Horses, horsemen and stable-management

£. ^y

9090 014 552 364

Webster Family L- itennary Medicine

Cummings Scho.. erinary Medicine at

Tufts University

200 Westtxxo Road

north GfaAon. MA 016aS

HORSES, HORSEMEN, AND
STABLE-MANAGEMENT

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HORSES, HORSEMEN

AND

STABLE-MANAGEMENT

BY

GODFREY BOSVILE

AUTHOR OF "HUNTING IN COUPLES," "POUNDING THE FIELD,'

"PALE-BLUE AND SILVER," "FOREST KING'S RIDERS,"

ETC.

WITH 8 PLATES AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
IN THE TEXT

LONDON

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, Limited

NEW YORK: E. P. BUTTON AND CO.

1908

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson &" Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

PREFACE

Faulty as it is, this work is the first to establish
a Hnk between the prehistoric age of " Horses
and Horsemen" and the present time. Other
books have been simply branches of equine
literature.

Old and new ideas have been weighed —
steering clear of fads and cranks.

Not only have there been innumerable inter-
views and much correspondence with the living,
but communications with the dead, by means of
the well-penned manuscripts they left as monu-
ments of their labours.

Since the first proofs have been corrected the
sad intelligence of the deaths of Mr. Hugh Owen
and Mr. Garrett Moore have reached the sporting
world.

The victories of Chevalier Ginistrelli's " Sig-
norinetta" by " Chaleureux " out of that mar-
vellous mare "Signorina" startled the racing
world when the filly won the Derby at lOO to i,
which entitled her to rank as an extraordinarily
good mare ; especially when she followed this up
by winning the Oaks. This took place after my
book had gone to press.

vi PREFACE

Thus readers will see how difficult it is to
bring sporting topics in book-form completely-
up-to-date. So I must ask all interested in this
subject to view " Horses, Horsemen, and Stable-
Management " in a broad light, and to realise that
it has been no easy task to connect the earliest
times with the year 1908.

It would have been a mistake to have dwelt
at tedious length on the past and to have written
too little about the present. Nor could I omit
the practical side, i.e. stable-management. Yet
my chief difficulty lay in explaining, as clearly
as I could, matters of importance, not knowing
to what extent readers are in touch with the
equine world.

Sovereign, president, peer, commoner, mer-
chant, shopkeeper, farmer, and stable-help — for
this is a cosmopolitan book — to all these the
following pages are addressed in a spirit of good-
fellowship by The Author.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART I

I. Early Works on Horses and Equitation

II. Amateur Vets

III. The Veterinary Profession

PART II

IV. Bush Horses

V. English Horses — their Routine of Stable-
Management

PART III

VI, Brilliant Horsemen

VII. Tom Cannon

VIII. "Gentlemen-Riders"

IX. "Roddy Owen"

PART IV
X. Colonial Race-Courses
XI. The Racing Chronometer
XII. Bits and Bitting

XIII. Saddles ....

XIV. Girths

XV. Whips

XVI. Spurs, Ancient and Modern

PAGE
I

7
IS

25

40
52

70

74
84
90

97
103
108
121

142

MS
162

viii CONTENTS

PART V

CHAP. PAGE

XVII. Stable Vices 174

XVIII. Common Diseases and their Treatment 180

XIX. Giving Balls, Debility, Temperature,

Pulse 188

PART VI

XX. Breeding Horses for Profit . . 195

XXI. Breaking and Riding .... 206

XXII. Vicious Horses 221

XXIII. Seats and Hands of English Sports-

women 233

XXIV. Driving 243

PART VII

XXV. Soundness and Unsoundness . . 249

XXVI, Practical Shoeing ..... 263

XXVII. Teeth 267

XXVIII. Useful Medicines for Common Diseases 270

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FULL PAGE PLATES

Thoroughbred mares and foals .... Ftontispiece
" Rufus," a two-year-old chestnut gelding . . Facing p. 52

" The Lady," by " Havoc," dam by " Lady Grosvenor " „ 66

"Ormonde" „ 72

" Mrs. Fenley," with foal by " Tiber " . . . . „ 195

"Memoir" ,,198

"Donovan" „ 200

"Jupiter" „ 206

IN THE TEXT

FACE

Leather head-collar rein 53

Head-collar rein 53

Head-piece of halter 53

Head-collar 54

Yearling head-collar 54

Knee-caps 55

56

Swab ■ • • • 63

Fetlock boot 63

Lawn hoof-boot 64

Fetlock boot . . . _ 64

Speedy-cut boot 64

Elbow boot 65

Ankle boot 65

Fetlock boot 65

India-rubber boot 65

" b

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Ring-boot

Over-reach boot for foreleg

Laced boot .

Polo boots

Running blinker .

Headstall bridle with picketing-rein

Hunting bit with sliding mouth .

Hanoverian bit, with high port and roller mouth

Bridoon

The Champion snaffle ....
Guard-check or Liverpool driving-bit .
Captain Hayes' breaking snaffle .

Martingale

Breast-plate and martingale combined

Early saddle

Saddle-tree

Champion & Wilton's steeplechase saddle

Steeplechase saddle with knee-roll

Plain-flap hunting saddle, straight head

Plain-flapped hunting saddle

Hunting saddle with Weston's patent bar

A neat plain-flapped saddle .

Half-cut-back hunting saddle, plain flap

Hunting saddles with knee-roll

Light (officer's) saddle ....

Military saddle

Colonial saddle

Colonial saddle with knee-pads and crupper
Military saddle . . . . ,
Mexican saddle ....
Young girl's padded side-saddle .
Lady's side-saddle

Imperial lady's saddle with patent bar
Lady's saddle with patent bar
Lady's saddle with plain bar

loop

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi

PAGE

Ordinary side-saddle, straight seat, plain flap . . .138

Lady's saddle, with straight seat, pad on flap . . . 138

Lady's ride-astride saddle 139

Little girl's saddle 139

Little boy's saddle, No. 5 139

Champion & Wilton's patent sponge numnahs . . . 140

Lady's numnah 141

Hide girth 142

Webbing girth 143

Leather girth 144

Whip of Hoswell 150

Typical whip of the year 1790 150

Whip, whalebone top, year 1825 150

Phaeton whip 150

Packman's whip of George III. period . . . ,150

State whips 155

Newmarket Challenge Whip 159

Charles IL spur 165

Foreign crowned-eagle pageant spur 166

Modern straight spur 172

Modern drooped spur 172

Tail-guard 178

Cavasson for breaking 207

Breaking roller 208

Pillar rein 217

Double-stitched rein 244

Double American hand part of driving-rein . . . 244

Hand part of driving-rein 246

Ordinary driving-rein 246

HORSES AND HORSEMEN

INTRODUCTION

A LABOUR of love in equine literature is a
most valuable book entitled "Works on Horses
and Equitation," by F. H. Huth, published by
Bernard Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly, in the year
1887. It is an index, and embraces in the
most painstaking manner the names and works
of every well-known author who has written on
Anatomy, Natural History, The Veterinary Art,
Cavalry, Equitation, Driving, Shoeing, Bitting,
&c. &c.

In order to give some idea how valuable this
work is, and to show also why it was a labour
of love — for obviously few sportsmen wish to
read a book which is only for reference, giving
the titles of horsey books, and only a few words
given to show an outline of their contents — I
give a quotation from Mr. Huth's Preface: —

" By far the greater number of books collected
in these pages are monographs on the Horse ;
but I have not thought it wise to exclude other
works on Natural History dealing with the
Horse, Ass, or Mule in any very distinct degree.
Magazine articles, or articles from Sporting

A

2 INTRODUCTION

Journals are, however, not included, excepting
in one case. Works written before the inven-
tion of printing are placed under the year in
which it ma)'- be presumed they were written.
It would be absurd, for instance, to place Xeno-
phon after Juliana Barnes, or Gwyllame Twici
after Bracy Clarke. The same work is only
again mentioned when it has been entirely recast,
or a new compilation is made, such as the Rei
riisticcB scriptores. In the alphabetical arrange-
ment of names, I have had to meet the usual
difficulty of foreign double names, such as : —
Esprit Paul de la Font Pouloti, Franz Max
Freiherr von Bouwinghausen von Wallmerode,
Francisco de Cespedes y Velasco, &c."

Under "Horses and Equitation" Huth has
included everything appertaining to the horse.
Fiction is excluded, and generally all books of
which only a part relates to horses. He finishes
his Preface with these rather touching words,
proving that he realised so much that he was
humbled by his knowledge of the big subject he
had taken up : —

"I must confess with regret that the Index
is far from perfect, and I probably could go on
adding to it for the rest of my natural life ; in
that case, however, it would possibly never see
the light at all, and perhaps it is better, there-
fore, to publish it as it is. I do not think many
important works have escaped me, but the
smaller catch-penny fry are legion ; they appear,
live their short life, and disappear, leaving
scarcely a trace behind them. I hope at least

INTRODUCTION 3

that others will be saved some of the time this
Index has taken me in preparation.

(Signed) " Frederick H. Huth."

" Beckford House,
Lansdown Crescent, Bath."

What chiefly interests the ordinary reader of
horsey literature is the value of all this research
when applied to his own case. Let us take any
page haphazard and see what Huth imparts.
Page 302 of his invaluable work may do just
as well as any other. From it we gather that
in 1883 were published the following books on
this subject : —

Das strategische Kavallerie Manover tinier
General Gurko im siidlichen Russland Herbot,
1882, tmd die Reformbestiebungen in der r2is-
sischen Kavellerie, by A. V. Drygalski, 8vo,
Berlin, 1883; L'Asino nella leggenda e nella
litteratura, &c., by Giuseppe Finzi, 8vo, Turin,
1883.

Merely the names of authors would form quite
a book to itself, apart from the commentaries
which take up the bulk of Mr. Huth's work.
But what we are concerned with is the value
of the various books which have been so care-
fully indexed. Are they a// worth reading ?
Surely a few are inaccurate ! Let us draw
attention to some and endeavour to extract the
practical parts, and, if this long dynasty of
authors have omitted anything, let us endeavour
to substitute remarks drawn from experience.

It would have been ungrateful to Huth, and

4 INTRODUCTION

unfair to my readers, not to have drawn especial
attention to the best compiled index on horses
and equitation. From it they can learn with
amazement how much has been written, and
read with delight the works of horsey men who
have lived in various periods and in all sorts
of climates. The only drawback that I find to
it is the impossibility of discovering whether a
book is worth reading or not. It may have been
a standard work or a barefaced plagiarism ; and
it is almost impossible to digest the contents of
all or even one hundredth of them.

As an admirer of Huth's labours — and they
have been colossal — I must now call attention to
the contents of the long list of horsey books
which have been so patiently indexed. Some
authors have, in my opinion, made sound, and
others very unsound, suggestions ; and it hardly
concerns us to know whether the people who
wrote good ideas had long-winded names, or
were Englishmen or not. We approach the
subject in a sportsmanlike spirit, holding cosmo-
politan views, and believing that whoever lays
down rules derived from living and dead literary
men and living and dead practical owners of
horses, vets, and grooms, &c., is doing beneficial
work — soothing pain and preventing needless
cruelty, giving interest to horse-lovers, and
bringing happiness to the hunters, hacks, race-
horses, harness-horses, &c., in their charge.

Should further particulars interest my reader,
I must refer him to Huth's Index of 439 pages,
which could doubtless have been swelled to an

INTRODUCTION 5

enormous-sized book had anything beyond the
merest outline of the contents been given. Yet
thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen are
fond of books on horses, which are not technical
nor dull, but do not realise that there is such a
thing as equine literature in an elevated form.
They know, of course, that Greeks and Romans
in the dim past made references to chargers
and beasts of burden, and they usually hate
endeavouring to translate them.

Many lovers of books readily admit that the
late Whyte Melville wrote standard works on
modern hunting fiction. They willingly grant
that The Field, Sportsman, Sporting Life, The
Sporting Ti7nes, The Badmhiton Magazine,
Baity s Magazine, The Cozmtry Gentle77ian,
County Gentlemaii, The Illustrated Sporting and
Dramatic, and other newspapers and periodicals
which are devoted to race-meetings and sport
generally, are equine literature or journalism ;
but they little think, when they have named the
above, that they have hardly touched upon a
gigantic subject.

By kind permission of the editor of Bailys
Magazine, articles from the author's pen which
have appeared from time to time in that well-
known sporting journal have again been offered
to the public in book form in this work. Also
the author must acknowledge similar kindness
shown him by the editors of The Badminton
Magazine, The Sporting Life, The Globe, and
The Live Stock Journal.

The difficulties over the illustrations have been

6 INTRODUCTION

overcome by many of the best-known firms
supplying blocks — a great number being speci-
ally made. For these the author is indebted
to Messrs. Champion & Wilton, Peat, Parker,
Swaine & Adeney, of London, and Messrs.
Harries & Sons of Shrewsbury.

PART I

CHAPTER I

EARLY WORKS ON HORSES AND EQUITATION

Whoever takes the trouble to read the introduc-
tion to this book will notice how much has been
written about horses ; yet they may not grasp
that hitherto nobody has attempted to concen-
trate in one volume the experiences of the authors
whom Huth indexed. The following pages of
"Horses and Horsemen" are an attempt in this
direction ; and most gratefully do I acknowledge
assistance given by all branches of sporting
circles. The Duke of Portland, the Duke of
Westminster, Mr. Porter, the recently retired
trainer, Mr. H. Moore, the well-known racing
vet, Mr. Sapwell, Mr. E. E. Higginson, who
breed winners, besides many, many others, too
numerous to mention, have all been kindness
personified, and given me valuable material com-
bined with their practical experience.

It might, perhaps, from a book-selling point of
view be wiser for me to begin with a chapter on
the routine of stable-management. I prefer to
lead up to this subject, and select as No. i.
Horsey literature from classical times up to
date. Should anybody disapprove of this method
and wish to read about up-to-date hints, there is

8 EARLY WORKS

nothing to prevent that person from turning to
the index and reading the chapters which touch
on them.

Supposing no allusions were made to writers
who lived before Christ, the assumption would
naturally be that the author did not consider
they were entitled to any notice. Yet, just in
the same way as Napoleon I. declared that
some of the greatest generals were undoubtedly
those who commanded armies in very ancient
times, so I declare that absolutely the cleverest
writers on horses, so far as I am aware, were
those who wrote for pleasure — and not for profit
— from 380 years B.C. up to a few centuries after
Christ.

I have laid particular stress upon the way in
which you can find out all about these Greek and
Roman equine authors, i.e. from Huth's Index,
entitled "Works on Horses and Equitation," and
without lingering on the borderland of a second
introduction, I will proceed to trace from the
earliest MS. on horses, up to the researches of
professors at the Royal Veterinary College,
Camden Town, and other knowledge gleaned
from owners, trainers, horsemen, dealers, grooms,
and personal experience.

Before we name with reverence the oldest
writer on horses, let me suggest that the reader
should take an early opportunity of visiting
Tattersall's or Aldridge's repositories, and after
watchinor the number of horses offered for sale
— noting the faces of bidders — let him sub-
sequently turn into the British Museum and

EARLY WORKS 9

study there some early treatises on equine litera-
ture. They will astonish him, I'll guarantee ! ! !

There is a peculiar charm about the sporting
writings of ancient Greek authors. The most
apt expressions are almost invariably chosen ;
moreover, there is a dignity in the style, a
marvellous insight into the habits of horses.
As you eagerly read you are compelled to
admit that this writer — thouQ^h he lived so lono-
ago — was unmistakably a gentleman who under-
stood his subject. "I'll guarantee he could ride,"
you say to yourself Of cotcrse he could ! Had
he not ridden for his life many a time ? As quite
a youngster he had been in action ; not riding on
the modern kind of saddle, but on "Ephippia"
— described further on under the heading of
" Saddles."

The Greek author in his day had ridden in
sunshine and bad weather. Had climbed moun-
tains on horseback, slept near his horse in an
enemy's country, had forded rivers. And was, in
fact, as much at home on his favourite charger as
the average modern man feels when sitting in an
easy-chair. No wonder, therefore, he could write
clearly and brightly on a subject he loved, and was
so thoroughly familiar with. Moreover, he did not
write for a living. He jotted down his thoughts
out of sheer pleasure, producing a treatise which
was appreciated by his contemporaries and sub-
sequently by posterity. Thank goodness, there-
fore, that many of these treatises are preserved,
though many have perished ; equally as good,
doubtless, as those which have been preserved.

lo EARLY WORKS

The Greeks were indisputably artistic. The
Romans were thoroughly practical ; horses were
used by them for war and for purposes of luxury
and ostentation. The Greeks wrote with clever,
half-sarcastic brightness about their hacks, chariot
horses, and chargers ; the Romans in a more
matter-of-fact vein, until wealth, with its accom-
panying splendour, made "The Mistress of the
World " resemble a leviathan Athens, and the
writings of its authors a blend.

What strikes us as being remarkable when
studying this interesting subject is the intel-
lectual gap between the ancients and our own
period. We notice in bits and bitting, in
grooming, in carriages, in fact in everything
connected with horses that, during the Middle
Ages, inventions such as we have grown ac-
customed to in modern stables appear to have
stagnated.

The Egyptians, according to high authorities,
were conquered by Arab cavalry. They were
panic-stricken when they saw imaginary monsters,
who in reality were only men galloping at them
on horses.

Even supposing at that very early period the
Egyptians were used to cavalry^ — for one recog-
nised historian will write one statement and
another make an exactly opposite one — yet there
can be no doubt whatsoever that eventually they
learnt to understand them thoroughly well, and
had fine studs long before the ancient Greeks,
Romans, and Persians used chargers. This is
indisputable! It makes the stagnation in the

EARLY WORKS ii

Middle Ages all the more inexplicable, because
there was plenty of sound material to work upon.
Yet, from a scientific point of view, it redounds to
the credit of vets, saddlers, and horse-owners
who are livinor now, or who lived during this last
century.

Take a modern discovery such as electricity.
We feel surprised at the rapid strides which in-
ventors have made in motor-cars. On the other
hand — and it is impossible to emphasise the fact
too much — we are amazed at the comparatively
few discoveries made in riding, driving, stable-
management, shoeing, and veterinary since the
early writers wrote before and immediately after
Christ. This uninventive gap is all the more
incomprehensible when we reflect that, in the
Middle Ages, there were no trains, nor very
quick communication such as we have now, and
consequently people were far more dependent on
horses then than now.

I defy anybody to study this engrossing sub-
ject without wondering again and again that
warriors and citizens in the Middle Ages were
so uninventive ; even in Shakespeare's age — so
full of cleverness in other directions. The early
Romans and Greeks had bequeathed the same
MSS. which we possess now. Yet the Saxons,
Danes, Normans, and other peoples of Europe
paid no heed to them. Doubtless a few literary
monks knew sufficient about them to occasion-
ally read them with interest, and preserved the
antique writings because they saw in them
interesting relics of a remote civilisation.

12 EARLY WORKS

Evidence we possess of horse-trappings, several
centuries before Christ, point to a high pitch of
stable-management. So we are justified in sup-
posing that many inventions which were in daily-
use in those times were never written about.

Whips, stable-implements, bits, horse-shoes,
veterinary instruments — some even possibly better
than those in use now — all these we have named
were in existence. We can only know about
these relics of a horsey past through historians
and sculptors, and are obliged to fill gaps they
have left in the best way we can.

Historians may never have mentioned now
long-forgotten discoveries which, though common
in their day, are a sealed book to us. This
must be so when we think seriously, because it is
often difficult to establish a connecting link in a
carefully pieced chain of evidence having only
one flaw.

We are aware from a bas-relief that a whip or
a certain bit was used, and yet neither of them
are easily traceable for a period extending over
perhaps a century or even more.

Such is history. Such is the inventor and the
thing invented ! Future historians may have the
same difficulty in tracing our attempts to make
satisfactory flying-machines and easily managed
submarine - boats, tube railways, or motor-cars
that rarely break down. Innovations are usually
chronicled at the time of their birth. Sometimes
all reference to them is burnt, or perishes in a
manner never dreamed of by the thoughtful mind
who chronicled the inventor's achievements.

EARLY WORKS 13

Some readers may argue in an opposite direc-
tion, and declare that the ancients had a crude
form of civilisation compared to our own. Too
much stress has been laid upon Roman and
Greek equine inventions they may declare. Yet
incubators were used by the ancient Egyptians,
although some people imagine they are solely
modern inventions.

Surely we are justified in assuming that all
ancient knowledge on hints on horses and stable-
management has not been handed down to us ?
Doubtless we have missed several secrets which,
if we knew them, would prove of the utmost
value. Is not this argument reasonable? Great
stress must be laid upon the ancient references,
because otherwise we treat the forerunners of
modern veterinary colleges too lightly — in fact, do
not realise that early historians and early writers
of veterinary treatises were highly cultured.

Most well-recognised ancient equine authors
had been highly cultured. Did they not live at
a period when Art as represented by Sculpture
was far higher than it is now ; perhaps nearer
perfection than it ever was or ever will be }

Small wonder then that Greek and Roman
authors who made veterinary and stable-manage-
ment a deep study, wrote remarks which show
wonderful discernment, and penned them, using
language that is clearness personified, and orna-
menting each sentence with the most apt expres-
sions conceivable. Their style was interwoven
with rippling humour — not unlike Voltaire's,
blended with Byron's versatile genius.

14 EARLY WORKS

Fortunately for us these talented people did
not spend most of their time company-promoting,
or driving motor-cars at break-neck speed, or
shattering their nerves by living at such high
pressure as many of us do, because competition
gives us no alternative. They appear to have
done things very thoroughly, and to have en-
joyed their leisure moments — and here lies the
charm of their writings. They wrote for pleasure
and not for gain, with a thorough grip of their
subject, and we feel, as we read, that their treatises
were labours of love, penned with a cultured sense
of humour. Their satire was elegant and rarely
descended into vulgarity. In every passage the
modern horsey man discerns that these ancient
writers had light " hands," and were happy when
riding hot, well-bred horses, who were afterwards
dressed over by slaves harshly disciplined in stable
duties.

But we have touched upon the best side of
the early author's character. He had a dark
side — cruel, suspicious, even merciless towards
horse, enemy, slave, and any person or creature
that stood in his way. His culture was too often
that of a pagan, his elegance was only what
might have been expected from an educated
slave-owner. Yet, despite his virtues and vices,
those who study equine literature are still heavily
indebted to him.

CHAPTER I I

AMATEUR VETS

" In the horse, as in the man, all diseases are
easier to cure at the start, than after they have
become chronic, and have been wrongly diag-
nosed." So wrote Xenophon, with exquisite
humour, more than two thousand years ago, in
his admirable work on "The Art of Horseman-
ship." He continues: "The same care which
is oriven to horses' food and exercise — to make
his body grow strong — should also be devoted to
keeping his feet in condition." Could anything
be clearer ?

We quote the above in order to emphasise
the dictionary meaning of the word amateur,
i.e. " One who loves and cultivates any art or
science, but does not follow the one preferred
as a profession." Again, we desire to impress
upon the reader that the cleverest of the ancients
who wrote upon veterinary had a practical know-
ledge of horses, although they did not use
sporting phrases that are constantly heard on
our race-courses or at our meets. Here is an-
other remark of Xenophon's : " I will describe
how a man, in buying a horse, is least likely
to be cheated. In the case of an unbroken
colt, of course, his frame is what you must test ;

1 6 AMATEUR VETS

as for spirit, no very sure signs of that are offered
by an animal that has never yet been mounted.
And, in his frame, the first thing which I say you
ought to look at are his feet."

Please note that in those days they swindled in
horse-dealing. We cannot too severely censure
inferior schoolmasters, who have taught the dead
languages so imperfectly that Greek and Latin
references are regarded by their former pupils
with apathy as being semi-mythical, and there-
fore having little or nothing to do with our
modern mode of thought, in fact belonging ex-
clusively to the realm of the " blue-stocking " and
the "prig."

If lessons had been made more agreeable to
us when we were at an impressionable age, we
should realise how the cultured ancients rode
bare-back into action, and had a rough insight
into veterinary and a high conception of stable-
management, and were practical. For their
chargers often went lame and got "done to a
turn " by forced marches, injured by lance or
sword cuts in a similar way to the twentieth-
century troopers in recent wars.

Just as English laws have been built up
from Roman legislation, so has the science of
veterinary — as we understand it — arisen from
the experiences of writers such as Kimon, or
Simon of Athens, who has left behind him a
fragmentary work written 430 years before
Christ. Whilst Xenophon, 380 B.C. ; Aristoteles,
333 B.C. ; Hippocrates, 350 b.c. ; Mago Cartha-
giensis, 200 b.c. ; M. T. Varro, t^^j b.c. ; Colu-

AMATEUR VETS 17

mella, 20 a.d. ; Apsyrtus, 322 a.d., besides many
others, have given us valuable contributions.

A singularly interesting library, consisting of
several thousand well-known books, might be
formed by a literary millionaire who chose to
collect the different treatises that have been
written, often at long intervals, until a well-
recognised veterinary college was founded in
England in 1796. In order to spare those who
are not bookworms the trouble of poring over
thousands of musty old volumes, this so far is a
faint outline of some of the enormous knowledge
which these early authors possessed, who wrote
so easily and so brightly.

This is how Xenophon begins his book : " It
has been my fortune to spend a great deal of
time in riding, and so I think myself versed in
the horseman's art. This makes me the more
willing to set forth to the younger of my friends
what would be the best way for them to deal with
horses."

There is nothing bumptious about Xenophon's
style. Each sentence is written from a natural
horseman's point of view. In those times chargers
and hacks were fed on oats.

Apsyrtus and also Vegetius allude to a dis-
ease which was possibly a form of colic. The
symptoms mentioned were : the patient became
doubled up with pain, could not bend his legs,
threw himself down, refused to move, and took
his food lying. " This disease is incurable unless
it cures itself," said Aristotle. It was certainly a
sweeping assertion ; but then he never had the

B

1 8 AMATEUR VETS

opportunity of studying at the Royal Veterinary
College. Had he done so, his patient might have
been relieved by the dung being removed and a
gallon or two of hot water afterwards being in-
jected gently. A gill of whisky, and the following
prescription made up in the form of a draught,
might have produced a speedy cure : —

^ther Rect.
Tinct. Opii.
01. Tereb. .
Tinct. Asafoet.
01. Lini. ad

§ss.
3vj.

3iv.
Oss.

M. ft. haust. Repeated in an hour if necessary.

As regards the Ancients. They understood
something about dentistry ; that is to say, they
knew about the milk and permanent teeth, also
how to tell the age of a horse from his marks.

Their veterinary treatises were usually sand-
wiched between much agricultural information,
and this is why interesting passages on the frog,
primitive notions on hygiene, references to sur-
feit, &c., are not always easy to find.

Naturally they quickly recognised strains, and
paid particular attention to the points of a horse,
and were very suspicious about their grooms
robbing them or picking up objectionable stable
tricks, because Aristotle tells of a Persian, who
was asked, " What is the best thing to make a
horse plump ?" and who answered, "His master's
eye ! " Surely that Persian must have had, at one
time or another, a rather tricky stud-groom, or
some underhand stable-helps who were painfully
sharp.

AMATEUR VETS 19

On the principle that " prevention is better
than cure," the predecessors of MacFadyean,
Flemming, Chauveau, Schwab, Fitzwygram,
Tuson, and a host of other equally well-
known modern writers, all advocated regular
feeding^ and sound stable-manaQfement. Horse-
keepers of to-day could have learnt something
from those who rocked the cradle of veterinary
before the Christian era.

Still bearinor in mind the meaning of the
word amateur — " One who loves and cultivates
any art or science, but does not follow the one
preferred as a profession " — we will now turn
our attention to amateur vets of the nineteenth
century. At the same time we must acknowledge
a deep debt of gratitude to those who have
linked the past and present together. In a
horse-loving country like England the inhabitants
may say, with a certain degree of truth, that we
are all in a sense "vets," especially those who,
though they do not practice and have not
qualified, yet continue to collect useful material,
and who do not attempt to operate without the
indispensable training. For a little knowledge
is dangerous, and often, unintentionally, a cruel
thing.

All who have witnessed the very unnecessary
barbarity of the amateur vet — it goes hand in
hand with ignorance — will indorse this statement.
People who have the merest glimmering of
animal diseases occasionally force irritants, in the
form of onions, into a mare's vagina, with the
object of inducing the wretched animal to stale.

20 AMATEUR VETS

And cases are by no means rare in which horses
have been blistered with cantharides unmixed
with lard ; and repeatedly dumb patients have
been severely fired and blistered by the un-
educated on the "sound" instead of the
"unsound" leo". In fact the list of such atrocities
is a wearisomely long one, to say nothing of the
superstitions peculiar to certain counties. In
Devonshire, for instance, there is a supposed
cure by magic, the name being " Whitewitches "
or something of the sort. A nineteenth-century
English savage takes a nail, which he dips into
a pot of urine, and expects the owner of a cow
who is suffering from milk fever, or any other
ailment, to walk round. In the event of the
patient recovering, the witch, of course, takes
the credit.

The Whitechapel costermongers pin their faith
to vinegar and whitening, or turpentine and beer ;
in cases of sprains this lotion is well rubbed into
the affected part. Certainly this is a very inno-
cent recreation — it has been said that the English
take their pleasures sadly — compared with the
number of times that lamenitis, sometimes termed
"founder," or "fever in the feet," is mistaken for
congestion of the lungs, and even tetanus, all of
which require immediate treatment. Need we
say more on this point ? To dwell on painful
subjects is exceedingly depressing, but we feel
bound to lay a stress upon the eager way in
which amateur vets, who have never received a
practical or scientific training, delight in giving
purgatives, without in the least taking into con-

AMATEUR VETS 21

sideration how much the constitutions of their
victims differ. Thank goodness the Ancients
had no inducement to nearly pull a poor horse's
tongue out or cause it to bleed, because they
never gave balls ; neither did they put their
patients to excruciating agony by docking with
unsuitable instruments. But they paid even
more regard to regular feeding than many of
us do now. They knew less about diseases,
we readily admit ; but this, in a way, was an
advantage, because they did not jumble them up.
Knowing nothing of our modern blister, they could
not apply it, as some foolish people do now, without
first of all clipping the hair off. But whether or
not they got their fingers bitten off by dogs when
giving them medicine is a moot point.

In the present day every amateur vet who
respects the safety of his hands takes excellent
care to force a stout stick into the canine patient's
mouth, whilst another person firmly grips the
dog by his ears.

It is not uncommon to torture the brute
creation by unskilfully bandaging their limbs, or
to choke pigs by administering draughts much
too rapidly, and perhaps squeezing the breath
out of them in the process.

The thousand and one unspeakable tortures
that an unpractical, though not necessarily an
intentionally cruel vet, can inflict on the wild and
domesticated animals is almost past belief, and
has unhappily brought reproach on his enlightened
colleagues. The amateur vet, however, intensifies
these sufferings.

22 AMATEUR VETS

Life being too short and civilisation too compli-
cated for every man to be his own barrister,
solicitor, doctor, or vet, those who really wish
to learn the theory and practice of the veterinary
art, without passing the stiff examinations at the
Royal Veterinary College, should approach a
difficult subject in a spirit of humility. We
can conscientiously recommend the following
standard works for their perusal : —

J. MacFadyean has written "Anatomy of
Domesticated Animals " and " Anatomy of the
Horse"; G. Flemming, "Practical Horse-
keeper," also "Horse Shoes and Shoeing" and
"Horse-Shoeing"; Fitzwygram, "Horses and
Stables" and "Notes on Shoeing"; A. P.
Chauveau, Traite d' Anatomic des Animaux
Domestiques ; C. Schwab, "Age of a Horse by
the Teeth," "Veterinary Counter-practice,"
" Materia Medica " ; R. V. Tuson, " Pharmacopoeia
for Practitioners of Veterinary Medicine."

Those amateur vets who are easily satisfied
with a smattering of a noble science, whose
branches spread over a large mental area, will
find these books have been written to suit their
tastes, namely : —

The writings of " Stonehenge " ; " Veterinary
Notes for Horse-owners," by Hayes ; " The Live
Stock of the Farm," by Morton and Pringle ;
Morgan's Translation of Xenophon's " The Art
of Horsemanship."

Cattle. — "The Bovine -Prescriber," by Gress-
well ; "The Yorkshire Cattle Doctor," by
Knolson.

AMATEUR VETS 23

Sheep. — " The Sheep Breeder's Guide."

Pigs. — Garrett's " Practical Pig-keeper."

Z?^^^.— "The Diseases of Dogs," by H. Dalziel.

Poultry. — " Pheasants, Turkeys, and Geese,"
by W. Cook; also "Profitable Poultry-keeping,"
by F. Mackenzie.

Goats.—'' Book of the Goat," by Pegler ; " The
Case for the Goat," by " Home-Counties."

Amongst well-known foreign writers, these
names deserve praise : Champetier, Lechlainche,
Dupont, Boucher, Schlieben — he wrote the
" Horse of Antiquity " — Bayer, Paalzow, Haare,
Captain Hube, Carl von Schmidt. In fact the
amateur vet has the choice of cultivating his
mind by reading the wisdom of thousands of good
authors on the Veterinary Art.

The authors who filled the gap between Xeno-
phon and the time when the Royal Veterinary
College was founded, are indeed legion. It is
a tremendous gap indeed ! It would be tedious
to give more than these already mentioned few
sample quotations illustrating Greek, Roman, and
mediaeval writers. Let us think also of the store
of knowledge which perished when Carthage was
burnt ; for we may feel sure that the slim Cartha-
ginians were active horsemen, or they would not
have killed so many Romans under Hannibal,
Hamilcar, and other long forgotten cavalry leaders.
Therefore we may conclude that the Carthaginians
wrote on this subject, and their works all perished,
unfortunately for us.

It is obvious from the above that some institu-
tion was necessary to establish equine knowledge

24 AMATEUR VETS

on a scientific basis, and this want being felt, the
Royal Veterinary College sprang into being. But
it did not start teaching pupils about the works
we have already touched upon. The foundations
were laid on quite a firm basis ; viz. scientific
anatomy, botany, chemistry, and other sciences
which we will deal with when a brief sketch has
been given of the Royal Veterinary College,
Camden Town, a hospital for the treatment of
animal diseases on the same lines as other hos-
pitals devoted to human beings. Nevertheless
if it had not been for those ancient and mediaeval
writers on equine literature, the Royal Veterinary
College would have made far less rapid strides in
science.

They are also indebted to doctors and surgeons
who have made discoveries which have thrown
light on Veterinary. The scientific discoveries of
modern times have been greatly assisted through
the invention and perfecting of the microscope.

CHAPTER III

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

Many who feel an interest in the treatment of
animal diseases, may be astonished to learn that,
although institutions for learning in veterinary-
science had long been established in France,
Germany, and other European states, it was not
until the year 1791 that a well-recognised veteri-
nary college was founded in England.

There is no necessity for us to draw com-
parisons between the ancient and modern veteri-
nary student, to the detriment of the former.
Suffice it to say, that nowadays those who take
their "diplomas" at this seat of learning, situated
in Camden Town, London, have their industry
more severely tested than would have been the
case had they entered a century ago.

In order that we may sufficiently appreciate
their labours, we will try and glean an insight
into " The Royal Veterinary College " course, and
briefly describe the career of the full-blown vet,
finishing up with a few hints that may be useful
to whosoever cares to choose this profession.

Before students can enter the college, they
must pass a preliminary examination in general
education : such subjects as English grammar
and composition, Latin, mathematics, and either

26 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

Greek, a modern language, or logic are com-
pulsory. Those who can show certificates that
clearly prove they have passed a precisely similar
or a more difficult examination embracing these
particular subjects, are exempt from the veteri-
nary matriculation.

The college fees are eighty guineas, which can
be paid in four instalments. There is a Winter
and a Summer Session, but the Winter Term —
it begins October ist — is the more strongly re-
commended by the college authorities.

Speaking generally, the students' ages vary
from sixteen to four-and-twenty. Regular attend-
ance at lectures is strictly enforced, and the pro-
fessors examine their pupils monthly.

Even supposing a diploma-candidate possesses
only medium ability, he ought, with eight hours'
work a day, to "pass" in the prescribed period
— namely, four years. Yet no candidate can re-
ceive " The Diploma " until he has attended four
sessions of not less than thirty weeks each, and
also has satisfied the Court of Examiners of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which is
totally distinct from the Educational Staff

In order to explain how scientific the veterinary
course has become, it may be advisable to mention
the mere headings of subjects that students re-
ceive instruction in —

Exammation for Class A — {first year).

(a) Anatomy of all domesticated animals, including bones,

ligaments, and joints.
{b) Chemistry and Elementary Physics.
{c) Biology, Elementary Zoology, and Botany.

