as for the like number of horses that
went through their first sweat, in the preceding
chapter on this subject. But as these have made
some progress in their condition, there must
therefore be a few alterations made in the orders
given by the groom as to how they are to be
ridden in their sweats; for having now become
somewhat more settled in their stride, and their
wind being also improved, they are better able
to maintain a certain pace in going over the
sweating ground; consequently, they must have
boys upon them of sufficient power to hold them
as they are going along, and to keep them col-
lected and steady in their places; for it is not
because this class of horses have a little improved,
and are more capable of going a better pace in

y2

321 SWEATING HORSES.

their sweats, that they should be allowed at the
present time to do so.

Let us suppose the horses in question to be
clothed up for their sweats, and proper boys put
up to ride them, (let us say, for example, the
six boys already mentioned, as being in the
groom's confidence). The groom will thus briefly
give his orders to the boy on the horse that
leads — " Frank, keep fast your horse's head, and
mind you do not hurry them; come with them
the whole of the way, (say four miles), at a slow,
fair, and even sweating pace." The orders to
the other boys are, to hold fast their horses'
heads, and mind to keep their places.

The horses having come over the ground, and
pulled up, they are ridden into the rubbing-house,
their additional clothes being thrown on them,
and the other little matters arranged. The groom
is now to observe how kindly or freely the sweat
may flow from each of them, for they may not
all sweat exactly alike; there may be a couple
of hardy horses that may not sweat sufficiently;
these will require to be differently treated; and
if so, it will be proper they should, on the next
sweating day, sweat by themselves.

SWEATING HORSES. 325

Let us therefore, by way of example, say that
the six horses, that have just come in from their
sweats, have been scraped, roughly dressed, re-
clothed ill their dry clothes, have taken their
sweating gallop, and, having walked their usual
time, are ridden into their stables; here they are
uell dressed, and shut up with the other horses.
I have stated my directions on shutting them up
after their sweats rather briefly, without noticing
how they are to be watered and fed ; but we will take
another opportunity of mentioning these matters.

Let us suppose the day to have come round
for the sweating of the two hardy horses just
mentioned, which did not sweat sufficiently well
on the day they sweated with the six horses above
alluded to. The two horses being set over night,
in the morning are to be clothed for their sweats
rather differently to what they were before ; their
sweaters, or clothes, are to be increased in num-
ber or quantity to the extent of four or five
times double; and, that they may be of as little
incumbrance to the horses as possible, they should
be snugly and well put on, commencing from the
upper part of the horse's neck, covering his chest,
and extending along to the setting on of his tail.
In addition to the sweating hood, if thought ne-

326 SWEATING HORSES.

cessary, a second one (such as is used on com-
mon occasions) should be added; and when a
horse is thus heavily clothed, the old fashioned long
breast sweater may be put on, which appears
to be very well adapted for excluding the admis-
sion of air, by keeping the clothes well in place
over the shoulders and chest of the horse. To
aid the effects of this additional clothing we have
just put on the horses, we can, if we think it ne-
cessary, give them a good short steady gallop to set
them on their legs and warm them a little. In
addition to this gallop, we must, if the horses are
four or five years old, increase the length of their
sweats to very near or quite the extent of five
miles. But, as our two horses are heavily clothed,
and the length of ground increased, that nothing
may happen to their legs, the best riding boys of
the lightest weights should be put up to ride
them ; and if there be one, a better or more patient
rider than any of the others already mentioned,
he should be put up on the present occasion to
lead the sweat. We will give him the name of
Bill ; and the boy put up to ride the second horse
we will call Tom. The groom, in giving his or-
ders, cautions the boy as to the length of ground
the horses are to come in their sweats. He says —
" Bill, you must mind you are going a long

SWEATING HORSES. 327

length this morning with these horses, and you
know they are heavily clothed, be sure you keep
a steady pull on your own horse ; look well before
you, so as to keep clear of any small hillocks or
uneven parts of ground, that we may have no
accident happen to a leg of either of them: be
sure you do not hurry them. Rate your own
horse at a steady sort of stride, and don't forget
to keep him collected, and as well within him-
self as you can ; you must not on any account at-
tempt to draw him out now with a view to finish
the concluding part of the ground at the usual
sweating pace; just keep him the whole of the
length at the fair even pace with which I have
told you to begin. And, Tom, mind that you
follow Bill steadily; keep your place; be sure
you don't let your horse lay out of his ground."

The horses, having gone over the sweating
ground and pulled up, are turned about and ridden
immediately into the stalls of the rubbing-house ;
being here turned round, the boys dismount, and
as usual slack the girths. The groom is directly
to order what portion of clothes he is of opinion
is pecessary to be thrown on them, according to
the effects he may have observed to have been

.'328 SWEATING HORSES.

produced by the increased quantity of sweaters^
together with the additional length of ground
they had to come in their sweats. The criterion
by which he must be guided in regulating the
quantity of clothes his horses will have to sweat
in in future, is the readiness with which the per-
spiration may begin to flow down the fore and
hind extremities of the horses.

Should it appear that the horses have not
sweated sufficiently from the additional clothes
and the increased length of ground, I would re-
commend, on their next sweating day, adding to
the former in preference to increasing the latter;
for, in adding to the length of ground when
horses are heavy in themselves and heavily
clothed, they are more liable to become leg-weary,
and it may then happen that a leg of one or
the other of the horses in question may get amiss.

The horses having been scraped in the rubbing-
house, during the time of their being roughly
dressed (that they may dry kindly and not break
out into a second sort of sweat) should in due
time be gradually cooled by throwing open the
ventilating apertures or windows. The boys.

SWEATING HORSES. 329

having done rubbing their horses, are to re-clothe
them in their dry clothing, according to the sea-
son of the year ; their saddles being put on, they
are to be sent out to take their sweating gallop,
after which they go to walking exercise for the
usual or sufficient time. They are then ridden
into the stables; here they are to be well dress-
ed, and, being carefully watered and fed, they
are to remain in during the day.

Having now noticed the different ways of
horses being sweated, at least as far as we can
do so for the present, we will leave them for a
short time; but of course, considering them to
be going quietly on with their gallops and
sweats as directed : and if these matters are pro-
perly regulated agreeably to the different consti-
tutions of different horses, they will, w^hen we
return again to them, have got rid of much of
their superfluous flesh. Their bodies will have
diminished in weight, while their legs, from the
action they have had, will have increased in
strength; and this is the state in which we wish
to find them. After having examined them as
to what improvements they have made, we shall
want to be doing what is called a bit of strong

330 SWEATING HORSES.

work with some of them; that is, we shall have
to send them along in their gallops and sweats,
bye-and-bye, at rather a better pace than we
have hitherto done for a certain time previous to
their coming to post.

CHAPTER XXIII.

TRAINING OF TWO-YEAR OLDS.

We have appropriated seven chapters to describ-
ing the manner of teaching, physicking, training,
sweating, trying, and running of yearlings, be-
cause they are sometimes taken up from their
paddocks at this early age to be tried in private,
and even to run in public. These trials and races
are often solely with a view to ascertain what the
colts are, so as to keep those that are very pro-
mising, and, to save expense, by disposing of those
that are not likely to become racers.

Should the colts we are now about to train
not be taken up from their paddocks until they
are two years old, they will have to be treated in
all respects as the yearlings were; we therefore

332 TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

refer the reader to the last chapter in Vol. I. on
the Breaking of Yearlings; and to the three
first chapters in our second volume, on Teaching,
Physicking, and Training them.

As it will be necessary to adopt the same sort
of treatment with the two-year olds as with the
yearlings, only allowing for the difference of their
year, we will not recapitulate what we have al-
ready stated, but confine our observations to the
alterations in treatment consequent upon their
being a year older. First, as to the physicking of
the colts in question: the same course is to be
adopted as with yearlings, with this exception
only, that the aloes may be increased in quantity
a drachm or a drachm and a half in each dose,
for the strong- constitutioned colts of the first
class. But to those of the second class, as the
hearty ones, an additional drachm only should be
given. As we shall want six clear weeks for the
further teaching as well as training of the first
class colts, they should have their two or three
doses of physic through them by the middle or
end of January, depending on when they have to
come to post, whether in the middle of March or
the beginning or end of April. With these, as
wdth the yearlings, it is always better to keep a

TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 333

dose or two in reserve, in case of its being ne-
cessary to give a third or last dose to any of
them after the first sweat.

As the colts of the second class, the hearty
ones, do not require so much work in training as
those of the first class, it is not necessary to
physic to the same extent; a couple of doses is
generally sufficient for them, and which may be
given at the end of January, as we shall not
want more than a clear month for getting these
colts ready to run. The colts of the third class,
as the flighty ones, will not be in much want of
either physic or work; the plan with them is, as
we have observed, to let them have such exer-
cise as will give them an appetite for their food,
taking care not to do any thing with them that
will be likely to put them out of temper; and if
some among them will stand any thing in the
shape of work, the better way will be to steal it
into them, if I may thus express myself. This is
all we shall at present say about the third class.

Having finished our directions, at least for the
present, on physicking our two-year olds, and
considering that they have also been forwarded
as directed in the third chapter on training year-

834 TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

lings, it is now to be supposed that they are
ready to commence their gallops. A description
of the length of these, and the pace the colts are
to go in them, at least those with whom gallop-
ing exercise may be found to agree, we shall now
proceed to point out.

The length of gallop for two-year old colts is
generally from half to three quarters of a mile,
or, under particular circumstances, a mile. The
two former lengths are usually taken by the deli-
cate and hearty colts, and the latter length is
occasionally taken by those of stronger constitu-
tions, as the colts of the first class. If a groom
is desirous of occasionally sending his colts the
latter length in their gallops, the pace should be
moderately slow, approaching to half speed, till
towards the conclusion of the gallop, where the
length of rally begins; in coming to this part of
the ground, the pace, if it is necessary, but not
otherwise, in due time may be increased, so
that the colts may finish their gallop at about
three parts speed.

The effect galloping exercise (see the chapter
on this subject) will have on all horses in train-
ing, either as young or old, will of course de-

TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 335

pend on the pace and length they are made to
go in them. It is to be understood, as a general
rule, that horses of all ages, on their coming
into training, must have, as we have before ob-
served, a sufficient portion of flesh on them; and
in training the greatest care must be taken not
to strip them of it too suddenly ; and this rule
more particularly stands good in the training of
yearlings, two-year olds, and three-year olds. As
the two first-mentioned, if they run in their own
classes, have but short lengths to come in their
races, they do not require being drawn so fine,
nor by any means in the same proportion as
some of the five or six-year olds do, that have to
come much longer lengths in their running.

The galloping exercise two-year olds will have
to take, with a good steady three or four-year
old to go before them as occasion may require,
will be the same as with the yearlings, (except
as to length), according to the effects it is
likely to produce, or, more properly speaking, the
effects the trainer is desirous of producing on
each colt But as a guidance to the reader on
this subject, we beg to refer him to the chapter
on Training the Yearlings, from p. 224 to the
conclusion.

336 TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

The manner of sweating two-year olds is of
course very similar to that of sweating the year-
lings, the only difference to be observed is, that
the former, being a year older, and having to run
rather longer lengths than the latter, it is neces-
sary that the lengths of their sweats should be
proportionably increased, as from two miles and
three quarters to three miles and a quarter; the
last-mentioned length will mostly be found to be
far enough for the flighty or hearty ones, as we
do not wish to take much off the surface of the
bodies of two-year olds, any more than we do off
of yearlings; we only want to have them suffi-
ciently clear in their wind, and also sufficiently
stout to come the length they have to run with
others of their year with whom they may be en-
gaged; and the lengths we have mentioned, par-
ticularly the latter one, will most likely be found
to answer very well for both these purposes.
But in the spring of the year, as in the months
of March or April, those colts are approaching
to three years old, or indeed, if early bred, they
are quite so. And as some strong thick ones
among them may have to run with horses of all
ages, it will be advisable to bring these colts into
something like the shape or appearance of race
horses, and to make them stout enough to run on

TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 337

at the pace with the last-mentioned horses, to
sweat them three miles and a half, or pretty
close upon four miles; but in doing the latter
length with them the pace proportionably slower,
until they come to that part of the ground where
it may be necessary for them, according to their
year, to finish their sweats at rather a better
pace, more particularly if it be near the time
of their coming out to run. And it is further
to be observed, that when these colts have to
sweat the above lengths, the lightest and best
riding boys should be put up to ride them, and
in concluding their last sweat or two they should
be made to come a good, fair, sweating pace for a
little longer length than they have to run, and
their sweating gallop should not be less than
a mile.

Whenever it may be thought necessary to
increase the lengths of either their gallops or
sweats, the pace, the constitutions, and ages of
all horses must be duly considered, that is, the
horses must go proportionably slower, if the
length of ground they have to go over in any
part of their exercise is increased; and this rule
stands good more particularly with young ones.
By this we mean to be understood, that the

VOL. n. z

338 TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

pace is not to be increased until they come to
that part of the ground at which it is thought
the hearty or light horses can finish or live in
their own length of rally in concluding either
their gallops or sweats, and which is occasionally
necessary for them to do, as when they are draw-
ing near to the time of their running. But with
regard to the stronger-constitutioned colts or
horses, these, in the concluding of their con-
dition, that is, in their last two sweats, should
be made to come at a good telling pace for
a little longer length than they have to run,
provided the weights upon them, including the
clothes, the exercise saddles, and boys, do not
much exceed the weights they will have to carry
when they come to post.