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 27

At first sight it does not appear a very difficult
task to attain proficiency in these three subjects,
after a preparation of a twelvemonth. But we
must not forget the various divisions and sub-
divisions into which the headings are split up.
Usually Botany is the great stumbling-block in
Class A. This may be accounted for by the
fact, that the poisonous and non-poisonous grasses
are not as a rule so closely connected with sick
animals as anatomy and chemistry ieem to be.
Most students who get through this first examina-
tion pluck up courage and take their diplomas.
At the risk of wearying the reader, it is necessary
to briefly specify the remaining headings —

Examination for Class B — {second year),
(a) Anatomy of the domesticated animals.
(d) Histology and Physiology.

(c) Stable-management, the manipulation of the domesti-
cated animals, and the principles of shoeing.

Ciass C — {third year),
{a) Morbid Anatomy, Pathology, and Bacteriology.
{b) Materia Medica, Pharmacy, Therapeutics, and Toxic-
ology.
{c) Veterinary Hygiene and Dietetics.

Class D — final — {fourth year).

(a) Principles and Practice of Veterinary Medicine and
Clinical Medicine.

{d) Principles and Practice of Veterinary Surgery, Ob-
stetrics, and Shoeing.

(c) Meat Inspection.

A student who is rejected three times, for any
one of these examinations, forfeits his right of
pupilage. Out of the two or three hundred candi-

2 8 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

dates for the diploma, a small percentage are too
lazy to qualify ; others, who are endowed with
more grit, take a pleasure in their work, and are
heartily sorry when they bid farewell to their
friends at the Royal Veterinary College in order
to take upon themselves the responsibilities of a
practice.

At this epoch in the lives of newly-fledged
vets, it is of the utmost importance that they
should not only feel, but also inspire confidence
in their healing powers. Hitherto, they were
always able to consult a professor on any doubt-
ful points ; so it is not surprising that young men
who start in a district far removed from Camden
Town, are apt to be disconcerted by the great
change in their mode of life. Instead of being
light-hearted students any longer, their nerves get
upset when their surgery bell summons them to
treat a disease which they have only met with
theoretically, but which they cannot recognise
from an illustration. In course of time the re-
quisite experience is gained — too frequently at
the expense of their unfortunate patients ; for it
takes a long time to ascertain how to treat the
different constitutions of every horse and dog in
a large practice, to say nothing of choked bullocks,
swine fever cases, &c. &c.

As an instance of high examination marks
being no criterion that a vet is competent, we
may mention that many an Indian student returns
to his home, highly qualified, certainly, but too
prone to regard sick animals from a text-point
of view.

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 29

What, then, is the best training for a veterinary
surgeon who desires to be equally proficient in
both the theory and practice of his profession ?

To begin with, he ought to serve an apprentice-
ship to a leading country vet. This will enable
him to watch the growth of young animals in
their natural state. It will also give him oppor-
tunities to excel in horsemanship, and to cultivate
a " natural touch " with animals. This will prove
most advantageous to him in after-life ; for good
horsemen do not feel much respect for vets who
do not handle stock in a persuasive manner,
which convinces them that the animal doctor has
been accustomed to such patients from boyhood.

It is scarcely fair to send a youth to the Veteri-
nary College and expect him to learn everything
there connected with the profession ; unless he has
previously served an apprenticeship, the chances
are in favour of his being too theoretical when he
leaves Camden Town,

A subordinate, in a hard-working country prac-
tice, has his hands constantly dirty. Sometimes
he is engaged cleaning or putting on hobbles,
making up medicine, rubbing in blister, or giving
patients balls ; not infrequently even grooming or
harnessing a horse. Or else keeping the day-
book, or " attending distant cases in the small
hours of the morning."

After he has matriculated, the student who has
been so trained, is able to contrast the diseases
which are prevalent in the country with those
that are more peculiar to towns.

By now, the reader will have surely placed the

30 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

veterinary on a level with the medical profession,
if not quite socially, at all events scientifically !
As a matter of fact, a first-rate vet requires
ability almost superior to a leading solicitor's or
a well-known doctor's. The reason is obvious :
Balaam's ass always excepted — animals are born
dumb, and so cannot inform those who treat them
where their aches and pains are felt most keenly.
Again, there is a likelihood that an owner or his
groom have experimented with a patient before,
as a last resource, they " send for the vet."

Any amateur who has tried to "examine" a
horse, more especially one that he has never
seen before, will indorse the statement that a vet
who has built up a good practice is very rarely
an impostor, because the majority of horses and
cattle are kept by shrewd, practical business-men,
who are quick to find out if their animals are
cured by those who are well paid to attend them
in sickness. In this way a clever member of the
veterinary profession sooner or later makes his
way ; whilst his inferiors are employed only by
those who consider it economy to call in a second-
rate practitioner who charges less for his services.

Unlike similar institutions on the Continent, the
Royal Veterinary College, London, is not sub-
sidised by Government. Nor has it a riding-
school. In the present college-grounds there is
not sufficient space to erect so large a building.
In the near future, perhaps, some arrangement
will be made by which "diploma-candidates" can
be taught riding and driving. Yet it must be
remembered how fully occupied the veterinary

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 31

student is during his four years' course. Not
unnaturally, he seeks manly recreation far away
from the scene of his labours ; his slender
allowance will seldom permit such an expensive
luxury as a day with the staghounds, or hacking
in Richmond Park, or a canter in Rotten
Row.

Recently a scientific club has been formed in
connection with the Royal Veterinary College.
Only professors, teachers, and students are privi-
leged to become members of this " Veterinary
Medical Association." On certain days the college
class-rooms are placed at the disposal of the
Association, which awards certificates and hono-
rary certificates. Needless to say that the club
is dependent on the pleasure of the Royal Veteri-
nary College authorities for its existence, whose
rules and regulations it is compelled to obey ;
otherwise it might violate privileges granted by
the College Charter.

Veterinary surgeons may be said to be divided
into five distinct classes, namely : —

(i) The College Educational Staff, who are
specialists in medicine, anatomy, surgery, or
hospital surgery.

(2) The Ar7}ty Veterinary Surgeons, who, when
young, conform to military discipline, and are
more connected with " red tapeism " than the rest
of their fraternity.

(3) Toivn Veterinary Surgeons, who see many
cases of lameness, chiefly due to concussion — the
roads in cities are of course much harder than
those in agricultural districts. Glanders and lung

32 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

affections are more frequently met with in large
towns than elsewhere.

(4) Country Veterinary Surgeons usually have
a mixed practice. This is because they generally
reside in a small country town, and attend foaling
and calving cases in the surrounding farms.
Country vets examine many carriage-horses, cart-
horses, hunters, and hacks in the course of the
year, and are frequently consulted about growing
stock.

(5) Racing Veterinary Sttrgeons are found in
the neighbourhood of a large breeding-stud, or
at a training centre ; for the many ills which
thoroughbred horses are heir to require the
opinion of a specialist, who has had a wide ex-
perience amongst racehorses both in and out
of training.

Having briefly touched upon the scientific and
practical side of veterinary, let us roughly esti-
mate the cost of a student's education, and
compare it with the pecuniary return he may
reasonably expect to get later on.

Apart from buying a town or a country prac-
tice, the sums which those who are responsible
for a student's welfare must be prepared to lay
out on his behalf are —

For an apprenticeship of two years with a country

vet .;£ioo

For entrance to college, for instruments, books, and

examination fees . . . . . ^100

For food, lodging, and pocket-money . . £s°'^

Total during a pupilage of two years, and subse-
quently a four years' college course . . ;£t°°

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 33

Supposing a junior partnership is bought for
a thousand pounds in a first-rate practice, the
outlay has positively amounted to seventeen
hundred pounds before a veterinary surgeon has
earned a single penny.

In the case of an accomplished " qualified man,"
who has exceptional business-push, it may be a
mistake to throw money away only to play the
part of second fiddle in an old-established prac-
tice. Besides, all those who are entitled to write
M.R.C.V.S.L. after their names have not suffi-
cient money at their command to do so.

Probably in no other profession is exceptional
ability and steadiness more widely appreciated.
Several of our leading veterinary surgeons have
risen to fame purely through their own efforts.
For influence will not induce those who keep a
great number of animals to employ inferior men
to treat them.

The best paying practices bring in as much
as three thousand pounds a year. The average
vet makes from four to seven hundred a year.
Even the least fortunate are rewarded with a
bare livelihood of two hundred pounds per
annum, but it must not be overlooked that a
horse and trap has to be kept, and drugs pur-
chased ; and these are expensive items.

Many vets keep large shoeing - forges in
some market - towns. Their clients often turn
these forges into temporary stables on market
days, and call at the surgery for bottles of
medicine.

In conclusion, let us try and pick up a few

C

34 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

hints from those who have been most successful
in the veterinary profession. Whoever desires
to follow in their footsteps must be cautioned
against dealing in horses, unless they make a
speciality of buying and selling animals that are
undeniably sound.

As a rule, private purchasers do not look
for hunters in a vet's stableyard. Because, to
put it bluntly, a dealer who has "qualified" is
supposed to know more than is good for him.
There is always a likelihood of a purchaser, who
becomes dissatisfied with a horse that he has
purchased from a vet, afterwards injuring the
character of the seller.

Of course there are plenty of pitfalls which a
qualified man must try to escape. Insobriety is
fatal to any practice. Bad horsemanship is apt
to brine down ridicule, for owners and orJ"oonis
quickly detect anything that indicates inexperi-
ence. For instance, if a vet, when giving
a horse a " ball," injures his patient's tongue
by pulling it too severely, or else gets his hand
bitten, some one is sure to notice it — and after-
wards to discuss the little mishap. Supposing
he is often clumsy, his employers will eventually
lose all confidence in him, and consequently
employ some one else. Neatness in the surgery
is strongly to be recommended : unfailing tact
and also an agreeable professional manner are
gifts ; but they can sometimes be acquired by
constant care.

A few examination papers of the " Matric." for
the Royal Veterinary College are given below, in

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 35

case a reader should desire to take veterinary up
as a profession. But let him not do so unless he
is genuinely fond of animals both in health and
when diseased.

ARITHMETIC

1. In a division sum the divisor is 164,600, the quotient
3854, and the remainder 26,167. Find the dividend.

2. How many steps does a soldier take in marching 4f
miles, each of his steps being 30 inches in length ?

3. Reduce ;^i4,789, 19s. ii|d. to farthings, and divide
;^23,S96, IIS. 8|d. by 63.

4. Divide ^^430, 9s. 5|d. between 4 women and 9 men,
giving each woman twice as much as a man.

5. Find the cost of 5 cwt. 2 qrs. 24 lbs. at 7|d. per pound.

6. Find the values of —

0) (7i + l + T2+22T)-TV;

7. Reduce | of if + 5^ to a decimal.

8. A person in 87 days spends ;!^38, 19s. 4id. In how
many days will he spend ;!^i63, 9s. 9|d. at the same rate?

9. Find the Simple Interest on ;^645, 6s. for 10^ years at
3I per cent, per annum.

10. A room is 26 feet 3 inches long and 15 feet 9 inches
broad. Find the cost of covering it with carpet which is three
quarters of a yard wide, at 4s. 6d. per yard.

11. Find the Square Root of 730.0804, and also that of

.289
43T9'

12. One metre is equal to 3.28 English feet, and one
French foot is equal to 1.066 of an English foot. Express
one French foot in metres.

ALGEBRA

I. When .r = - 2, ^ = 3, s= -\, find the value of —

(i) S^^yH;

(ii) 2 (^'-3)2-5(2+2)-;

(iii) - +" .
z X

36 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

2. Divide x^ + x" + I hy x^ + x+i.

3. In the expression 2X^ - 3.r" + 4X - 5 write y- 2 for :*;,
and simplify the result.

4. State which of the following expressions cannot be re-
solved into rational factors, and give the factors of the others :
a- - X', a^ + x\ a^ - x^, a* + x\ a^ + x^

5. Simplify —

(i) ' '

(ii)

2JC - I X+ 2 2VC^ +3-2

x^ + 2xy 2xy -y'^ x:^ +7^.

xy -y"^ x"^ + xy xy
6. Solve the equations —

^^—2 -J-= \2 ■'-

5 7

^.T - I 7 y + 2
•^ + , — = 2X-y

(iii)

4 6

x-Va X - a -?>b

a + 2b a - 2b

7. How many times is the sum of money b shillings a pence
contained in the sum b"^ pounds 2ab shillings (a- + 8rt^) pence ?

8. If 2.Y- 37 + 4 = o and 3.^ + 27 - 4 = o, find the value of

2f^+ SJ - 4
3^-2j^ + 4*

9. A workman in the country saves J[^\o 2l year. He goes
to a town where he earns 10 per cent, more than in the
country, while his expenditure is 5 per cent, greater. In the
town he saves ;^i5 a year; find his income.

EUCLID

Books I— 1 1 1

[Ordinary abbreviations, such as |f, |p"'", u '", sq., 0^are allowed,

and candidates are advised to adopt them ; but in no case

may algebraical symbols, such as the minus sign, and AB"^^

be used.]

I. If, at a point in a straight line, two other straight lines,

on opposite sides of it, make the adjacent angles together

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 37

equal to two right angles, then these two straight lines shall be
in one and the same straight line.

ABCD is a rhombus ; 0,E,F are the mid-points of A C,
AB, CD, respectively : prove that FOE is a straight line.

2. If one side of a triangle is greater than another, then the
angle opposite to the greater side shall be greater than the
angle opposite to the less.

3. If two triangles have two angles of the one equal to two
angles of the other, each to each, and the sides adjacent to the
equal angles in each equal, then shall the triangles be equal in
all respects.

4. The complements of the parallelograms about the diagonal
of any parallelogram are equal to each other. Apply the pro-
position to construct a parallelogram equal to a given one so
that one of its sides shall be twice a side of the given parallelo-
gram.

5. If a straight line is divided into any two parts, the square
on the whole line is equal to the sum of the squares on the two
parts together with twice the rectangle contained by the two
parts.

6. If one cord of a circle bisects another at right angles,
one of them must be a diameter.

7. The straight line drawn perpendicular to a tangent to a
circle from the point of contact passes through the centre.

8. AC, BD are two equal chords of a circle which cut one
another at right angles in E. Prove that the difference of the
squares on AB, CD is equal to twice the rectangle under the
sum of the chords i^AC, BD) and their distance from the centre.

MECHANICS

[Eight questions only to be answered.]

1. Enunciate the Parallelogram of Forces.

Determine the magnitudes of two forces acting at a
point at right angles to one another, such that the direc-
tion of their resultant SP makes an angle of 60° with the
direction of one of the forces.

2. A uniform heavy bar 22 inches long, weighing 9 lbs., with
weights 5 lbs. and 8 lbs. hanging from the ends respectively,

38 THE VETERINARY PROFESSION

rests in a horizontal position on a small support. Find how
far the support is from the end to which the 8 lb. weight is
attached.

3. Find the centre of gravity of a uniform wire which is bent
in such a way that it forms AB, BC^ CD, three sides of a
square.

4. Give, with reasons, one example of each of the three
classes of Lever.

Define mechanical advantage. What is the mechanical
advantage of a Wheel and Axle ?

5. Two particles started from rest at the same instant, and
moved in straight lines at right angles to one another, one with
uniform velocity, the other with uniform acceleration, the
measures of the velocity and acceleration with foot-second
units being 23 and 7 respectively. Initially the particles were
close together; how far apart (to the nearest foot) were they
when they had been moving for 6 seconds ?

6. Enunciate Newton's Laws of Motion.

A constant force acted in the direction of motion of
mass of 9 lbs. for 15 seconds. The effect of the force
was to change the velocity of the mass from 100 feet per
second to 200 feet per second. What was the magnitude
of the force ?

7. A particle was projected vertically upwards with a velocity
of 365 feet per second. As it ascended, at what height above
the point of projection was its velocity 189 feet per second,
and how long did it take to reach that height ?

8. Define specific gravity.

Two cubic inches of a metal weigh 9 oz., and a cubic
foot of water weighs 1000 oz. Find, correct to one
decimal place, the specific gravity of the metal.

9. State the conditions of equilibrium of a body floating
freely in a liquid.

A rectangular log of wood of square section floats in

water with 2 inches of its thickness above the surface.

The S.G. of the wood being .75, what is the area of its

section ?

10. Describe, and explain the action of, the Forcing Pump.

THE VETERINARY PROFESSION 39

The Calendar of the Royal Veterinary Col-
lege, giving complete information about that
Institution, can be obtained at Adlard & Son,
Bartholomew Close ; or for the payment of 6d.
by direct communication with the Secretary of
the ColleLre at Camden Town, London.

PART II

CHAPTER IV

BUSH HORSES

In order to make a striking contrast between
half-wild horses — such as are common in our
English colonies or on the prairies in North and
South America — and the well-eroomed and well-
corned horses in our best stables at home, I will
give a short sketch of Bush Life in Northern
Queensland, afterwards giving in detail the
routine of stable-manao^ement in a hioh-class
stud.

Without understanding the leading features of
the locality in which semi-wild horses are bred in,
it is almost impossible to comprehend how and
why they are treated so casually. But their value
is comparatively very little, and they are treated
accordingly.

The Bush, as it is known to squatters and station
hands, varies considerably. Roughly speaking,
Australian scenery is divided into thick scrub and
open plain, both stretching immense distances,
and overpowering the brain of the new arrival
with a sense of the vastness of Nature. The
runs are usually partitioned by barbed wire
fencing, and the only other indications of civilisa-
tion are the rails of the wooden stock-yard of the

BUSH HORSES 41

head cattle station, or the large wool sheds of the
sheep runs close to the Boss's house, built in the
bungalow style. Now and again travellers on
the main road pass huge flocks of sheep, or large
" mobs " of cattle, that are being driven towards
a newly purchased run, or else in a southerly
direction for the consumption of citizens in the
large towns. No rougher life is known than that
of these drivers of stock " on the road," who
seldom move more than a few miles a day, and
camp out in all weathers. Though many books
have been written upon Australasia, more especi-
ally by globe-trotters, their authors have usually
omitted to accurately describe the Bush life,
which has very much monotony and a few com-
pensating pleasures. The freedom, the absence
of conventionalities, the rough-and-ready hospi-
tality, have only been lightly touched upon.
Narrators have overlooked, or never sufficiently
appreciated, the spirited love of adventure which
has prompted men to shake off many of the
trammels of civilisation, and to seek a livelihood
in remote regions, inhabited but a few years ago
solely by the aboriginal, the dingo, and the
'possum. After a hasty inspection of both sheep
and cattle stations, the literary tourist has pined
after the flesh-pots of Melbourne and Sydney, or
the Western world ; and so untravelled minds
have acquired but slight knowledge of colonial up-
country life, and have, consequently, sighed over
the fate of relatives and friends who eke out an
existence in what seem unfavourable conditions.
Some few years ago five or six men were

42 BUSH HORSES

lolling back on canvas deck-chairs, puffing their
tobacco smoke out of the head station verandah,
and staring at the vast expanse of bush which lay-
in front of them. Though the architectural struc-
ture of the wooden building did not call forth
admiration, still the hut they sat in had an appear-
ance of homeliness, and was not altogether un-
picturesque. It was strongly constructed of
unpainted wooden planks, and raised two feet
from the ground on piles. A corrugated iron
roof seemed a mere matter of form, for the rain
had not fallen for months ; though unquestionably
when it does come it makes up for lost time.
The main entrance looked out across the gigantic
plains, covered with coarse yellow tufts of grass.
Near the back door a large river-bed skirted the
edge of the scrub, thickly wooded with tall, white,
gum trees. The slatternly servant shared a small
hut with her drunken husband, and near to the
river bank the tame Australian aboriginals made
their rough camp and lay huddled up in blankets
close to a blazing fire.

On off days, when there was no particular work
to do, it was good fun racing towards the nearest
Bush township, composed of a few public-houses
and general stores. In point of distance this
nearest approach to civilisation was only a mile
off; yet many an hour was spent catching a horse
and saddling it, in preference to walking in a
tropical climate. But, though loafing with the
consent of the manager was permissible during a
slack time, any slowness at certain busy seasons
of the year was severely censured in language

BUSH HORSES 43

more forcible than polite. When the Boss gave
orders for all hands to start off on a long expedi-
tion, in order to bring the cattle away from the
farthest end of the run, all packed their swag,
and, after a hurried breakfast, lit their pipes and
adjourned to the stock-yard, taking with them
their saddles and bridles. The Bush horses,
which had already been driven up, galloped
wildly round the enclosure, raising clouds of dust
from the sandy plain. They laid back their ears
significantly, and, swerving round, suddenly came
to a standstill, suspiciously sniffing the air.
Whenever a black boy stealthily and coaxingly
approached them with a bridle, they would start
off on a fresh stampede, squealing, biting, and
kicking furiously at one another. The sharp
cracks from the long stock-whips kept the horses
in the corner of the yard, and eventually each one
was caught in turn, the bridle slipped quickly on,
and led out. Next, the heavy saddles, weighing
two stone a-piece, were put on also very quietly,
and the girths tightened up. Immediately the
horses felt the weight of their riders they started
bucking, and their repeated efforts were often
rewarded by a horseman falling prostrate amid
roars of unsympathetic laughter.

Strange as it may appear, station hands and
squatters grow fond of the Bush, and are in
sympathy with those who value fresh air and
manly exercise above comfort and monetary con-
siderations. It is not a run replete with every
luxury that I am about to describe. Country
seats exist around Melbourne and Sydney. But

44 BUSH HORSES

green tennis-courts, well-groomed hackneys, and
young ladies fashionably dressed are seldom if
ever met within a radius of 200 miles from the
Gulf of Carpentaria.

When an old settler speaks of* the Flinders
River and the adjoining district, he sums it
up drily as a "holy terror." He knows that
Northern Queensland must have altered con-
siderably if it has ceased to be a land of
drought, snakes, and mosquitoes, where the
Bushmen do not necessarily bear the names
of their childhood, are half-blinded by sandy
blight, and pestered with flies, fleas, and the
" Barcoo rot."

Fresh mounts were driven on ahead with the
pack-horses, and the expedition kept up a slow
canter of about six miles an hour. After halting
to escape the extreme heat, a camp was made at
a suitable " billy-bong," or water hole. Dead
boughs were collected and a fire lit. Saddles were
taken off, and the horses hobbled and left to their
own devices. A "billy," or tin pot, was soon
boiling with water for the tea, and the salt beef
was unpacked, while an amateur cook made a
" damper " (a rough kind of loaf) in the hot ashes.
When the meal was over pipes were lit, and the
bushmen rolling themselves in coarse, coloured
blankets, put their toes towards the fire, and soon
fell asleep underneath the stars. In the morning,
after a beef and damper breakfast, a black boy
drove up the hobbled horses, each man caught
and saddled his own mount, and they continued
the journey until the cattle were sighted. There

BUSH HORSES 45

was no difficulty in finding a particular herd, for
a "mob" seldom strayed from the part of the run
they had been born in.

A small belt of timber, growing on the great
plain, made a good spot to collect the different
"mobs," and provided shade against the fierce
rays of the sun. Bellowing bulls and "mooing"
cows were driven slowly towards the clumps of
trees, the calves, following their mothers, bringing
up the rear. Riders went off in all directions
towards the main body until the " mob " numbered
two or three thousand head, and were moved
steadily along in the direction of the head station.
When the men camped the stock were carefully
watched by half-a-dozen mounted patrols, who
moved backwards and forwards. In the middle
of the day the thermometer registered 120° F.,
and it was warm working, cracking stock-whips,
and driving the tired beasts along. Knowing
that exhausted animals would die for want of
water if they could not keep up, the weaker calves
and heifers that could struofo-le on no longer were
shot with a revolver. Large flocks of galaghs or
native cockatoos, with the most exquisite plumage,
gave shrill screeches of alarm, and flew half-a-
mile farther on. Sometimes a snake would dart
up angrily, standing erect on its tail, and with
forked tongue hiss forth rage, then mysteriously
disappear ; unless, indeed, flight was arrested by
the reptile's head being flicked off with a neat cut
from a stock-whip. Often great sandy river-beds
had to be crossed, the banks frequently being a
mile apart, and the water very shallow. Then

46 BUSH HORSES

the loose horses and cattle would rush eagerly
forward, drinking greedily, and blowing them-
selves out. Riding along, the men sitting loosely
in their saddles, laughing, smoking, and talking,
the wings of the stock-yard were at length reached.
A stockman went ahead and let down the rails ;
and amid clouds of dust that completely hid the
leading cattle, the "mob" were secured for the
night. They rushed round and round in a circle,
half-frightened, and vainly searching for food and
drink. Before being let out of the stock-yard, the
calves were thrown by means of a lassoo and
green hide ropes, which held their legs tightly,
while with red-hot irons letters were deeply
branded into their flesh.

Such is the routine of Bush life on an out-of-
the-way Australian run, and though the pay of a
stockman varies from a pound to thirty shillings
a week, the wages are well earned. A strong
physique and an excellent constitution are neces-
sary to those who would embark in this rough
but free calling.

When the literature of a colony has a strongly-
marked individuality, it is quite worth studying —
though, perhaps, not entirely for its own sake.
The poetry, as likely as not, is only second-rate ;
and the prose does not rise much higher than
mediocrity. Yet the observant reader will gain
a fairly accurate insight into the manners and
customs of that particular colony, which might
otherwise never be obtained.

Now, let us consider what author and poet
strike the key - note of Australian sentiment.

BUSH HORSES 47

Immediately we conjure up the names of Rolf
Boldrewood and the daring poet steeplechase-
rider, Adam Lindsay Gordon.

In " Robbery Under Arms" — the best type of
Australian novel — the wicked hero of the tale
was drawn from life. Starlight, as he was called,
had many points of resemblance with Dick Turpin
and Claude Duval — all lovable scamps of a refined
order.

But whoever has read Boldrewood's story of
life and adventure in the Bush and in the gold-
fields of Australia, must have been struck with
a certain reckless spirit that runs through the
book, from the opening page to the pathetic
end. This independence of thought and action
is characteristic of Englishmen who have made
Australia their home.

The following is a case in point, out of
"Robbery Under Arms"; it refers to an inci-
dent! in Starlight's wild career : " Here he rode
on, and never opened his mouth again till we
began to rise the slope at the foot of Nulla
Mountain. When the dark fit was on him it
was no use talking to him. He'd either not
seem to hear you, or else he'd say something
which made you sorry for opening your mouth
at all. It gave us all we could do to keep along
with him. He never seemed to look where he
was going, and rode as if he had a spare neck at
any rate." . . .

Adam Lindsay Gordon's melancholy poems
likewise breathe defiance. Although they are
very egotistical, there is something extremely

48 BUSH HORSES

manly about them ; and they are well expressed.
The pick of them are "Bush Ballads and Galloping
Rhymes" and " Sea Spray and Smoke Drift."

We must remember that this popular Australian
poet was fond of reckless gaiety; he was a central
figure at nearly all race meetings, and took up in
turn other exciting pursuits besides jump-riding.
From time to time he spent months of solitude in
the Bush, and so grew morose ; and consequently
felt that his talents were wasted and his writings
were embittered. The following;' verses out of
" The Sick Stockman," are fair specimens of his
varying moods. It will be noticed that the equine
poetry is remarkably spirited ; and was obviously
written by a fearless rider, who loved horses for
their own sake, above betting and coping.

" 'Twas merry in the glowing morn amongst the gleaming
grass
To wander as we've wandered many a mile,
And blow the cool tobacco-cloud and watch the white
wreaths pass,
Sitting loosely in the saddle all the while.
'Twas merry in the backwoods when we spied the station
roofs
To wheel the wild scrub cattle at the yard
With a running fire of stock-whips and a fiery run of hoofs ;
Oh ! the hardest day was never then too hard ! "

Another verse will serve to illustrate the devil-
me-care lives of his contemporaries : —

" And Mostyn — poor Frank Mostyn^— died at last a fearful
wreck
In the " horrors" at the Upper Wandinong;
And Carisbroke, the rider, at the Horsefall broke his neck.
Faith ! the wonder was he saved his neck so long ! "

BUSH HORSES 49

Since Rolf Boldrewood wrote his first novel,
and poor Lindsay Gordon committed suicide —
the poet's grave will always be well cared for,
because a sum of money has been set apart for
that purpose — a change for the better has come
over English emigrants. They are now a steadier
lot as a whole. More of the Bush has been
** taken up " ; bush-rangers are an almost extinct
race, and there are not so many feverish "gold
rushes " as there formerly were.

No able-bodied person with common sense and
ordinary pluck need starve in Australia. Loiterers
in the towns often complain about the scarcity of
work ; yet why should we pity confirmed loafers,
who have not spirit enough to walk with their
"swag "up country? Energetic workers never
need forfeit self-respect, even if they cannot afford
to keep up the same social position which they
were born in.

Oddly enough, in the Bush, where one man is
theoretically as good as another, rough stockmen
do not sit down to meals with those who live in
the head station, unless they are " camping out."

A good seat on a rough stock-horse, and a
reputation for being a "white man," a colonial
term for a good fellow, will serve as a pass-
port or obtain introductions to most owners or
managers of Australian sheep and cattle stations
— no matter whether you choose to bear a feigned
name, in order to hide a mistake in the past.

Australian settlers are rather unkempt, as re-
gards their everyday clothes ; they laugh at the
tidy costumes which set off the figures of " new

D

so BUSH HORSES

chums," The expense and difficulty in keeping
servants prevent colonials from being luxurious.
There is a heavy Chinese poll-tax ; so cooks and
gardeners are in greater demand than if the
"heathen Chinee" was allowed to land untaxed,
like an English emigrant does.

As a rule, colonials are boisterously indepen-
dent. They refuse to toady a moneyed snob,
and evince little sympathy for a cultured man
who is inclined to be finikin. Such a breezy
specimen of our English aristocracy as Lord
Charles Beresford would make a Governor after
their own hearts ; the tone of Australian thought
is pre-eminently healthy and outspoken.

Bush life, as may easily be imagined, is apt
to become extremely monotonous ; and yet the
scenery is cheerful ; the dazzling white gum-tree
trunks, so tall and slender, have a peculiar charm
for the settler ! Let us endeavour to describe a
few familiar objects " up-country." If we may
be pardoned for using an expressive Irishism,
the extensive plains resemble an ocean of land,
for when we look out seawards only a few passing
ships catch the eye ; so, when first sighting an
Australian plateau, there is but little else to notice
beyond thin belts of timber, dotted about here and
there like islands, amid coarse yellow tussock-
grass.

Noises a great distance off may be heard — the
tinkling of a bell on a working bullock, grazing
miles away ; as also the loud report of a heavy
bullock-whip, and the much shriller crack from a
stock-whip.

BUSH HORSES 51

The boundary fences between the runs are
made of barbed wire, and are kept in order by
"boundary riders," who sometimes become mad
from the awful sohtude of their surroundings.
Of course, where land is freehold, the stations
are merely farms on an enormous scale ; but
in the rougher parts visiting your nearest neigh-
bour may mean a ride of at least twenty or
thirty miles.

The word "Bush" is applied equally to the
plain country covered by detached tufts of coarse
native orrass — more like corn-fields than EneHsh
meadows— and to the "Scrub," or forest tracts.
Tussock grass is very sustaining to stock, and
bullocks and sheep are fattened without arti-
ficial food — such as linseed and cotton-cake.
Horses fed on it can gallop for miles ; they are
hobbled during the night, or when their riders
rest for meals ; and when not wanted are " turned
out," and then are perhaps not seen again for
weeks together. Stock horses are very rarely
given oats, hay, Indian corn, or bran.

CHAPTER V

ENGLISH HORSES— THEIR ROUTINE OF
STABLE MANAGEMENT

The rough-and-ready ways described in the last
chapter are fairly suitable to those who ride bush-
horses, whose value is small by comparison with
English hunters running into three figures. But
with horses delicately nurtured in our severer
climate, such haphazard ways would be out of
the question — for one thing the grass at home is
quite different from the coarse tussock on which
bush-horses feed. English grass is green and
succulent, whereas Bush grass is more like hay
in appearance, and is far more sustaining during
long and quick journeys. In one case a horse
is treated as a half wild animal, often unshod,
turned out after a long ride with a smack from
the bridle, and left to graze as best he can with
raw-hide hobbles round his forelegs. In the case
of an English hunter or high-class hackney, every
known device to make a fine coat, plenty of muscle,
and orood manners is tried in turn.

It is impossible to either write or speak on any
subject without finding plenty of clever authorities
who differ vigorously and widely. Therefore, to
expect unity on the following carefully thought
over chapter is to expect too much. I willingly
admit that many better qualified authors have

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ENGLISH HORSES

53

written, and will write, chapters more worth
reading, but believe that on the whole I have
treated this, one of the most delicate points, with
care and without any prejudice. At all events,

LEATHER HEAD-COLLAR RELN

HEAD-COLLAR REIN

HEAD-PIECE OF HALTER

whoever follows the lines laid down should, with
ordinary luck, expect to keep his horses thoroughly
fit if he employs — what is a difficult person to
find — a first-rate, painstaking groom, who knows
how to make those under him work. I fervently
hope that such a stud-groom will have your in-

54

ENGLISH HORSES

terest at heart as well as his own, be steady, and
fond of every horse in the stable.

Unless a man who looks after horses is genuinely
fond of them, and also is observant, nothing will
continue to be lucky for long in connection with
the stable he presides over, for " good luck is
good management" with horses and with pretty
nearly everything else.

In conditioning time — or when you first take

HEAD-COLLAR

YEARLING HEAD-COLLAR

(George Parker & Sons)

horses up — stable work should commence at 5 a.m.
when regular hunting begins at 6 a.m.

First of all, water your horse, a bucketful if
for fast work, then feed according as to the work
each horse has to perform. For exercising, horses
may have a bucketful of water. For hunting,
each horse should have one gallon, according to
the size of the horse.

Horses required for fast work should only have
the best hay — a rack every night, but none in
the day-time — about two pounds of chopped hay

ENGLISH HORSES

55

with the oats, also a handful of beans occasionally
if the horse requires them. Some horses may re-
quire a handful in each feed ; others can do without
them.

For Exercise

A horse should be quartered before going out.

First apply the dandy-brush, following it with the

body-brush and curry-comb, then water-brush the

mane, tail, and forelock. Sponge quarters all

KNEE-CAPS

(George Parker & Sons)

over, using a wet chamois leather followed by a
dry one. Put the saddle on afterwards.

A horse that is being regularly hunted requires
an hour's walking exercise, and after a day's
hunting only about a quarter of an hour's walk
out. But in conditioning time — which commences
in August — a horse requires three or four hours'
walking exercise, increasing to faster work when
he has had three or four weeks of this.

Make your horses comfortable before going to
breakfast, which should only occupy from half-an-
hour to three-quarters.

56

ENGLISH HORSES

On returning from exercise clothe the horses
and bed them down ; also see that there are no
draughts from doors or windows.

On returning to the stable the horses should be
thoroughly dressed. Dandy-brush your horse's
mane, repeating it on neck, head, and shoulder.
Use body-brush next, then curry-comb; next
water-brush, and afterwards sponge your horse's
nose and eyes. Then use a wet chamois leather,
wisp over with a hay wisp, finishing his fore part

KNEE-CAPS

with a dry chamois leather. Then clean your
head-collar. This is the finish of his fore part.

Now turn your horse round, repeating the same
process over his body and hind part. Comb out
mane and tail, and wipe with a dry cloth from
head to tail. You can now feel that you have
finished dressing your horse. You ought to have
taken at least an hour, with plenty of elbow-
grease and yourself in a muck-lather, unless you
are in tip-top, cross-country trim, which means
beinor as fit as a first-rate athlete.

o

ENGLISH HORSES 57

Clothe the horses, secure clothing with sur-
cingles. A horse who is licjht or herrino^-srutted
should be also fastened with a breast-girth, so as
to prevent his surcingle from slipping back, as it
should never be too tig^ht.

Now do some other work ; window cleaning,
wash stable down, and flush the drains.

Horses should now be shut up until next feeding
time, which is twelve o'clock ; then, again, at four
o'clock, watering and feeding them, and thoroughly
wisping them over, and leaving them until six
o'clock — which is the last feeding time — when
haying is all that is required.

If a large stud of horses be kept, of course
there should always be some one on the place to
give one more look round the last thing at night
in case a horse should be cast, or get into the
manger, or put one of its fore-legs over the
halter, or become griped, or in case of accidents,
no matter how brought about.

Good grooming, skilfully and vigorously ap-
plied, will bring a horse's coat into proper con-
dition, and a table-spoonful of linseed oil on the
food, three times a day, is a good tonic to the
hair, making it shine.

Cost of Brushes for Grooming

£

s.

d.

Dandy-brush ....

. 0

3

0

Body-brush and curry-comb

0

8

0

Sponge

0

5

0

Chamois-leather (2) .

0

4

0

Water-brush ....

. 0

6

0

Mane-comb ....

0

0

6

I

6

6

ENGLISH HORSES

Food

Taking a bushel of oats to weigh 40 lbs. — they vary from
36 to 42 lbs.