To avoid as much as possible enlarging this
volume to an unreasonable size, we refer the
reader, for the further orders necessary to be
given as to how two-year olds are to be sweat-
ed, to the two chapters on sweating yearlings
(Chaps. 17, 18); and for the details of how
they are to be got ready for their sweats, and
the treatment to be had recourse to on their
being pulled up from them, to two other chap-
ters, tlie one (Chap. 21) on half a dozen horses

TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 339

doing their first sweat early in March, and the
other (Chap. 22) on how horses are to be
sweated under all the various circumstances in
which it may be necessary to be done, and in
which chapter will also be found the precau-
tions that are to be taken to prevent accidents
occurring to them.

We shall now suppose that the two yearlings
we laid by in April were again taken up in
June: that they were both handled; that is to
say, that their cavessons were put on, and that
they were lounged until they were steady enough
for the boys to ride them out to exercise as
usual; that they had their physic given them,
and that our best colt was progressively for-
warded during the summer, so as to keep his
memory refreshed; that our second best colt
was put into regular training, and that he did
occasionally run during the summer with other
colts of his year, the majority of which he beat,
and at the October meeting at Newmarket he
won a good stake with little difficulty.

Considering the middle of November to have
arrived, the racing season may be said to have
concluded. Let us now take our leave of Newmar-

z2

340 TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

ket, and travel our horses off to our home stables.
On arriving there we will give our horses and our
second best colt ten days or a fortnight's rest,
to recover from their journey; but we will at
the same time give them such exercise as will
keep them sufficiently clear in their wind to
come at their best pace for any length we may
want them, to try our best colt, or any other
colts or horses on the premises. These arrange-
ments, taking place in the month of December,
used to be called " the Christmas trials."

As our best colt is now a pretty strong two-
year old, and very fresh and well, we will try
him for speed with our second best colt, and a
couple of others, one of whom should be a three-
year old, and which we will consider as the trial
horse; the other a four-year old. This latter
we put in merely to make up something like a
field, or party of horses, so that our best colt,
that has never started in public, may not be
alarmed when he comes to run with other horses
in any race in which he may be engaged. The
length of the trial ground should be the same as
the two-year old course on the flat at New-
market (see the Calendar). On the two young
ones we will put six stone two pounds; on the

TRAINING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 341

trial horse we will put eight stone. This is put-
ting the weights up in favour of the trial horse,
because we want to know whether the opinion
we formed of our best colt, when we tried him
as a yearling, was correct or not.

The orders for riding this and other trials we
will fully explain in the next chapter, when we
come to try our two young ones again in the
spring. Let us consider the above trial to have
been run, and decided much in favour of the
young ones, the best colt winning very easy by
a long way, and that the second best beat the
trial horse two clear lengths.

CHAPTER XXIV.

TRYING OF TWO-YEAR OLDS.

In trials as in races the weights and lengths
must be regulated by the ages of the different
horses at the time of their running. But in the
present chapter it is not my intention to detain
the reader by stating what weights are required
under different circumstances, nor how the sad-
dle trusses are to be loaded, as we shall have
occasion in a subsequent part of this chapter to
enter rather minutely into this subject. At New-
market, where speed is the principal object, the
weights are seldom so high, or the lengths of
the courses for the young ones to come over so
long, as at most of the spring meetings in the
North, where, generally speaking, the horses are
not quite so leggy as those that are trained at

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 343

Newmarket. Consequently, in the North, the
young ones, agreeably to their ages, are trained
like the old ones, more for stoutness than for
speed. And as a greater number of horses are
bred in the North than in the South, the breeders
in the former country have an opportunity of
selecting from a greater number of colts and
fillies, and are consequently better enabled to
pick out young ones of substance, and less leggy
than those breeders in the South can do, who
have not quite so large a produce to choose from.
But to return to the trying of our young ones.

When yearlings run at Newmarket, they of
course run their own length, the yearling course,
a little short of half a mile. (See the Racing Ca-
lendar). The weight they carry in running this
length is from eight stone to eight stone three
pounds, making the usual allowance of three
pounds to fillies, if they run with them. The
weights are much the same for the two-year old
colts and fillies, when running in their own class
and at their own lengths, which, at Newmarket,
is a little short of a mile. But when two-year
olds are engaged to run, in stakes or plates, with
horses of all ages, the weight to be given by a
three-year old to a two, in this sort of race, is

344 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

two stone one, two, three, or four pounds, varying
the odd pounds according to circumstances, as
whether the weights may be considered to be in
favour of the young ones or the old ones, and
which will depend on the length and difficulty of
the course, as well also as the season of the year,
whether in the spring, summer, or autumn. We
shall reserve our observations on the weights to
be carried by the four, five, and six year old
horses for the chapter on the subject of Trying
Horses of all Ages.

We have stated the weights that two-year olds
have to carry when running with horses of all
ages, because, unless we try them at the weights
and lengths they will have to run according to
their year, we cannot accurately get at the truth
of what they all are, either as to speed or stout-
ness. To ascertain those facts, we must come to
rather a minute description of how our colts are
to be tried. The reader may not have forgotten
that we have already pointed out the great ad-
vantage which various noblemen and gentlemen
in this country possess in being the owners of ex-
tensive parks, where their horses may be trained
under their own eye. We will suppose, therefore,
that the boys and horses have now arrived, in the

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 345

autumn, at some such establishment, and are to
be stationary in the home stables for the winter,
and that there is no other racing establishment in
the neighbourhood sufficiently near to cause us to
entertain the slightest suspicion that we are to be
over-looked at any time that we may be trying
our horses.

It will be remembered, that, in a preceding
chapter, we pretty well ascertained the character
of our two colts to be of a very superior cast, not
only when they were tried as yearlings, but also
when they were tried as early two-year olds ; and,
indeed, unless it was so, it would not be worth
our while to take the trouble of getting them
ready and trying them again.

Now, we know our best colt to be a good one
in private, and that he has extraordinary speed.
Our second best colt has good speed, and is parti-
cularly stout. Notwithstanding we know this
much of both our colts, yet we cannot say we know
the end of either of them; that is, we are not
aware how fast or how long they can go; for, in
trying them in their own class as yearlings, we
found our best colt so very superior to the whole
of the twelve he was tried with, that, for him, it

346 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

could scarcely be called any trial at all ; and our
second best colt, (when in his best form), when
running in public, was, as we have noticed, far
superior to any of the company he ran in. There-
fore, as neither of them have been drawn out to
the top of their mark, by weight, pace, or dis-
tance, we must now endeavour to come at pretty
nearly the truth of what they really can do, not
only for speed, but for stoutness ; and as our se-
cond best colt has been running as a two-year old
so well in public, he will be a tolerably good
school-master to try our best colt.

The reader is to bear in mind that we are still
at our home stables, where, having properly win-
tered our colts and horses, we have begun in due
time, as in the early part of January, to get them
all ready to be tried, according to the time of
their engagements. We shall now consider the
winter to have passed over, and that it is the
spring of the year, let us say towards the middle
of March, so that our two colts, which we are
again about to try, having been foaled early in
January, are very nearly three years and three
months old, although considered as two-year olds
until the month of May.

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 347

It now becomes necessary for us to get as near
to facts as we possibly can : we will, therefore ,
arrange things a little out of the common way,
by trying our two colts at higher weights, and
longer lengths, than it has formerly been cus-
tomary to do ; and this not only because they are
now above three years old, but because, from the
treatment and training they have undergone since
the second time of their being taken up early in
June, their muscular and tendonous powers are
considerably improved, both as to strength and
substance.

Let us now state what means are to be adopted
by which we may be likely to ascertain, as near
as possible, the racing powers they possess, both
as to speed and stoutness. The first thing I shall
mention is the trial ground, which we will sup-
pose to be the last mile and a quarter (which is
rather more than the three-years old length at
Newmarket) of a two-mile course we have in our
park; and, near to the concluding part of this
ground, there should be a very gradual rise, to
the passing of the winning-post, similar to that
of many of our race courses. Now, the colt we
will make choice of to try our two-year olds with
shall be a good three-year old, such a one as may

348 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

the year previous have come second in running
with a good lot of horses for the Derby, and that
has been running on in public in good form
with those of his year, as well as with horses
of all ages. He has therefore, by his running
during the summer, proved himself to be a good
fair three-year old, and whom we have no reason
to suppose has gone back from his usual form.
By way of distinguishing him from the others,
we will call him " the old one," although he is but
three years old.

In the early part of this chapter we mentioned
the weights yearlings and two-year olds carried,
and the lengths they ran when they were en-
gaged to run in their own separate classes; we
also gave the difference of the weights between
the two and three years old, whenever they had
to run with horses of all ages. The former, on
such occasions, giving to the latter from two
stone to two stone one, two, three, or four pounds,
depending on the length of the course and the
M^eights the two-year olds have to carry, as from
six to seven stone, or seven stone two. But as
we are now about to try colts instead of running
them, we shall deviate from the above-mentioned
weights ; and it is to be recollected, that, although

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 349

nominally two-year olds, they are above three.
As there is nothing jadish about them, and as
the Derby meeting is not far distant, we will try
them a mile and a quarter. On the young ones
we will put six stone seven pounds, and on the
old one, the trial horse, (the three-year old), we
will put eight stone seven ; this will be giving to
the trial horse a year and eight pounds, which is
of course more than any two-year old could give
to a three-year old, where the running properties
of the former and the latter are equal, allowing
for the difference of their ages. The term " year,"
in the common acceptation of the word, means
that one horse gives to another, or others, so
many pounds weight, in public running, accord-
ing as their ages may vary, where the younger
horse runs the length of the older ; but when a
horse is known to possess great superiority from
having won any great stake, as the Derby at
Epsom, or the St. Leger at Doncaster, or in a
handicap, such horse is generally highly weighted,
to bring him on a fair equality with the others.

But to return to our trial. Having arranged
the length of the trial ground, and the weights
the trial horse and the colts are to carry in run-

350 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

ning over it, our attention will next be directed
to the boys we are to put up to ride them. In
the fifth chapter of this volume, I recommended
the training groom to select from among his ex-
ercise boys half a dozen in whom he can place
the greatest confidence. These six boys, it is to
be taken for granted, that the groom for a couple
of years has spared no pains in instructing, in the
riding not only of different horses, but also of
difficult ones. By attending to the instruc-
tions of the groom, these boys will in a short
time become strong on horseback, and in good
riding condition, and are thus enabled to put the
groom's orders into practice in the riding of any
particular horse. These boys will often have to
be put up to ride many of the light weights pri-
vately as well as publicly. We will suppose that
the groom has selected, out of the above six boys,
two of the lightest and best riders, with the most
patient tempers and still tongues, and that they
have had to look after the two above-mentioned
two-year old colts from the time of their first
coming into training as yearlings; for the sake
of brevity we will call them Sam and Bill; the
former looking after the best colt, and the latter
looking after the second best. These two boys

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 351

we intend to ride the colts in their present trials,
and on the trial horse we will put our own jockey,
who is, as we have described, an honest man, and
in whom the strictest confidence may be placed.
Now, it may so happen from our best colt being
so very superior, that he may, in running the
trial at the weights and length mentioned, beat
the three-year old — the trial horse. The latter
may, unknown to us, have gone back some few
pounds; that is, he may not now be in as good
running form as we supposed him to be ; in
which case we could not say for certain, that our
colts had for the whole length of the trial ground
been gradually drawn out to the top of their pace.
To prevent our being deceived in this respect,
we will put in, to go with the colts in the trial,
a good four-year old, lightly weighted, and we
we will put upon him Charles, our head lad. But
we do not select this four-year old as having
any thing to do with the trial, but only to go up
near the head with the colts, so that in case the
trial horse should be getting beat near the con-
clusion, the four-year old may come on and finish
them at their best pace, without any attempt to
defeat them.

We will now proceed to explain the method

352 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

of weighing the jockey, the lad, and the two
boys who are to ride them in their trials. In
Vol. I. p. 22, I recommended that there should
be kept in the training groom's study one of the
dial plate weighing-machines, to which of course
there is to be attached a weighing-chair, (for a
description of this chair, see again Vol. I. p. 261).
It is to be observed, that there should not be, on
the premises of any racing establishment, either
private or public, any other convenience for the
riders to be weighed than the one above-men-
tioned ; if there is, the boys will be frequently weigh-
ing each other, whereby they will all accurately
ascertain their weights, at least this was the
practice amongst exercise boys when I was one
myself. This machine is so constructed, that the
person who is being weighed, if he sits properly
back in the chair, is unable to see the index on
the dial plate, and as the index immediately on
his rising points to 0, he is of course unable to
ascertain how much he weighed. This is a matter
of some importance, as the training groom is
thus enabled to conceal their exact weight from
the jockeys and boys, more especially the lat-
ter, if they are too much inclined to talk. Of
course, the trainer admits only one at a time
into his room to be weighed, and makes a me-

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 353

morandum of the precise weight of each. Having
ascertained their exact weights, he has next to
calculate how much each will require to make up
the proper weight for the particular horse he
may be going to ride in the trial, and this is
done by means of his loaded saddles and trusses,
all of which should be privately marked accord-
ing to the weight of each. (For the method of
making racing saddles and trusses, and the va-
rious occasions on which they are to be used,
see Vol. I. p. 216).

Some of my readers may perhaps be of opinion,
that the secrecy I have recommended on this as
upon many other occasions is quite unnecessary,
especially in a private trial ; but a very slight
acquaintance with the turf will convince them of
the propriety of these precautions. In the third
volume I shall have to describe a still more se-
cret method of making up the weights of the
riders, when we come to try the horses of all
ages; and more particularly so, when public
jockeys are put up to ride horses that may be
engaged in any very great match or stakes, and
which horses may be standing to be trained at a
public racing establishment.