Stable-Measure and Weights
I quartern weighs- . . • 2h lbs. ''

4 quarterns
4 pecks
4 bushels
8 bushels

I peck= 10 lbs.
1 bushel = 40 lbs.
I sack= 160 lbs.
I quarter = 320 lbs.

Beans and maize average 60 lbs. a bushel.

Hay and Straw

A load of old hay contains 36 trusses, at 56 lbs. a truss, and
weighs 18 cwt.

A load of straw contains 36 trusses, 36 lbs. each, and weighs
II cwt. 6 lbs.

If a hunter, doing much work, cannot eat five
quarterns of oats and beans per week, with a
mash on Wednesday and Saturday, he should
be sent to the hack or harness-stable ; as no
horse can do much on less, without becoming
weak — and a weak hunter is useless.

Of course common-sense and tact must enter
into all calculations. It often happens that a
hunter, after a long day's run, will not look at
his corn ; in which case humour him by giving
him a little extra hay, especially when he
refuses a bran-mash.

The rack for hay should always be adove the
manger and not form part of it, as is common in
lots of stables. The reason for this is obvious.
A horse does not waste his hay if the rack is
hio-h, but if it is low he loses the seeds, which
are the most nourishing part of it.

ENGLISH HORSES 59

It is surprising in big livery-stables and where
a large number of horses are kept rather roughly,
how little attention is paid to picking out horses'
feet, washing them with water in which a few
drops of Condy's fluid has reddened the water,
and subsequently drying them. As often as not
the badly groomed horse has feet caked with
dirt, and the stench from each of their frogs is
disgusting.

Where carelessness is to be met with in one
department it may be looked for in others. Bad
grooming is sure to mean unclean feet, which in
turn will cause disease and a vet's bill, meaning
the horse is a needless expense, and is unfit to
work. In the saddle-room the same slovenliness
is found ; rugs are filthy, harness dirty. Common-
sense in stable management is apt to be less
" common " than a horse enthusiast desires.

In most cases of so-called accidents which
occur in stables, carelessness plays a big part.
A horse badly tied up gets loose and kicks
another. Another instance — extremely annoy-
ing — is when what was previously a useful
hunter, or nag, is so fresh from being kept in
the stable without exercise that it takes a liberty
when it finally is taken out, causes an accident,
and is virtually useless from fright at having
run away, when otherwise with good manage-
ment it would have been all right and behaved
itself.

It seems impossible to din into obstinate people
that they must pay attention to the above.

Take the case of tying-up. A careless groom

6o ENGLISH HORSES

does not put on the head-collar sufficiently tightly,
or neglects to knot a rope, so when it slips
through the hole in the wooden weight which
ought to secure the horse, if the rope is through
the ring in the manger, the accident occurs in a
second — a loose horse in a stable where others
are secured. A kick or two may be the result,
and all on account of laziness on the part of a
man or lad who neglects his duty.

An equally stupid piece of stable-carelessness
is when the groom is too slovenly in removing
droppings. His charges tread on their manure
or faeces, and it becomes impacted in their hind
feet — the result is that fcetid disease known as
thrush, the treatment of which I have given
under the heading of Common Diseases.

Too much stress, therefore, cannot be laid on
tidiness, cleanliness, punctuality in feeding and
watering, on firmness with horses both in the
stable and outside. All these points are essential
to turning out race-horses, hacks, harness-horses,
polo-ponies, or cart-horses.

Neat manes, too, as well as carefully trimmed
tails and good grooming, cause the occupants of
a stable to look as beautiful in their tidiness as
well-combed hair, well-kept hands and nails, and
carefully brushed hair is becoming to their masters
and mistresses in a well-arranged and orderly
home.

A direct draught, too, is bound to cause colds,
in winter time especially.

Overloading the stomach with too much food
and too little work is liable to cause colic. A

ENGLISH HORSES 6i

very common mistake is to give too much bran
and too little linseed. A tea-cupful of linseed
boiled to a pulp, the consistency almost of cream,
is most useful when mixed with chop and oats
and a bowl of bran at least once a week. It
keeps the horses' bowels in good order.

The average stable is not kept in a manner
which reflects much credit on the tidiness of a
groom. Too often it is badly ventilated, dimly
lighted, and the floor is an absolute disgrace, it is
so uneven.

Not only do we find the accumulation of years
of dust on cupboards or window-sills, but rugs
which ought to be quite clean to insure good
health are so caked with manure they positively
reek in bad instances. Thrush, mange, lousiness,
indigestion, colic, bad eyesight, itch, sores from
ill-fitting harness, grease from ill-management
also, all swell the long list, which could be
lengthened considerably if we investigate the
result of a slovenly managed stable.

Where brass is well polished, where hay
smells sweet, and pleasant sniffs from harness-
paste can be enjoyed, how different do horses
look ! Then we see bright bits and stirrups, clean
floors and carriages, spotless lamps devoid of all
trace of spluttering candle-grease. Rugs and
aprons are stainless, carriage-whips have no
superfluous knots, and reins do not dirty a clean
pair of gloves in such an Arcadian stable.

Feet are carefully blacked with the best
preparation, such as is given in notes on this
subject at the end of this book. Shoes are not

62 ENGLISH HORSES

worn as thin as a sixpence, nor is there a shoe
cast in this high-class stable, presided over by an
ever-watchful groom who takes a pride in his
work ; for if it does not pay to turn out horses
really well, it cannot pay any better to try to
economise by neglecting them in such a manner
that they are incapable of doing their work and
deteriorate in value.

Sending for a vet because of previous neglect
is little short of culpable mismanagement.

Dirt and foul smells are so obviously noticeable
that there can be no excuse for an owner to
overlook them. Directly they are observed they
should not be passed over. If the groom, who is
responsible for them, refuses to reform, then give
him notice and get another who will pay attention
to his master's orders.

Draw up a list of stable duties and see they
are executed at the times which are laid down,
allowing, of course, for taking a horse out un-
expectedly. The table in this book is trust-
worthy ; if you do not approve of it, merely alter
it to your taste. But whatever times, you consider
the best ones for feeding, keep to them with
clock-work regularity, which is one of the very
greatest secrets of good practical stable-manage-
ment.

Not only must all buckets and mangers be
kept scrupulously clean, but the brushes must be
washed and disinfected at least once a week, and
kept as spotless and free from injurious germs as
the clothing and the harness, to say nothing of
well-brushed and well-aired cushions.

ENGLISH HORSES

63

SWAB (for placing round hoof. It is
filled with cold water, and helps to
reduce inflammation)

Locking up your stables even in daytime has
many advantages, as it enables your stud to eat
their food in quietude
and to rest afterwards.
Whenever a stable-
help is admitted he
should immediately re-
move all droppings,
sprinkle disinfectant
about, and, above all,
see that there are no
unnecessary draughts.

Give water with
scrupulous regularity. Nor should the bedding
be put under the manger. A horse should stand
only on the stable floor in the daytime, and there-
fore have no temptation to eat his bedding if
there is no food in the manger nor hay in the
rack.

When a horse comes in hot and tired, be sure
that no water is given. If you
object to such rational treat-
ment, do not give anything
more than a few gulps of chilled
water or a little gruel. But it
would be far better to wait
until he has cooled down.

A good grooming — pull his
ears gently, so as to rub them
quite dry — is a very excellent
preventative against chills. Give warm beer gruel,
crushed oats with a double handful of beans mixed
in chopped hay, and a bowl of bran.

FETLOCK BOOT

64

ENGLISH HORSES

If you are in a great hurry to put a rug on, be
sure to insist upon a little hay being placed under-
neath, so as to let
the horse have a
current of air be-
tween the ruof and
his skin. Horses'
feet should be
washed at least
once a day, the
hoofs being picked

out carefully with
a stable-picker, and
he leaves the stable

LAWN HOOF-BOOT

the hoofs blacked before
on his way to work.

A smart horse ought to be taught by a good
groom to stand well, both with his fore and hind
legs, like they are generally seen to do at agricul-
tural and horse shows when in the prize ring.

FETLOCK BOOT

SPEEDY-CUT BOOT

(used for hind-leg)

In the box they ought to be nimbly obedient,
and move to the near or off side as required on
very slight provocation.

ENGLISH HORSES

65

Keeping them on pillar-reins for half-an-hour
every day is very good for them.

It teaches them patience, and enables them to

KLBOW BOOT

(to prevent a horse producing lump
under the arm)

ANKLE BOOT

be all ready to be put into harness at a moment's
notice, at the same time freeing the groom from
looking after them ; and it enables him to pull

FETLOCK BOOT

1NDL\-K LEBER BOOT

out the trap and then put them in so quickly
that even a querulous owner is not justified at
grumbling over any delay.

It is undoubtedly the aim of a clever horse-

E

66 ENGLISH HORSES

coper to keep his horses ever on the alert and to
convey the impression that they are full of mettle ;
yet all the time to keep them quiet to ride or
drive, despite their hot appearance.

A very common piece of bad driving is when
a whip — or rather a would-be whip — makes his

horses plunge, instead of

being mettlesome yet quiet.

The bad driver chances

corners, often cutting them

very finely ; whereas a

(toprevent™uIhing") really good driver leaves

nothing to chance, and

always avoids doing anything connected with

horses in the least degree jerkily.

The ceaseless vigilance of an accomplished
horseman allows no slip, however small, to escape
his attention. In a moment a draught is noticed.
He is not satisfied with mere pleasing effects at
first sight. He looks underneath a horse's tail to
see if he has been well sponged. He inspects
the feet and sees that a bad frog is made better
by paring away any rough portions, yet not
interfering with the original shape. He has the
frog dressed if it smells foul and is in the early,
or may be later, stage of "thrush."

Rugs ought to be inspected critically both inside
and out. Old ones are put away with camphor
bags wrapped up in them as a preventative against
moths.

The first appearance of rust in harness is
o-uarded against with callisand and elbow-grease.
An owner must not accept the assurances of a

— a

ENGLISH HORSES

67

confidential groom that his horses are well turned
out, and well looked after. Following the sug-
gestions just referred to, he should insist on the
best management possible in his
own stable, and he must know,
and not merely think, that if the
general appearance of a horse
is unsatisfactory, something is
wrong, and that wrong must be
righted and the horse brought
up to look first-rate. Aim at
perfection, and, if you do not
quite attain it, at least you will
o-et far better results than the
average person does, for good luck is good manage-
ment, as a general rule, in or out of a stable.

Thousands of miserable-looking, half-worthless
horses you come across every year, and fresh

OVER-REACH BOOT FOR
FORELEG

LACED BOOT

ones, equally worthless, are bred to take their
place when their predecessors die of old age or
are shot. They are only fit for the kennels, and
often have hardly enough meat on for that destina-

68

ENGLISH HORSES

tion. Yet, despite these warnings, breeders con-
tinue to breed from unsound horses or ill-shaped
Some are undersized or ill-shaped, and

ones.

POLO JiOOT

then these deplorable failures, bred on wrong lines
undeniably, and often reared with equal care-

POLO BOOT

lessness, give the risky pastime of breeding, or
coping an even worse name than it deserves.
It is undoubtedly a risk to buy a young, sound

ENGLISH HORSES 69

horse, and to expect (to make a speedy profit. If
you do contemplate such a venture, be sure you
pick a youngster worth owning, have him passed
by a vet, and then use all these previous hints to
the best advantage, adding plenty of others de-
rived from the experience of yourself and others ;
to be valuable they must be based on shrewd
common-sense, otherwise they are mere cranks,
and there are far too many stable cranks already,
without adding to the number.

Note. — All boots shown in these illustrations are made by
George Parker & Sons.

PART III

CHAPTER VI

BRILLIANT HORSEMEN

It seems needless to emphasise how inexhaus-
tible is the subject of horses — one studied during
hundreds, even thousands of years by kings,
statesmen, soldiers, business men, and yet there
is so much to learn, that the task of giving the
faintest outline of what has been chronicled, and
what might be, seems hopeless.

Here is a very incomplete sketch of some of
our most brilliant horsemen. Yet, just as

" Many are poets who have never penned
Their inspiration, and perchance the best,"

SO are there countless instances of riders as good,
or nearly as good, as those I am about to refer to,
who, through lacking notoriety or good mounts,
are less known or only known locally. That this
must be so the reader will easily acknowledge
if he attends race-meetings in Buenos Ayres,
Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the
world where residents are lovers of thorough-
bred horses, and prepared to pay big prices for
them, or who breed them at great expense.

It would, indeed, puzzle a first-rate judge of
pace to know how to class the horsemanship of

BRILLIANT HORSEMEN 71

many a jockey, who rides a desperate finish on
race-courses little known to the averag-e student
of form, at a glance. But this should not make
us depreciate the heroes.

In Art, certain masters are well defined land-
marks ; their work excites our envy and our
adoration. Dull mediocrity feebly strives to imi-
tate them, when they have founded schools of
their own. Surely, if this is true in Art, the same
may be applied to racing ; therefore, let us men-
tion those representative horsemen who have
left their mark upon the English Turf.

Frederick Archer

Several years have elapsed since this wonderful
jockey, in shattered health, groped for a revolver
within his reach, and, pulling the trigger, termi-
nated one of the most extraordinary careers that
has ever been connected with Turf history.

Fred Archer was the chief exponent of nigger-
driving jockeyship. When racing he gave the
impression of being chronically on the alert, whilst
he communicated his own lightning quickness to
whatsoever horse he rode. He may be said to
have forced the very maximum exertion out of
every mount. For the moment he seemed to
inspire his horse with his own determination,
riding energetically every yard of the way, and
finishing in a marvellous style with the most
brilliant dash. Directly the flag fell he always
gained something, an advantage he often main-
tained to the end when the distance was five

72 BRILLIANT HORSEMEN

furlongs. He loved riding any sort of race ;
whether Derby winner or "selling plater," in
his iron grip it was coaxed, or more likely
punished, until he got it home, ridden hard the
whole way though with good judgment. The
profound contempt he appeared to hold his fellow-
creatures in was not entirely unprovoked. If
"Archer was up" on a complete outsider, whose
previous performances showed inferior form, it
did not prevent the public from backing the
idol ; it was the jockey they depended on, not
the horse, and the price shortened in a most
amazing manner. Love of applause, concealed
from the outer world by the careless look on his
face, a wounded vanity, and a most violent temper
often gave rise to exhibitions of unnecessary
severity. "Archer wins!" or "Archer's beat!"
might be heard all over the densely packed
stands. Then the great jockey would be seen
coming up the straight, sitting down in his saddle,
spurring and thrashing a beaten horse, the loud
cracks resounding yet again and again even after
the winning post had been passed.

But those head finishes! Ah, how different
was the scene when the finest horseman in the
world had a mount worthy of his genius — for he
had genius ! When every inch was disputed by
jockeys who were his equals in many respects,
when a mass of bright silk, white breeches, and
glossy thoroughbreds rounded Tattenham Corner
"all of a heap," and Archer, hugging the white
rails from start to finish as was his wont, suddenly
shot out of the Derby group amidst yells for the

IS-o.

BRILLIANT HORSEMEN 73

favourite, which lasted until the numbers went up
and the "all right" was called. Oh! those days
when racing was the finest of the fine arts ; long
will they be remembered, never will they be seen
again — for Archer is dead.

CHAPTER VII

TOM CANNON

Born with a jockey's highest instincts, Tom
Cannon became notorious chiefly on account of
his deliciously persuasive hands. Light, yet very
decided, they have never been excelled, more
especially upon a two-year-old. They quieted
down the most fractious mounts, or inspired faint-
hearted race-horses with a sense of victory. When
riding a cur, Tom Cannon was artistically insinua-
ting. Stealing almost imperceptibly to the front,
he had the knack of landing the odds, without
touching his horse with the whip, unless absolutely
necessary. And curiously interwoven with this
gliding jockeyship were a searching pair of eyes, a
resolute bearing, and a very noticeable pair of side
whiskers.

Whilst apologising for using nautical similes,
let us picture in our minds two vessels in mid-
ocean racing against one another, A sailing
yacht built upon exquisite lines, scudding before
a spanking breeze, rising buoyantly and parting
the waves with her bows, might be likened to
the jockeyship of Tom Cannon, who rode as light
as a cork floats in water. To illustrate the head-
strong riding of the late Frederick Archer, let us
imagine a steamer, vibrating from stem to stern

TOM CANNON 75

under the impact of too powerful engines, driven
along at the highest pressure. And granted these
comparisons are correct, we may surmise that
Cannon's more sympathetic style injured fewer
horses than his formidable rival, who was cruel
to two-year-olds in the early part of his racing
career ; but he was more considerate to them
towards the close of his life.

Regarded dispassionately, it seemed almost a
pity that the riding of Cannon and Archer so
clashed, for instead of each jockey assisting the
public to form a notion of an ideal horseman from
their respective achievements, they represented
separate schools ; firstly, the energetically harsh,
and secondly, the quietly coaxing. In consequence,
only admirers of both can form some faint con-
ception of how a perfect jockey should ride ;
and they must also pay regard to Tod Sloan's
feats.

The only Derby which Tom Cannon won was
on the Duke of Westminster's Shotover. Never-
theless, this much coveted race must not definitely
determine the merits of our representative jockeys,
for Archer won the blue ribbon five times for his
patrons ; yet his ride on Ormonde was a small
feat by comparison with the work he put in when
Lord Hastings' Melton passed the winning-post,
not prompted by his own inclinations so much as
through the grim determination of his dashing
rider. Unquestionably "The Tinman," as Fred
Archer was called, was idolised by the populace,
who adore brilliancy and whip flourishing. Yet it
is doubtful if Tom Cannon did not benefit the

76 TOM CANNON

racing fraternity more than has hitherto been
suspected. He studiously upheld the true dignity
of the Turf, and utterly despised many tricks
which are occasionally resorted to by followers
of his calling — such, for instance, as " gallery-
riding" — that is to say, he never pretended to
exert himself to the utmost when he was "up"
on a superior mount. Living at the same time,
these two men seemed to be antap;onistic to
one another. Both were courageous, and both
were unique in many respects. Archer was tall
and lithe, and rode " long," whereas Tom Cannon
was thick-set for a jockey, and rode rather
"short" — usually he was humane. "The Tin-
man " hunched his back and looked like a gipsy ;
the other sat erect. Cannon's genius lay in his
insinuating hands, and Archer depended chiefly
on the use he made of his whip and sharp spurs.
Perhaps the strongest resemblance lay in their
constitutions, for, though muscular, Tom Cannon
was delicate, whilst poor Archer's health was
ruined several years before he committed suicide ;
yet he performed wonders, with an impetuous, dare-
devil genius. Cannon, on the other hand, was
patience personified.

With these, and numerous other distinctions,
how can we draw a hard-and-fast rule, and
say which was the finer horseman? Supposing
that they had raced at totally different periods,
we should be even more confused than we are
now as to which instructor should be followed.
Archer, of course, has long since been dead, and
Tom Cannon has retired from the saddle for

TOM CANNON 77

years, so we are justified in treating him as a
celebrity of the past.

One fact is worth noting, but we must be
careful not to draw wrong conclusions from it.
Years ago there was nothing to choose between
Wood and Tom Cannon, and as the former re-
mained on the Turf longer than the latter, and
rode against several of our present jockeys, we
can roughly estimate two generations, for there
seems no reason to suppose that Wood improved
as he became older, yet there is nobody who could
afford to give him a pound (in weight). But some
racing men may disagree with this statement, and
declare that Tod Sloan was better. Sam Loates,
C. Loates, and W. Robinson, who won the Leger
on Kilwarlin and now trains at Foxhill, were
brought out by Tom Cannon, but the leading
jockeys of the present day who most strongly
resemble him on a racehorse are his son, Mor-
nington, and J. Watts. The founder of humane
and smooth horsemanship also had a most credit-
able disciple in Mr. Arthur Coventry, who was
once, and perhaps still is, one of our few accom-
plished amateur flat-race riders.

As if Nature for a freak wished to set heredi-
tary laws at defiance, she strangely enough made
J. Watts and Mr. Arthur Coventry resemble their
instructor more than his son does. Although
Mornington Cannon rides with quite as much
judgment, and has even more strength when
finishing than his father displayed, he has never
acquired the peculiar delicacy of touch which
characterised Tom Cannon's "hands."

78 TOM CANNON

We must not forget to mention that Custance,
Fordham, Archer, Tom Cannon, and Wood were
opportunists ; for, since Buckle's time, we may-
take it for granted that the social gulf between
jockeys and their patrons has narrowed amazingly.
In reality. Lord George Bentinck's cleverly
managed but not expensive stud was small by
comparison with the late Danebury stable, which
Tom Cannon presided over, and could not com-
pare with Marsh's or Porter's well-filled stables
either in quantity or quality.

Fred Archer died in affluent circumstances,
and Custance, T. Cannon, Wood, and J. Watts,
besides many others, made handsome fortunes on
the Turf far beyond the most avaricious dreams
of nearly equally experienced jockeys who lived
a generation or more before them. Therefore we
must not overlook the change which time and
better education have wrought in the position of
our racing stars.

Doubtless it will be said that if most jockeys
on the flat resemble to some extent Archer, Tom
Cannon, and, we must now add, Tod Sloan, then
the same idea may be applied to steeplechase
riders. Why not ? If we choose to select any
popular wearer of colours under National Hunt
rules, we can at least trace some resemblance to
the above-mentioned " representative jockeys,"
though at first it may prove faint. In a few rare
instances the opposite styles blend. Arthur
Nightingall most happily hit off the best charac-
teristics of F. Archer and T. Cannon — dashing,
gliding, punishing, almost at the same time.

TOM CANNON 79

We are disposed to range the dashing horse-
manship of the late Major Owen, if not alongside,
at all events in the same direction, as poor Fred
Archer's. Mr. E. P. Wilson was a renowned
amateur of a similar school.

Cross-country riders, whose style may be likened
to Tom Cannon's, are Mr. Arthur Coventry, Mr.
Arthur Yates — who, for riding a waiting-race, was
the most celebrated horseman of his day — Mr.
J. C. Cotterell-Dormer, and also Mr. Gwynne
Saunders-Davies, who hailed from the Tivy side
in South Wales, and, having grown too heavy for
riding, now trains. Another popular gentleman-
rider, especially a rider of winners of small
stakes and also a trainer, was the late Mr. Sidney,
who was killed instantaneously through a fall
from his horse at Wolverhampton, 1903.

Having alluded to several representative
jockeys who will never wear "colours" again, it
is time we laid due stress upon the revolution in
racing tactics which have been chiefly brought
about by Tod Sloan. The exact value from an
owner's point of view is not precisely fixed.
Some keen men on the Turf declare that the
swarthy American was 7 lbs. better than any living
jockey, and considered that he was every bit as
good as Archer was. Others, who are prejudiced,
say, "Tod Sloan rode winners when he got the
pick of the mounts." The truth of the matter is,
that we find a difficulty in ranking an accomplished
horseman who rode setting all preconceived ideas
at defiance. What are we to think of such a
freak, not unlike a prodigy out of Barnum and

8o TOM CANNON

Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth ? What indeed !
All know this style. It is wonderful to behold.
Leaning as far back as his arms can reach, with
face buried in his horse's mane, riding with the
shortest possible stirrups. Tod Sloan made the
pace throughout. No ! we are slightly inaccurate.
For, when closely watching him, we saw that at
the starting-post he got away like a flash of
lightning, and, until three-quarters of the distance
had been covered, his long lead was usually main-
tained. By then Sloan's mount was caught and
apparently beaten, for his horse dropped back,
until it was only within the first three. " A
change comes o'er the spirit of the race ! " In an
incredible manner Tod Sloan again led. Amid
whip-flourishing, spurring, and frantic efforts from
the English jockeys behind him, the clever Yankee
landed his mount a winner much in the same way
as a quarter-of-a-mile sprinter, having run his
race like a hundred-yards runner, eased for a few
seconds before gathering himself together in order
to make the winning rush on nearing the tape.
This crouched-up fashion of riding is considered
by Sloan's admirers to be the highest known pitch
of flat-race horsemanship, because it distributes
the weight.

Is the hideous style, with outstretched arms,
hands close to bit, and laughably short stirrups
an improvement upon the graceful horsemanship
of the elder Cannon and the method successfully
practised by Fred Archer? Or, in other words,
were our greatest English jockeys at fault, and is
the Sloan method right ? Prejudice and patriotism

TOM CANNON 8i

will cause people to give wild answers. Those
who are not bigoted will reply : " Sloan's method
is right for Sloan, Reiff, and American jockeys
generally, but not necessarily for English and
Continental riders." It has a grave fault, viz.,
owing to his position a jockey cannot easily
prevent his mount from swerving. When all is
said and done, in a ding-dong finish it was good
odds on the best of our English race-riders
beating Sloan. All the records have proved this.
We are, however, heavily indebted to him for
making " true run " races compulsory, for no longer
do racehorses in England canter and gallop at a
" muddling pace " for the first half of the course.

There are different styles of painting, and
cultured people have different opinions as to
which master should be followed in architecture,
music, and in literature. Jockeys also must abide
by certain laws. Those who are not original
must be content to follow Archer, Tom Cannon,
or Tod Sloan until a fourth school is founded.

We have already stated that an ideal jockey
should glean the best points of Archer's, Cannon's,
and Sloan's horsemanship. It would puzzle the
ghost of Michael Angelo to mould him, because a
short-lesfeed man cannot ride the same lengrth as
Archer did. Nor can a tall person easily adopt
the Yankee way of leaning forward on his horse's
neck without feeling insecure. We are bound,
then, to fall back upon common-sense and admit
that all men are bound to ride more or less in the
manner in which nature has formed them. How-
ever, it might be advantageous in races over a

F

82 TOM CANNON

mile for disciples of Sloan to lengthen their
stirrups at least a hole, and believers in Tom
Cannon and Archer might shorten theirs. The
American jockeys' distance is clearly five furlongs,
because they get off more quickly than English-
men, and ride with toes pointed. A lazy horse
is influenced, and feels that the man on his back
is like a piece of quicksilver.

Archer believed in throwing as much weight as
possible on his horse's withers, and so does Sloan.
Thus we have the idea carried out with long
stirrups in one case and with extremely short
ones in the other. Although all these repre-
sentative jockeys seem on the right scent, it is
illogical to imagine that any one of them is
wholly right, yet each has unconsciously " set
the pace" towards perfection in the art of
jockeyship.

I have purposely referred to flat and cross-
country riders together, as one is as high an artist
as the other, but their styles must of necessity be
different. At the same time the pace at which
the Grand National is run, considering the enor-
mously big jumps to get over, is quicker perhaps
than the Derby — if viewed in proportion to the
distance covered.

It is also a well-known fact that many first-rate
jockeys — Frederick Archer was a striking instance
— are no good over jumps ; they are apt to ride too
quickly at them. But some fine horsemen can
do both. Yet a first-rate trainer assured me that
the popular Major " Roddy Owen " was only a
medium "jock" in a hunters' flat-race, whereas he

TOM CANNON 83

was quite equal to a first-rate pro. over a jump
course, and better than most.

Stress cannot be laid too much on the fine
horsemanship of Captain Bewicke, one of the
best soldiers who ever wore colours, especially
over the Sandown course. His judgment as
regards pace was wonderful, being able to win
races comfortably by a neck when his horse was
good enough not to be knocked about unneces-
sarily. However, it may cheer novices to know
that only after constant practice did success come
to this good judge of pace.

Whilst on this subject reams, even volumes,
and, almost without exaggeration, libraries could
be filled with ease by those who are lovers of
writinor or reading about race-horses and their
owners, trainers, and jockeys. We cannot spare
more than a few pages just to illustrate how
wide the literary field is in this branch of equine
literature.

Take Derby riders alone, and a page is quickly
filled. Butler, Wells, Custance, Osborne, French,
Webb, Archer, Fordham, T. Cannon, Wood, the
brothers Loates, the brothers Barrett, Watts,
Cannon family, Allsop, Madden, Reiff, and
dozens of others who, as good or nearly so,
just missed steering the most popular victory on
the flat. The riders who pulled it off will admit
that plenty behind gave them trouble, and if the
race was run over again in several cases, it might
have worked out with a very different result.

CHAPTER VIII

"GENTLEMEN-RIDERS"

Probably few will deny that, putting Arthur
Nightingall and Mason out of the question, the
services of Mr. Gwynne Saunders-Davies were
as valuable as any professional. It is a pity that
he has given up riding steeplechases. He never
smoked, kept his nerve, remained in most excel-
lent condition and gained a wide experience. He
knew nearly every course in England and Wales.
At the same time he was latterly in a position
to " pick his mounts." What a lot of meaning
is contained in these last few words ! Over and
over again have we seen instances of men riding
race after race on inferior " chasers," whilst all
the credit was bestowed upon some favoured
jockey who certainly was invincible, for the very
excellent reason that he had the " pick of the
mounts,"

When Major "Roddy Owen," Captain Bewicke,
and Mr. J. C. Dormer were in the zenith of their
fame, they monopolised the best jump-horses.
Consequently, it was no easy task for less favoured
individuals to gain notoriety at fashionable meet-
ings. Fortunately, however, " everything comes
to him who waits." But each of those just men-
tioned were first-rate and as good as professionals :

better than some.

84

" GENTLEMEN-RIDERS " 85

Mr. G Wynne Saunders- Davies bided his time
for years. As a little boy, to use an Irishism, he
was a " good man to hounds " in a difficult bank
country. Born at Pentre, a large country-house
a few miles from Cardigan, South Wales, one of
his earliest achievements was winning a small
event in the Tivyside Hunt Steeplechases. This
he accomplished on a blood pony ; it was an
artistic display of good horsemanship, which
made critical onlookers prophesy great things
of so youthful a sportsman. After leaving Win-
chester— he was one of the best " fields " in the
eleven — Mr. Gwynne Davies frequently trained
and rode his eldest brother's horses, the pick of
which was Fairy Queen. He has taken up his
abode near Cheltenham recently, where he super-
vises a training establishment. His hands were,
and indeed still are, nearly perfect, but, as a
steeplechase rider, he was 2 lbs. inferior to what
" Roddy Owen " was at his best, for, though firm
and courageous, he did not run such hazardous
risks. A lonof and tirino;- course like the National
suited him best ; he was never out of training,
and his wind was perfect, especially for a long
distance runner. A jockey like this, still in his
prime, and who required no stirrup-cup before
riding, was one who was extremely popular,
especially at Sandown, and over the big Ludlow
course, where he rode Cloister in that great
horse's last and ill-fated race.

Mr. Sidney's was a name scarcely less familiar
to Metropolitan race-goers. This midland gentle-
man-rider took to jump-race riding somewhat

86 " GENTLEMEN-RIDERS "

late in life. He had nearly attained his majority
when a scratch point to point was got up amongst
his Leicester friends. This Mr. Herbert Sidney
contrived to win. From that hour his attention
was turned towards racing. It has often been
said that small beginnings are conducive to great
endings — this certainly seemed to apply to the
gentleman in question. Shortly after feeling the
flush of victorious pride, he rented a small farm
with plenty of stabling, situated a few miles from
Leicester, and stocked it with a small but by no
means expensive stud. Acting as his own trainer,
he rode, trained, and won local races on horses
which nobody felt disposed to deprive him of,
when they were afterwards put up to auction
after securing the stakes. As time went on, his
naturally light hands improved. Then he laid
out larger sums upon a rather better class of
jumper. Cunning Boy was about the best
horse Mr. Sidney ever owned. Sometimes that
safe conveyance secured a fair steeplechase at
Leicester. From that central point he travelled
all over England, and finally pot-hunted down
in Wales.

Now, when all is said and done, no human
being can win on inferior horses unless he has
extraordinary skill and ability and phenomenally
good luck, such as better horses falling. We do
not for a moment pretend that Mr. Sidney broke
the record and was phenomenal, yet we are
inclined to hold him up as a good judge of small
handicaps under National Hunt rules. He was a
very useful gentleman jockey, and his experiments

" GENTLEMEN-RIDERS " 87

as a trainer were cautiously made with unpromising
material. Recently he wore Lord Rossmore's
colours. Not very long before his death he did
the "hat trick" by winning three consecutive
races. On Up Guards he was seen to advantage.
In fact, Mr. Herbert Sidney's was a name that
should have been associated with a better class of
chaser than he was in the habit of riding until
towards the close of his career. He was
thoroughly worthy of first-rate mounts long before
he rode them.

Students of racing form and criticisers of jump-
riding are rather too apt to regard a good
gentleman-rider as a person who wins races.
Certainly to be a fine horseman and never to win
a race would be an exasperating sort of jockey
who would not excite envy. Yet we must re-
member that " practice," and catering for mounts,
•' makes perfect." Beginners are prone to get
daunted or embittered unless they possess a Job-
like patience or have sufficient money to keep on
riding mounts that possess very little chance.
Therefore we are disposed to lay special stress
upon those who are coming into prominence.

A few years ago one of our leading comic
papers announced that "The gentlemen-jocks have
had a splendid season, and some of their horses
won in spite of their riders." This was cut out
and sent round to some of the best cross-country
amateurs, and, as may be imagined, was greatly
appreciated. Perhaps the spice of truth which
it contained provoked amusement. We have
undoubtedly seen many terrible exhibitions in

8 8 " GENTLEMEN-RIDERS "

our time, notably at Sandown some years since,
when eight horses started in a military race, the
riders in seven instances positively tumbling off
because their mounts jumped " too big," yet they
did not swerve.

In military races there is still much to be
desired. The only excuse seems to be that in
those cases where cavalry officers cannot ride over
made jumps, perhaps their habit of riding with
long stirrups is indirectly the cause. Candidly,
we do not like to think that our army gentlemen-
jocks as a whole are insecure in their saddles
when they disport themselves in "colours."
German officers latterly have greatly improved.

As a rule gentlemen with money will not take
the same amount of pains to keep in the condition
which a pro. is compelled to do, and amateurs
on the flat rarely attain to perfection. The late
Mr. Abington (the nom-de-pluine of the late
Mr. Baird), after repeated failures, and unabashed
by ridicule in the press and amongst the crowd,
became a really good rider of a large stud which
he owned.

At the present time Mr, Thursby and several
others are extremely good. Still, the gentleman
flat-race rider who is first-class remains an ex-
ception to the general rule, whereas many
gentlemen-riders already mentioned, and plenty
of others besides, are over country as good as
most professionals. Mason and a few others ex-
cepted— the steerer of 1905 Grand National
winner is as grood as Arthur Niorhtinsfall or his
predecessor, Mr. Arthur Yates, who still con-

" GENTLEMEN-RIDERS " 89

tinues training under the name of his head man,
Swatton, and who, when 18 stone or thereabouts,
rode a match, and must have remembered many
a former occasion when he got home and scaled
considerably lighter.

CHAPTER IX

"RODDY OWEN"

A BIOGRAPHY of " Roddy Owen," which was
written by his sister, and edited by Mr. Watson,
the editor of the Badminton Magazine, gave an
interesting account of the closing scenes of his
life. It did not, however, remind us of the
popular steeplechase-rider as we knew him ; for,
when engaged on active service, "Roddy's"
genial disposition underwent a change. So let
us recall the peculiarities of his horsemanship,
which gave him a position in Turf history that
was almost unique — for we may state without
exaggeration that no cross-country rider excited
more comments over a stiff steeplechase course.

Either in or out of the saddle, there was
something peculiarly fascinating about Major
Owen, who was as bold as a lion, with a good
deal of society affectation on the surface and a
great depth of character carefully concealed.
His healthy complexion had been bronzed in
India ; he seemed sublimely self-assured, and was
very military-looking ; in fact, a man of the world,
with an unfailing supply of tact.

"Roddy's" hawk-like face would have been hard
had it not been brightened by a mischievous pair
of eyes. His features were clearly cut, and the

"RODDY OWEN" 91

pose of his head suggested haughtiness. When
a racing-cap covered his forehead it gave him a
good humoured, foxy appearance. A determined
chin and resolute jowl strengthened his singularly
attractive face. His mouth was a characteristic
feature, because it was firm, yet easily moved to
laughter.

In the saddling-paddock a crowd usually
gathered round him and displayed the liveliest
interest in watching him mount. This he did
with a self-satisfied air, settling himself comfort-
ably in his saddle, the admired of all. His seat
and strong hands proved that he had constant
practice. Turning his horse's head towards the
fence nearest to the stand, he boldly took the
jump at a terrific pace and careered down the
course in the preliminary canter.

He was remarkably showy in colours, and wore
ties like an old-fashioned cravat that immediately
caught the eye. A book-maker once graphically
described him as "a swell short of money, as
good as a pro., and one who could handle his
fists."

" Roddy " rode with very long stirrups, sitting
bolt upright in his saddle, like a cavalry soldier
charging in battle. A big steeplechase course
suited him slightly better than a hurdle-race, but
he was equally at home over either, yet, accord-
ing to an eminent flat-race trainer, scarcely a
first-rate horseman in a hunter's flat-race.

Inclined as he was to fall into the wind-mill
style of finishing, yet it was a magnificent sight
to watch him, as his mounts flew their jumps,

92 "RODDY OWEN"

seldom refusing or bucking over. His get-up
was irreproachable. In splendid condition, he
did not appear exhausted on returning to scale,
and it took something very much out of the
common to upset his sangfroid ; he did not stimu-
late his nerve by the free use of alcohol.

Major Owen was almost perfectly built for
jump-riding ; he was agile and capitally drilled,
which gave him the appearance of being almost
taller than his actual height, which was above the
average. With so much depth of chest and so
powerful a build, it was wonderful how he con-
trived to fine down to lo st. 5 lbs. at a push. He
had so much unsuspected ballast in his composi-
tion that it helped to counteract the more reckless
side of his character. A fine seat, a contempt
for danger, and a magnificent nerve, all marked
him out as the best amateur jockey of his day.

The professionals, naturally, could not be ex-
pected to approve of such a formidable rival, for
he was as good as any of them, always excepting
Arthur Nightingall, who was more finished and
quicker over hurdles.

"Gentlemen-riders" admired, but, as a whole,
were jealous of " Roddy Owen," for he outshone
them. The privates in his regiment worshipped
him and would have followed him anywhere,
because he was an officer after their own heart.
He was affectionate, more especially towards his
mother, whom he strikingly resembled. But
" Roddy " did not make confidants of his brother-
officers in any matters connected with racing, and
was serenely indifferent to those who were either

"RODDY OWEN" 93

destitute of influence or who could not supply
him with winninof mounts.

Not only was he passionately fond of horses,
but he was thoroughly in touch with them, though
he never exhibited that perfect sympathy which
characterised his predecessor, Mr. Arthur Yates,
and his contemporary, Arthur Nightingall.

Apparently " Roddy Owen " bore a charmed
life, and invariably emerged out of a group of
first-rate jockeys, all of whom were as keen and
as anxious to win as himself; every one willing
to face considerable danger to gain the end in
view. So, audaciously courting danger, yet cool
withal, he steered his horse into the very thick
of the struggle with perfect nerve. Wedging
his mount into the centre of a tightly packed
field, crowded together at the same fence, he
used to thrust his way through them fiercely,
chancing any fouls, and never dreaming of being
unnerved by whosoever had "come down."
Even when hopelessly beaten, there was some-
thing decidedly cheerful about the laughing way
in which " Roddy " completed the course, as if
apologising to the crowd for riding a horse
troubled with the " slows."

The peculiarity of his style lay in the neck-
break pace at which he rushed his fences ; his
mounts always covered a great deal of ground
when they jumped, their rider giving them plenty
of rein as they cleared the fence in their stride ;
they did not dwell as they landed but galloped
straight on. Ill-tempered refusers were subju-
gated by his will, impatient chasers loved his

94 "RODDY OWEN"

reckless dash, and " curs " became reassured by
his unfaltering nerve.

No doubt timid horsemen were glad to keep
out of his way, but it is only fair to state that
Major Owen rode with just the same cheerful
confidence when he found himself pitted against
spirits as oblivious of peril as himself. His
animation and the evident enjoyment he took
in race-riding found him a number of supporters,
who backed him persistently, no matter what
mount he rode. And this notoriety which he had
gained indirectly gave rise to little outbursts of
dissatisfaction. Backers, who betted on his
mounts without previously ascertaining whether
they were good, bad, or indifferent, grumbled
when they lost their money. In a few cases
they aired their real or imaginary grievances
offensively freely. As a disagreeable instance
of this, may be mentioned a scene at Sandown,
in which Tenby, ridden by Major Owen, started
first favourite, but did not fulfil expectations.
Directly after clearing the fence, close to the
railway, Tenby pecked badly just as he landed
and Major Owen came off. Prince Edward, a
smart chaser, who had 1 1 lbs. the best of the
weight, finished alone. The supporters of Tenby
became exceedingly angry with the crack gentle-
man-jockey. But even under such trying circum-
stances Major Owen's presence of mind did not
desert him. Remounting and scornfully raising his
whip, he threatened to thrash any of the crowd
who offered to molest him. A little later " Roddy"
rode Tenby in a trial for the National, and the

"RODDY OWEN" 95

horse again pecked. Thereupon he decided to
try his luck on Father O'Flynn, a rank outsider
and a most difficult mount, on whom he easily
won the big event; he seemed to be the only
jockey who could induce this speedy son of
Retreat to gallop up to his best form.

Whatever Major Owen did he did quickly, and
never seemed to get in the least flurried. In-
deed, he may be said to have gracefully travelled
through life with a first-class ticket. Riding the
winner, dining at the best clubs, dancing at balls,
drilling with his regiment, or camping out in the
desert, his career was dazzling and varied, but
never prosaic.

Although the scion of a good family, Major
Owen occupied the unremunerative position of a
younger son ; all the same he managed to extract
a maximum enjoyment out of the means at his
command. There were many possibilities for so
attractive a man. He might retire to the colonies,
win a fortune on the Turf, turn gentleman-trainer,
or marry an heiress. However, he did none of
these. In a sense, " Roddy Owen " lived a very
complete life, for he achieved his ambition when he
won the Grand National. He enjoyed excellent
health and spirits before he fell a victim to cholera
in his prime. So long as men of his stamp hold
commissions in our army, England will continue
to be a great and conquering nation. Major
Owen's pleasant, smiling face and manly accom-
plishments will be remembered for life by those
who were fortunate enough to know him. Nor will
they be easily forgotten by those who attended the

96 "RODDY OWEN"

best steeplechase meetings at that time, because his
death made a void, which hitherto no other racing
man has filled. Although many good amateurs
are to be seen constantly wearing colours,
" Roddy's " horsemanship was a combination
which it is indeed rare to meet with. That he
would have won distinction as a commandingr
officer, if his life had been spared, there seems no
reason to doubt.

PART TV

CHAPTER X

COLONIAL RACE-COURSES

Whoever sings the praises of our principal
metropolitan meetings may be disinclined to
believe that those popular resorts, in some re-
spects, compare unfavourably with the best racing
centres in New Zealand, Victoria, or New South
Wales, more especially with the Flemington course
near Sydney.

But as Australasia is a stronghold of patriotism
in the King's dominions across the sea, it is mani-
festly absurd for us to feel any tinge of jealousy,
because just a few colonial courses are better
managed than our own. Let us rather welcome
any innovation, no matter where it comes from,
which seems likely to benefit the English racing
community. At the same time, I willingly admit
that the Mother Turf is apt to feel humiliated
when she receives a lesson in the sport of kings
from one of her many precocious offspring.

However, if we pause to consider what gene-
rosity is implied in the term " a good, all-round
sportsman," then we are more disposed to admit
the possibility of our antipodean cousins being as

'' G

98 COLONIAL RACE-COURSES

clever at arranging successful race-meetings as
they have proved themselves in regard to winning
cricket matches on a first-rate pitch.

The Australians attribute to our insular pre-
judices the suspicion with which we regard their
pet "starting machine." Of course the real reason
we have not been very enthusiastic about it is,
or should be, very apparent. English racehorses
have been trained to start when a flag drops, and
do not yet understand the meaning of a net un-
expectedly popping above their heads at the last
moment.

As regards racehorses carrying registered num-
bers on their saddle-cloths, and having a similar
number on their stalls — and by so doing enabling
backers to identify them — why, surely, this is an
unquestionable improvement upon our present
English system ?

In 1892, when Sir Hugo won the Derby, I
had to depend upon the truthfulness of a lad who
led the horse about in the saddling-paddock just
before the race. Either that boy had an imagi-
nation, or else he deliberately told a barefaced
falsehood, for, with great solemnity, he declared
his charge to be El Diablo. Consequently I lost
a few sovereigns over that classic event, whereas,
had Sir Hugo worn a number on his saddle-
cloth, his admirer would not have been at the
mercy of a stableman, and would, moreover, have

won ;^2 50.

The picturesque Flemington race-course has
often been compared to a scenic horseshoe ; com-
modious private and public stands are erected on

COLONIAL RACE-COURSES 99

the side of an impressive mountain, from which
can be easily seen a magnificent view of every
single race from post to finish. Even a gourmand
cannot find fault with the catering, for the kitchens
are large, the cookery is good ; hot, recherche
luncheons are served in spacious dining-rooms.
One firm has a monopoly in this department, but
are compelled by their contract with the Jockey
Club to supply the best article at a reasonable
price.

The shortest race is only four furlongs, run on
a perfectly straight course, which is quite distinct
from the largre oval one reserved for lonor-distance
races. There is yet another course at Flemington
— for steeplechasing. It is inside the inner rails
where the long flat-races are held. Nearly all
the fences are alike, being made of red gum-
wood, four feet six inches in height and absolutely
unbreakable ; they are about twelve inches thick.
Opposite the grand stand is a big stone wall, with
a large rounded log of timber placed upon the
top, so as to prevent the chasers from damaging
their knees.

The Fleminofton Racine Committee do not
patronise guard-rails, water-jumps, or open ditches;
the wings to their very formidable obstacles are
securely put up, and are made of the same
material as the fences themselves, namely, red-
wood. On the landing side the ground is well
forked and covered by tan, so as to prevent
valuable chasers being injured by concussion.

Far be it from me to downcry our historical
flat-race course. Yet, much as I love the associa-

loo COLONIAL RACE-COURSES

tions of Epsom, it is quite a relief to know that
colonials do not needlessly imperil their jockeys'
lives by allowing dangerously sharp turnings, like
that death-trap " Tattenham Corner." Then,
again, at Flemington there is very rarely a long
delay at the post, owing to Australian horses not
being frightened at the starting machine. Less
stress is laid upon head finishes in the Antipodes.
Jockeys ride at top speed from start to finish
on smooth courses, consequently they make ex-
cellent times, and a good jockey seldom wins
on a bad mount, simply because there are no
waiting-races.

Although everybody has long ago heard how
the " totalisator " works, a large number of people
to this day have no conception what sort of an affair
it actually looks like. Imagine a turnstile in front
of a window, behind which is a fair-sized room,
with a few clerks and cashiers. Nobody can pass
into this holy of holies inside the totalisator,
because the entrance is barred by an official who
plays the part of a book-maker. Slipped into
frames outside the window are the names of the
horses that are eno-aored in the "next event."
This method of gambling is theoretically almost
perfect, because each "punter" is sure to draw
his proportionate stake if the horse which he
has backed wins ; but not infrequently the price
is unsatisfactory, especially when nearly all the
money is put upon one particular horse.

Personally, apart from feeling that your money
is safe, and that you never get " welshed " by the
totalisator, for it belongs to the Jockey Club, I

COLONIAL RACE-COURSES loi

much prefer the Turf gambling in vogue in the
Old Country.

Our owners at home are more influential, and
can afford to purchase or breed the finest blood-
stock in the world. It is more than likely that
our jockeys and trainers surpass all others. But
in matters that promote the happiness of the
ordinary race-goer and appeal to his good taste,
I unhesitatingly assert that we are behind the
times. No course in England with which I
am acquainted has " going " equal to that at
Flemington. Nor, Goodwood and Ascot ex-
cepted, is the surrounding country so exquisitely
beautiful.

Racing in Oceana is not only patronised by
the Governor, it is the favourite pastime of all
classes, even "larrikins." Evidently they take a
pride in the Flemington Royal Box, which the
Governor often occupies, and, to quote one of
their own slang phrases, they like to "blow"
about the oil-paintings of colonial Turf patrons
that can be seen hanging on the walls of the
handsomely fitted-up Race Committee Rooms.
We, who are fond of our gaily-planted Ascot,
must congratulate the inhabitants of Sydney upon
having a tastefully laid out private drive up to the
Members' Stand.

At Flemington, sportsmen who prefer using
their own carriages incur hardly any risks by
doing so, owing to the faultless accommodation in
the large hackney stables quite close to the course.
It is impossible for visitors to refrain from ad-
miring their ladies' retiring rooms, and their

I02 COLONIAL RACE-COURSES

facilities for enabling onlookers to recognise the
different horses, whilst they listen to the inspiriting
strains played by a finely mixed band.

The Anti-Gambling League makes few con-
verts in the colonies, nor is this surprising.
Almost every Bush "township" has its own
local meeting usually kept going by squatters,
store-keepers, and publicans. The latter nearly
poison their unfortunate customers with adulte-
rated liquor. Yes ! the punter whose constitution
refuses to be injured by "up-country" whisky is
abnormally sound.

Although in New Zealand there are very
few book-makers, and the totalisator is Govern-
ment property, this is not the case in Australia ;
there the totalisator has nothing to do with the
State, but each course has its own. It is much
used in Brisbane. Steeplechasing and flat-racing
are amalgamated in Australia.

CHAPTER XI

THE RACING CHRONOMETER

How good are the Derby horses this year ?
Was Ormonde the fastest winner ever foaled ?
And have breeders improved on Eclipse? are
futile, though engrossing subjects to lovers of
the thoroughbred. At present these questions
are impossible for us to answer, but they may
suggest to our minds the advisability of fixing
the precise value of the racing chronometer.

Now, we do not suggest that each racehorse
should start with a pedometer strapped to the
martingale or saddle, but we are anxious to
overcome the racing expert's antipathy to a
stop-watch whose works are guaranteed to be in
going order.

Althouofh orreat events in England are timed
to the fraction of a second, the British public
are angry if the truthful watch casts a slur
upon the reputation of their " fancy." All
manner of ingenious excuses are made to refute
time tests, and some people urge that the course
was heavy, and others consider the horse was not
fit. But though the "talent" may ransack their
brains for excuses, they cannot deny that hitherto
the chronometer has not been used to the best
racing advantage. The truth of the matter is
that time tests should neither be implicitly

I04 THE RACING CHRONOMETER

believed in nor absolutely ignored. Now, the most
suitable person to hit off the happy medium is the
racing expert, who takes into consideration not only
the state of the course, but also the time, as well
as the condition and dispositions of the horses.

Granted that the weights are level, the horse
who can complete a given distance in the fewest
number of seconds is the fastest animal, but only
theoretically. Practical racing men have long
realised that horses run differently, more especially
on courses they display a liking for. So in reality
the "shifty" thoroughbred is mainly responsible
for the antipathy which Englishmen feel to the
racing chronometer. We are open to admit that
the stop-watch is not necessarily a criterion of a
horse's utmost speed. But those who are inclined
to disregard minutes and seconds must not forget
that tip-top time was never made by a bad horse.
On the other hand, a high-class Derby winner
might run a slow race, simply because the class
behind him was inferior and did not compel him
to gallop at his full speed. The time-keeper in
England is so little heeded that otherwise well-
informed race-goers are often unable to answer
this question : " What horse won the Derby in
the quickest time ? " • Lots of people who cannot
recollect the answer to so simple a question can
easily explain that Sir Hugo was not equal to
St. Angelo in a mile.

The Colonials very wisely attach great im-
portance to the racing chronometer. This is
easily accounted for by their excellent times,
largely due to a favourable climate. We must

THE RACING CHRONOMETER 105

not, however, imagine that the Australian and
New Zealand courses are inferior to those of
their Mother Country ; as a matter of fact the
Melbourne and Sydney race-courses are vastly
superior to Epsom and Sandown. Finishing
being less studied in the colonies, jockeys on the
other side of the equator are apt to make the
pace much hotter from the start.

Possibly some day racehorses may start with
an " energyometer," an instrument that will
record the amount of energy left in them when
their race is over. The scientists will draw
interesting conclusions from the energyometer
and the stop-watch, but the racing man will only
grow more sceptical than ever. For so long as
horses are well-trained flesh and blood, and until
jockeys ride all alike, "book form "will be con-
stantly upset, and this is not surprising when
we reflect that even vessels built on the same
lines scarcely ever sail alike. Nor is it advisable
that racehorses should perform like hobby horses,
for, if they did, interest in steeplechasing and flat-
racing would be greatly diminished.

We must never reduce racing to a certainty,
or the stands will remain empty owing to no
enthusiasm being awakened — a foregone con-
clusion ceases to be a race. Betting also would
be abolished, because, according to a gambler's
most sacred law, "It is not fair to bet on a cer-
tainty." Though unable to prove it, we may
take it for granted that the speed of the modern
racehorse has greatly improved. Ormonde and
St. Simon in their day must have been un-

io6 THE RACING CHRONOMETER

questionably superior to Eclipse at level weights.
Jockeyship, training, and breeding are now more
thoroughly understood than they were in any
previous century. Nevertheless, there is some-
thing aggravating in not being able to definitely
decide if our horses can gallop quicker than those
of our forefathers. So, everything taken into
consideration, it behoves us to hand down to our
descendants a record of our best times, carefully
noting also the state of the "going." But, after
all, when we have taken the trouble to do so,
the race-goers of the future may regard our time-
pieces as inaccurate recorders. Possibly a new
school of riding may have been founded that will
revolutionise equestrianism, and for all we know
the new racehorse may be trained by means of
stored up electricity. And though such a sugges-
tion sounds exceedingly far-fetched, it becomes
less improbable if we view the situation in a
logical light. We have improved the breed of
racehorse, so why should not the studs of our
descendants attain a still greater speed .'*

Let us again look at the old prints of half-
forgotten meetings, and read the size of the
stakes. Why, they seem as worthless as the
animals that competed for them. We should
shake our heads and declare the ancient time-
keeper must have been mistaken if he declared
that Charles the Second's best racehorse galloped
quicker than Persimmon.

So, casting all prejudice aside, we gradually
perceive that we must strike a happy medium.
The chronometer must not be solely depended

THE RACING CHRONOMETER 107

Kar-

have ^°^^

RUNNING BLINKER

(used when racing)

upon, nor can we implicitly believe what we see
through our race-glasses.

Good jockeys assure us that occasionally a
race is falsely run.

In order to make a brilliant finish, a horse is
kept back when otherwise he could have won
with ease; or else a horse
often appears to be hardly
ridden, when in reality he
could, if allowed,
won in a canter.

Now the most aggra-
vating thinof connected
with time as a racing test
is condition. Many a
staunch supporter of the
watch has fallen over

this stumbling-block. Therefore, it behoves the
discreet person, who is anxious to form an un-
biassed opinion of a horse's form, to ascertain if
the racehorse who galloped either quickly or
slowly was thoroughly fit. Then again, even
granted the time and condition were all that
could be desired, was the course suitable ? Be-
cause this is a most important point, as veteran
trainers know to their cost.

If wrongly used, time tests to the racing man
can be compared with mirages seen by the thirsty
traveller. So, casting prejudice aside, ultimately
a reconciliation will take place between the
chronometer and the racing expert. They are
certainly necessary to one another, and the only
barrier to their affection is a question of time.

CHAPTER XI I

BITS AND BITTING

We may take it for granted that in pre-historic
times "the connecting Hnk " was hacked about
with a raw hide bridle in place of the now
popular " Ninth Lancer Polo-Bit." But there
were evidently disadvantages in riding with a
rudimentary halter, because our forefathers sub-
sequently adopted wooden and horn snaffles, and,
later on, added sides or " cheeks " to them.

There was no further improvement for many
centuries until the iron period, when the snaffle
attained a higher pitch of perfection. So far
as we can gather from historians, the ancient
Romans were the first to introduce the principle
of the "lever," or curb; it is humiliating to find
that we have made hardly any advance in effec-
tive snaffles during the last thousand years.
Dates are dangerous things to quote in connec-
tion with this interesting subject, for the evidence
of the recognised authorities is conflicting. In
order, therefore, to be on the safe side, let us
state that horses were bitted in Egypt certainly
1500 to 2000 years before Christ, and probably
much earlier.

A very curious wooden mouthpiece, shaped
liked a badly-drawn horse, and believed to have
been made about 1000 B.C., was found in Ger-

BITS AND BITTING 109

many not long ago. Then, again, in the horn
and bronze period — ^according to old records — a
primitive half-twist-bar-mouth-turn-cheek-pelham
came into vogue ; of course the original makers
did not call it by that name, but it was one all
the same. Virgil mentions a Roman bit, which
was termed in his time Licpattis, on account of
its ragged structure. Berenger, in his " History
and Art of Horsemanship" (1776) gives the
figure of a bit which was found in a large barrow
called Silbury Hill, which stands near the road
from Bath to London. The mouthpiece is not
unlike that of a modern snaffle ; the cheek pieces
are peculiar, and would not serve to carry a curb
chain. This bit is supposed to be either Roman
or early British. All bits, practically speaking,
come under the heading of either curbs or snaffles,
excepting those which partake of the character
of both. In the fourteenth century the long
lever bits had formidable spikes attached to them,
so that a rider's enemies might not attempt to
arrest his progress by catching hold of the
charger's mouthpiece. The sixteenth century
was responsible for chain snaffles, which re-
strained hard pullers ; and, in a curious little
black-letter volume, published 1566, we find
numerous plates showing curb bits more or
less severe, and more or less ornamented. These
resembled the handsome cavalry bits of the pre-
sent day. The following is an outline history
of bits up to the age of steel : —

{a) The raw-hide halter was introduced.

{b) The wooden snafifie, which was only a straight bar.

no

BITS AND BITTING

(c) The primitive wooden-snaftie with side-pieces.

(d) The plain straight-snaffle of bronze.

(e) The jointed snaffle, in bronze.
(/) The jointed snaffle, in iron.

(g) The lever, or earliest form of curb-bit used by the

Romans.
{/i) The snaffle and curb of the Merovingian and Carlovin-

gian periods, made all in one, like a modern Pelham.
(/) Steel curbs and snaffles invented.

HEADSTALL BRIDLE WITH PICKETING-REIN

The impatient rider or driver perhaps remarks,
" I do not care a straw about the origin of bits ;
but simply want to know the most suitable bridle
for a puller, a bucker, a star-gazer, or a tender-
mouthed horse." We will come to that presently.
But let us first glance at a few of our modern bits.

The strength of a double-bit is chiefly derived
from the height of the port and the length of the
cheeks. Throughout Europe of late years there

BITS AND BITTING

III

has been a humane tendency to reduce the height
of the port and seek restraining power in other
directions. In making this general statement,
however, mention must be made of that most
cruel implement known as " The Russian Rear-
ing-Bit," as the exception to the rule.

The inquirer is chiefly concerned with the im-
provements which have been made in this cen-

HUMTIXG BIT WITH SI.IDIN'G MOUTH

tury, more especially in double-reined bridles ;
for our racing-snaffles are uncommonly like the
bits which were used before and in the time of
the Romans, though of course ours are made of
the best steel, whereas formerly such bits were
made in wood and bronze, and afterwards in
iron.

The chief peculiarity of the modern curbs is
their movable mouthpiece, which is made so as
to allow a certain degree of play on the cheek.

I 12

BITS AND BITTING

Good examples are: — "The Sliding-Mouth-
Buxton-Bit-Bar-Mouth," " The SHding-Mouth-
Cambridge-Bar-Mouth," and " The Sliding-
MoLith- High-Port-Bar-Mouth."

There are also sliding and revolving mouth-
pieces, such as the " Buxton Bit," the cheeks of
which are bent; "The Gig" is straight. Then
there is the " Sliding - Mouth - Liverpool - Bit,"

1 /'

Q

r pi

HANOVERIAN BIT, WITH HIGH PORT AND ROLLER MOUTH

which is an enlightened edition of the mediaeval
curb-and-snaffle in one.

"The Roller-Hanoverian-Bit" has a port two
inches high ; the sides of the mouth have rollers
— this is to prevent a horse from getting too
much purchase, or, as the phrase is, "taking the
bit between his teeth."

Despite the fact that a first-class saddler keeps
in stock something like a hundred different sorts
of curbs, these in reality only vary in regard to

BITS AND BITTING

113

the shape of the cheek, the height of the port,
the play of the mouthpiece, and the absence or
presence of the bridoon, which is the principal
innovation in double-reined bridles since the
Middle Ages ; this is merely a thin snaffle which
is used with the curb, the two together constitut-
ing the ordinary double bridle.

A curb made of the finest forged steel costs
about 14s. 6d. The bridoon, sold separately,
costs 4s. 6d. Racing snaffles, with 2^ inch flat
rings, are 7s. 6d. The old-fashioned curb-chains
cost IS, 6d., but letters patent have recently been
taken out by Messrs. Peat, for a " Humane Curb,"
consisting of a smooth steel bar shaped to accom-
modate the angles of the lower jaw, and ringed
at the end to slip on the hooks of the bit.

The advantage claimed for the invention is,

H

114 BITS AND BITTING

that a horse is not unnecessarily fretted by links
becoming twisted underneath his jaw. Ordinary
curb-chains are single or double, thick or thin,
to suit the fancy of purchasers ; leather curbs are
sometimes used instead of a chain, and chains
encased in leather are occasionally seen. In the
well-kept harness-room we frequently admire the
glittering polish of the bits. Alas ! when the
curb or snaffle has been a short time in use, its
pristine brilliancy has departed, and although
the steel may be kept well polished, there are
usually an appalling number of tiny scratches.

The secret of an irreproachably cleaned bit is
an expensive mill fitted with brushes sprinkled
with fine emery powder. But it takes almost
an expert to clean steel properly with this
machine. The ordinary groom will act wisely
if he ceases to scratch bits with a burnisher, and
uses a paste consisting of f brilliantine and J
paraffin.

Now, as regards the bridles suitable for the
rearer, bolter, kicker, star-gazer, borer, or puller,
and other horses that are ill-tempered, or as crafty
in their own way as " The Heathen Chinee."

Owners of rearing-horses may feel disposed
to try the Russian-Rearing-Bits before mentioned,
but they had far better send the horse to a careful
breaker to be cured of the vice. This bit is
simply an instrument of torture, because it not
only half maddens the horse, but is apt to nearly
break the jaw. Many hard-pullers can be
mastered by a pair of light though very decided
hands and a Hanoverian pelham ; but, in spite

BITS AND BITTING 115

of the time-honoured adage, " There is a key-
to every horse's mouth," there are some horses
which from constitutional defects cannot be made
amenable. The intemperate "rushing" brute
which looses its head, apparently, at the sight of
hounds, can only be kept in hand by means of

THE CHAMPION SNAFFLE

a powerful bit ; and though sufficiently strong
tackle will enable you to restrain him from bolt-
ing, the pain goads him into a state of frenzy,
which makes him anything but a pleasant mount.
A horse which can only be kept under control
with a gag snafifie and chifney bit in the hunting-
field may be a delightful mount for a solitary
ride with nothing more than a chain snaffie in

ii6 BITS AND BITTING

his mouth. The "Champion" snaffle, named
after its inventor, the well-known saddler, is a
very useful bit for some pullers in harness. The
checks of the bridle are buckled to the two inner
rings, and the reins to the two outer rings. The
sliding action caused by this adjustment allows
very considerable power to be exercised over
the horse.

The " Bucephalus nose-band" is often usefully
employed in conjunction with a bit of good
leverage ; the nose-net is said to give good
results with a puller, but only for a time, the
restraining effect of the contrivance seeming to
wear off more or less rapidly. The star-gazer
may be made to carry his head properly by
buckling the rings of a snaffle to a martingale
of suitable length or shortness, but this plan is
open to the objection that the dead strain may
teach the horse to pull. Perhaps the better
system is to take a long pair of reins, pass the
buckle ends through the rings of the snaffle and
carry them down to the breastplate, thus com-
bining martingale and reins in one: "piped"
reins answer best for this purpose, as they run
more freely. With this arrangement of gear
a rider with good hands may overcome the star-
gazing trick. In very bad cases an Irish martin-
gale, a six-inch strap with a ring at each end,
placed on the reins under the jaw, or a single
ring through which both reins are passed before
being brought, one on either side of the neck,
to the rider's hand, prevents all risk of the star-
gazer throwing the reins over his head.

BITS AND BITTING

117

The horse afflicted with the contrary vice,
boring, or carrying the head too low, may be
taught to keep it up by the use of the gag-
snaffle, which is so contrived that by means of
a piped rein buckled high on the cheek-piece
and carried through extra rings on the bit, the

GUARD-CHECK OR LIVERPOOL DRIVING-BIT

mouthpiece can be pressed into the corners of
the mouth.

Many devices have been tried to cure horses
with "one-sided" mouths; circular pieces of stiff
leather with a few studs rivetted on them and
fixed on the bit answer the direct purpose, but are
liable to make the horse shy of "going up to the

ii8

BITS AND BITTING

bridle." Messrs. Champion & Wilton have a
bit for one-sided mouths which has given ex-
cellent results ; it is a plain steel bar bent almost
to a right angle, and " twisted " on the lower sur-

CAPTAIN HAYES' BREAKING SNAFFLE

face of the end which applies to the callous side
of the mouth. This simple device is said to be
very effective.

A carriage horse with a fairly good mouth
should go well in a " Liverpool Bit " or else a
"Sliding-cheek-driving-bit " ; anything approach-
ing to a high port should be avoided as unneces-

BITS AND BITTING

119

sary and cruel to a temperate and well-mannered
horse. When driving a team, the "Elbow Bit" —
so-called from the shape — is one that gives great
satisfaction.

Many cross-country riders prefer the Irish

MARTINGALE

snaffle, which has large flat rings, and is used
with double reins.

A very handy " Polo- Bit " is called after the 9th
Lancer Regiment ; it has a plain, straight mouth-
piece and cheeks, with two loops for raising or

BREAST-PLATE AND MARTINGALE COMBINED

lowering the rein, so as to obtain a strong or mild
leverage.

Exceptionally light-mouthed horses now and
again require snaffles, covered with indiarubber ;
oddly enough, they do not bite them as much as
one might suppose.

Captain M. H. Hayes has invented a snaffle

I20 BITS AND BITTING

for use in breaking ; this is an unjointed bit
with leather covered mouth and leather guards
at side buckling under the jaw. This arrange-
ment effectually prevents hurting the colt's mouth,
and is most useful with the long reins.

The staunchest supporter of the Royal Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals could
hardly disapprove of a plain-curb with slide
mouth, low port, and short cheek, and in very
average hands this, in conjunction with the bri-
doon, is probably the best tackle for all purposes.
Although we have not made any very great
advance in the matter of " bits and bittingr" over
our ancestors of three centuries ago, we may
congratulate ourselves upon being a little more
merciful. We need not plume ourselves too much
on this account though, for as much ingenuity has
been exercised in making irritating bits at the
present day as ever distinguished the past.

CHAPTER XIII

SADDLES

Any one who examines, however casually, Greek
and Roman coins, vases, bas-reliefs, or sculptures,
cannot fail to notice that horsemen are invariably
represented as riding bare-back or on a simple
cloth. Saddles, properly so-called, were unknown
to ancient Greece and Rome ; the pad or saddle-
cloth was the forerunner of the saddle, and this
was secured upon the horse's back by one, two,
or three girths. A sarcophagus found at Clayo-
mense shows a pad thus secured with a surcingle.
Trojan's Pillar and many other monuments bear
similar evidence of the use of the housing, or pad,
which was called by the Greeks Epkippion, and
by the Roman Ephippium — a latinised form of
the Greek word. It is believed that a saddle with
a tree did not come into use among the Romans
until the fourth century a.d.

These pads, or housings, were guiltless of
stirrups or any equivalent thereof, Galen refers
to the swellings and "defluxions," to use the word
of an old translator, to which the Roman cavalry
were subject, and which were due to the attitude
maintained for hours together on horseback with
hanging legs. The rider mounted with the aid of
his spear shaft ; his slaves gave him "a leg up,"

122

SADDLES

EARLY SADDLE

or the public horse-blocks which stood at intervals
in every street lent the necessary aid ; sometimes
the horse was taught to kneel in order to receive

his rider. There is no
evidence to show that
any form of stirrup
came into use before the
reign of the Emperor
Maurice (a.d. 602). It
has been conjectured
that the idea of the
stirrup originated in the
use of a rope ladder
which was thrown over
the horse to enable the rider to mount ; and when
a stiffer structure replaced the pad this ladder
was fixed thereto to support the rider's feet, and
gradually changed its form into a pair of attach-
ments whose primary use was to rest the legs.

The gradual development of the Ephippium
may be traced on existing specimens of Roman
architecture. The pad becomes thicker and the
trappings much more gorgeous as years roll on,
until an equestrian statue of M. Aurelius shows us
a comfortable saddle-cloth, filling up the hollows
in the horse's back. On the Theodosian Column,
in the figures of Theodosius and Gratian, we meet
with the true saddle for the first time ; these have
a distinct bow in front and behind. Undoubtedly,
about this period, as if to emphasise a recent dis-
covery, a new Latin phrase was coined for a
saddle, namely, sella equestris.

It would, perhaps, be convenient to give a

SADDLES 123

resumd of the abovershort outline of the history
of the saddle, and continue the table up to the
present day : —

{a) First came the earliest form of Ephippmm,
a thin cloth, or often the skin of a lion or other
wild beast fastened with a girth, and with bands
round the horse's chest and hind quarters to help
retain it in place.

{b) The Ephippium became thicker and more
comfortable ; it was gaily ornamented with metal
scales, bells, and borders.

(c) A saddle, with a bow before and behind,
was placed over these glittering trappings, the
sella eqtiestris, which brings us up to the end of
the fourth century after Christ.

(d) In the seventh century stirrups were intro-
duced.

(e) In mediaeval times the exposed portions of
saddles were protected by armour.

(/) Finally we arrive at the nineteenth century
cavalry saddle, and plain flapped hog-skin.

Biblical scholars may complain of our omission
to mention how Balaam
"saddled his ass." In
all probability Balaam
walked, and led a pack-
donkey ; he certainly
did not ride on any-
thing so advanced as sella eqtiestris.

"Saddle-trees" are made of beech-wood, over
which the very thinnest canvas is glued, to pre-
vent the wood from splitting under the process of
driving in the nails. Iron, or in the best trees,

SADDLE-TREE

124

SADDLES

steel plates are afterwards riveted on the gullet or
" head," and also on the cantle. The expression,
"straining the tree," means fastening four pieces
of linen web — two lenofth-wise and two cross-wise
— whose purpose is to support the seat. A piece

CHAMPION AND WILTONS STEEPLECHASE SADDLE

of canvas is afterwards nailed on top of the "webs,"
and a piece of serge laid over the whole. The
stuffing or padding having been well worked in
between the canvas and the serge, the saddle is
ready to be covered with hog-skin. The cost of
putting a new tree into a saddle is about £2.
For flat-racing the tree weighs only about 6 oz.

SADDLES

125

for a i^ lb. saddle, 8 oz. for a 2 lb. saddle, 1 2 oz. for
a 3 lb. saddle, 1 5 oz. for a 4 lb. saddle. To obtain
lightness no webs or spring stirrup-bars are used,
a piece of stout linen being strained across for the
seat, while the stirrup-leathers are put through

STEEi-l.iCHA-'K SADDLE WITH KNEE ROLL

the tree. The French cavalry saddles have iron
instead of wooden trees.

There are only two distinct shapes in modern
men's saddles, namely, (i) the tree made straight
over the withers and with a square cantle, which
is the generally accepted pattern for hunting

126

SADDLES

PLAIN-ILAr HUNTING SADDLE, STRAIGHT HEAD

PLAIN-FLAPPED HUNTING SADDLE

SADDLES

127

saddles, and (2) the tree made cut back over the
withers and with a round cantle, which is used more
for polo saddles, or horses with very high withers,
and also for saddles made for the colonies.

Then occasionally saddles are made cut back
with a square cantle to suit certain riders and
straight over the withers, commonly called
" straight head," and with a round cantle.

HUNTING SADDLE WITH WESTON'S PATENT BAR

(Messrs. Champion & Wilton)

Needless to say, the prices of saddles vary con-
siderably. Here are a few quotations from a
leading West End saddler's price list : —

£ s. d.

Gentleman's hog-skin hunting saddle (any

weight) girth, stirrups, leathers

„ ,, with plain flaps .

,, ,, with soft quilted seat .

„ ,, quilted all over, Somer-

set saddle . . 8 iS
Race or polo saddle, complete . . . 5 15
Numnahs or saddle-cloths, felt . . los. 6d to 14

7 17

128

SADDLES

At Walsall, near Birmingham, a large number
of cheap saddles are manufactured, the trees of

A NEAT PLAIN-FLAPPED SADDLE

HALF-CUT-BACK HUNTING SADDLE, PLAIN FLAP

which are made of sawn wood and hoop iron,
instead of wood split with the grain. These,
covered with imitation hog-skins — really stamped

SADDLES

129

HUNTING SADDLE WITH KNEE-ROLL

i

/

^^

HUNTING SADDLE WITH KNEE-ROLL

I30 SADDLES

sheepskins — cost about 25s. each ; but they are

LIGHT (officer's) SADDLE

t^^A

^^^'^

MILITARY SADDLE

not necessarily cheap at the price. Their de-
tractors imagine that they might not last longer

SADDLES

131

than five minutes if they were put on exceptionally-
bad kickers ; and sore backs are prolific.