VOL. II. A A

354 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

Notwithstanding we have been thus particular
in laying down injunctions for secrecy in weigh-
ing riders for trials or races, yet no precautions
can dispense with the necessity of a perfect good
understanding, as regards racing, between the
private training groom and the private jockey
belonging to the racing establishment of any no-
bleman or gentleman, and strict integrity towards
their employer ; if this does not exist, they should
be parted; for, unless the above two men agree to
do the best they can for their employer, the busi-
ness of the establishment cannot go on with that
certainty with which it ought. But from the de-
scription we have given of our jockey, and from
the long and repeated experience we may be
supposed to have had of his integrity in all
matters of racing in which he has been engaged,
it is not to be apprehended that any jealous sus-
picion can exist between him and the training
groom. When the jockey is wanted to ride, the
trainer apprizes him of it in due time, as well as
of the weight, if a light one, as perhaps eight
stone, he will require him to be on such a day.
The jockey instantly prepares, by wasting or
punishing, (taking but small portions of food),
to get himself down to the weight. But when

TRYING TWO-YEAK OLDS. S55

the weight he is ordered to ride is very high,
the requisite increase is effected by means of a
loaded saddle or trusses, or indeed, perhaps, by
both. While the jockey is thus employed, the
trainer quietly by himself in his study makes up
with the saddles and trusses the weights which
the two boys Sam and Bill are to ride the two
two-year olds in the approaching trial ; and as to
the weight Charles, the head lad, on the four-
year old, should be, it is not of much importance,
except that he must not exceed eight stone and
a half. With respect to the four-year old, care
must be taken that he is in sufficient good form
to come, if necessary, his best pace in the con-
clusion of the trial.

The night previous to the horses being tried,
they are of course to be set, that is, their setting
muzzles are to be put on the last thing at night,
or early in the morning, depending on what sort
of horses they may be, as well as the time of day
when they are to run the trial. The training
groom and head lead in due time take the trial
saddles into the stables, and put them securely
on the four horses in question, who have been
previously bridled and brought round in their
stalls, their heads being attended to by the boys

A a2

356 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

who look after them, and stripped of their stand-
ing clothes. To prevent the chance of the
saddles shifting, those who are to ride the
horses are to be handed up by the leg in the
usual manner, instead of being allowed to get
on the horses while they are standing in the
stalls, by the help of the stirrup. The riders be-
ing mounted, and having knotted their reins,
the stable door is opened, and the horses are
now ridden out to the trial ground, attended by
the groom on his hack, at a proper distance,
who usually at this time gives his orders as to
how the trial is to be run.

We will here make a few general remarks on
the subject of riding trials, as the manner in
which horses are to be ridden in them differs
so very widely from that in which they are
to be ridden in their races. Now the reader
is to bear in mind that the trial horse, virtually
speaking, has nothing to do with respect to how
the other horses he is trying may run on with
him; for, as soon as they are started, the jockey
on the trial horse is to commence making such
running with him immediately from the start as
he thinks he can safely rate him on at for the
whole length of the trial ground; that is, he is

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 357

made to come for the above length in as short a
thne as he possibly can without being over
marked, and to have been so evenly and gradu-
ally well rated by the jockey as to have nothing
more left in him in the way of running. The
proper pace our jockey will be easily able to
manage, as he has ridden all the horses in the
establishment, both in public and in private, and
knows well the best pace they can come in
their different lengths. Now the head lad,
Charles, and the two boys, Sam and Bill,
whom we have described as having to ride in
the trial, know pretty well from experience
what they are going about. The two latter are
fully aware that they are to get the colts they
ride well away from the start with the trial horse,
and that they are to stay with him in the trial as
long as they can, and to beat him as far as they
can ; but they know also that they are not to do
either the one or the other of those things at the
expense of abusing their colts, by persevering too
much with them, or by having recourse to too
severe means, as that of spurring or striking
them unnecessarily.

After what has just been said of the knowledge
of the jockey, the head lad, and the two boys, we

358 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

will return to the training groom, whom we left
about to give his orders how the horses are to be
ridden; and although these orders are concise,
still they are sufficiently expressive, and are quite
intelligible to those who have been brought up
in the stables from early life. Speaking to the
jockey, as to how he is to ride the trial horse, he
says — " As soon as you see the young ones on
their legs, and settled in their stride, go you away
home with your horse in as short a time as you
can, without over-setting him." To Sam, who is
on the best colt, he says — '' You know your colt
is a free resolute goer, therefore be sure you
keep a steady hold of his head, and sit as quiet
and as still on him as you possibly can. As Mr.
Day on the trial horse will, I expect, go fast
enough for both of you, so do not you attempt
on any account whatever to draw your colt out.
If Mr. Day finds his horse in getting near home
is beat for pace, he will in due time call to
Charles on the four- year old to come head and
girth with you, which will be quite a sufficient
challenge for your colt to finish the length, and
pass the winning-post at his best pace, which is
what I want your colt to do ; and as he is a free
ready comer, this is I expect what he will do,
without any aid of yours, as hustling, spurring.

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 359

or striking him. Therefore mind, Sam, you have
nothing to do but to keep a steady hold of his
head." The orders he gives to the boy on the
second best colt will be to this effect — *' Bill,
you know what a thick idle colt that is of yours ;
be sure you do not let him humbug you. As soon
as you have got him well away with the other
horses, and he has settled in his stride, do not
forget to observe, sufficiently early, the pace the
trial horse is going, and be sure you stop with
him as long as you can. I mean by this, you are
to make use of your colt in good time, by get-
ting busy at his head and rousing him along ;
but observe, I do not mean that you are to per-
severe with him too severely, (never attempt any
thing of that sort, and particularly with a year-
ling or two-year old). What I want you to do
with your colt on the present occasion is, as
soon as he is settled in his stride, to begin
immediately, but gradually, to draw him well out,
by keeping fast hold of his head ; and, as you find
it necessary from the pace the trial horse is going,
you must now and then hustle your colt along;
and further, if you find by the pace they have
been going, and that are likely to go on with it
in finishing the length of the trial ground, and it
may appear to you too fast for your colt, although

360 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

in reality it may not be the case, to be certain
you are right, you had better take a good pull at
him, and prick him on once or twice with your
spurs, speaking sharply to him at the same time;
then get up your whip and flourish it over either
his head or your own, and if he do not increase
his stride from being thus called upon to come in
concluding the trial, if he is up and well placed
among them, (but not otherwise on any account),
give him a blow or two to make him finish at his
best pace, just as he is about passing the win-
ning-post. Now, unless you ride your colt as I
have ordered you to do, he is so very craving a
one w^e may be deceived in him." The orders to
be given to Charles, who rides the four-year old,
will be very concise, as the head lad is always
supposed, from long experience, to know well
what he is going about. The trainer therefore
need only say to him — " Charles, as the trial
ground is quite straight, there is no great occa-
sion for you to study much about the choice of
places at the start. If Mr. Day in going ofl" takes
the whip-hand, take your place sufficiently wide
on the outside of them, and just keep your
horse's head up or near to the quarters of the two
colts, for, in case Mr. Day should find his horse
not quite fast enough in the finish to draw our