Saddles, of course, vary according to their
purpose, in price, size, weight, and shape ; the
following may be taken as about the average : —

COLONIAL SADDLE

Lady's, 11 to 13 guineas, weight 18 lbs. A lady's
saddle for huntinor should weisfh about 2 lbs.
without the furniture for every stone it is to carry :
thus, a lady who weighs eight stone seven pounds
should use a saddle weiehino- 17 lbs, A huntino-
saddle 7 guineas, weight 12 to 14 lbs. ; racing ^5,
weight from ij lbs. to 4 lbs. ; racing saddles are

132

SADDLES

sometimes made as light as i lb. Regimental
saddles cost ^8, and weigh ih stone; they vary
in shape according to the regimental pattern.
Polo saddles £6, weight 8 to 9 lbs. Hacking
saddles /^6 to ^7, weight 10 lbs. Colonial saddles

COLONIAL SADDLE WITH KNEE-PADS AND CRUPPER LOOP

£7 to ^8; their weight is about 14 lbs. For
Mexican saddles fancy prices are given ; as much
as ^50 is paid for a particularly elaborate speci-
men. The expense is incurred in the profusion of
silver mounting and embossed leather. In weight
they range from 20 lbs to 30 lbs.

" Side-saddles " date back to mediaeval times;

SADDLES

^33

they are said to have been introduced in the latter
half of the twelfth century; but a lady's hunting
saddle is, comparatively speaking, a very recent de-
velopment. Originally, ladies rode pillion-fashion,
i.e. on a pad behind a horseman ; the lady sat side-
ways, and usually steadied herself by holding her
attendant's belt. The next development was a

MILITARY SADDLE

saddle which allowed the woman to ride sideways ;
the right leg was supported by two pommels,
crutches, or "head," in the shape of a cow-horn,
the left leg being supported by the stirrup.

Eventually the "third" or "leaping" head
was introduced. This was really the outcome of
a wager between Mr. Oldaker, a very practical
saddler, and some person whose name is now
forgotten. The conditions of the bet were that

134

SADDLES

MEXICAN SADDLE

SADDLES

^3S

they were to ride a steeplechase, "catch weights,"
on ladies' saddles. Mr. Oldaker, uncertain of his

■^1*!iagSaSii»««"'

YOUNG girl's padded SIDE-SADDLE

lady's SIDE-SADDLE

(Nicely cut for hunting ; strong and comfortable)

ability to keep his seat, conceived the idea of" The
leaping head." He negotiated the course, without
his leg once slipping, and was first past the post.

136

SADDLES

" The leaping-head " or third pommel, or crutch,
being found so advantageous, was generally

IMPERIAL lady's SADDLE WITH PATENT BAR

(Messrs. Harries & Son, of Shrewsbury)

LADY S SADDLE WITH PATENT BAR

(Messrs. Champion & Wilton)

adopted for cross-country riding; two heads
being found sufficient, the off"-head was gradually
discarded. A great change for the better has

SADDLES 137

been made by cutting away the fore part of the
saddle over the withers of the horse, and sup-
porting the right knee of the rider on a neat
leather flap. This alteration has enabled the
saddlers to reduce the height of the pommel
and give a level seat, whereby the rider gains
in safety and also in elegance of posture. Nor

/
/

LAUY S SADDLK WITH PLAIN BAR

(Peat & Co.)

is the lady the only gainer ; the saddle fits the
horse better, and, the rider being nearer his back,
is less likely to give her mount a sore back.

When the saddle is taken off a horse, it ought
to be put in the sun, or before a fire, to dry out
the perspiration. The panel should be beaten and
brushed, and saddle-soap mixed with milk is the
best preparation for keeping the leather soft and
a good colour.

ORDINARY SIDE-SADDLE, STRAIGHT SEAT, PLAIN FLAP

lady's saddle, with straight seat, pad on flap

SADDLES

139

Stuffing and relining a gentleman's saddle costs
about 20s. ; the same repairs to a lady's, 24s.

lady's ride-a-stride saddle
(Harries & Sons)

LITTLE girl's SADDLE

LITTLE boy's SADDLE, No. 5

If horse-hair is used for stuffing, the saddle should
be lined with leather to prevent the stiff hair from
working through.

Knee-rolls are rapidly dying out, although some

bo

S o
2 o

^•^

^ 5

SADDLES

141

men find it easier to ride with them ; they are

undoubtedly helpful when the horse is narrow in

front. Saddles with very prominent knee-rolls

are much used in Australia

and in other countries where

the breakinor of horses is

very casually done. A

great many of the best

orders which a fashionable

saddler receives come from

America and South Africa. The Boers, some of

whom weigh twenty-six stone, often request that

2olb. saddles should be sent out to them.

LADY S NUMNAH

CHAPTER XIV

GIRTHS

Hide-girths are often used in the Australian
Bush and in several of our Colonies, but they are
rarely seen in English hunting centres. They
are not such comfortable girths as the "V.W. H."
and " Fitzwilliam," and naturally an owner |of

HIDE GIRTH

valuable horses seeks comfort for them and
avoids getting them girth-galled.

A valuable adjunct is a surcingle, which is a
web strap going over the saddle. This additional
safeguard is useful when racing or riding young
horses. It keeps a saddle on in case a pair of
ofirths should break.

How to girth a horse properly is a much dis-
puted point. Some people consider that two
fingers should be squeezed in when the horse is
ready to mount. If girths be much tighter they
become gallingly so, and also help to stop a
horse's breathing through affecting his heart.

142

GIRTHS

143

I have known otherwise honest
horses that would not try to gallop
when tightly girthed. A good many
horses learn to buck through no-
thing else but being too tightly
girthed, otherwise they would be
perfectly quiet.

When about to do a gallop, or
when close to a meet of stag or fox-
hounds, always see that you do not
go to the other extreme and have
your girths too loose. The afore-
mentioned test of getting your two
fingers between the girths and the
horse is quite all right.

Much depends how a horse is
made. Some will carry a saddle
quite loosely, unless it is very well
and cleverly padded. Others will
have it tight, being dependent on
whether a horse is well or badly
shaped at his withers, and herring-
gutted or like a beer-barrel round
his body. In the army, leather
surcingles are used. Of course web-
girths have to be washed. In time
this rots them,

A capital girth is made from
ordinary leather with perforation
slits to allow the perspiration to
escape. This girth is most sub-
stantial for colt-breaking.

" V.W.H." {i.e. Vale of the White

144 GIRTHS

Horse) girths are used in the leading hunts, such
as the Pytchley.

It is easily obtainable from any first-rate saddler,
being kept in stock. But it is not liked by many
people, because it absorbs the perspiration more
than leather girths do. In comparison they do
not wear so well. One pair of leather would last
two of the web ones out.

When a horse is killed at the kennels, its
carcase is hung up in joints until meat for the
hounds is next needed. It might be for a week

LEATHER GIRTH

or a fortnight, according to what the kennel
huntsman has got in stock. The flesh is put
into a large copper, which in Yorkshire is called
a "set-pot." It is boiled until all the flesh is
off the bones. Then it stops in the copper until
it is cool, and the fat rises to the surface. Now
the fat thus obtained is excellent for preserving
leather, and can be used for leather girths and
also for bridles.

Saddles are, of course, only soaped or vase-
lined. The latter must be applied when the
saddles are perfectly dry, but soap can be used
if they be wet or dry.

CHAPTER XV

WH IPS

No author has written a standard work on whips ;
therefore whoever sets an example feels like a
literary pioneer. You may wonder what instru-
ments of castigation were used in the days of
King Solomon ? Let us piece a great deal of
evidence together, and begin by ascertaining
when the wisest King of Israel lived. He was
born A.M. 2971, and died 3209. Evidently whips
can be traced back to the time when the Temple
was built, as anybody can verify who turns to
I Kings xii. 11. We quote Rehoboam's scornful
remark : " And now whereas my father did lade
you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke ;
my father chastised you with whips, but I will
chastise you with scorpions." The statement is
repeated in verse 14 of the same chapter. The
Greeks also had an ingeniously cruel lash made
of knuckle-bones, through which a string was
threaded, but neither the freemen nor the slaves
were often beaten with this abominable implement
of torture.

In ancient Rome the "cat" was frequently
used, and the victims fainted under their terrible
punishment. Occasionally they died from their
injuries, for the lashes were sometimes made of

MS K

146 WHIPS

wire, but usually of knotted cord. A representa-
tion of the above scourge may be seen on a " bas-
relief of the statue of Cybele in the Capitoline
Museum at Rome. Some flagella found at
Herculaneum consist of several short chains, with
knobs of metal at the end, attached to a short
handle." Another point worth noticing in con-
nection with Roman flagella is that gladiators
fought with them. To judge from old coins, the
whips used in the arena had only two lashes, and
the same may be said of those used for driving.

Classical scholars will recollect that in ancient
Rome, a bundle of rods [fasces) tied together, with
an axe in the centre, were carried before a
praetor or a consul as a badge of authority ; to
show that each possessed the right to execute or
beat a subordinate. All things considered, we
are justified in believing that the ancient "cat"
or flagelluin superseded primitive wooden goads
that had no lash, and then, as the civilisation of
ancient Rome gradually spread, whips having two
lashes were introduced into States that were
under Roman sway. But, these whips being made
of perishable material, no trace is now found of
them, and we have to again search the Bible for
any trace of their existence. A clue is given in
a Harleian MS., executed in the eleventh century.
We refer to a copy of "The Utrecht Psalter,"
which has a quaint illustration of a " cat " or
flagelltmt with two lashes, similar to those used
by Roman gladiators. At this stage in our
inquiries we come to a standstill, because a copy
of "The Utrecht Psalter" has an illumination of

WHIPS 147

a whip, but the original MS. appears to have only
a rude goad. Consequently, we leave our readers
to decide upon the value of this information, for
some may declare that no fiagella were used in
England before the eleventh century. Other
readers may argue that, if the Greeks and Romans
used whips long before this period, probably the
Britons used them also when driving their war
chariots.

The Louterell Psalter of the fourteenth century
shows a carter driving his team with a short,
stocked whip having three thongs— an instrument
more like a scourge than our conception of a
driving-whip. Needless to say there were no
true driving-whips until the date when coaches
were introduced, and that did not occur till about
the year 1600.

The next point that it is necessary to emphasise
is this : From the time when the various whips
we have alluded to were invented, up to the last
century, very little ingenuity seems to have been
exercised in the manufacture of whips. As we
have seen, in the first instance they were con-
structed for corporal punishment, but subsequently
they were used by carters to quicken the paces of
beasts of burden, and then only one lash was
required. But where are any old whips to be
seen ?

It is very rare to find a whip of any date earlier
than the Stuart period ; a few made in the reign
of Charles II. still exist. Racing men need
scarcely be reminded that the famous Newmarket
Challenge Whip, of which more anon, dates from

148 WHIPS

this period. Other whips of Charles II.'s time
may be seen in private collections.

An important change was effected when whips
were constructed with bent tops, as we use them
now, for driving. Apparently this fashion came
into vogue about the eighteenth century, when
whip-making became a recognised industry.
Hunting-whips in the earlier half of the century
were made with bent tops, like a short-handled
carriage whip, as we learn from the pictures of
James Seymour and his contemporaries.

The huntsman's whip of a later date, if clumsy,
was a very formidable weapon. There is in Sir
Walter Gilbey's collection at Elsenham Hall the
whip which belonged to Hoswell, who was hunts-
man to Mr. Maynard, the Countess of Warwick's
grandfather. It is a large and heavy whip, con-
structed in much the same fashion as the plaited
gut crops of the present day, with a long and
stout thong and a hammer head of steel or iron,
whose face suggests frequent and vigorous use
upon obstructive gate locks.

About this time whip-handles were covered
with "shagreen," i.e. fish-skin, dressed in a
peculiar way, and fastened on to the stock in a
manner with which no livino- workman is
acquainted, for the manufacture of "shagreen"
is, unhappily, a lost art.

In order to show at a glance the connection
between ancient and modern whips, we give the
following list, and regret that it seems impossible
to satisfactorily fill the gap between the Roman
period and the last century : —

WHIPS 149

(a) The pre-historic whip was probably only a
goad {stimulus). There is no reason to imagine
that it was anything more elegant to look at than
a long stick with a sharp point to it. This kind
of goad was used up to the tenth century, and is
even used in the present century upon sand
donkeys, with both ends of the stick unsharpened.

(p) After the goad a mild form of "cat" was
invented ; it was used in the reign of Solomon.
We may safely assume that it was constructed of
two or more thongs of hide, securely bound to a
wooden handle. This was in vogue a.m. 2971.

{c) Rehoboam had a severe edition of Solomon's
whip. It was most likely made with bristles, or
perhaps bones acted as substitutes for knots.

{d) The ancient Greeks, according to their
historians and artists {vide the paintings on the
walls of excavated buildincfs at Herculaneum,
Pompeii, and elsewhere), had both "cats" or
flagella mentioned in (c). They also had others
that were milder.

{e) The ancient Romans \\2.^ fiagella consisting
of three short chains, with knobs of metal at the
end, attached to a short handle. They resembled
a diminutive stock-whip with three lashes.
" Cats " with two and sometimes w4th three
lashes of knotted cords, or even wire, were
used. These lashes were called scorpions. The
Romans also had ''fasces,'' i.e. 3. bundle of rods
tied together with an axe in the centre, this being
a badge of authority.

(/) ^^ "^^y assume that the ancient Romans
introduced the " cat " into the States which they

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conquered, for it will be remembered diat they
were strict disciplinarians.

(£■) From an illuminated psalter, copied in the
eleventh century, we gather that whips with two
lashes were used in England at that period. In
the fourteenth century the carter used a whip with
three lashes.

{A) Prints of the fifteenth century show whips
having only one lash.

(z) Postillions were employed in the eighteenth
century and previous to that period, and conse-
quently noblemen and gentlemen living in those
times paid very little attention to driving whips,
because they rarely drove themselves.

(y) In the eighteenth century whips were bent
at the top, and became more shapely. The best
cutting whip-handles were made of " shagreen."

(k) Whips of the present day far surpass those
which have been mentioned by historians, and
they are not designed to permanently injure either
a human being or an animal. The Russian
" knout," also bullock-whip and stock-whips, are
not merciful correctors, but the Russian " knout "
was not designed in the nineteenth century.

A curious whip in the Elsenham collection is
the packman's. This is a specimen of the whip
used by packmen and carriers in the latter half of
the eighteenth century. The metal head un-
screws to reveal within the thick part of the stock
a receptacle for pen and ink and spare horse-
nails.

There is no great difference, save in superior
workmanship, between the carriage-whip of 1790

152 WHIPS

and that of to-day. The thickened grip of the
typical whip is clumsier than the neatly graduated
grip put upon our modern whips, but otherwise
there is little to choose between the old and the
new.

Modern whips are wonderfully light and well-
balanced ; the best " stocks " are made of " rabbit-
bitten " holly. In frosty weather, when rabbits
cannot get much to eat, they gnaw the bark of
hollies, and the places which they bite get frozen.
After a good holly-stick has thus been ill-treated
by conies, it is cut and sold to a whip-maker, and
the ungnawed bark is taken off, but the "rabbit-
bitten " is left on. It forms an admirable grip for
the hand. The best hollies are grown in Kent,
but Sussex and the New Forest also supply fine
stocks.

A good instance of history repeating itself is
furnished by "dog-knee" stocks. They were
used seventy years ago by four-in-hand coachmen
and afterwards went out of fashion, and have only
recently come in again. Most whip stocks are
straight; the best are made from holly, but several
other woods answer the purpose admirably, as
blackthorn with the bark left on. Yew has a
better "natural play" than any other, and lance-
wood is extremely popular ; it is dressed in all
kinds of patterns, and shaped to any size.
Varnished green lance-wood stocks are quite the
rage, and so also are " built " cane. The latter
are constructed as follows : a steel rod forms
the centre, and six pieces of cane, in hexagonal
shape, are built round it, overlapped at intervals

WHIPS 153

with fine gut. The silver mounting is usually
hexagonal shape, to match the stock. There are
likewise jointed whips, which are particularly use-
ful for travelling, because they can be taken to
pieces and fastened on to a board and put under
the seat of a railway compartment, &c. As we
mentioned before, modern whip-makers cannot
make "shagreen" handles, but they can produce
others that are even prettier. However, the
Japanese surpass the English in this art, and
plain ivory handles are frequently sent to Japan,
and are returned in twelve months' time beauti-
fully lacquered. A great number of the fancy
handles made at home are cut out of lizard and
crocodile skins. The most serviceable are pig-
skin ; they are more durable than Russian leather,
althouQfh their smell is less aoreeable. Then we
have seamless handles ; each one is made by a
calf's tail being dragged tightly over an iron
tube.

To omit to call attention to crops, stock-whips,
cutting whips, American straight buggy whips,
besides many other sorts, would be unsatis-
factory ; yet to give more than a few lines to
each would mean lengthening an article until it
became as voluminous as a book. Nevertheless,
the following facts ought to be laid stress on,
if only to call attention to the advance in the
whip industry during the nineteenth century.
We will run through the chief points of the
leading varieties, and implore the reader's for-
giveness if we fail to allude to some that are well
worthy of being mentioned. A modern hunting

154 WHIPS

crop often has a leather handle covering a third
of the stock, from the silver mount upwards.
Clouded rattan are generally considered to be
the smartest cane hunting-crops, but they are not
equal to those made from whalebone and covered
with sheep or lamb-gut. By the way, a popular
error is to imagine that first-class whips are made
with " cat-gut " ; the right expression is sheep or
lamb-ofut.

The peculiarity of the polo whip is that it is
much longer than an ordinary racing whip, and
more swishy. A stock-whip has sometimes a
lash as long as eighteen feet, and its crack may
be heard half a mile off, if the whip is skilfully
whirled round a stockman's head, and then
allowed to fall without being jerked. The best
are those which are hand-made on a station.
It is advisable to have a smooth wooden handle,
cut from an Australian tree that has a native
name not unlike " Gedgee." A bullock-whip is
much heavier than its first cousin the stock-whip;
it requires two hands to crack it properly. When
the atmosphere is in favour of a listener hearing
noises a long distance, the report from this
modern stimulus will travel three miles easily.
But of course the ordinary bullock-driver is not
cruel enough to hit one of his team every time
he uses his whip, or none of the animals would
have a hide that was not scored with lash marks.
" American straight buggy whips " are largely
made at Westfield, Massachusetts ; it is the
principal industry of the town. Throughout the
United States, whips of all sorts are made by

WHIPS

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156 WHIPS

machinery ; in England they are always made
by hand.

A very effectual instrument of castigation is a
species of cutting whip used in China, not only
by "the heathen Chinee," but also by European
residents. It is simply constructed, with three
pieces of thin bamboo twisted round one another,
secured at one end by a silver or tin mount, and
at the other end by silk thread, fastening the
three canes together, and also a short lash of
three inches long. Needless to add that this
pliable switch will cause a great deal of pain, if
harshly applied to man or beast.

The curious old Dutch whips in the Elsenham
collection deserve special notice. These are a
good deal shorter than a modern driving whip.
The stocks are adorned with chased silver bulbs,
and the extraordinary orbicular butts, also of
silver, chased and embossed, have a ring on
the under-side. The thongs are adorned with
fringed leather tufts. These whips were given
at the end of the last century by the King of
Holland to the winners of the driving races,
which were a great feature of country life in
Friesland ; they were, in fact, equivalent to our
Royal Plates, and were given to encourage the
breeding of trotting horses for which Friesland
was, and is, famous. One of these whips bears
date 1 791 and a name (illegible) obviously that
of the proud winner and the year of his success ;
another is dated 1798.

It will not be out of place to refer to the
driving races, for which these quaintly shaped

WHIPS 157

whips were the prizes. Edmondo di Amicis, in
his work " Holland " (1874), says: —

" On our way back to Leuwarde we met some
peasants' carts drawn by those famous Friesland
horses, which are considered the best trotters in
the world. They are black with long necks,
heads small, and full of fire. . . . The races in
which these horses run, called the harddraveryen,
are very characteristic relics of ancient Frisia.
In every small town an arena is prepared, divided
into two parallel straight roads, on which the
horses run in pairs and successively, after which
the winners run each against the other till one is
victor over all and wins the prize."

From this account it would seem that the
competing horses were " drawn " in couples on
the same lines as greyhounds for a coursing
match.

Jockeys prefer a racing whip with a small
button, whereas gentlemen-riders prefer a "high
button," or, in plain language, a mushroom-
shaped one. A jockey's whip should be very
stiff. A " knout " usually has a bone handle,
and sometimes only a wooden one ; a leather
flap acts as a substitute for a thong.

French whips are remarkably pretty, but,
according to our insular prejudices, they are
fanciful and have not the wearing qualities of
English ones. Both French and German drivers
hold whips high up, and consequently require
longer sticks than those we use. All whips used
in State processions come to a great deal of
money, because the handles are elaborately

158 WHIPS

braided with gilt wire and silk. The thong for
a tandem is generally twelve feet long, on a
stick five feet three inches in length. Team
whips are a little heavier and have a thong
thirteen to fourteen feet in length, and a stick
about five feet one inch. Whilst on this subject,
it may interest good whips to learn that some
accomplished four-in-hand drivers have been able
to catch the lashes of two whips at the same
time.

Ladies' whips fifty or sixty years ago were
wretchedly flimsy little things. Ladies carry
sensible crops in our time, but they do not always
handle them in a professional manner. A lady's
crop should be strong enough to give a deter-
mined refuser a good sound thrashing ; at the
same time it should be lis^ht and look like a neat
and small edition of a hunting whip used by the
stronger sex. A lady should carry a crop in
her right hand, in order to prevent a horse from
swerving on the off-side ; the lash should be
gathered into two loops, and the stock held a
few inches from the keeper. Few women can
crack a whip easily on a fidgety horse ; in fact,
it takes them all their time to use it gracefully
on a quiet mount. The explanation is simple
enough. Not one lady in a hundred has been
taught to handle any kind of whip in a pro-
fessional manner, and without a proper training
nobody can excel in any accomplishment. To
be able to " flick a fly off your leader's ear " is a
feat which the dashing hero in a sporting yellow-
back can do without difficulty, but those used to

WHIPS

159

horses will agree
that in life a man
who can disturb a
fly, apart from actu-
ally hitting it, with
the point of his
lash, is not an un-
handy whip ; for
whoever can give
one of his team a
reminder on the ex-
act spot he wishes
to can usually drive
with his reins. On
the other hand, it
by no means fol-
lows that a coach-
man who can turn
a difficult corner
with leaders that
run well up to their
bits, is able to
neatly use his whip
over hot wheelers
and jibbing leaders.
The famous
Newmarket Chal-
lenge Whip, to
which passing re-
ference was made

THE NEWMARKET CHALLENGE WHIP

on a previous page,
was originally the
property of Thomas Lennard, Lord Dacre,

i6o WHIPS

whose arms are engraved upon it. Lord
Dacre was created Earl of Sussex in 1674 by
Charles II. ; this young gentleman held some
appointment at court, and, "going the pace"
after the fashion of his age, lost his money
and part of his estates by gambling. It is be-
lieved that he gave the whip as a trophy to be
run for at Newmarket; he died in 17 15, and the
first recorded race for the "Challenge Whip"
came off in 1756, when Mr. Fenwick challenged,
naming Matchem by Cade, and easily won from
Mr. Bowles' Trajan. In 1764 H.R.H. the Duke
of Cumberland won it with Dumplin.

Some of the best horses of their time have run
for the Whip ; in 1770 Gimcrack won it, beating
Pilgrim; in 1775 Sweet William won, beating
Transit; in 1777 Lord Grosvenor, the holder,
was challenged by the owner of Shark against
Mambrino, but Lord Grosvenor preferred to pay
100 guineas forfeit and keep the trophy : in 1778
Shark beat Dorimant, and in 1781 Lord Gros-
venor challenged for the Whip, naming Pot-8-os,
but his challenge was not taken up. Pot-8-os
and Dungannon won it in 1783 and 1786 re-
spectively. Thormanby, winner of the Derby in
i860, is one of the more modern winners of
the trophy. In 1895 Prince Soltykoff won with
Lorikeet, beating Glengall by six lengths : in the
following year, the prince not defending, Lord
Derby won with Dingle Bay, who beat Mr
Leopold de Rothschild's Bevil by a long head.
Mr. Archibald Gold was the last holder of the
Whip. He challenged Prince Soltykoff in 1899,

WHIPS i6i

naming VilHers by Thurio — Lady Clarendon, and
the Prince named Canopus to defend. Villiers
made all the running, and won by 15 lengths.

The race for the Whip is the longest run under
Jockey Club rules ; it is run at the Second October
Meeting over the Beacon Course — 4 miles i fur-
long 177 yards. The weight to be carried is 10
stone, and the stakes 200 sovereigns a-side. The
Whip may be challenged for twice a year, and
the challenge must be accepted or the trophy
given up ; no challenge issued last October, but
the latter opportunity was taken by Lord Elles-
mere and Sir E. Cassell. Under the rules Mr.
Archibald Gold was obliged to accept the chal-
lenge or resign holdership of the Whip by 31st
July. Villiers having died, he adopted the latter
course, and thus the race was reduced to a match
as is usual. The first sheet calendar in October
contained the names of the horses nominated.
Lord Ellesmere's Ultimatum and Sir E. Cassell's
Gadfly to wit, and on the concluding day of the
Newmarket Second October Meeting, Gadfly
beat Ultimatum by four lengths, making Sir E.
Cassell holder of the Whip for the year.

The Whip may not leave the United Kingdom.
It is a short, heavy, old-fashioned jockey whip ;
the hair interwoven and plaited through the ring
on the handle is from the tail of the famous
Eclipse.

CHAPTER XVI

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

Those who like to glean knowledge hastily,
and therefore superficially, will not find much
information about spurs in most dictionaries ;
and we fancy we are right in asserting that no-
body has written them up to date. Even that
admirable work, the "Encyclopaedia Britannica,"
icrnores them completely ; yet it mentions horse-
manship and other equine matters, such as bits
and saddles. The British Museum has a poor
collection, chiefly Mexican ones. So, needless
to add, that primitive spurs is a precious tough
subject to get up. It has saddened many people
who have tried to tackle it. The difficulty lies in
finding out what sort of a " heel shod with iron,"
to use a phrase of Virgil's, was worn previous to
the Norman Conquest.

A good many authorities declare that the ancient
Greeks knew about, yet did not use, spurs. But
they possibly had one, made of bronze, with a
solid point on a semicircle, whose extremities
were pierced with holes, through which thongs
were put in order to fasten them on. Certainly
the Romans had similar ones in iron to those just
described. They were used in the Augustan
age ; their historians prove this conclusively.

x62

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 163

And we might add that antique equestrian figures
disprove it. Consequently at this period we have
to cope with either a coincidence or an unac-
countable mystery. Does it not appear inexpli-
cable that Greek and Roman sculptors did not
model horsemen with spurs on ? Of course we
can only judge from the work they left behind.
But the old historians were more thoughtful. As
proof of this, Cicero used the word calcar in a
double sense : as an ordinary spur, and also meta-
phorically as " such an one wants a bridle, such
an one a spur," signifying that one person was too
quick and the other too slow. Again, the well-
known phrase, a " heel shod with iron," is used
by Virgil ; and Plautus and several others, who
lived in that remote time, have passively alluded
to spurs, but have never attempted to fix the
date of their invention.

The earliest pattern is called the primitive
"pryck" spur. And here comes the gap which
no author can satisfactorily fill, because we natur-
ally want to know the connection between this
early " pryck " spur worn by the Romans and
those used by the Anglo-Saxons. Now it is
easy to conjecture. But we must go a step
further, and consider every link in the chain of
evidence. The Saxons used a " spuran," as they
called it, which was similar to those used by the
Romans, who conquered Britain. Plainly, the
Saxons borrowed the idea of their spurs from the
Romans ; this is the logical deduction.

In as few words as possible let us trace this
interesting subject from the Augustan age up to

1 64 SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

the Edwardian ; but we cannot mention every
pattern minutely, because there have been so
many. Nevertheless, we can show that circum-
stances brought about a change in spurs, and we
can give the reader an idea of the reason why
each change took place, viz. on account of the
horses' trappings. Riders needed long-necked
spurs when their chargers wore armour, and also
when they were decked out for a pageant.

We have mentioned the first sort of spurs, and
will now compare the Anglo-Saxon one. They
were goads of a rather curious shape. Here are
some remarks showing how recognised authori-
ties have referred to them. " The Roman spurs
differed but little from those of the Franks and
Saxons ; the neck was rather shorter, the pyra-
midal head rather concave on every side, which
afterwards suggested the ring and spike of the
'pryck' spur, and the shanks, instead of being
straight, became curved." Another view is more
difficult to substantiate as regards the " rouelle,"
or *' rowel," for the great division in spurs con-
sists in whether they are the old "pryck " or the
modern "rowelled" ones. Henry HI. is said to
have been the first English king who used the
latter. Anyway, it is quite worth while to give
this quotation from Mr. Grose, an archaeologist
in the last century, whose statements seem correct
on other points, if not on this. " The rouelle, or
wheel spur, though evidently an afterthought, or
improvement on the ' pryck,' was worn in common
with it at the Conquest. Its superiority was, if
point was broken, spur was not useless, owing to

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 165

the rotation of the wheel, and the same motion
prevented it injuring horses. The points of rowels
were sometimes three inches long." Surely he
meant the neck ? The fifteenth century was re-
sponsible for rowels made like a serrated wheel ;
these are more ornamental than useful. They
mark an era of transition between those worn
previously, when horses and riders were encased

CHARLES II. SPUR

in armour, and those used subsequently, when
armour gradually became less heavy and finally
fell into disuse. One of these processional spurs
weighed one pound and three-quarters avoirdupois.
Here are some important changes after the
battle of Hastings. Iron " pryck " spurs were
lozenge-shaped, or like spears' heads, usually
with short necks, but a few were long. Until
Henry III., the tendency of the average rider
was to wear these " pryck " spurs, with longer

1 66 SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

and longer necks, and this brings us to the period
when the rowel is first noticeable on the great
seals. However, rowels are a characteristic of
the fourteenth century, and in Henry IV. 's reign
to Henry VI., the necks became purposely bent,
and enormous spiked rowels were used; "from
the heel to the tips of the rowels some were
seven inches and a half long." In the sixteenth

A FOREIGN CROWNED EAGLE PAGEANT SPUR

(Probably about fourteenth century)

century, Ripon in Yorkshire was the most cele-
brated town in England for the manufacture of
spurs. Heavy brass pageant ones, with curved
necks, in Henry VIII.'s time, are well worth
looking at, and were sure to have been made
at Ripon. About this time spurs were worn
ornamentally ; they were studded profusely with
precious stones, and made of gold or gilt. A
pair with exquisite gleaming diamonds in, are
said to have been in the possession of Henry,

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 167

Prince of Wales, in 16 15. We all know the
iron round spurs in use when Charles I. and II.
reigned. In George I.'s days, if not before,
ladies had pretty little silver ones, short in the
neck, with sharpish rowels. They were jointed at
the sides, in order that a lady could put them on
and take them off easily. This brings us nearly
up to our own time. As late as the thirteenth
century, it was a common practice to bury warriors
with a single spur always attached to the left foot.

A couple of centuries ago, hunting spurs were
short in the neck ; the average leno-th beino- about
one-and-a-half inches. Then came a tendency
towards having longer ones ; but during the last
three or four years those with short necks have
again come into fashion. Riders find them more
convenient for jumping, particularly as they are
now worn high up under the ankle of butcher
and top-boots. Quite recently the straight and
drooped ones have been equally popular. The
former have a nattier appearance, but the latter
are easier to keep off a fidgety horse.

The seven distinct kinds in England at present
are : —

(i) Box-spurs worn for military duties, and
yoke-spurs, with the neck curving upwards.
(Box-spurs, of course, are also worn with trousers
by civilians.)

(2) Those worn out hunting.

(3) Those worn for racing.

(4) Those worn for hacking.

(5) A lady has a single spur, which is a
miniature edition of No. 2.

i68 SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

(6) Very often a lady wears a spur with a
single point, covered by a spring cap until
pressed against her horse's side, when the cap
retreats and bares the point.

The rowels in vogue have ten points, and their
length and sharpness should depend on the
wearer's skill as a horseman, and also on the
character of the horse.

Guineas have been used in military spurs as a
substitute for rowels, but very rarely. Box-spurs
came into use about seventy years ago. Their
inventor was Mr. Henry Maxwell. He was
grandfather to the world-famed spur-maker,
who carries on the business now. Before their
introduction, spurs were screwed on to the heels
of boots when their wearers wished to avoid
using buckles and chains. The best steel box-
spurs are "forged solid" — i.e. out of one piece of
metal — to avoid screwing in a spike that is liable
to break. Of course brass and compound metals
are cast. Whoever is foolish enough to try and
forge them will find the task about as interesting
and nearly as difficult as endeavouring to make
ropes out of sand. On reflection, it will strike
an observant person what a neat discovery Mr.
Maxwell made when he cleverly hit upon the
idea of holding the spur in a spring socket which
is built into the boot-heel. Cavalry officers wear
the same kind of box-spurs for undress and for
mess as the original pattern. But for mounted
duties they have jack-spurs, which are worn with
buckles and chains. As regards foreigners, they
use box-spurs, if the expense does not deter

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 169

them, or else those which screw on to the heels
of their boots. Clergymen and horse-dealers —
extremes meet — often wear black spurs, giving
their owners concealed power, w^ith the semblance
of humility in one case, and of modesty or desire
to mark their subordinate position in the other
case. Those worn by jockeys are far prettier.
They are made of hard steel, owing to their
being so extremely thin and light, and are
covered with silver plate, put on in four strips.
Electro-plating is no good in this trade, and
spurs, to be serviceable, must either have the
silver brazed or soldered on ; the former is the
old Sheffield plate. In addition to those w^e
have referred to, polished steel, gilt and brass
spurs are much used, chiefly by army men.

Here let us impress those who pin their faith
in "the good old days" that presentation spurs
were never in the past so exquisitely chased as
those which a skilled hand can make to order at
the present time. Any extravagant person can
soon prove this by purchasing a five-guinea silver
pair, and then comparing them with those which
cost an equivalent sum before the reign of Queen
Victoria.

Concerning the pitch of cheapness ill-made
foreign spurs have reached, it would be difficult
to say. They are manufactured very roughly —
no work being put in — so that even if purchasers
give merely a franc a pair, it is quite enough for
them.

Spur-money probably conveys nothing to ordi-
nary churchgoers in the twentieth century. Yet

lyo SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

it had a meaning, long before the bicycle craze,
for now a few country churches have houses for
bikes. From the cheque-book of the Chapel
Royal, Dr. E. F. Rimbault made the following
extract of an order made by the Dean in 1622 : —
" That if anie knight, or other person entituled to
wear spurs, enter the Chapell in that guise, he
shall pay to the quiristers the accustomed fine ;
but if he command the youngest quirister to
repeate his gamut, and he faile in the so doing,
the said knight, or other, shall not pay the fine."
1 his was enforced until the year 1830. Quoting
a note in Clifford's edition of the work of Ben
Jonson, Mr. Markland says: "In the time of
Ben Jonson, in consequence of the interruptions
to Divine Service, occasioned by the ringing of
the spurs worn by people walking and transacting
business in cathedrals, especially in St. Paul's, a
small fine was imposed on them called ' spur-
money,' the exaction of which was committed to
the beadles and singing-boys." Again, to show
how the author of an old 'tract, entitled " The
Children of the Chapel Stript and Wipt," quaintly
expresses himself, we give the following pas-
sage : — " We think it very necessarye that every
Quorister shoulde bringe with him to Church a
Testument in Englishe, and turn to everye
Chapter as it is daily read, or some other good
and godly Prayerbook, rather than spend their
tyme in talk, and hunting after spur-money,
wherein they set about their whole mindes, and
doe often abuse dyvers if they doe not bestowe
somewhat on them." In those mirthful days

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 171

punctuation seems to have been less studied
than now !

Another custom, which amounts to an old form
of "copyhold tenure," is still in force. The
copyholder in the following case is the Crown.
Example : A gentleman at the present moment
holds an estate on condition that he presents a
pair of spurs to the reigning King whenever
the sovereign passes through his land. This is
analogous to the Duke of Wellington's annual
presentation of a tri-coloured flag to His Majesty,
in token of the former's right to hold Strath-
fieldsaye. The custom in this particular instance
originated when that estate was presented to
the " Iron Duke" after the battle of Waterloo, in
return for his distinguished services. Blenheim,
the magnificent seat of the Duke of Marlborough,
is held under similar conditions.

Many instances can be given of horses that
have been severely injured through using un-
necessary sharp rowels. In more than one case,
when a horse has fallen, he has had his side
pierced by the neck of the spur. Obviously
then, in order to prevent a recurrence of such
an unusual mishap, it is advisable to have a fair-
sized "boss," i.e. that part of the "neck" which
contains the rowel. Sentimental people will be
pained to learn that a great number of Mexican
spurs are manufactured in England, and not in a
romantic town in the southern part of North
America. They are certainly handsome to look
at, make a jingling noise, and are suitable for a
harum-scarum, braggart's style of riding.

172 SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

Some horses are so hot that it is^almost im-
possible to ride them in "persuaders" having

MODERN STRAIGHT SPUR

MODERN DROOPED SPUR

rowels in them. And there is no doubt what-
soever when they are absolutely necessary, it is

SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 173

a mistake to attempt to use them, even though
a boot looks better with them. Yet it is quite
worth while when exercising to attempt to make
an effort to get your mount to tolerate them.
Let the horse be tired first, and thus learn that
you do not wish to prick him. He will soon
learn this under ordinary circumstances. Even
kickers, with judicious handling and firm horse-
manship, permit spurs without rowels if they
are introduced to them in this way. But the
right expression would be, perhaps, re-introduce,
as few horses resent spurs without rowels if they
have not been previously punished with others
having rowels.

You cannot gash a horse, if you become half-
unseated, with spurs which have no rowels.

If a hunter is courageous and consequently fond
of jumping, it is a great pity to use rowels. Yet,
on the whole, it is better to ride with spurs that
are virtually so blunt that you cannot draw blood
with them if you wish.

By all means let a sensible young horse know
what rowels feel like. They will teach him to
walk well and run up to his bit. When he
understands this unpleasant sharpness, ride him
without any.

PART V

CHAPTER XVII

STABLE VICES

Crib-Biting or wind-sucking is a most annoying
habit. It prevents a horse from getting into
condition, and often causes acute indigestion.

There are a host of contrivances to remedy
this trick — for it is a trick, which is often picked
up by a horse who has imitated another crib-
biter, or, in other cases, has taught himself how
to crib from being left too long in the stable
with nothino- better to do than to learn a mis-
chievous habit which it is difficult to break,

A cribbing-strap which encircles the throat is
an effective method of preventing this trick.
But it must only be taken off in the stable
whilst the horse is eating, otherwise it is use-
less. A pin inside the strap pricks the cribber
each time he tightens the strap, through arching
his neck in order to crib. It is advisable to feed
out of a movable manger, which is not very
expensive.

On the whole it is a great mistake to buy a
cribber — unless at a low figure — as this disease
comes under the heading of "unsoundness" —

Note. — The illustration in Part V. is kindly supplied by George
Parker & Sons, 17 Upper St. Martins Lane.

174

STABLE VICES 175

and it is seldom that such a patient can be
brought into good condition.

As it is almost impossible to know if a horse
cribs — when you examine him — it is necessary to
ask the purchaser ; and a horse that has been
guaranteed sound can be immediately returned
and the money refunded, if it can be proved by
a vet that he cribs, although sound in all other
respects.

Kicking. — Some horses, and particularly
mares, will kick all night and not uncommonly
kick down any partition which is not made of
extra stout material. Such animals generally
have capped-hocks and other blemishes as signs
of this their favourite pastime.

A popular remedy is to strap a leg with a
chain attached to one of their hind legs, yet it
often fails to check this pet vice. Violent
punishment has no good effect whatsoever.
Although patience and perseverance may do a
great deal with young animals — especially when
the vice has been created througrh ill-usasfe — -
nothing will cure an aged and confirmed
kicker.

When being groomed underneath their bellies,
many horses try to kick and bite their grooms,
stretch out their fore and hind legs until they seem
bound to slip up in their stall or loose box — yet
rarely actually do so. This is in consequence of
their having delicate and, therefore, very sensitive
skins. When the brush hurts or irritates them,
they vent their feelings by flinching, then kick

176 STABLE VICES

and bite almost simultaneously, until they are tied
up closer to the rack, and handled firmly, and
brushed harder, until groom and horse are en-
gaged in a very noisy and dangerous fight.

To thwart this habit of biting viciously when
they are being groomed, it is a good plan to put a
larsfe wooden bit in their mouths. In some cases
it will stop this unpleasant vice.

A "twitch " is a stable instrument of torture which
is often much abused. It is usually too short, and
should be made out of a stout pole at least six
feet long, with a soft piece of cord passing through
a hole bored at one end of the stick. Tempor-
arily a horse can be subdued through having a
twitch put upon his nose, which is held high up
in the air. But the pain which a twitch severely
applied always causes to a horse's very sensi-
tive nose, makes the animal inclined to be vicious.
And the less a twitch is used — excepting in very
exceptional cases — the better.

It is always a kind plan to take a twitch off
very gradually, and to gently rub the horse's nose
soothingly directly afterwards, pat his neck, and
make him feel on good terms with himself and
yourself. Induce your late patient to realise that
you are not angry with him, and have no inten-
tion to cause needless pain ; in fact quite the
contrary. Many horses, being very affectionate,
soon understand this, and return your caress by
rubbing their poor sore nose against your hand,
arm, or face, making you feel quite ashamed of
putting them to pain in the present or doing so
in the near future.

STABLE VICES 177

Gross-feeders will eat their bedding if the
groom does not keep the hay-rack filled night
and day. In consequence they rarely get into
good condition. If they have as much hay as
they will eat, they over-eat themselves and can-
not gallop or do fast work.

It is necessary to keep a leather-muzzle on a
gross-feeder when he has eaten as much as is
advisable. But it is troublesome to expend so
much time in preventing a greedy horse making
a pig of himself — to use an Irishism ; the best
plan is to pay a short price for such a one, unless
his unusually good qualities in other respects
counterbalance his orreediness.

fc>

Cradles are useful in preventing a horse from
tearing his clothes, or from rubbing sore places
which have been dressed — such as broken knees,
wounds, &c.

Slings require professional good management
to be very successful, and a considerable amount
of extra strength, as the weight of a horse needs
a lot of clever manipulation to keep it suspended
on slings — used in bad fractures when it is
absolutely necessary to prevent the patient from
touching the ground, and thus disturbing bones
recently set.

Docking seems rather cruel, and can be justi-
fied only on the grounds of preventing a carriage
or draught horse from getting the reins under-
neath his tail — thus often causing a fatal accident,
or it is useful to strengthen a foal's hind-quarters.

M

178

STABLE VICES

It is indisputably a fact that, if a cart- foal is
docked, a Q-ood deal of the strenc^th which would
have gone into nourishing the tail — had it been
left on — goes to nourish the hind-quarters instead.
A horse — and especially a cob — has a sport-
ing appearance if nicely docked. On the other
hand, they lose nature's weapon against flies
and other teasing insects which cause a lot of
torment durino- mid-summer. Bush-horses are
rarely docked in consequence. Nor are race-
horses as a general rule, and, in the case of

TAIL-GUARD

Steeplechasers, it is considered by some good
authorities that a long tail acts like a rudder in
a certain fashion over an awkward jump — help-
ing the horse to steer himself at a critical moment.
I will not vouch for the truth of this idea — but
many contradict it and others believe in it.
Probably there is some truth in it. A long tail
gives dignity to a thoroughbred, which cannot be
said of a hog-maned polo-pony with a scrubbing-
brush tail, who looks very knowing. The ex-
tremes are somewhat like dignity and impudence.
There is a certain amount of risk when docking,
lest lock-jaw should set in, but cases are very

STABLE VICES 179

rare ; perhaps not i in 500 die from this some-
times cruelly performed operation.

It is especially advisable to have a very long
twitch. The head of the patient should be pushed
well up in a corner, a fore-leg held up to pre-
vent the operator being kicked behind, which is
less likely to happen when the tail is severed
by the docking-knife than when the red-hot irons
are applied to burn the bleeding stump.

Rasping the teeth is another minor operation.
It is sometimes done without even a halter on.
The horse does not mind it much as a rule ; and
if it removes any jagged points to a tooth which
irritates a gum, quick relief is effected.

As regards dentistry in the equine subject, not
enough attention has been paid to it, and much
suffering occurs in consequence. Decayed teeth
are often as painful to the horse as to his master
or mistress, and a wolf's tooth is casually knocked
out by the local blacksmith, sometimes well and
not infrequently badly.

CHAPTER XVIII

COMMON DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT

This is a wide field to discuss. If the subject
is to be taken up professionally, a reference to the
article on "The Veterinary Profession" should
be read afresh and the " Matric " passed without
delay, and the would-be vet a student in real
earnest as soon as possible.

But if common diseases are to be viewed purely
from an amateur's hobby, in order to save a vet's
bill — which it may not accomplish ; indeed, quite
the reverse — then a clear knowledge of anatomy
and veterinary books should be gleaned; they are
absolutely necessary in order to grasp the subject
and appreciate what valuable work has been given
to amateurs in connection with equine literature.

Let us recommend to the reader just a few
first-rate books to read, and then turn our atten-
tion to those diseases which are very common to
every buyer or breeder in a fairly big way. I
hope that any hints gleaned may enable owners
to know when to send for a vet, and, in some
instances, to do a little amateur diagnosing and
even to treat a patient for the disease which it is
suffering from.

It cannot be sufficiently insisted on that deter-
mining the nature of a disease is no easy matter.

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT i8i

It is chiefly because the professional can diagnose
correctly as a rule, and the amateur is not quite
sure, or has not the courage of his own con-
victions, that vets who know their work will
continue to make a fair living, whilst amateur
vets are somewhat reluctant — and even mean — -
as regards sending for somebody " who knows
more than themselves " — to use an expression of
sensible owners of valuable horses, who un-
grudgingly send for a first-rate vet — realising
that the money was well earned and good services
were appreciated by a clever amateur. Why
should any one feel ashamed of admitting that his
knowledge is inferior to the knowledge of a long
experienced M.R.C.V.S.

Recollect that you may fluke a few right diag-
noses, but unless you have a practical knowledge of
your subject — which only comes through constant
practice, and cannot be gained entirely from
books — you will kill or injure more patients
than you are likely to cure. Never send for a
vet when it is too late for him to be able to help
you out of a dilemma. You may be even dis-
posed to hide from him your ignorant mode of
treatment, especially when he courteously, yet
quite confidently, pronounces an opinion different
to your original one.

Suppose a patient really had an early form of
influenza, and you had imagined that you were
treating a horse with stoppage, what would be
the result ? Perhaps you would have given a
strong physic-ball, which would soon weaken a
patient to such an extent that, when in despair

1^2 DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT

you called in a vet — who shook his head with a
shake significant of a critical case — it might be
too late to undo the injury. The patient would
be weakened by being unnecessarily purged, the
influenza might have increased — it would have
been your fault if the horse died and the vet sent
in a bill for useless though expensive services.

The more an amateur knows, the more eagerly
will he be to enlist the services of a first-rate
member of the veterinary profession, because he
knows that in the long run prevention is better
than cure ; and, in the case of a dealer, it is better
to pay a vet to pass a high-priced horse and keep
him sound afterwards. Suppose you buy a horse
on your own judgment, and discover that he will
"not pass a vet" when a certificate of soundness
is required by a customer who will give a high
figure on no other stipulation ? It would have
been cheaper to have paid for a veterinary exami-
nation. Following the already laid down advice,
the reader better carefully study "The Compara-
tive Anatomy of the Common Domesticated
Animals," a book in use at the Royal Veterinary
College. The illustrations are excellent, and it
would be advisable to purchase bones through
the secretary to the College at Camden Town,
and after a few explanations from a local vet,
these illustrations, when thus carefully explained
through the medium of the actual bones, will
insure a knowledge of anatomy which cannot
fail to be interesting and valuable afterwards in
diagnosing diseases.

Other books which at this stage should prove

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 183

useful are: "Anatomical Outlines of the Horse,"
by the late J. A. M'Bride, Ph.D., M.R.C.V.S.,
late Director of the Veterinary Department in
the Royal Agricultural College, Japan, and late
Veterinary Professor at the Agricultural College,
Cirencester.

Unless all copies have been sold by Daily and
Son, Market Place, Cirencester, or Longmans,
Green & Co., London, and the work not re-
printed, this very interesting work by the
predecessor of Professor Garside at the Royal
Agricultural College, Cirencester, is worth studying
carefully. The prints are well executed, and,
without some such knowledge, it would be pre-
sumptuous for any amateur vet to deride the
services of a practical, full-fledged vet who has
been under a good master of the veterinary art
and had a long experience on his own account in
a practice which he has built up on his own
merits — not merely purchased.

Another rather old-fashioned, yet not quite
out-of-date book which is a step further on in
veterinary is "The Illustrated Horse-Doctor" by
Mayhew. It has " more than 400 pictorial repre-
sentations characteristic of the various diseases to
which' the equine race are subjected, together
with the latest mode of treatment and all the
requisite prescriptions ; written in plain English."
The twelfth edition was published in 1881 by
William H. Allen & Co., 13 Waterloo Place,
London, S.W.

Few books on horses are more widely known,
and deservedly so, than " Horses and Stables,"

1 84 DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT

by Lieutenant-General Sir F. Fitzwygram, Bart.,
published by Longmans, Green & Co., London,
with sound knowledge on each page and many
valuable illustrations. This work will always
remain fresh and up-to-date, because each edition
is revised with care, one by Mr. W. B. Watters,
Army Inspecting Veterinary Surgeon, to whom
the author desires to express his great obli-
gation.

To the casual student of veterinary, quite
content to abide by the decision of one standard
author on such a many-sided subject, I advise the
purchase of " Horses and Stables." But if a
reader imagines even from that well-written book
to be able to doctor his own stock or his friends'
solely from the knowledge derived, I beg to
differ with him. Nobody excepting a seer could
make theory equal to practice in vetting or any
other branch of learning. It is impossible. Why,
then, try? My answer is merely to express a
hope that the veterinary art may be approached
by amateurs in a reverent manner, and to realise
the truth of the adage that a little knowledge
is a dangerous thing. Much will have been
gained if a reader can learn to detect a good vet
from a medium one, and a medium vet from a
bad one. A bad vet may be a clever man in
other respects, but lack a knowledge of veterinary.
Many instances of this have been known, some
having reaped pecuniary success, yet never
having mastered a thorough insight into that
high gift, diagnosing correctly.

It is the diagnosing, then, that is half the

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 185

battle. Granted you do this correctly, it is
comparatively easy to treat the disease.

What is the disease my horse is suffering
from ? Shall I send for a vet ? These are
common enough questions. Now how, in dif-
ferent instances, should they be answered ? Did
you breed the horse ? Yes. Then you have a
better chance of knowing his defects than if you
had bought him at a repository a few days before.
You have something to go upon. Another point
to remember is environment. Town horses get
diseases in their feet resulting in lameness from
hard going. Therefore navicular disease, which
is due to caries of a tiny bone in the foot, is
common in countries where horses have road
work, and much less common in countries such
as up-country in India, our colonies, or on the
prairies.

Hereditary diseases are extremely common,
and therefore a breeder should avoid using a
mare with a broken wind, no matter how well she
may be bred. In fact many a high-class racehorse
that has turned roarer or whistler has become
virtually worthless for the stud on this account.
But should a mare wrong in her wind never get
the chance of being served ? It may be worth
while to endeavour to correct this predisposition
in the offspring by using a small and sound-
winded pony-sire, the progeny being probably a
smart cob, perhaps a valuable polo-pony.

Bad hay and mouldy oats, and quick work
when out of condition, all help to send a horse
wrong in the wind ; whereas cleanliness, regular

1 86 DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT

exercise, saving a horse in a big run, regular
feeding on the best of hay and good oats, all
help to keep a horse sound in wind, limb, and
even eyesight.

There is a sound reason for every disease. This
cannot be emphasised sufficiently. A few instances
may be given which show this quite clearly.

A horse carries a weight which is too much
for him. Plucky though a horse may be, if he
is over-weighted he shuns work and temporarily
or permanently breaks down. He stands over at
the knees ; he throws a spavin or a curb. Both
these are nature's retaliation for ill-treatment.
Curbs, however, are thought by some riders to
be an evil, with this amount of good — they are
frequently found in horses with crouched hocks,
which belong to good jumpers ; and hunters fired
for curbs most deeply often fetch big sums of
money, despite the tell-tale lines of the iron.

It is palpable that if most owners bore this fact
in mind, as regards diseases having causes which
any reasoning mind can detect, that horses would
be better looked after. Capped hocks would be
fewer in number ; bad shoeing would produce
fewer corns. Horses, after coming into stable in
a muck lather and getting cold water, and thereby
catching chill, often suffer from inflammation
which flies to their feet, and fever in the feet is
the result. Subsequently, at different times, they
trot out like a cat on hot bricks. Their feet are
in pain from inflammation, which, had they been
looked after well in the first instance, might have
been avoided.

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 187

Some water has unquestionably a predisposition
to stone, notably chalk, and, after great agony, the
horse refuses to work, groans in agony piteously,
turns his nose from the mancjer to the side
nearest the stone, as if drawing attention to this
painful disease which has come on gradually, the
calculus or stone increasing in size until, unless a
skilful operation be performed by a first-rate
practical vet, the horse is relieved from intense
suffering by death.

Constipation is another common disease which
might be avoided if the groom drew his master's
attention to the fact that the horse needed less
constipatory food, more exercise, and a little
linseed mixed with a bran mash once or twice a
week. Instead, week after week the horse gets
more constipated, and a ball is given ; if by an
unskilful person, the patient's tongue is either
lacerated, or the giver of the ball gets his hand
bitten.

CHAPTER XIX

GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY, TEMPERATURE, PULSE

There is a critical second when giving a ball.
It should be made use of. Open the mouth and
firmly, but rather gently, grip the root of his
tongue. Just when the tongue is gripped is the
opportunity which must not be lost. The ball,
rightly given, should be defdy slipped down the
patient's gullet and the hand removed quietly —
the very reverse of jerkily. Almost before the
horse has time to think of swallowing, his neck
is being patted, his nose softly rubbed, whilst
the ball trickles down, plainly enough for a
looker-on to watch it go down.

Some horses hold balls for quite a long time,
many minutes, and require a gulp of water to aid
them. Or they have an aggravating habit of
coughing them up just when the giver of the
ball expects they are about to swallow it. This
is irritating for a vet, who feels that he may be
scoffed at for doing his work like a poor amateur.
Horsey-men like to see a vet give a ball without
a balling-iron, as they consider it is one of the
tricks of the profession to be able to do so
without getting a scratch.

A point which the holder of the horse's head
ought to know is that he has a big say in the

GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY 189

way a ball is given. Hold the nose pliably, yet
firmly, not rigidly and pugnaciously, as if making
the horse fight against the man who tries to
slip it down, then the patient ought to take his
medicine without any great difficulty.

Avoid leavinof a ball sticking on one of the
grinders. The horse immediately tastes the
physic mass, gentian, or whatever ingredients
the ball is composed of, and he becomes trouble-
some next time you want to give him physic.

But what kinds of balls ought to be given
under certain circumstances ? Having mastered
the art of giving even difficult horses six drachms
physic or diuretic balls, it is indeed necessary
to prescribe the right medicine for the right
disease.

It is very common to give two balls con-
secutively— a diuretic and a physic. And, in
consequence, many people who have watched
this done might conclude that they " could not
go far wrong " — to use a common expression — if
they usually gave such doses for nearly any
disease. In the case of constipation, it would
work out all right, especially with the aid of a
glyster. But what would happen in a disease
such as influenza ? A horse mig'ht be in the
early stage of that insidious disease, and then the
result of the physic ball so injudiciously given
might easily be death.

In the case of these two just mentioned dis-
eases it is worth while to sketch the treatment
and the prevention so far as lies in human power.
Extreme debility, shivering, and every appearance

I90 GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY

of fever, weak pulse, steaming coat, a nasty cough,
running at the nose, inflamed eyes.

According to that still eminent authority,
Stonehenge, in the " Horse in the Stable and
the Field," published by Routledge & Sons, a
useful treatment is to take : —

Spirit of Nitric Ether .

I ounce.

Laudanum

4 drachms.

Nitrate of Potash

3 drachms,

Water ....

I pint.

Mix and give as a drench, night and morning.

Now influenza is a common complaint, and
one which affords a good illustration of an
amateur (who is a little uncertain as to whether
any of his stud suffer from it or not) behaving
in a manner which places him above a mere
petty owner. He may acknowledge that he is
uncertain — if he is so — or he may treat the case
on the quiet, and then, when in fear that he is
doing so in a way likely to injure his pocket,
he may send for the vet.

As regards prevention. In the case of a fair-
sized stud there is no necessity in well-planned
stables to have the buildings so arranged that
flue almost necessarily attacks every horse.
Several in the same stable might catch it, but
others might escape through being in a separate
portion of the building. A hospital where sick
horses are isolated on the slightest suspicion is
invaluable ; and this, as all the rest of the stables,
should be frequently — even daily — washed down
with bucketfuls of water, a few grains of per-
manganate of potash in each. This is a cheap

GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY 191

and easily applied disinfectant, and wards off
dangerous germs, as well as keeping the stables
thoroughly sweet and well purified.

Now the object of this book is to point out
and emphasise the fact that thousands of works
on the Horse have been written, forming a
collection big enough to term Equine Literature
of a high order. Therefore, if this book appeals
to the public in the manner the author hopes
it may, it will be in conjunction with the study
of other books which he has mentioned, and
also with plenty of others which he has not
mentioned.

You must be practical and have a natural gift
to recognise diseases, or you are unfitted to treat
animals under your charge, so by all means send
for a vet when a horse is worth doing so in your
opinion. When in doubt, therefore, send for a
vet, if his professional charges are likely to be
sufficiently reasonable to be worth your while to
pay ungrudgingly. If in doubt on this point
obtain the services of a practical vet, and pay
him by a scale of charges which you can arrange
amongst yourselves if you particularly wish ; in
short, let him do contract work for you. If you
object to this, a nice and clever vet will not
charge you a price which you can reasonably
dispute, as a rule.

At this point we come to a stage which is
very common amongst over-careful breeders and
purchasers of horses. A little knowledge is a
dangerous thing. Many owners fuss and begin
to imagine horses have diseases which they

192 GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY

have not got. Instead of being hypochondriacs
themselves, they become so on behalf of their
horses.

Supposing, then, you feel a doubt as to
whether your horse is ill or not, use logic. If
you suspect fever, apply a good test by using
a thermometer. In paragraph 217 a, under
" Temperature in Horses and Stables," by Lieu-
tenant-General Sir F. Fitzwygram, Bart, (third
edition, Longmans & Co.), this passage occurs : —

"The ordinary temperature of the blood has
already been stated to be about 99° F, In
diseases of an inflammatory nature, or when
fever is present, the temperature of the blood
becomes increased above the normal standard,
and is an important guide in determining the
condition of the patient. To ascertain the tem-
perature of a horse, a small clinical thermometer
is necessary. This is inserted in the rectum,
and must be allowed to remain for one or two
minutes, when it may be withdrawn, and the
index hand will indicate the exact temperature
of the patient."

A horse's pulse is taken at the angle of the
lower jaw. A "blood 'un " beats 40 to the
minute, cart-horses 30.

It may be asked, if I am going to send for a
vet on all doubtful occasions, why study amateur
vetting at all ? The answer is as clear as the
question. If you take an interest in healthy
horses, you are bound to wish them kept in good
health, and therefore everything which helps to
make your stud fit will prove interesting to you.

GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY 193

If your horses get ill, you naturally wish to know
the cause, and why they should be treated in
such a manner from a logical point of view.
This, then, is what amateur veterinary amounts
to, and it is inseparably bound up with profes-
sional veterinary, because the amateur is depen-
dent on the profession when in difficulties, and
the profession are dependent on the amateurs
for payment of services rendered, often under
exasperatingly difficult circumstances — a queru-
lous owner with a little smattering, a groom who
is doggedly discourteous if not flattered or tipped,
and a patient who is often badly nursed and
who is not treated at the most opportune
moment — for vets are often consulted when the
patient is at least half-dying, and when the
previous treatment, or ill-treatment, of the animal
has been suppressed.

More — ah, far more — than 30 per cent, of
equine diseases are due to crass stupidity,
verging on unwarrantable cruelty — over-strain-
ing, thereby causing the heart to be strained,
likewise the wind, spavins, and splints. Over-
heated stables are likewise a ready source of
disease. Ill-kept stables, bad grooming, bad
feeding ; in fact, bad anything, such as bad
management causing colds, all help to make
patients for the amateur vet to diagnose the
symptoms as best he can. And for the profes-
sional vet to cure when the bad amateur has
made a mull of things — to use a school-boy's
phrase.

Hereditary diseases are very common, more

N

194 GIVING BALLS, DEBILITY

especially the tendency of the offspring of
broken-winded sires or dams to go wrong also.
In fact, as much attention ought to be paid —
though, as a rule, it is not — to sound mares as
to sound sire horses at the stud.

;; C

PART VI

CHAPTER XX

BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT

A WELL-KNOWN judgc of high-class hunters, who
was judging at a big show in the North, made
the remark that "It seems incredible that farmers
should expect to breed first-rate hunters out of
those sort of mares." He pointed contemptuously
to an indifferently bred stableful of mares who
had been exhibited as huntress dams, with foals
who were bred anyhow, owing to their mother's
absence of the best points in breeding for activity,
combined with grace and strength.

We now come to the natural sequence, " Does
it pay to breed?" In horse-breeding this is
largely dependent on how you set about it. But,
generally speaking, there is more to be got out
of breeding high-class flat racehorses, under
good management, than anything else. The
figures are certainly high for the original outlay
of high-class mares and a first-rate stallion or
two, but, if lucky, the sale prices are proportion-
ately big also. Oddly enough, the other extreme
is paying also, namely, heavy draught-horses
well-mated, powerful, high, and sound generally
make large prices in proportion to the cost of

196 BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT

breeding. But hunters and polo-ponies, though
most interesting animals to breed and school
when young, and still pleasanter with good
manners a few years later, are very ticklish
financially, and many a clever horseman and
good judge has ended his days in poverty on
account of his passion for breeding or trying to
make good hunters pay, when the sale prices
were dead against him, and a little ill-luck
thrown in, made him a poor man instead of
being fairly comfortably off — if only he had not
bred horses as a business when he ouofht to
have taken it up as a hobby in quite a small way.

But there are dealers who have and do make it
pay, but they are exceptions — good business men,
who probably in any other calling would have
made a great deal more money than ever they
did out of hunters, hacks, and harness-horses.

Let this caution not damage the ardour of the
man who is determined to breed hunters at all
hazards ; let it make him extra careful with his
economy, and make him avoid having any bad
debts through selling horses to gentlemen in a
good social position who do not pay him at the
time when the horse changes stables — and very
often never pay at all — waiting perhaps for the
death of a wealthy relative who still continues
to live, or else expecting to marry an heiress
who will defray the luxuries of hunters bought
from dealers who get abused if they do not sell
horses sound in limb, wind, and eyesight, and
first-rate performers over a big county — on
very doubtful security.

BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT 197

In fact, horse-dealing cuts both ways ; the
purchasers often expect to buy too cheaply,
and the seller is disappointed if he turns out a
good, sound horse at a price too low to reap
any benefit out of the risk of buying, or breed-
ing, and the chances of disease or accident whilst
in his possession.

As a rule probably harness-horses — especially
well-matched pairs — pay better than hunters.
But the motor-car industry has somewhat hurt
the sale of carriage horses, but has not affected
the price of really good hunters well known with
first-rate packs. Rich men will continue to keep
motors and hunters, and the reason for this state-
ment is verified by the big prices which hunters
make at Warner, Shepherd, & Wade's Horse
Repository, Leicester, and also at Tattersall's.

With horses, use this golden rule, and know
yourself what you want to do. Is it a racer?
Then your object presumably is to win races.
Is it a steeplechaser.-* Then your object is to
win steeplechases. And in both cases see that
it is well trained, ridden, and entered in such
events that it will perform as you desire, and
win — for we are only discussing straight people.
Is your horse a mere commercial speculation?
If so, treat it as such, and reckon every penny
you spend on this business enterprise ; for horse-
dealing requires that no money should be fooled
away before you have found a customer who
will write a big cheque that will be honoured,
x^bove all, know what object you have in view
with a horse. If you fancy you have an equine

198 BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT

treasure you are keeping for your own comfort,
treat him as such ; and never take a few pounds
profit for an animal that suits you, if you can
afford to keep it. It will never pay you ; as if
suited, you cannot replace the horse you have
just sold so easily as you imagine.

With horses have a fixed object in view, and
strive to attain it, and recollect that most horses
can be greatly improved if properly cared for
and ridden or driven well. Most half-bred
horses are bred on careless lines, and therefore
turn out in an unsatisfactory manner — breeders
paying a good deal of attention about the sire
and too little over the dam. You must breed
from sound dams and sound sires if you wish
to breed sound stock. And you must break a
hunter in the manner in which a hunter should
be broken if you wish to make a decent price.
Yet these obvious truisms are rarely observed.
Are they ? Ask anybody who has made a life
study of equine matters, and the answer will be,
" Very rarely."

Mating Thoroughbreds

It is impossible to be sure of obtaining a good
result from mating a valuable sire horse with a
first-rate mare. As an instance of this, the case
of Simon Magus is worth quoting — a horse bred
at Welbeck by the present Duke of Portland.
The sire of Simon Magus was the renowned St.
Simon ; the dam was Wheel of Fortune, a mare
which, during her racing career, the late Fred
Archer declared to be the best he ever rode.

BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT 199

Yet, though so advantageously bred from a
racing point of view, Simon Magus proved a
failure on the Turf, and never repaid his cost
of breeding. The same owner — the Duke of
Portland — also could number amongst his numer-
ous triumphs the best heavy-weight horse in the
world. It is true that he did not breed this
prodigy of the hunting-field — an enormous horse,
almost ideally shaped, with perfect manners, an
enormous weight character, good tempered, and
as agile as a polo-pony. Yet how was it bred ?
The answer shows the lottery of breeding. Its
sire was a good horse, its dam a useful mare ;
and though they produced several others —
besides the valuable hunter just described — none
of them proved to be much above mediocrity.

There is no doubt whatsoever that jumping
runs in certain families, of which Ascetic, the sire
of many steeple-chase winners, is an excellent
example. Yet Ascetic was not a flyer on the
flat.

The truth of the matter about breeding horses
seems to lie halfway between certain laws which
have been laid down in books, and also between
judges of soundness and suitability in mating.
To prove this theory we may take breeders who,
having a natural eye for a " blood 'un," start a
stud on cheap lines, and purchase a mare who is
well shaped, or has a first-rate pedigree, or maybe
both, and, by judiciously mating her to a horse
which rectifies her faults, produces a yearling
which makes money, and another which makes
still more, until at length that breeder has gained

200 BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT

a name by a combination of good luck, good
management, and a quick eye to observe the
best points of a cheap brood mare.

He needs a lot of grit who contemplates breed-
ing horses, for it is quite a mistake to imagine
that it is impossible to breed a first-rate horse for
comparatively little money. The point is, can
you reasonably expect to purchase a mare for
very little money which, on being put to a good
horse, will throw winners of classical races } The
betting is a thousand to one against it. Yet I
have known several instances of men who have
accomplished a great deal in the direction of
breeding good horses at small cost. They have
made handsome profits on their original capital,
even though they have not won a Derby or
Leger.

A brilliant exception to prove the rule is one
cheaply bought Derby winner. Under what
circumstances can a breeder of racehorses on
the cheap expect to make a handsome profit?
Surely if a mare who will throw a winner of a
thousand pounds race be sold for twenty or thirty
pounds, there must be a great number of bidders
after her. Of course there would be, provided
they felt sure that she could breed " good 'uns."
What actually happens when a good mare is sold
for next to nothing is very palpable. She is a
little soft perhaps, and, in other words, a cur ; or
she is not sound, and, therefore, it would not be
worth a rich man's while to keep her for stud
purposes ; or she may be undersized — or, in
plain language, a well-bred weed. And these

•^

-a - '

^%

" ^ i

»=5 v-^

5i^

BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT 201

drawbacks the buyer of cheap brood mares must
put up with, and, if possible, rectify by mating her
with a horse that will atone for those qualities she
is deficient in. If the mare is light, or weedy, the
horse should be powerful. If the mare is un-
sound, be sure and select a very sound horse.
If the mare be good-looking but soft, or a cur
who won't try, then, by all means, send her to a
horse that showed plenty of courage during his
Turf career. And if a mare be bred on unfashion-
able lines, and has no recommendation that you
can perceive except that she is going for a mere
song, do not attempt to warble that song, and find
that the auctioneer has "knocked her down" to
you. Let somebody else have her, for good-
ness' sake ; and if she breeds winners ultimately,
ascribe that fact to the good qualities of the horse
she was served by, unless you believe that you
were wrong in your opinion, and that the mare
had qualities which you were not keen-witted
enough to recognise when you had a chance of
buying her.

Suppose that we buy a good-looking mare that
has not been fast enouorh to win a sellinof race of
103 sovereigns. What are we going to do with
her, granted she is a two-year-old ? Shall we
ride her, and break her in ourselves. All right.
That implies we have stable accommodation and
a groom, or a friend has, unless we are going to
start horse-keeping on this mare, just bought
out of a selling race. At this point, whatever
happens, we should not deceive ourselves, but
put every penny down that we spend on her, and

202 BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT

also write down her future winnings — if any —
and the price she ultimately makes, also what her
stock makes — or, in plain language, all the money
she earns during the time we possess her.

Let us take a hundred mares sold at an average
of five-and-twenty pounds, and work out roughly
their financial future. Out of that hundred, cer-
tainly not ninety will repay for keeping ; about
five per cent, will show a small return, and there
may be a winner of a selling race or two in the
remaining five. Most likely a good brood mare
may be amongst the number, and make but a
small figure, but the good studs are composed
of fashionably bred mares, who have the best
horses known to the racing world ; therefore their
stock make big figures, and the unfashionably
bred yearlings are sent into the sale-ring at a
pecuniary disadvantage, despite the fact that the
unfashionably bred are sometimes as good look-
ing as the fashionably bred " blood 'uns."

One point should be emphasised on this sub-
ject. If you have a brood mare earning you
money, do not go on mating her with unfashion-
able sires, but utilise the money you get for her
yearlings in a plucky manner, and spend it on
fashionable sires. They cost big serving fees,
but the money will be well expended if the mare
is reasonably lucky.

Brood Mares

Blood-stock should be bred on limestone soil,
in order to make bone, as the familiar phrase
goes. Another valuable point in successfully

BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT 203

managing a stud is not to allow it to become
sick, like an over-stocked fowl-run too frequently
does.

There is no reason whatsoever why farmers
should not devote more attention than they
usually do to breeding a few well-bred horses,
or even thoroughbreds. A good type of success-
ful gentleman farmer is Mr. Russell Swan wick,
who is tenant of the Royal Agricultural College
Farm at Cirencester, and who permits the students
to walk over his land and go into the accounts for
a consideration of a small premium per head.
Other instances may be mentioned, such as Mr.
Sapwell and Mr. Ernest Higginson, both resid-
ing near Reepham, in Norfolk, who have made
blood-stock profitable, by dint of careful super-
vision, on ordinary farms, which they have gradu-
ally improved according as the demand for
paddock and stable accommodation became neces-
sary as extra brood mares were bought or bred
by them.

In the case of cart mares, by all means work
them up to within a few days of foaling ; of course
be reasonable, and therefore humane, as the births
of the foals draw very near.

Mares that have been ofiven about as much
corn as they will eat — such as racehorses — re-
quire extra feeding when they are sent to the
stud. Two feeds of corn a day after they have
been six months gone.

According to the soundest authorities, every
precaution should be taken against excitement,
as they are apt to slip their foals towards the end

204 BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT

of pregnancy. Even when a few months gone,
the shocks they receive will be bad for the foal.
Therefore fence your brood mares in so that they
are as free from harm as is reasonable.

Never try to foal your own mares if you have
a practical and steady veterinary surgeon within
easy distance. But a mare more often than not
does not require professional help, which it is
merely being on the safe side to send for if the
case seems difficult. I allude to the presentation
being at all complicated, i.e. one of the foal's legs
being twisted in an unusual position, and so pre-
venting the mother from bringing it into the
world after a series of labour-pains, which are too
often most painful to witness.

In Stoneheno-e's "The Horse in the Stable
and the Field," published by Routledge & Sons,
there is a carefully written article on the treat-
ment after foaling which it would be difficult to
improve on. " In a healthy state the mare very
soon recovers the efforts which she has made in
bringing forth the foal, and in fine weather she
may be allowed to enter the paddock on the
second day afterwards, which is generally soon
enough to suit the strength of the foal, though
occasionally the young animal is very active
within six hours after it comes into the world.
For a couple of months, or perhaps less in some
cases, the mare and foal are better kept in a
paddock by themselves ; but in a large stud this
is difficult, where the foals come very quickly,
and then several mares of quiet temperament are
put together, still keeping separate those which

BREEDING HORSES FOR PROFIT 205

are shy or vicious." The above is very concise,
and not a word could be omitted.

In many studs the habit of handling youngsters
with firmness, by picking up their feet and pulling
them gently backwards or forwards by their
leather head-collars, all helps to make them par-
tially broken before they ever go up as two-year
olds to their trainer.

But do not make foals or young horses soft by
over-petting them. Their object is to win races
eventually, and for that they must be alert, yet
obedient.