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 361

best colt pretty well out to the top of his pace,
he will turn his head and give you a hint to
come closer up with your horse; therefore mind
to keep your eye upon him, and if you find he
wishes you to take up the running, take a pull
at your horse, and go immediately up head and
girth with the best colt, for I expect he will be
in the front ; and, if you find it necessary to urge
him to the top of his pace, you may in the last
few strides home go a little farther up and lay
head and neck with him, but on no account
defeat him. If he should have shaken off the
other two horses in the running, he will have
done all I want him to do in this trial; so be sure
you let him win from your horse. I would not
on any account he should be disappointed of
winning the trial under the circumstances I am
now stating to you."

The trainer then gives the following general
directions: — *'A11 of you go down a little below
the start, and, having given your horses a short
gallop to set them on their legs, pull them up
and turn them about; then walk them up as
evenly and as quietly as you can towards the
start. When Mr. Day sees you are all ready, he
Avill give you the word — Off! You two boys at-

362 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

tend to the running that may be made for you,
and be sure neither of you deviate in any way
from the orders I have given you as regards the
riding of each of your colts."

The trainer now leaves the horses that are
about to be tried, and goes on his hack up towards
the winning-post, placing himself at such a suit-
able distance in width from it, and in length
within or below it, as to give him an opportunity
of seeing as much of the running as he possibly
can, and not only how each horse may be placed
in the trial, but how well each of them, after
being challenged or called upon to come, can
finish the length in passing the winning-post.

We will suppose that the most material part
of the trial was run strictly according to the
trainer's orders, and that the colts have come
in it as follows : — Our best colt having beat the
old one, the trial horse, cleverly, nearly half a
distance from home, and when challenged by the
four-year old to come, ran on and won the
trial — our second best colt being a good second
to him. The general practical directions we
have here stated as to the trying of two-year
olds should not be deviated from without suffi-

TRYING TWO-YEAR C)[>DS. 363

cieiit reason. If we want to find out the end
of a good one, we must try him as to weight
reasonably high, and in the same proportion we
must increase the length of the trial ground, so
as to give to a colt that may be considered a
regular flier sufficient scope to shew (without
allowing him to be abused) the powers he may
possess, as to how fast or how long he can go
under a weight a little higher than he has a right
to carry. We have therefore stated this second
trial to have terminated thus, merely to shew
how we are to make the most we can of such
a colt as we have represented our best one to
be; and in the next chapter we shall recom-
mend how the groom is quietly to turn those
matters over in his own mind.

The above trial is supposed to have taken
place at our home stables about the middle of
March, just previously to our travelling the whole
of our horses off to Newmarket, at which town
we will now consider them to have arrived. From
this time to the running for the Derby, which
will be this year on the seventh of June, we shall
have about twelve weeks to do what we think is
best for our colts. Of this time we will take three
weeks to give to all our horses, according as

364 TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS.

their constitutions and engagements will permit,
a couple or three doses of physic each. This we
advise being done for the purpose of taking the
little staleness out of them which the work they
have been doing to get them ready for their trials
may have occasioned, as well as to refresh them
after their travelling. When they have recovered
from their physic, we shall have eight weeks left
to get our colts and horses ready to run ; the for-
mer for the Derby, and the latter for whatever
engagements they may be entered in.

The time we have here allowed is quite as
long as is necessary for getting horses ready to
run that have previously been trained or treated
in the way we have already mentioned, as by
keeping them longer, provided they have been
on dry nutritious food, without physic, would be
more likely to injure than improve them. Light
flighty horses, however, require but a very short
time indeed to get them ready to run; conse-
quently they require little or no physic; but
it is a very different thing with horses of strong
constitutions; that sort of horses require, accord-
ing to their ages and the work they have been
doing, and the races they have run, to be phy-
sicked at proper intervals, about the time we

TRYING TWO-YEAR OLDS. 365

have mentioned, so as to cool and refresh them.
Unless this plan is had recourse to with them,
they will not only get stale in their conditions,
but they will get hot and feverish, and be more
subject to fall amiss from attacks of inflamma-
tion.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE TRAINING GROOM's REFLECTIONS, AFTER HAVING
TRIED A COUPLE OF COLTS, BOTH AS YEARLINGS
AND AS TWO-YEAR OLDS, WITH THE OPINION HE
HAS FORMED OF THEM AS TO HOW THEY MAY
RUN.

In this chapter it is my purpose to state what
further is to be done with the two colts which
we are supposed to have been trying as yearlings
and two-year olds. The trainer, in musing over
the pros and the cons relative to the two colts,
but particularly as to the best one, with which
he thinks he has a right to win the Derby, says —
*' It is true we have only tried him privately, yet
I think we have found him to be the best we
ever did try, and he is not only a fine lengthy
colt, but he is of good substance, and is therefore

TRAINING groom's REFLECTIONS. 3G7

likely to run on; his speed appears to be extra-
ordinary; for, in his trials with the colts and
fillies as a yearling, he went with great ease
clean away from the whole of them, and beat the
colt that was second to him several lengths, with-
out his ever being called upon to do so. Now,
we know from public running, that our second
best colt is any thing but a bad one ; for from the
yearling race (already mentioned), in which he
ran, we have a right to think pretty highly of
him, and the more so, as he was not then, for
want of a little more time, quite at his best form,
and the race he ran in must, according to^the
account our jockey gave of it, have been truly
run, with all but our own colt, and he was
well up as a third; and the whole of them must
have come their best pace for as long a length
as they could in the running, as the other three
colts, admitting they were bad ones, could never
have been beat so very far from home as they
were but by the pace; for, from what I saw of
the race myself, they were beat from the early and
resolute running that the winning colt made of
his own accord, although with difficulty, against
the colt that was second to him. But now, sup-
posing from bad management that the three last
colts that were in the race did not come out as