Many owners who are not afraid of valuable
youngsters getting fairly rough weather — such
as sharp showers of rain, &c. — often derive the
benefit of better constitutions than they would do
if they over-coddled their high-priced charges and
allowed them to be in their loose-boxes instead of
defying the elements in a healthy, airy paddock.

CHAPTER XXI

BREAKING AND RIDING

More works have been published on breaking
than the average reader would believe, and
Xenophon's, though written so long ago, is about
the best. But times have changed since he
wrote. Stirrups have been invented, and the
ephippiwn discarded for the up-to-date saddle.
Therefore Xenophon's treatise on " The Art of
Horsemanship " is chiefly useful to us, as show-
ing that the ancients knew how to ride, and could
also write about horses and give valuable hints
on stable-management which are of great practical
value to us to-day.

You cannot learn to ride from a book. To
attempt to would be waste of time. Nor can
you become a good horseman or horsewoman
even by practice, unless you have been well
taught ; and you must begin young in order to
excel, unless you are a phenomenon in equine
matters, for it is useless to lay down any laws
to keep genius within bounds.

People generally ride in harmony with the
manner in which they are built. If lithe and
elegant, with plenty of practice and good tuition,
their litheness and elegance will be noticeable in
their horsemanship. Ungraceful people cannot

BREAKING AND RIDING

207

be expected to be graceful on a horse, though
they may ride well in other respects, just as men
and ladies are often first-rate dancers in spite of
having bad figures.

Natural agility and aptitude for picking up
anything quickly ought to make clever and
strong-nerved people ride
far above the average,
and perhaps be first-rate.
But practice and good
tuition are absolutely
necessary and a change
of mounts. Moreover, we
must never forg^et that
in riding there are innu-
merable styles, viz.: i.
A finished horseman or
2. A roup^h-

woman.

CAVASSON FOR BREAKING

rider. 3. Those having
strong seats and inferior
"hands." 4. Those with weak seats, but
superior " hands." 5. Riders who know about
horses theoretically, but have a superficial know-
ledge about the practical side. 6. Those who
have a practical knowledge as regards riding,
but who are lamentably deficient in veterinary
information and who cannot recognise when a
horse is ill, and believe him to be lazy or a cur
when he is really unwell. 7. Those who can
ride an underfed horse, but who would be un-
comfortable on a corned-up mount. 8. Those
who can sit composedly and be mere passengers,
and who leave everything to their mount ; riding

208

BREAKING AND RIDING

with a loose rein and as loose a seat, and never
attempting to pull their horse together. 9. The
flat-race seat, ever on the alert to start quickly
and finish with a rush. 10. The steeplechase
seat, which has longer stirrups, and is something
between a flat-race rider's and a buoyant hurdle-

BREAKING ROLLER

racing seat. 11. A hunting-seat, with longer
stirrups and a tendency to sit down in the
saddle. 12. Those which indicate that a rider
has schooled a young horse, which he still can-
not completely trust. 13. A confidential seat,
showing that the rider is ready for all kinds of
riding — the military, erect, full of martial fire,
with such long stirrups that there is no rising
when trotting.

BREAKING AND RIDING 209

All these are merely hastily jotted down
divisions into which riding may be divided, and
there are other divisions and still more sub-
divisions. Yet a crood breaker oug^ht to know
a considerable amount about them all, besides
possessing good-tempered patience and plenty
of pluck. The rest of the breaking will be done
through will-power, amounting to animal mag-
netism.

When being broken a young horse requires
firmness, patience, and time. He must not be
made nervous, nor be made sore by the saddle
or collar. He must be taught to stand quietly
whilst he is being saddled or harnessed, and this
makes a difference in the subsequent value.

It is impossible, as I stated before, to learn to
ride from a book, yet a few hints are advisable,
because nine people out of ten ride abominably
when compared to a natural horseman, who
notices defects : though politeness prevents him
from ruthlessly criticising.

Let us begin with common faults. The
average person whom you meet jogging along
the road has not an air of security. Too fre-
quently he carries his hands too high — yes, much
too high. Now a good horseman rides with his
hands close to his horse's withers, and, when
using both his hands, carries them even lower
than the withers.

Another common fault is putting too much
pressure on the near rein, thereby giving your
mount an uneven mouth. This is a particularly
bad fault, and one which a horseman could not

o

2IO BREAKING AND RIDING

be guilty of, or he would not be justly termed a
horseman.

It is very unsightly to have the curb-rein
rather loose and to ride the horse entirely on
the snaffle. This can be avoided by riding an
ordinary horse in a bit, such as is commonly
used by polo-players.

Another flaw is riding with very short reins.
I do not wish to convey the idea that the reins
themselves are unusually short, but the horse is
not given sufficient head by the rider. When he
comes up to a jump the poor horse cannot clear
enough ground, and is half-strained by being ill-
treated in this manner through a nervous rider's
cowardice. Now the worst that is likely to
happen when a horse jumps "big" is to shoot
his rider over his head, and possibly give him
a kick when galloping on. This fear of being
jumped off, through your mount covering more
ground than you desire, must be got rid of. It
is impossible to ride well if you are afraid to
give your horse sufficient rein to clear the
obstacle you put him at. It is also encouraging
to would-be sportsmen, who are nervous on this
point, to remember that, when a horse covers a
lot of ground when jumping a fence at a good
pace, it is pretty easy to sit him. And to prove
this, take the case of a hurdle race. The horses
go at their jumps at such a hot pace, that the
motion to their riders is skimming over them,
not unlike the sensation of a good swimmer
being carried over waves.

There is a certain amount of excuse to be

BREAKING AND RIDING 211

made for men who have ridden a good many
bucking horses if they ride with unbecomingly
short reins. The fact of the matter is, that it
unnerves lots of riders if they feel any moment
their horse may buck them off. This applies
more to riders of young horses whose tails are
not straight out, or when they are tucked tightly
into their haunches. When riding three-year-
olds it is a natural impulse to hold reins rather
short, as the more liberty your mount has, the
easier is it for him to kick you off This habit
is to be avoided. Not only is it bad horseman-
ship, but it looks ungainly, and gives the rider
a different kind of seat. He looks rather anxious
with both arms stretched out — very different to
a finished horseman riding with fairly long reins
on a made horse.

Another point worth noting is the lack of
character which is too often shown in a man's
hands when he is on a horse. To call him a
rider would be hardly accurate, for he jogs along
and twists his horse about so awkwardly, that
very little sympathy between rider and horse can
be detected.

Some people ride fairly well with the left hand
and not well with the right. Others hold their
reins well in the right hand and badly in the
left. It is a point immediately noticed by all
who are thoroughly accustomed to horses.

If the hands of a rider are good, it by no
means follows that his seat gives the impression of
strength. Very often a man who is able to twist
a well-schooled horse wherever he wishes, appears

212 BREAKING AND RIDING

to have quite a loose seat, and others having
irreproachable seats have rather ugly hands than
otherwise. Of course we see both good hands
and good seats — which means brains allied with
practice — and, alas, bad ones also, which means
that practice is needed.

Good riders have brains on a horse at all
events, and often off them too. For men who
can take care of themselves over horses are
pretty quick in other matters as a rule.

Let us point out the defects in different kinds
of seats: i. Loose seat, with stirrups which
are too long. 2. The reverse. 3. A rider who
does not use his calves to grip with, as he
ought to do.

In fact, a good horseman has a species of an
all-round seat. He grips with his calves, not
his thighs, and also saves himself the exhaus-
tion of gripping all the time, by riding partly
through good balance and also through know-
ledge gained from the horse's mouth, and from
the way in which his horse moves. Thus, he
anticipates kicking, shying, refusing, a stumble,
rearing, bolting, and other equine peculiarities
which he is familiar with, because he has ridden
all sorts of mounts in his time ; and so is able to
quickly make up his mind whether the one he is
riding is going to be troublesome or not. A good
horseman, therefore, has the great advantage of
being able to get on confidential terms with his
mount in a very short space of time. He can tell
in the twinkling of an eye if he is likely to have a
fight for the mastery, and knows that when the

BREAKING AND RIDING 213

battle is fought out decisively, and he has won,
it will save him similar trouble in future — for a
horse once thoroughly beaten by a resolute horse-
man rarely plays up again — though, of course,
examples could be quoted to the contrary. But
this only applies to a really ill-tempered horse,
who refuses to be cajoled and needs a hiding.

It has often struck me that men who are
thoroughly accustomed to riding possess a "seat"
which is in harmony with their character. A
very pliable man has a pliable seat, a nervous,
high-strung person has a nervous, high-strung
seat, and so forth. All this appears likely, if
you admit that character is discernible in writing
as many people maintain.

Riding Horses up to Weight

A very popular saying is that a horse " having
a lot of blood can carry far more weight." This
is true in a sense. It would be, perhaps, a good
deal more accurate to state that his pluck permits
him to stagger under an unfair weight, and though
at the time he may not, under excitement, appear
to feel it, he ultimately will.

If a horse is only capable of carrying eleven
stone, it is absurd to imagine that you can con-
tinue to handicap him with a couple of extra
stone, without nature disapproving of this burden
by making him stand over on his forelegs and
straining him equally behind. It must be so.

In jump-racing the very headlong pace makes
them carry the big impost — such as twelve stone

214 BREAKING AND RIDING

very often — with marvellous agility. They get
over the big fences with a skimming break-neck
dash, and the distance is rarely more than three
miles. But out hunting, matters are quite dif-
ferent. The going is often much heavier, the
time is extremely long — hours instead of minutes.

This, however, is a subject on which men who
are fond of riding " blood 'uns," incapable of
carrying them, are very touchy on. Being un-
willing to believe that they are actually straining
a game "blood 'un," they continue to believe that
pluck is asked to set natural laws at defiance.
Look at the heaviest impost ever allotted to a
Grand National horse. You must admit it is too
much to give even the best and gamest jumper
that was ever foaled.

Polo -ponies, like steeplechasers, are usually
expected to carry more weight than a common-
sense sportsman ought to wish them to. There
are thoroughbreds who carry thirteen stone with-
out seeming to feel it, but they are quite the
exception to prove the rule.

A great deal depends on how carefully a horse
is nursed when doing a big run, or any other
performance liable to cause a strain of the back
tendons. Yet another point worth considering
is the make and shape of your mount. Weak
pasterns, generally very long and sloping, denote
weakness. A narrow chest and tucked-up flanks,
a poor measurement round the girth, all point to
a speedy breakdown of a blood-weed if forced to
carry weight beyond eleven stone at the outside,
even when fit.

BREAKING AND RIDING 215

How many Grand Nationals had been ridden
before the great Cloister beat the record, which
had previously outweighted twelve stone chasers
from winning the best known cross-country prize?
Does not this appear first-rate evidence to prove
that thoroughbreds are not adapted to gallop at
topmost speed at such a cruelly heavy weight ?

Those who are determined not to be con-
vinced only listen to arguments which deal with
exceptional horses under exceptional conditions.
They may be likened to people referred to in
that popular saying, "None are so deaf as those
who won't hear ! " Probably because they do not
wish to.

Bearing-reins are evils; unjustified even when
the cruel plea of senseless fashion is urged.

A horse that will only hold his head up when
driven in a bearing-rein is a slug, or at all events
a fraud in harness. The very fact of wearing a
bearing-rein is sufficient to prove that he will
not hold up his head sufficiently high without it.

Perhaps he is a bad kicker, and his driver
does not want him to get his head down and cave
in the splash-board.

This fretting custom ought to be abolished by
law, aided by the Royal Society for the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Animals.

Lunging or Ringing

In many dictionaries this word is not given.
This is what a horseman implies when he lunges
a horse. He fastens a rope or rein to a break-

2i6 BREAKING AND RIDING

ing-bit and makes the horse circle round him,
Hke a circus-horse. This teaches a youngster
obedience, and, if cleverly and resolutely done,
tires out a high-couraged horse. Unhappily,
lunging is frequently abused. When well done
it helps to make a horse, but when badly done
mars the temper at the beginning of schooling.
All these points ought to be remembered by the
would-be-breaker, unless he is indifferent to a
raw and callous mouth, which has been made
hopelessly bad from being jagged.

If the nose-band is adjusted too high, it has
little power, and if too low it is apt to cause
needless pain. The eyes of colts have often
been seriously injured by the lunging-rein of
an ignorant "breaker."

At first a colt must get used to being held
by the head, which induces many sensible
owners to provide head-collars even for their
foals. When the colt is used to being handled
all over, he is led about and afterwards driven
in long reins, with no conveyance attached to
the traces, which are tied so as not to flap
against his sides.

Bad lunging is apt to produce spavins and
curbs, as the colt's head and shoulders are
forcibly hauled into the circle which the horse
goes round in, and his quarters are driven out
by the whip.

A horse, therefore, should only be lunged at
a walk, until he learns to easily circle round his
breaker on his own account in a comfortable
canter. A skilled person will, single-handed,

BREAKING AND RIDING 217

lunge a horse in many different ways, and, by
heading him with the whip, change him without
stopping. When the horse goes easily, without
persuasion from his schooler, let him be lunged
on the snaffle instead of on the cavassan. He
should grow accustomed to feel the stirrups
against his sides and to carry a dumb-jockey
cross. The rein buckled to the cross should
be long at first, and shortened afterwards by
degrees.

It is better to fasten the strap from the cross
to the cavassan or head-collar — whichever is

PILLAR REIN

used — than to the bit. When a horse is left
some time with the strap buckled to the bit, he
is apt to lean on the bit and go to sleep — the
lips then become raw and afterwards callous.

It is a good way to groom a horse by fastening
him . on the pillar-reins with a snaffle-breaking
bit, or a mild snaffle in his mouth.

Colts should be broken as much as possible
without putting them to any pain, and without
startling them unnecessarily with any strange
sights or sounds.

Certainly let youngsters get familiar with
common objects of alarm, such as motors,
traction-engines, trains, even hens popping out
of hedges unexpectedly.

21 8 BREAKING AND RIDING

It is easy enough to get a friend who possesses
a motor — granted you have not one of your own
— to go backwards and forwards in your stable-
yard ; at first slowly, then more quickly, until
your colt is quite accustomed to the noise and
sight of a car whizzing past him.

At first the youngster should be led up to the
automobile, afterwards led round, and allowed to
sniff even the car itself. Pat him on the neck and
make him understand that you are not frightened
with the car- yourself, and that there is no
occasion for him to be frightened either.

Walk him past it ; trot him past it ; and do
not start the car — at first — alarmingly close to
him. Start it some little way off, and let it
run slowly past him. Turn the car and meet
him quietly, by free wheeling.

In this first lesson in motors a decisive victory
will be gained by the breaker if he succeeds in
introducing the colt to a car without unduly
frightening him.

Do not take the colt on to main roads until he
has ceased to feel alarmed by a car and its driver
in the stable-yard and the private drive he knows;
and therefore feels at home in.

Horses are, as a rule, naturally docile if firmly
treated by those who understand them, and their
nervousness is more often the result of being
driven and ridden by nervous people than is
generally imagined.

They very soon learn to lead and to know that
when the near rein is pulled they are to go to the
left, and when the off rein is tightened they must

BREAKING AND RIDING 219

go to the right. After a touch with the whip
and both reins held evenly they soon grow
to understand means that they are to move
forward.

In a few days, with firm handling, the colt can
be girthed with a surcingle or pad. A horse-
cloth he soon grows accustomed to, also stirrups.
Nor does he mind his legs handled and feet
taken up — being affectionate, he finally becomes
attached to his breaker.

The lunging lesson has taught him a con-
siderable amount of obedience. But a horse
should be accustomed to a breaking-bit before
he is taken out of a stable, with a dumb-jockey
on his back.

When you first put on a breaking-bit, only rein
his head to that point he naturally carries it —
let it be hio^h or low. He will find that he
cannot lower his head, and that raising it will
loosen the bit. By degrees tighten the rein
until you get his head and neck as near the
position as the conformation of his neck and
shoulder will allow, without irritating his temper.

If you rein him too tightly during the first
lesson, he will paw, sweat, and perhaps rear.

Horses should never be on a tightly buckled
rein for more than half-an-hour, as a longer time
destroys all good effects.

A young horse's mouth should be wetted before
he is bitted, and he should have a drink of water
when the bit is taken off, and his neck gently
patted.

Before a colt is mounted he can be taught a

2 20 BREAKING AND RIDING

great deal by the breaker on foot, with a plain
snaffle or a double bridle.

Turn him either side, and make him collect
himself. Change the lunging-rein and put it
on the opposite side, in order not to give him
a one-sided mouth. Teach him to back from a
slight pressure on the rein. In fact teach him
to be handy.

Lunge horses over low but solid objects, such
as a very low rail, which will not give. Do not
dishearten a colt by schooling him too often over
the same place during each lesson. Take him
not more than three times over, pat his neck
and then give him his food as a reward for good
conduct.

CHAPTER XXII

VICIOUS HORSES

Anybody who goes round a first-class trainer's
stud cannot help noticing the quietness of the
horses. Hardly any of them lash out or show
an inclination to bite an admiring visitor, for the
very simple reason that they are firmly handled,
never played with, or patted in a finniking way,
and made " soft."

What valuable hints an average owner can
glean from watching the manner in which the
best blood-stock is managed ! Surely if valuable
racehorses do not have their tempers unneces-
sarily upset, ordinary hacks, chargers, and hunters
should be looked after on similar lines? In fact
the average horse can be made gentle or vicious,
according to how he is handled, ridden, and
driven, for unconquerable hereditary ill-temper is
quite the exception.

Although instincts of vice are sometimes in-
grained in an animal's nature, the common
tricks, such as rearing, kicking, and jibbing are
usually acquired, and can therefore be traced to
bad riding or driving, or maybe a horse has been
stupidly harnessed, badly bitted, and has learnt
to resent being tortured unnecessarily.

In some cases vices cannot be eradicated, but

222 VICIOUS HORSES

occasionally animal magnetism, or something akin
to it, may convert an apparently worthless mount
into a useful one, though it may not fetch much
money when sold. After quoting a number of
instances showing the likes and dislikes of horses,
the logical deduction follows, that if the latter are
disregarded, trouble will ensue.

The hysterical horse is an equine fiend. A
bay charger was drafted out of a cavalry regi-
ment and became the property of an owner
who had a particular weakness for awkward
horses. And this one fully satisfied him, from
an eccentric point of view. She not only re-
sented being broken to harness, but squealed
with a piercing noise that could be heard half a
mile off, and kicked so incessantly that nobody
could go near her heels. Yet, when her harness
was taken off and a saddle put on, she became
perfectly quiet, and glanced round most amiably.
Her antipathy to pulling any sort of trap seemed
unaccountable, because she was apparently de-
signed by Providence for harness, having essen-
tially hackney shoulders. About the only person
who put this hysterical mare in the shafts half
drugged and wholly starved her. Of course as a
carriage-horse she was not worth the price of her
hide, but she was a cheap mount for an impe-
cunious elderly gentleman, whom she would have
carried to perfection, and gone as quietly as a
donkey on the sands, though in the stable she
rarely missed an opportunity of running at her
groom open-mouthed. The origin of this mare's
hysteria can probably be traced to being teased

VICIOUS HORSES 223

by troopers, who derived amusement from her
abnormal squeals, and mischievously wished to
cultivate them.

Unquestionably those who watched that mare
kick and heard her frenzied snorts will never
forget her dislike to breeching, blinkers, traces,
lunging-rein, and carriage whip.

Whenever a horse nervously sidles into, or out
of, his stable, it is rather an ominous sign. The
betting in such cases is about even money that
the animal has previously met with a mishap that
will make him troublesome for life. It may
be that he is prejudiced against gates, having
formerly been trapped. Possibly years before
we saw him, a stable-door may have blown to
just as he was being led out. Anyway, it is
advisable to watch an animal of this sort very
carefully, and, if possible, find out its pet iniquity
early rather than late. However, to show that
every buyer should not invariably be unnecessarily
suspicious is proved by the following anecdote : —

Some years ago one of the smartest cobs — he
was christened Nobby — had a run of bad luck as
a five-year-old. He lost his character through a
drunken groom thrashing him with a whip, until
he, in self-defence, kicked the trap to pieces. A
day's hunting was a delight to him with a good
boy on his back ; no persuaders were necessary,
for directly the cob felt a sharp-pointed rowel he
resented the insult by parting company with his
rider.

Purely owing to Nobby's force of character,
he was doomed to be sold privately to the first

224 VICIOUS HORSES

person who, after being made acquainted with his
faults, should venture to give anything approach-
ing a fair figure for a first-rate miniature hunter
— when he did not buck — and a capital trapper —
when he did not perforate the splash-board.

For several months nobody was bold enough
to invest. The people in the neighbourhood re-
spected Nobby, but they did not wish to own
him. So, until a desirable customer arrived, the
cob was lent " meat for manners " to his owner's
nearest friend. No amount of work tired him,
and he ingenuously kicked whilst he gaily trotted
along, and periodically broke a shaft rearing, even
thouo^h his "corn was knocked off." A change
for the better came over the cob's fortunes one
day when a stranger took a fancy to him, but he
never had him "vetted," and gave a cheque for
the amount asked, without attempting to haggle.
And though warned that the temper of his pur-
chase was not angelic, he immediately harnessed
him to a brand new trap, and, to the surprise
of onlookers, drove Nobby off. Nor, though the
stranger was an inferior horseman, who allowed
the reins to fall quite loosely on the cob's back,
did anything startling happen. It disappointed
the eager spectators to watch such unusually docile
behaviour on the part of a generally acknowledged
vicious trapper. And when months afterwards
the last purchaser of Nobby declared that " he
and the cob suited one another exactly, and
nothing would induce him to sell him," the state-
ment was received with awe by those who were
considered good horsemen, and who had ridden

VICIOUS HORSES 225

and driven Nobby in his most troublesome
moments. Just as true ghost stories have an
explanation, so this anecdote may be at all events
partially cleared up. The high-couraged cob re-
sented being made to trot, walk, or canter as a
strong-willed horseman wished him to ; yet he
willingly trotted along with an entirely fresh
master, who never attempted to fret him, and
who was not afraid to trust him to work honestly.
There seems no other conclusion, and to prove
that this theory may be correct, I give the fol-
lowing tale, which was told to me in Australia.

At Tattersall's Auction Rooms, Townsville,
Northern Queensland, a stock-horse was sold to
one of the most timid riders in the Colony, who
put a saddle and bridle on his purchase and rode
out of the yard, fully believing that he had bought
an exceedingly quiet animal, because he had been
told by somebody in the repository that his new
mount would suit him exactly. The buyer there-
upon jumped on the stock-horse, and contentedly
rode off. But had he known that the brute in-
variably put good riders down, he would have
been so unnerved that he would have immedi-
ately dismounted. Happily in blissful ignorance
he proceeded on his way, and for months after-
wards never had his faith shaken ; but in a luck-
less moment up country he tumbled on to a pal,
who looked hard at his friend's horse, and then
exclaimed, " I reckon since we parted company
you've considerably improved in riding ! " The
nervous man asked for an explanation. " Why,
the bay you're on was the worst horse they ever

p

226 VICIOUS HORSES

bred on our run. Before you bought him not a
hand on the place could sit him." It was true !
A man who could lay no claim to being a horse-
man or a rough rider had induced a confirmed
bucker to complacently amble along a Bush road
with him. But to pretend that he had succeeded
where better men had failed would be a false
statement. For only so long as he believed that
he had bought an unusually quiet horse could he
ride the bay with comfort ; and on ascertaining
that what he had imagined was a new chum's
mount was a bucker in disguise, he promptly got
rid of it : considering that the risk of keeping a
horse with such a black past was too heavy for a
nervous man to incur.

Let us find another illustration in England.
When Sea-Song was running on the Turf, he
afforded another instance of a vicious horse
being magnanimous ; or, perhaps, he was forget-
ful. Just before he was saddled for a race at
Ascot, I saw a young lady look with wonder-
ment at his leather muzzle, and then, with the
confidence of ignorance, walk round to his hind-
quarters, and stand within easy kicking distance,
whilst she pointed at his heels with her parasol.
Every second I was in terror lest the queer-
tempered racer should injure her, for she waved
the parasol so close to him that, knowing his
character, I was surprised at his forbearance.

I implored Sea-Song's admirer to excuse me
for capturing her very artistic Sarah-gamp, and
for gently removing her out of reach of one of
the worst-tempered horses I had ever seen in

VICIOUS HORSES 227

training. However, my recompense was a dis-
dainful glance, and that young lady doubtless
left the Meeting in complete ignorance that,
when Sea-Song ran twenty minutes afterwards,
he might have pulled the race off had he been
less eager to savage the jockey, whose mount
won by a short head.

A few horses get a reputation for vice that
they do not deserve. For instance, just before
Flying Fox's Derby, if his temper was not upset,
the much-coveted event was a crift for him. As
a matter of fact, that Derby winner was certainly
not a troublesome horse, though he was high-
couraged, and, not improbably, might fight with
a jockey who tried to punish him at the post.
As a matter of fact, Mornington Cannon, during
a tedious delay, did venture to enliven him with
the whip once or twice before the flag fell at
Epsom.

Many a good horse has been spoilt through
getting too much corn, and not sufficient work,
during a long frost. In one case, a first-rate
natural hunter, after being ten days in the stable,
was taken out and kept waiting at a railway
crossing. An express train flashed by, the
engine-driver let off steam, and either frightened
the horse or else gave him a good excuse for
rearing. Ever afterwards, when a steam whistle
sounded close to him, the person who was on
or behind him had a lot of trouble ; in fact he
nearly reared back into the trap on sighting
an engine. Yet this performance was principally
due to vice, for directly his head was turned

228 VICIOUS HORSES

towards home his manners improved, and he
would face sights and Hsten to noises which he
pretended to dread when leaving the stable.
Under good management this horse might never
have become a confirmed rearer, though his sire
was distinctly sullen, it must be admitted. He
gained the mastery over nearly every one who
was not particularly strong in the saddle, and
was certain to "play up" when a stranger got
on his back, and, though a magnificent fencer
when hounds were running, he would repeatedly
refuse little jumps in cold blood if his temper
was roused.

It is well to remember that there are two
distinct kinds of rearing, and, though both are
exasperating, one is decidedly less dangerous
than the other, (a) Some horses will stand on
their hind legs fighting the air, out of sheer
temper, yet are much too fond of themselves to
come over backwards, (d) Hot-headed rearers
are more dangerous than collected ones, because
they are more inclined to lose their balance,
when inexperienced riders clutch the reins. But
clever horsemen rarely get hurt by this class,
because directly their mounts feel like perform-
ing, they shorten one of the reins, and give him
a reminder with a whip or stick down the withers.
If this form of correction is done in a resolute
manner, it is surprising how weary a rearer gets
of being punished without being able to continue
his pet trick, for horses cannot comfortably get
on their hind legs with their heads crooked.

It is only fair to give horses their due, and add

VICIOUS HORSES 229

that they would be almost free from this diaboli-
cal vice if riders had mild bits instead of sharp
ones, because Bush horses have a clear concep-
tion of bucking, but hardly ever rear extremely
badly ; simply on account of being ridden in
snaffles.

To attempt to decide what is the nastiest trick a
horse can have would be very indiscreet, as good
riders may consider that unexpected kicking is
more treacherous than anything else ; it certainly
is a horrid vice. A well-known man to hounds,
who is a member of a north country hunt, had,
and still may have, one of the best examples of
an incorrigible kicker. This equine phenomenon
considered it necessary to unseat his owner, who
was a crack horseman, at least once a day, out
hunting. If the animal could have talked, he
might have humanely asked, " When shall I
buck you off?" The owner was bound to get a
pearler, and usually the hunter doubled himself
up and sent his rider flying clean over his head
on the way to the meet. Naturally nobody was
over-anxious to ride this inveterate kicker, his
owner and groom excepted ; nevertheless he
had several good points, or, as may be easily
imagined, a bullet would have terminated his
career, whilst he was in the prime of life. He
was too good to shoot.

Not only could this horse gallop and stay, but
he was a wonderfully safe fencer, and was worth
300 guineas to a man who was prepared to sit
on a monomaniac kicker. For, mind you, he
only bucked once a day, but once was enough.

230 VICIOUS HORSES

Those who have watched the pair have felt puzzled
to know which was the better sportsman, horse
or rider.

Perhaps it is worth mentioning that this kicker
was perfectly quiet in harness, and an excellent
leader in a team. This fact leads one to sup-
pose that at one period in his life a rider got
on him, and applied a sharp pair of spurs, and
was immediately rebuked by being kicked off.
Certainly a great number of horses who kick
badly would be much quieter if hacked, hunted, or
raced without rowels being used. In nine cases
out of ten "persuaders" are more ornamental
than useful on a high-mettled hunter who iumps
"big."

Whoever has tried to stop a runaway has ex-
perienced a most disagreeable sensation, and the
following anecdote may show that sharp spurs
ought not to be worn on horses that pull like
blazes, and finally get out of hand. A success-
ful steeplechase trainer had an unusually fast
thoroughbred cob, who, with a feather-weight
on his back, was accustomed to lead second-
class 'chasers in their gallops. To describe his
disposition as being as hot as mustard would
be scarcely doing it justice. When galloping he
fretted because he could not cover the ground
more quickly ; he was troublesome to pull up,
and would prefer to break a blood-vessel rather
than be passed. It is superfluous to add that he
was not a novice's mount. Nevertheless, a con-
ceited young gentleman, with a loose seat and
indifferent hands, one morning induced the owner

VICIOUS HORSES 231

to allow him to ride this 14-2 cob instead of a
stable-boy. The result was disastrous.

The novice, arrayed in white breeches, elegant
butcher boots, and alarmingly long-necked spurs,
was cautioned against his mount, and, above all,
told to take his formidable spurs off, or the
trainer would not answer for the consequences.
The novice haughtily refused. " You're welcome
to ride him in spurs so far as I'm concerned," said
the trainer ; " but if anything happens please don't
blame me."

Directly they got off, the novice lost his head.
On this diminutive racehorse he made the running,
and, finding the pace too hot, he did his best to
pull up. He tugged at his reins, leant back in his
saddle, did everything he knew to prevent the
pace growing more and more like an express train
— to no purpose.

With bit tightly between his teeth, this minia-
ture "blood 'un" went quicker and quicker, for,
unknowingly to his rider, the sharp rowels went
deep in, drawing blood and sending the pace-
maker frenzied. The horses behind came along
too, making matters worse, causing the frenzied
leader to forget all else except a desire to increase
the pace. The winning-post was passed in the
best time he ever made, as going harder than
ever he whizzed by and made straight for home.

As they neared the stable, rider and ridden
were oblivious to all else. Neither were less
frightened than the other — at headlong pace,
when turning a sharp corner round the village
street, quite close to the training stable, the novice

2 32 VICIOUS HORSES

fell off and lay unconscious, until found half-dead
with fright and real injuries.

The feather-weight pace-maker's reputation
became worse than before. Needless to add,
the novice did not buy him ; he was virtually
useless for racing purposes, having got unnerved,
yet out hunting six months later a lady rode him
to hounds.

He was a grand fencer, and quick as a needle,
and at eight years of age he took harness without
a murmur, and became one of the best leaders of
a tandem in town. Needless to add he was not
designed by Providence to make a comfortable
wheeler ; in fact, he would have been almost
undrivable as such.

CHAPTER XXIII

SEATS AND HANDS OF ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN

A SCHOOL-GIRL Cannot be expected to pick up
much about hacking, let alone hunting, if she
trots after her riding-master only twice a week
during the term, and has a favourite "screw" at
home, whose worst vice is shying feebly in con-
sequence of defective eyesight.

It may be taken for granted that not one girl
in a hundred can look well nor feel thoroughly at
home on a horse, unless she has overcome the
fear of cutting a voluntary, and has also been
shown the faults and virtues of all styles of riding.

To begin with, there is the limp way of sitting
on a side-saddle, and feebly holding the reins
in a half-hearted manner. It is exceedingly
exasperating from an accomplished horsewoman's
point of view. Let us describe how a demure
young lady, with no resolution — say an amiable
person like Amelia in " Vanity Fair " — would hold
her reins. Also how she would sit, after even
capable instructors had endeavoured to teach
their pupil to cut a presentable figure in Rotten
Row, or along country lanes, or out hunting.
She would appear to ride faster than her horse,
and would bump bump in her saddle most un-
necessarily on the " hard, high road." Surely,

234 ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN

too, the chest of this colourless young lady would
sink into her back, which, in consequence, would
be unbecomingly rounded, whereas her face would
be downcast and droop like a withered fuchsia.
Added to these sad defects in the rider's per-
sonal appearance — easily remedied please to note
— her hands would nervously clutch the reins either
too tightly or too loosely. Her horse, therefore,
might fall when stumbling, or it might rear and
fall back upon her. We consider that this modern
Amelia would give her hunter a bad sore back,
because she would sway in her saddle. She
would obstinately refuse to correct her faults,
and would prefer to ride in an ungainly fashion.
Yes, the idiosyncrasies of horsewomen are fre-
quently observed, though perhaps not commented
upon, by observant passers-by. As we have seen,
demureness is noticeable in the hands and in the
seat ; moreover, the love of admiration comes out
too. Every day you may notice some fair eques-
trian, with chin haughtily posed in the air, yet
despite this seeming indifference to the sterner
sex, the lady uses her eyes in a fascinating
manner, and attracts attention by sitting on her
side-saddle in a provokingly jaunty attitude.
Alas, this exaggerated self-assurance turns, what
otherwise might have been good style, into
abominably bad form.

Had such giants of literature, as Shakespeare
or Lord Byron, been horsemen at heart, we
should have had the fact artistically recorded
that the individuality of riders may be sought
for in their "hands and seats." There is really

ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN 235

nothing odd about this. Cannot you tell viva-
cious or phlegmatic girls from the way they
dance ? The same idea may be applied to riding.
In addition to those ladies already mentioned,
there are go-betweens, who, on rare occasions,
can perform very creditably on any horse they
have grown accustomed to. It is somewhat diffi-
cult to class such people, if want of nerve alone
prevents them from distinguishing themselves on
strange mounts.

Quite a piteous sight to witness is when a
timid rider puts her horse at a fence, which
neither has the smallest intention of jumping.
The animal makes a rush at the obstacle, but,
instead of taking off, whisks round : the lady
having unconsciously pulled him round. Finally,
she hits the horse, and terms him obstinate or
stupid. Yet, had she been mounted on her
favourite hunter, this sort of thing might never
have taken place. She might even have got a
reputation for being a hard rider to hounds, and,
after a good run, might have been presented with
the brush, though she would not have earned it.
Evidently much depends upon whether a rider
with a medium nerve is mounted on a horse that
she knows. Other ladies worth drawing attention
to are those blessed with any quantity of pluck,
who "go like smoke," although the less said
about their hands and seats the better.

Without possessing something akin to animal
magnetism, it is impossible to excel in riding,
even granted a large stud of hunters is placed at
the equestrian's disposal. It is perfectly true

236 ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN

that all true lovers of animals take a pleasure in
studying the likes and dislikes of an organ-
grinder's monkey, a costermonger's donkey, or
a high-priced polo-pony — in fact, any creature
they happen to come across. It improves their
hands to lay up such a curious store of knowledge,
which will eventually come in handy. For not
only does every horse require to be ridden in a
slightly different way, but your mount's confidence
must be won ; further, it is plainly your duty to
know (not to guess) that the bit is suitable, the
shoes are comfortable, and that your girths are
neither too tight nor too loose. If you can squeeze
two fingers in between your girths, they are about
tight enough. When jumping, sit right back and
give the horse his head — very few ladies can help
a horse by pulling him together on landing ; inter-
ference in this way usually means that the rider
is clutching on by the reins.

Those who have lent good hunters to ladies
feel much concerned about their backs — for a
side-saddle is very apt to raise unsightly sores
which take time to heal, and cause what was a
previously sound-backed horse, to flinch with dis-
comfort.

In these cases prevention is better than cure*
Have a sheep-skin numnah ; apply soothing
lotion to the first sign of soreness, and let your
saddler do all which lies in his power to prevent
a bad "sit- fast."

Possibly the reader who is tired with the men-
tion of so many valuable books — they daze him,
and he does not know which to choose — wishes

ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN 237

to have one work named on which he could pin
his faith. It is a difficult task to state what is
the best book under such circumstances. But a
hitherto unmentioned work ought to meet his
case. It is entitled " Modern Practical Farriery.
A Complete System of the Veterinary Art as at
present Practised at the Royal Veterinary Col-
lege, London," by W. J. Miles, M.R.C.V.S.,L.,
including practical treatises on Cattle, their
Management in Dairy, Field, and Stall, by John
Walker ; Pasture Grasses and Forage Plants, by
Samuel P. Preston ; The Practice of Sheep Farm-
ing, by Charles Scott ; and the Diseases of Cattle,
Sheep, and Pigs, by T. J. Lupton, M.R.C.V.S.,L.
Published in London by William Mackenzie, 69
Ludgate Hill, E.G. This is all in one volume,
and illustrated ; but the illustrations are somewhat
old-fashioned and clumsy. The first picture is
The Roadster, which certainly does not convey
the impression of a modern hack, although in the
illustration the Roadster has a saddle on. Never-
theless " Modern Practical Farriery " is a valu-
able work, especially for those who are engaged
in agriculture. It is a very big work indeed.
Deserving every respect, it is possibly about the
very best to be recommended to the man who
wants only one book — and why should not a lady
study such a work also ? A good work, in nine
volumes, is "The Horse: Its Treatment in
Health and Disease," by Professor Y. W. Axe.
Price, 8s. net per volume. The Gresham Pub-
lishing Co.