368 TRAINING groom's REFLECTIONS.

near their best form of running as they ought,
they could not under those circumstances have
taken as good a measurement of the colts in
front of them as we have done; they must
therefore be more in the dark than we are.
However, we must not lose sight of them : if I
should not meet them with any colt of ours,
other men of course will, so that we shall know
bye-and-bye whether they are good for any thing
or not. In looking back to the trials of our two
colts as two-year olds, the lengths they have
run, and the weights they have carried in them,
were unusually high for colts of their age; yet,
as far as I could observe at each trial, our best
colt appeared to wm easy; and, in questioning-
Sam, who rode him, he said, " he did not think
his colt had been drawn out to the top of his
pace." Again, in looking back to the public
running of our second best colt, to say nothing
of what he met and beat in the country, in
the October meeting at Newmarket, he won a
good stake, running not only in a strong field,
but also in good company, and which goes to
prove him to be a pretty good colt. There-
fore, from the above calculation, our best colt
must not only be a regular flier, but I think
he can run on. However, in his next trial, we

training-groom's reflections. 369

will see how fast and how long he can fly under
the weight, and for rather a longer length than
he will have to run in the first race. It is true
that private trials are not at all times to be de-
pended on like public running ; but, as our colt is
so very good-tempered, and from his having been
tried in rather large parties, I do not think he is
likely either to swerve or shut up when running
in public; because, when we took him with the
other horses to the April meeting, in our neigh-
bourhood, (where our second-best colt ran),
merely to accustom him to the crowd, he was but
a yearling; yet, from the little I saw of him, he
kindly followed the horses on each day of their
running at the meeting, up between the rails of
the course, through the crowd, to the passing of
the winning post, without shewing any symptoms
of either fear or vice ; and, on questioning Charles,
the head lad, who was on a hack riding with him,
and Sam, who rode him, they both said he was
not the least alarmed in going up between the
rails, nor did he shew any symptoms of being so
after he was pulled up, nor on his being walked
about among the crowd on the outside the rails;
and what goes further to prove this is, the colt,
on returning home each day from the meeting,
ate, drank, and rested well; in fact, he has al-

VOL. II. B B

370 training-groom's reflections.

ways been a good doer, as well in as out of the
stable. And, if we are fortunate enough to get
him well to post, that is, if nothing happens to
him, either from disease or accident, as he is well
engaged, he will be likely to do us some good. I
think, if he comes to post in his proper form, we
have a right to win the Derby with him. This
stake is not only an interesting one, but it is a
respectable one to win, and it is also a valuable
one; and, it being a play and pay race, it makes
the betting P. P. ; and, as we have both colts in
the race, our second-best colt having good speed,
and being so very stout, as from his public run-
ning he appears to be, it will, I think, be rather
difficult for any party of horses to continue to run
fast enough and long enough to draw him well
out and beat him, before he gets sufficiently near
home as to be within the length of rally in which
our best colt can live or finish at near the top of
his pace, when called upon by his jockey, or chal-
lenged by any horse in the company he is run-
ning with, to the passing of the winning post.

The trainer now begins further to calculate on
what steps he had better take to ensure, as near
as he possibly can, the winning of the above race
with the colt in question. He says — We must

training-groom's reflections. 371

take every precaution to keep things as quiet
as possible. Luckily, our stables and training
ground are so privately situated, that what we
have hitherto been doing with our colts, and
more particularly as regards the best one, cannot
be known; we may, therefore, be able to bring
him out, not exactly as a dark horse, his pedi-
gree being known ; yet, as he has never started,
we may expect, except among ourselves, to be
able to prevent his getting up a very great fa-
vourite; if we can do this, he may be considered,
in the betting market, as rather approaching to
an outsider; the odds then would most likely be
rather high against him, in which case he would
come out as a dark horse with the public. There-
fore, instead of betting round, we must begin
to take the long odds that will in all probability
be against our colt; and, although we have each
of us money enough to back ourselves on in the
losing of a small stake to the winning of a large
one, there is no occasion for us to risk the losing
of the former to win the latter, as there will be
plenty of time for us to hedge our money before
the race is run; or rather, our master, who
luckily for us is a very good judge, in balancing
his book will take care to do this little matter
for us, as well as for himself, if he sees occasion

B B 2

372 training-groom's reflections.

for it; so that, if our colt should be beat, we are,
with regard to our money matters, but where we
were ; and, if he should win, each of us will draw
a handsome stake. Our master, our jockey, and
the head lad, have all very still tongues, and
for their own sakes, in the present instance, they
will take care to keep them so. But, with Sam
and Bill, I must have some small quiet talk: for
the time they have been in the stables they have
kept very light ; and, as they ride both so well, I
have been obliged almost constantly to put
them up to ride not only different horses, but
very good ones; and whatever I have wanted to
know, as to what any such horses were capable
of doing in regard to the changes they may
have made towards improvement in their gallops,
sweats, and trials, I have at all times given those
two boys the very best orders I possibly could,
how they were to ride on all such occasions; and
whenever I have thought proper to question
them, after they have pulled up their horses, I
have mostly found their answers to be pretty
correct. Sam is a very patient rider, and, for
the experience he has had, he is a tolerable good
judge of pace. Bill is very strong and determined
on horseback, and can go very near to making
the most of a craving horse, in gradually drawing

training-groom's reflections. 373

hiin out to the top of his pace; so that for me
to attempt to deceive these boys, as to what the
two colts they have been looking after, and at
all times have been riding in their exercise as
well as in their trials, and particularly in the last
one, can do, would be downright folly. There-
fore, to make all as safe as we can, they must,
if they wish it, be allowed to stand their money
in the betting. As the time is now drawing near
for us all to move off to Newmarket, and as our
boys will be meeting with their old companions
there, some of whom may endeavour to draw
from Sam and Bill their opinions of the two colts
they look after; or perhaps, through an unsus-
pected channel, some person may attempt to
corrupt either or both of them, by offering them
a bribe to tell what they know of their two colts,
in which should they succeed it would destroy the
chance we think we have got of doing some
good for the stable, I will, to-morrow, with a
view to prevent any thing of this kind from
taking place, have some talk with Sam and Bill.
I must also have much the same sort of talk
with Tom, for he is a good judge of pace; and
from the circumstance of my having so often to
put him up to go before young ones at the time
of their doing a bit of work, and on a horse too

374 training-groom's reflections.

that he knows can come from end to end; and
as he also knows that we keep this same horse
principally for the purpose of telling us a true
story about our two and three-year olds ; and has
on this same horse, and for the same purpose,
occasionally gone before the two colts in ques-
tion ; and will have to do the same sort of thing
at Newmarket, previous to our trying them
there at their last trial, as well also as at Epsom,
when we are about to finish them for their races,
he must have a pretty good idea of what we ex-
pect from our colts — we must not, therefore, if
Tom chooses to stand his money, shut him out
of the betting. Although none of those three
boys know any thing of the weights they have
been riding in private, yet they have a tolerable
idea of what weights their colts ought to have
carried in their trials, so as to enable us to
judge, with some degree of accuracy, how they
may be likely to run in public — I must there-
fore, when talking to those boys, shew them that
I am placing some confidence in them.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE TRAINING GR(JOM CONVERSING PRIVATELY WITH
THREE OF HIS BEST RIDING BOYS.

The trainer takes an opportunity in clue time,
as on some morning after the stables are shut
up, of saying to the boys Sam, Bill, and Tom.
whom we have mentioned in the last chapter,
" You will come to me in my private room,
after you have had your breakfast." The boys
having assembled in the room, the conversation
that takes place between the parties will be
much to the following effect: — " I have sent for
you three boys, for the purpose of cautioning
each of you to keep your tongues very still;
not, I confess, that I have any reason to find
fault with any of you for not having kept them
so, as regards what any of the horses we have

376 TRAINING GROOM CONVERSING

hitherto had in the stables have been capable of
doing; yet there is no harm in my putting all
three of you on your guard just now f^because,
from what the two two-year olds that you, Sam
and Bill, look after, have been doing here in
their private trials, I have rather a good opinion
of them, but particularly of your's, Sam." Who
in reply may say — " I do not know what my
colt may do in public, but I am sure he is the
fastest I was ever on the back of in private: he
has always hitherto, in the running of his trials,
beat every thing he has been tried with, without
my ever having had occasion to call upon him to
come; all I have had to do, when riding him, has
been to sit still on him, and keep a good steady
hold of his head ; he then appears to me to go
quite away from his horses with great ease; so I
do not think it is known yet how fast he can run."
The trainer, in addressing the boy who looks
after the second-best colt, and who has ridden
him in public, says — " I have not a bad opinion
of that colt of your's. Bill." And he would pro-
bably reply — " I like my colt very well ; I know
he is not as fast as Sam's, but he can come well
home ; I do not care what running any party of
horses may make that my colt is running with ; and
the earlier they begin to do so, the better for my

WITH HIS RIDING BOYS. 377

colt, even if it is a little longer length than one of
his year ought to come, provided the weight he has
to carry is proportionably light> according to the '
increased length he may have to run. It must
be a good one that can shake him off; he can not
only come from end to end, hut in taking a pull
at him he always finishes well; and what goes
to prove this is, I have never once had occasion
to get up my whip, at least not to strike him
with it, in either of the races I have ridden
him. In the race he was beat in you said,
when giving me my orders, * That if I found the
horses he had to run with were too fast for him,
not to be severe upon him, for that he was not
so well as he ought to be:' nor could he be so,
for, as I told you, after weighing, he gave over
running almost a distance before we came to
the winning post; yet I do not think he ran in
better company in that race than he did in any
of his other races, but, as he was not well, I
could not expect him to win." The trainer,
in addressing himself to the third boy, says —
" That horse of your's, Tom, has been going
before these two colts when they have been
doing any thing like a bit of work." Tom, in
reply, says — " Yes, he has ; and they have both

378 TRAINING GROOM CONVERSING

kept closer to the old horse than I remember any
of their year ever to have done before ; and, what
is more, I think the old one is as fresh and as well
as he ever was, for the length he usually comes."
"Well, Tom, (says the trainer), we must keep that
to ourselves. You are the only three boys in the
stable that can have any idea of what the two
colts we have been talking about may be likely
to do, for, as you are aware, not one of the other
boys has ever been on or near the ground when
we have wanted to do any thing of any consequence
with them. Do not, on any account, say a word
to the other boys in our own stable, or to any one
out of it, about the colts. If you three keep
your own counsels, we may do some good for the
stable ; and if any of you like to stand the chance
of losing a small stake to the winning of a large
one, you may, as our master will let you stand
your money on his book. And, that you may
have no occasion to be making bets with the boys
of other stables, only tell me, in a day or two,
what you can afford to stake, and I will take care
to get it done for you. Why I have taken this
opportunity of talking to you just now is, as you
know we shall soon move off with the horses
to Newmarket, had I not cautioned you as I have

WITH HIS RIDING BOYS. 379

now done, one or tlie other of you might unin-
tentionally let slip among your old companions
that we had in our stable a better nag or two
than the world knew about. Were either of you
to have been so unguarded, it would soon have
been publicly known, which would have set aside
any good we could fairly have done for ourselves.
Another thing I want to guard you against is,
that when at Newmarket, or any other racing
place, or at any racing establishment to which we
may go with the horses, never to be taken by
surprise by any person whatever that may unex-
pectedly come up and talk to you, with a view of
drawing you out as to what knowledge you may
have with respect to the stables, or as to the pro-
perties, either good or bad, of any horse you may
look after. Should a person come up to ask you
questions on such matters, tell him, what is very
likely to be true, that you do not know any thing
about the horses in the stables, and then walk away
from him. If such person should still persevere with
you to obtain his object, and perhaps offer you a
bribe, shew him that you are above any such dis-
honourable conduct, by looking at him as you
have been taught to look at a vicious horse, while
attending to his head when he is being scraped

380 TRAINING GROOM CONVERSING

after his sweat; that is, look at such a man full
in the face, fix both your eyes on his, and then
again tell him that he is only losing time to at-
tempt to go flat-catching with you, for that you
are too good a judge to be landed as one. If
you talk to him in this way, he will most likely
not trouble you any more. Always bear in mind,
boys, that honesty, as I have often told you be-
fore, is the best policy, and that secrecy is one of
the very essential requisites we should all possess.
There is no harm in your keeping your ears open,
but, whatever you do, be sure you keep your
mouths shut as regards any knovvledge you may
have of what any of the horses in our stables
may be capable of doing. I feel very confident
you will all do as I have desired you, in being
particularly careful what you say on the subject
of horses to any descri})tion of person whatever.
You may now go."

Here ends the conversation between the groom
and his boys; and here also ends the second vo-
lume. In the third we shall endeavour to lay
down all the matter that further concerns our
two two-year olds, as in what manner they are
again to be tried previous to their coming out to

WITH HIS RIDING BOYS. 381

run, and at what time we shall travel them to
Epsom, and, when there, how we shall finish them
as to the length and pace they will have to go
in their work, when the time is drawing near
for them to come to post, and how they are
each to be set agreeable to their constitutions ;
with orders to the jockeys how each colt is to be
ridden, so as to insure us, barring an accident,
every prospect of honestly winning that valuable
and very interesting stake, the Derby.

In this volume we have principally confined
ourselves to the training of horses for the New-
market lengths ; but in the ensuing volume, which
is preparing for the press, where we shall have
to describe the training of horses of all ages, we
will make our remarks on the varying of the
different lengths horses are to go in their work
to bring them sufficiently stout to come the
lengths they may be wanted to run upon any
occasion; and in other chapters will be found all
the necessary information on the entering, train-
ing, running, and riding, of different horses ac-
cording to their ages, the lengths they have to
run in their races, with all other practical de-
tails connected with horse racing ; and, if it is
not considered that we may be entering too far

382 TRAINING GROOM CONVERSING, &C.

into the secrets of office, we intend to make
some further remarks on the subject of money
matters.

END OF VOL. II.

LONDOJJ :

w. m'dowall, pembkrton row,

OOIIGH SQl'ARE.

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