In all works there is rather a sameness ; they

238 ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN

appear as if written on text-book lines, with but
scant originality, and they rarely convey the im-
pression sufficiently that it is impossible to learn
only out of books, however painstaking authors
may have been when compiling them. Nor are
they written enough with the view of guarding
against disease. It is true equine ailments, like
the poor, are with us always, but the average
keeper of a stud does not try- sufficiently hard to
prevent the thousands of evils which are bound
to attend neglect. In plain language, he does
not act sufficiently on his own sound common-
sense.

Glean knowledge from vets and practical
grooms and horsemen who rarely read books,
and have learnt nearly all they know from the
study of horses in actual life : apart from standard
words on equine literature.

The average lady rider is less versed in the
ins and outs of stable-management and veterinary
which so many of the stronger sex possess. As
a matter of fact, a lady who is fond of this subject
is invaluable to her husband. Take a celebrated
case — Mrs. Arthur Yates, wife, of the owner and
trainer of steeplechase horses. You may rest
assured that lady knows more about horses than
most men. Others of her sex, who are willing
to learn, could do the same. Change of mounts
alone will give that confidence which is essential.
You cannot fall into a natural seat without having
this advantage over the lady with a solitary horse,
or at most two or three.

Both styles should be mastered — the Rotten-

ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN 239

Row Society way of sitting on a strong well-bred
hack and the cross-country seat, which may be
seen in the first flight in Leicestershire. The
Duke of Beaufort's ; Vale of the White Horse,
make crack riders observed. But many a good
run in a little known country has surprised first-
rate judges used to fine performances in all places,
no matter whether hounds are after a fox or a hare,
or in a warm or a cold climate.

According to Miles, "The position of the stir-
rup has much to do with the seat of the female
equestrian. The stirrup must be correctly adapted
to the length of the lady's leg when seated in
a square and exact position in the saddle. The
modus operandi is as follows : Let the stirrup-
foot hang down freely from the hip-joint, the
knee slightly flexed, the toes raised and turned
towards the horse's side ; then, while the foot is
immovable in the stirrup, let the strap-holes be
taken up and permanently kept at the approved
length. The pressure of the foot in the stirrup
should come alone from the toes to the arch of
the foot, which will give the desired elasticity of
movement in the quicker paces of the horse.
Should the lady be impelled to the endeavour
to retain her foot in the stirrup, her weight must
preponderate on the left side. On the contrary,
if the stirrup be too short, it necessarily gives a
rolling motion to her body, destructive alike to
grace, elegance, and security of seat, and will pre-
vent her seating herself back sufficiently in her
saddle. Thus much of seat and stirrups. The
arms should be held freely and unconstrainedly,

240 ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN

but near the sides. The motion of the bridle-
hand must be Hke that of skilled pianoforte-
players, confined to the wrist."

From the above may be gathered the style of
the work referred to. It is, perhaps, rather heavy.
For instance, it might have been nearly as
explicit to have simply told the reader to pull
her stirrup-leather up to the length which suits
her best. Anyway, this ought to be done ; and
to do this with success, it would be wise to get
the advice of a good lady-rider, and even a man,
who understands this ticklish subject. Take the
joint advice of both as to whether you ride too
long or too short. If the man thinks one way
and the lady critic another, you better strike the
happy medium.

Too much stress cannot be laid on the advis-
ability of learning practical riding from men
and women who have never perhaps written a
line on the subject, but who know what they are
talking about, and can show your faults and try
hard to rectify them. Six months' riding, under
the tuition of an acknowledofed master or mistress
of this art, will teach you more, with plenty of
change in mounts, than you will ever glean with-
out practice, if you assimilate the best passages
in equine literature.

Before touching on other topics connected with
horses, such as their numerous ailments, I cannot
draw too much attention to the interesting
Badminton Library, which should rank as
standard works on those subjects they deal
with so minutely. Another kind of book still

ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN 241

up-to-date, though written many years since, is
" Riding Recollections," by the late Whyte-
Melville. He was a pretty and well-turned-out
sportsman, who wrote on the subject he loved,
lived and died at hunting. Nevertheless he was
not in the front rank of first-flighters. Nor is this
to be wondered at, because to ride with the first-
flighters in Leicestershire demands high-class
horses which Why te- Melville did not keep. In
addition to this drawback, he had to contend with
requests from the public and, possibly, publisher
to produce constant work to satisfy their craving
for his first-rate writings. And the literary gift
is very finely edged intellectually, and is bad for
riding. It makes men and women, too, have
breakdowns from the sedentary life and the worry
of following a precarious calling which teems with
petty annoyances. Perhaps, for this reason, few
literary men have performed over a country or
between the flags as well as many other horse-
men who have not penned their knowledge and
rushed into the arena of print. The Badminton
Library has the great advantage of being com-
piled by the best authorities on sport ; and
though the criticisms concerning Whyte-Mel-
ville not being a thrusting rider is not intended
to cast any reflection on him, he was not only
a good man to hounds only averagely mounted,
but the finest sporting novelist who ever wrote
grammatically and stirringly in the English
language. This is acknowledged by all lovers
of sport ; and those who seek to fill the gap
caused by his tragical death need not feel

Q

242 ENGLISH SPORTSWOMEN

aggrieved if their work fails to rank quite so
highly as the writings of the author of " Holmby
House," &c. &c.

Amongst influential authors of the present day
should be mentioned Sir Walter Gilbey, who has
written many interesting books on his favourite
subject — the horse. They are accurate and
practical.

CHAPTER XXIV

DRIVING

This subject is inexhaustible — one far too wide
to attempt to make more than a passing sketch
in such a work as this. Hundreds of first-rate
works have been written on it, all carefully
chronicled by Huth {vide Index).

Again it is necessary to draw attention to the
Badminton Library, re driving.

But the average reader, with only a small stud
and without having had the chance of being
coached by a first-rate whip, perhaps only wishes
to learn just a few hints, not gathered so much
from books which they have already perused,
but from practical experience.

It may safely be stated that for every man
who can drive well, you can find a score who
can ride well and who drive indifferently. They
are certainly not so good with the reins as they
are in the saddle.

The best advice it is possible to give the
would-be whip is to request him to serve an
apprenticeship under a stern but good coachman,
who can drive a team, catch his whip without
any difficulty, and who can superintend the har-
nessing of a young horse who is put in for the
first time.

244

DRIVING

When driving a single horse care should be
taken not to press unevenly on the reins, the
near one especially. Horses driven by good
whips have even mouths. Do not drive with
slack reins, as so many people do. Shorten your
reins from behind, whether you are going down
hill or on the level.

Find out the natural pace and action of your
horse, and rarely drive more than seven to, at
most, eight miles an hour, because first-rate whips

DOUBLE-STITCHED REIN

DOUBLE AMERICAN HAND PART OF DRIVING-REIN

scorn to drive like butchers' boys. Some horses
appear to be moving quicker than they actually
are. This is on account of their being well in
hand and yet doing their work — running up to
their bit, moving with their legs well under them,
and looking and behaving as if they were
thoroughly intelligent and alert.

In tandem-driving get a hot leader from
choice and a temperate horse in the wheel. Of
course a confirmed kicker in the leader is
hopeless, and, if possible, more dangerously
disastrous than a leader that jibs and a wheeler
who pulls.

Bars in tandem-driving are not so safe as long

DRIVING 245

traces without a bar, i.e. fastened to eyes in the
wheeler's traces.

Learn to drive to time. Unless you can get
into the habit of covering a certain number of
miles in a given time, going at one regular pace,
and not spurting in order to make up for lost
time, you cannot be considered an accomplished
whip.

When putting young horses into a cart, hold
the shafts well up so as not to frighten them.
Gradually lower the shafts and draw them
through the tugs.

It is evident that it requires at least two, and
it would be better to have three, good horsemen
to put a youngster in harness ; just the first drive
or two. One should hold his head, the other
two pull the trap up and gently and soothingly
harness him, not expecting the horse to stand
too patiently, and avoiding his starting off with
a frightened bound.

Never put a young horse in up a hill, but on
the level. Half the jibbers are caused through
the carelessness of stupid owners or their grooms
giving a horse sore shoulders by not gradually
hardening their horses underneath their collars.
Use a bass-collar if the shoulders are tender, or
inclined to become so. On returningf from the
first drive or two, take the horse out most firmly
and carefully, keeping the shafts well up and
pushing the trap back, then let him stand for
a minute or two — explaining thereby that there is
nothing to be nervous about.

A horse that has grown frightened on account

246

DRIVING

of being startled or hurt through being carelessly-
taken out — the shafts have bruised him or the
breeching or kicking-strap not unloosed — becomes
troublesome afterwards.

Horses have long memories and do not forget
anything which frightens them, especially during
their first lessons at the most impressionable
periods of their lives. This is especially the case
with motors or threshing-machines, and nowadays
it is impossible to avoid meeting motors ; there-

HAND PART OF DKIVING-REIN

ORDINARY DRIVING-REIN

(Plain riding-reins have of course no buckles, and therefore cannot catch
in the martingale)

fore a young horse must be thoroughly broken to
them, and cannot be termed quiet to ride and
drive if he dislikes them. A good plan is to turn
youngsters out in a field where such objects of
their terror pass and repass.

Patching-Up Screws

The word screw is far too familiar to need any
explanation in this book or in any other. Need-
less to say, it means that such horses are invari-
ably unsound, but by no means incapable of
working in the majority of instances.

DRIVING 247

Knocked up through too much work is the
commonest type of screw. Now what we are con-
cerned with is how to cure this. What should we
advise ? The time-honoured remedy — hallowed
by shrewd common sense— is to fire the game-legs
if spavins, splints, side-bones, ring-bones, or curbs,
and, after severe blistering, turn out for at least a
six weeks' rest.

The above is sound advice, with no differers ;
in fact, carried unanimously by all who believe
that red-hot irons, which sear deeply lined flesh
wounds, cause inflammation to set in, which acts
as a permanent bandage. There is no question
that cures this way are effected ; but why not try
a running stream ? A horse stood for an hour or
so with a brook gurgling by is wonderfully re-
freshed, and, in some instances, tottery old screws
have been sufficiently patched to stand up and
prove winners over two or three miles on a
steeplechase course.

Another good plan is to get horses used to a
hose which pours an incessant shower or jet on
their fore and hind legs, bracing them and doing
more to make groggy legs reasonably strong than
any other method which can easily be thought of.

Age and the extent of injuries or infirmity has
to be taken into account. There is a turning-
point in most horses' careers, when it just depends
whether they are going to be worn up or continue
to be pampered favourites, living on the best of
oats and hay.

How can some of the ailments of brilliant
screws be recognised ? for there is no doubt that

248 DRIVING

some exceedingly handsome horses go through
repositories and are knocked down at ridiculously
low figures, if the animal is to be judged from
appearances.

Never wish to detect a lameness ; it will
suddenly force itself on your notice. An im-
perceptible drop causes your suspicions to be
aroused ; you look again, and this time realise
that you were absolutely right.

Never buy a lame horse excepting at screw
price.

It sometimes happens that quite a handsome
bay gelding or brown mare, just as the case may
be, is knocked down for 14 guineas. The very
lowness of the figure helps to scare away dozens
of people who otherwise might have given a bid.

PART VII

CHAPTER XXV

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

One of Punclis cleverest jokes was — "Advice to
people about to be married. Dont." My advice
to those about to buy a horse, and questioning
whether to have it passed first by a good vet, is
—Do.

It takes a first-rate amateur vet to pass a horse,
and implies as much practical knowledge as the
average vet himself possesses. Pay a guinea
cheerfully for a veterinary examination, only stipu-
lating that in case the horse is not passed the
vendor pays the vet, and, in case it is passed
sound, the new purchaser pays.

From the above it will be gleaned that high-
priced horses are, as a rule, subject to a veterinary
surgeon's examination. It relieves the purchaser
from all reasonable hazards, and enables him to
return them in case the warranty is proved to be
given without good reason ; but the horse must
be returned at once.

In the case of quite young horses, especially
those bred from healthy sires and dams, those
unbroken I particularly allude to, the risk of
purchase without a vet's certificate of soundness
is of course less.

250 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

Granted you make up your mind to abide by
your own unaided opinion, the best thing to re-
member is to look dispassionately at the horse as
he is trotted backwards and forwards past you at
quite a slow trot, with a fair amount of liberty
given to his head, through the groom who "runs
him up" trotting him with a fairly loose rein.
Notice if he goes in a level manner — does not
drop on any of his feet, thereby indicating
lameness.

Do not be on the look out to detect lameness
in any one leg, just when he is run out at first, but
give him the benefit of a wholly dispassionate
opinion. If, after several times passing you, the
horse unmistakably shows a tenderness on one
leg, then pay attention to the leg he thus favours.

See if you can detect any reason for your
suspicions that he is lame. If you subsequently
find that there is nothing to further excite your
suspicions, and that the difference in high and
low ground may account for it, and there is no
symptom of disease so far as you can detect, have
the horse trotted past and re-past you until you
have dismissed your first opinion, and you will
very likely buy the horse and be right in
doing so.

Try his wind with a good gallop, or with a
stick, catching the bridle short and pretending to
hit him. If he gives a broken-winded grunt do
not buy the horse excepting at screw price.

Bad temper is not unsoundness, but should be
taken into consideration, and it would be foolish
in the extreme to buy a vicious or ill-tempered

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 251

horse — however sound he might be — if he would
not answer your purpose, and only turn out to be
YOUR master, instead of you being his.

A horse that you know intimately about, and
which you consider will suit you, is worth paying
a fair amount extra for. Nor is this all loss — as
looking at others costs extra money, which you
had better spend on the one you do know about
and approve of.

Unsoundness

Blindness is one of the worst unsoundnesses,
but is naturally less met with in young horses
than in old. If a fairly aged horse shies without
apparent provocation, it would be wise to pay
great attention to the examination of his eyes.

And here it may be worth noting that one of
our most eminent oculists — he is world famous
— was asked by a patient to be kind enough to
carefully examine the eyes of an old brougham
horse she had grown fond of, and whom she felt
safe with until quite recently, when he took to
shying in town. The oculist kindly examined
the horse, and though several well-known vets
had recently done so, and declared the horse
to be sound in wind, limb, and eyesight —
especially eyesight — the oculist staked his pro-
fessional opinion that the horse's eyesight was
extremely defective.

The eye, which is one of the most valuable
and delicate organs conceivable, is made up of
Conjunctiva, Cornea, Sclerotic coat. Choroid coat.
Retina, Aqueous humour. Vitreous humour.

252 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

Crystalline lens, Capsule of lens, Iris, Pupillary
opening, Corpora nigra, Ciliary ligament, Hyaloid
membrane. Optic nerve, Arteries, and Veins.

The question how far the scientific aspect of
the case should be followed here is a moot point,
depending largely on the type of reader of this
book. Supposing a scientific amateur, I refer him
to " Horses and Stables," by Lieut. -General Sir
F. Fitzwygram, Bart., and published by Long-
mans & Co., or to " The Horse in the Stable
and the Field "(" Stonehenge" — Routledge and
Sons). Better read both, and then, if his scientific
ardour remains unquenched, let him read " Ana-
tomical Outlines of the Horse," by M'Bride and
Mayer (Longmans, Green & Co.). If he is not
satisfied with book-gleaned knowledge, let him
accompany several vets, who have a large practice
in town and others in the country, and see cases
of all descriptions. As a finishing touch, let him
study in a similar manner under an oculist with
a large and varied practice, and then, and not
till then, will he be able to pass a horse's eye-
sight with confidence. But he will have spent
far more in acquiring this knowledge than he
would have saved had he employed a good vet
to tell him, for a guinea, that a horse is sound or
unsound which he thinks of purchasing.

Closed eyes, intolerance to light, are natural
symptoms of inflammation, caused no matter
how, especially when they are accompanied by
profuse tears.

A somewhat old-fashioned work — yet a very
practical one, and by no means out of date, owing

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 253

to the strong common-sense of its author — is
"The Illustrated Horse Doctor," by Mayhew,
published by W. H. Allen & Co., London. On
page 45 is a very useful passage : " Never buy
the horse with imperfect vision ; never have the
interior of your stable whitewashed." Then what
colour is to be employed ? Probably blue would
absorb too many of the rays of light, at all
events it seems preferable to copy Nature. Green
is the livery of the fields. In these the eyes
take no injury, although the horse's head be bent
towards the sfrass for the greater number of the
hours. Consequently the writer recommends
that green wash, which is cheap enough, should
be employed instead of the obnoxious white for
the interior of stables.

Mayhew, in his article on cataract, says that
"Cataract is a white spot within the pupillary
opening. The spot may be indistinct or con-
spicuous— soft, undefined, or determined ; it may
be as small as the point of a needle, or so big
as to fill the entire space ; in short, any indication
of whiteness or opacity upon the pupil is regarded
as a cataract.

Now prevention is better than cure. It is
evidently the duty of the humane and careful
horse-owner, who does not wish to go through
a scientific course to learn the diseases of the
eye — and they are numerous — it is evidently the
duty, I emphatically repeat, to keep your stable
sweet, to have the walls the reverse of dazzling
white, not to have racks immediately above a
horse's head, so that the seeds of hay are apt

2 54 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

to fall into their eyes when hay is put down from
the loft above. It is equally obvious that drivers
should be extremely careful not to unnecessarily
injure a horse's sight through hitting him — even
unknowingly — in the eyes, whilst driving. In
fact you should never hit a horse beyond his
withers. Breed, too, from sound horses — espe-
cially those with good wind and eyesight. Let
constitution be paid great attention to, for, with
weak constitution, there is a tendency to weak
eyesight, and, in fact, weak everything else.

A stable ought to be well lighted with a flood
of natural light from a window above the horse's
head. And, when you have paid true attention
to these seemingly very right acts to do, study
more advanced causes and treatment of the eye ;
but lay to heart the simple ones first, for, if you
neglect those, you are unlikely to divine much
benefit from incurable eye diseases when they
are brought home to you through a favourite or
valuable horse being rendered worthless to you —
partly because you took insufficient care of him,
or because you bought him after paying very
little attention to how your horse or mare was
originally bred.

Broken Wind

A thoroughly broken-winded horse is naturally
valueless for fast work, as, being once broken-
winded, means being always so. Heaving flanks,
a chronic cough, all point to this disease, brought
about through over-straining, under-feeding, or

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 255

even over-feeding on bad hay and mouldy oats
especially. Bad drainage also assists.

All that common-sense dictates to keep a horse
in good health helps to prevent a horse from going
wrong in his wind, and vice versa. Hereditary
disposition in this case, too, plays a large part,
and never breed from a broken-winded mare ;
and, if you insist on doing so, use a strong cob
sire who is unquestionably sound, as small horses
on the whole are less liable to go wrong in their
wind than very big ones.

Always when buying a horse get the purchaser
to give a written guarantee that your future horse
is sound in wind, limb, and eyesight, if you dis-
pense with a vet's examination, or unless you
buy a regular screw at screw price.

Advice to those who own broken-winded horses
is to get out of them, no matter at what temporary
loss. Should you feel a desire to keep them,
change their food, give a small allowance of hay,
put sawdust litter or peat moss in preference
to straw — which they might eat ; give linseed
mashes frequently.

The best chronic cough ball is : —

Gum Ammoniaci
Pulv. Digitalis .
Pulv. Camphorae
Pot. Nit. .
Pulv. Belladonnge
Bals. Sulphur
Picis. Liquidae .
Lim. Cont.

Q.s

ut ft

3j
3j
3j
3j
3j
3j
3j
bol.

Omni nocte.

256 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

Spavin

According to Mayhew, in his by no means
antiquated work entitled "The Illustrated Horse
Doctor," pubhshed by W. H. Allen & Co.,
London, and written from a kindly point of view
for amateurs and vets, but essentially a purely
veterinary work —

" Spavin and splint both are the change of
ligamentous structure into bone. Spavin occurs
at the inner and lower part of the hock ; splint
also may be sometimes found at the same part of
the knee. The name splint is likewise applied
to any bony enlargement upon the shins or below
the hocks and the knees.

" A few hints on this disease, so often spoken
about in the hunting-field, stable, at horse-
repositories, and in smoking-rooms, yet often not
so readily detected by horse-buyers as some of
them would be willing to confess — yes, please
lay these well to heart and it may save many
a 'fiver,' many a 'tenner.'

" Examine a horse by peeping through his hind-
legs, and through his fore-legs afterwards. Get
a groom to hold up his fore-leg when you feel
for a spavin. Get a vet to show you a spavin,
afterwards contrasting that unsound horse with a
sound one — who naturally has not a spavin.

" The sound horse has both legs alike. But
the spavined horse has an enlargement — it may
be a big one that hardly causes lameness ; it
may be a hardly discernible one which causes
the horse to run out palpably unsound — though,

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 257

when he warms up to his work, his lameness
wears off until it is only noticeable to a pro-
fessional dealer or a skilled vet. For this
reason, always examine a horse when he is quite
cool, as by so doing you have the double
advantaofe of seeing- him afterwards when he
has been sweated in a gallop.

" Some spavined horses only show their afflic-
tion when a rider's weight is on their back. It is,
therefore, best to leave a horse in his stable for
an hour or more after your first examination, as
by then he has cooled down sufficiently to trot
out lame if he has a spavin, which did not show
itself when you saw the horse at work, but
perhaps not in the stable previously.

" The cause of spavins, no matter which kind
they may be — bone, bog, or blood spavin — all
are produced by strain or concussion ; in most
cases the result of pulling or carrying more
weight than the horse is fitted to naturally. The
bones become callous, or, in the case of a bog
spavin, you get a soft enlargement in the front
of the seat of bone spavin.

" Blistering, after severe firing, is the usual fate
of the spavined horse, if his owner wishes to work
him and is not ashamed of the unsightly blemish.
In veterinary counter-practice, the treatment
commonly adopted is that of blistering and rest,
with, if possible, a run at grass, or three months
in a straw-yard. In blistering for the cure of
bone-growths we should always advise hydbiniod
of a strength varying from i to 7 to i to 1 2 of
vaseline or lard, or lanoline."

R

258 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

The tendency of men who love riding well-bred
horses too light to carry them, swells the number
of spavined patients for vets to treat but not to
cure ; for spavin is an incurable disease, inflicted
often through thoughtless cruelty on a too willing
horse, who has done all to carry out his master's
or mistress's wishes in jumping or galloping
through heavy ground, or pulling a carriage
up-hill when the driver's or the rider's common-
sense should have revolted against doing an
unnecessary cruelty which has caused a spavin
for life and made the horse unsightly by disease,
and lessened the value of the patient by quite
seventy-five per cent.

Unhappily half the people who ride and drive
horses and understand spavins are inclined to
ignore the pain they inflict through straining
them ; and those who spavin their mounts out
of ignorance inflict as much cruelty unknowingly
as many a professional torturer has done in the
past, when thumb-screws, racks, and iron cages
were in vogue.

There is one inexorable law in connection with
nature, and that is, abuse it and you must cause
injury in proportion to the abuse. To make this
clearer, take the case of any act of cruelty.
Smash a horse's feet on the "hard, high road,"
and you produce navic.

Strain a youngster in heavy going and you
set up a curb. Gallop a horse unfit, cruelly
hard, and you will get a broken wind ; more
especially if you feed him on bad hay and in-
ferior and dusty oats. On the other hand, treat

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 259

a stud with all the common-sense you possess,
be generous in every conceivable way, and, with
ordinary luck, your steed will more than repay
you for your large-heartedness, by giving you
exceptionally good runs when you are well
mounted and hounds are running, or equally in
harness by not falling sick or lame, when other
horses are knocked up through selfish brutality.

Ring-bones, side-bones, and navicular dis-
eases are the result of concussion, and caused
through trotting on macadamised roads in a great
many instances.

The first two named diseases are treated by
firing and blistering and turning out to grass.
But navic — which is caries of the navicular
bone — is a hopeless lameness which is never
likely to cause other than trouble and loss to
whoever owns a horse with that complaint.

My experience is that some of the best-shaped
and finest hunters in England have gone lame
through navic, and many a good judge of shape
has purchased a handsome horse, who jumped
magnificently when tried, but, when brought
home, had unquestionably navic. Here is the
great advantage of a warranty, because a horse
that is so guaranteed can be promptly returned
if he is worthlessly lame from navic, which often
does not torment a horse for a few days, during
which time he may be sold.

Do not unnerve a horse for navic. It is a
needless cruelty, as, if you sever the nerve, the
result is that all feeling in the part severed is
dead, and the horse may charge a post and rails

26o SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

with his fore-feet and injure his rider from such
an act caused by insensibiHty to all pain in his
feet through having been unnerved.

Occasionally a horse is thought to be suffer-
ing from navic when, in reality, he is painfully
and very apparently lame from blood corns
deeply seated. Now, by carefully paring the
hoof and letting out some of the blood — and this
had better only be done under the direction of a
vet, the operator being a skilled shoeing-smith —
then the supposed subject of navic, when shod
with leather and comfortable shoes, trots happily
henceforth to the pleasure of his owner, who may
have got a dead snip or a first-rate bargain if he
can so manage to make a handsome horse sound
which a few days before was supposed to be
chronically and even worthlessly unsound.

Supposing it had been navic. How can a very
imperfectly trained amateur vet tell that a screw
is suffering from this incurable disease? The
sufferer usually points one of his toes in a manner
which would excite the suspicion of a practical
vet. There is a good deal of heat in the feet,
Another sign which is well worth noting is a
difference in the shape of the hoofs. Again, if
there is no other apparent cause for lameness,
and all these symptoms are present when the
horse is in his stable, and not trotting sound from
being roused out of pain by excitement, then
avoid buying that screw, for it is ten to one he is
a " wrong 'un " of the deepest dye.

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS 261

Splints

" An exostosis from the lower part of the small
metacarpal bone, connecting it by bony union with
the large metacarpal bone."

In a case where the splint does not cause lame-
ness, blister ; in advanced cases, fire, blister, and
give a run out to grass. It is best and cheapest
to consult a vet for splints. A small splint often
causes lameness when a larger one does not.

" Side-bone is a conversion of the lateral car-
tilages found on the wings of the coffin-bone into
bony material by the deposition of lime-salts."

RiNG-BoNES

This is a term given to an abnormal growth or
deposit of bone upon the pasterns or lower bones
of the leofs. Both these definitions are taken
from " Veterinary Counter-Practice," as it is the
best one which can well be conceived. The
treatment of side-bones and ring-bones is either a
blister or deep firing.

If the owner is wise he will pay cheerfully for
a practical "vet," but if in the early stage, and
the horse is only apparently strained and knocked
up through hard work and concussion, turn the
horse out if you can spare him, and you will have
most likely prevented a disease which is trouble-
some and painful to treat in the advanced stage,
for firing is a permanent blemish which no novice
can overlook.

Curbs are the result of spraining a ligament

262 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS

through heavy work, and are very easily detected
by a bulging out or enlargement immediately
beneath the hock joint. The treatment is the
same as in ring-bones or side-bones.

When riding three-year-olds, heavy breakers
are very apt to cause this disease, which a light-
weight would never have given. Horses having
crouched hocks not infrequently have them. In
fact, many a magnificent jumper has been fired
for them, and performs admirably after them.
But it is a needless cruelty to give a horse curbs
through asking him to carry more weight than
nature fitted him to.

CHAPTER XXVI

PRACTICAL SHOEING

Without a practical reference to shoeing, a book
on these Hnes would indeed be unpardonably
incomplete. But the subject is a wide one, and
opens up a branch of equine literature that is
already fairly well supplied with scientific work.

Under the circumstances my readers must for-
give me for touching bluntly and endeavouring to
give sufficient hints to those who want some
practical knowledge, which, if they wish to add to,
let them learn from a first-rate shoeing smith in a
shoeing-forge how to make a shoe fairly well and
put one on. Certainly learn to take a horse's
feet up ; without that knowledge your stable edu-
cation is very hazy, because you would be unable
to personally pick out your horse's feet.

Do not allow your horse's frog to be touched,
or only very slightly — ^just to pare off" the roughest
portion. Be sure that the frog touches the ground.
The horn which grows on the outside of the foot
ought not to be ragged above the shoeing-nails.

Have your horse's shoes looked to every fort-
night in case they want removing, and let the
smith shoe each one all round at least every
month. Some people may not agree on this

point, but in the long run it will prove an

263

264 PRACTICAL SHOEING

economy, as your horses will work better if
always well looked after by a capable smith, than
if you go to the opposite extreme and allow un-
reasonably long hoofs which require an enormous
amount of paring, in some cases varying from
two inches to as much as six inches, or even
more.

The man who owns horses frequently shod —
say once every month — will probably be careful
to have their feet well washed, will prefer good
straw of a night to sawdust or peat-moss, and
will always see that his horse's feet are well
cared for in every respect. The pick will be
used to clean them out, and directly they show
any sign of being odoriferous and to develop
" thrush," they will be dressed with good thrush-
dressing, such as the one I give under that
heading, as being one of many useful receipts for
common diseases.

The neglectful groom or owner is careless
about hoof-dressing and dirt on the outside of
his horse's hoofs, and allows dirt to become en-
crusted in such a manner that it is bound to
cause ill-health and to give the painstaking smith
unnecessary trouble if he wishes a horse so
neglected to trot soundly.

In the daytime, of course, a horse ought not to
stand on anything in the shape of bedding, and
all droppings should be removed.

Stuffing hoofs with cow-dung is most popular,
and there are so many advocates for this method
of keeping the feet cool and healthy that I hardly
like to suggest that, in my opinion, it is unneces-

PRACTICAL SHOEING 265

sary if the feet are well washed twice a day, and
where a good water-hose is handy to play on the
legs and feet ; stuffing feet seems wholly unneces-
sary in cases where the horse is sound. But dry
the feet, and if you bandage them do not leave
the bandages on for many hours at a time, thereby
doing more harm than good. And rub the legs
with both your hands when you take the bandages
off Fold them up neatly, ready for future use.
All these little acts of kindness help to make you
a master of stable work, and an owner who will
not allow a groom to harbour any unpleasant
smell in your stable.

These methods just laid down help to en-
courage a good shoeing-smith to take a pride in
keeping your horses sound by shoeing horses
well that are worthy of being well shod. You
may be sure, indeed, that in stables where
Condy's fluid or Jay's disinfectant is never used
except when the vet insists on sanitary grounds
— he is called in when you have lamed your
horse through gross neglect of common-sense
and sanitary rules — you may be sure, I repeat,
that in ill-kept stables, unsweetened and badly
ventilated, the feet are neglected as much as the
grooming and the feeding, and the horse goes
wrong through all-round mismanagement.

The concave-seated shoe, the hunting shoe,
the French shoe, the half-moon shoe, the bar
shoe, the pattern, the leather sole are all referred
to by "Stonehenge" in an exhaustive chapter.
But for ordinary hunting I recommend the
ordinary flat shoe.

266 PRACTICAL SHOEING

In cases of forging or clacking, very common
in young horses, and largely due to carelessness
and often from weakness, a horse ought to be
shod with a concave shoe and clips on the side,
and shoe short in front, and leave the horn over
the shoes in the hind shoes.

Then we have frog-pads to keep the jar off a
a horse's foot, thus preventing navicular disease.

To insure good shoeing, by all means select
a smith or his under-smithy that has a good
temper, as instances are not unknown of a
hammer coming intentionally into contact with
a restless horse's back when the man's patience
has been worn out through the horse lashing out
or causing unusual trouble during the process of
being shod. For this reason, and for many
others, it is well worth an owner's while to
periodically visit the shoeing forge he patronises,
and to personally see that the horses receive fair
treatment, and satisfy himself that the smith who
works for him is thoroughly master of his trade
and is steady.

CHAPTER XXVII

TEETH

A HORSE ought to have forty teeth ; but even
people quite used to driving and riding get a
little addled over the age of a two, three, four,
five, and six-year-old, although they are perfectly
aware that after seven a horse becomes aged,
and it is a matter of guess work to tell his years
to an absolute certainty.

In order to make the study of teeth an easy
matter to reckon, I have arranged the following
table, as being simpler than a long treatise which
might help the exceptional reader, but hinder
others from comprehending on account of its
long-windedness : —

Milk Teeth up to those of a Yearling.

When a foal is born, the first and second
grinders or molar teeth have already broken the
gums.

At the end of a week, if not sooner, the first
pair of temporary incisors appear.

Within six weeks the next or lateral pair come
through.

In sixth to ninth month, the last pair.

Thus we have the above milk teeth, as seen

before there are any permanent ones.

367

268 TEETH

Milk Teeth up to those of a Two-year-old.

At two the inner wall of the corner teeth has
grown up level with the outer wall.

They look worn and smaller than those of a
yearling.

Permanent Teeth.

At three, or a little before the two centre milk
teeth fall out and two permanent teeth grow in
place of them, or a little before.

At four, the next two milk teeth are replaced
by permanent.

At five, or a little before, the last two milk
teeth are replaced by permanent, and the horse
has a full mouth.

A full mouth at five years of age is thus
reached.

At six, or a little before, the inner wall of the
corner teeth has grown level with the outer wall.

Seven is an aged horse, and, therefore, as
there are no special marks to positively swear to,
we must accept the fact if we choose, or reject
it if we prefer to do so.

The apparent length of the teeth, and the
appearance of them, being those of an old animal,
all help to scare a purchaser from buying an old
crock for a seven-year-old. Yet it is somewhat
strange that actually the teeth in an aged — a very
aged — horse wear down. Nevertheless, although
this is the case, the appearance is that of being
long in the tooth in every sense of that well-
known phrase. Receding gums are a sure sign

TEETH 269

of old age, and they are always accompanied by
deep hollows over the eyes, unless the poor old
quad has been unblushingly faked by a profes-
sional horse-coper of the first flight in equine
villainy.

CHAPTER XXVIII

USEFUL MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES

Bran Mash

Pour boiling water on half-peck of bran ; stir it
well and give it, when sufficiently cool to give,
without any likelihood of burning horse's mouth.

Give mash at night, and do not disturb patient
any more until morning. Take care to guard
against any chills which may be caught in the
stable throucrh bad ventilation. Avoid draughts
particularly, and use disinfectants to purify the
atmosphere, even after all droppings have been
removed.

Blistering Ointment

The prescriptions for the above are numerous,
but, whichever is used, care should be taken to
mix Hyd. Biniod with lard, vaseline, or some
equally soothing ingredient to prevent intense
irritation, which otherwise would amount to
torturing the patient unnecessarily.

Clip the hair off before rubbing in the blister
well.

For a Splint or Spavin

Hyd. Biniod ..... 5J
Adipis ...... 3vij

M. ft. ungt.
270

MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES 271

Hoof Ointment

Barbadoes Tar \

Burgundy Pitch I . . . Equal parts

Russian Tallow )

Lotion for Cracked Heels

Sulphate of Zinc . . . . 5j

Sugar of Lead • ■ ■ • ■ oi
Water . . A reputed quart bottleful

This is also largely used for sore backs, shoulders, and
the like.

Physic Mass

The followinof formula for a mass which is
plastic, ductile, and soluble was published some
years ago by Messrs. Elliman & Co., the makers
of the well-known Embrocation : —

Pulv. Barbadoes. . . . .10 lbs.
Glycerin . , . . . . i lb.

Castor Oil i lb.

Powdered Unbleached Ginger . . | lb.

Dissolve the aloes in the glycerin by means of a water-bath,
then add the castor-oil, and, lastly, stir in the ginger, previously
sifted through a coarse sieve.

The above receipts have been taken from
" Veterinary Counter-Practice," which is, perhaps,
the best book written in any language on this
subject. It is written expressly for chemists and
druggists by qualified and experienced members
of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Published at the offices of Tke Chemist and
Druggist, it can be obtained at 42 Cannon Street,
as well as in Melbourne and Sydney.

272 MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES

Without any hesitation I consider this book
has suppHed all necessary information which a
reasonable practitioner can require ; but for the
unqualified reader it has this very natural draw-
back— it does not diagnose the disease, of course.
Its value lies in prescribing for stated diseases.
If, therefore, you treat a patient for stoppage
instead of for influenza, you may kill that patient
unintentionally, but must not blame "Veterinary
Counter- Practice " for wrongly diagnosing the
case. It is purely a book for professionals, but
of equal interest to those amateurs who only use
it discreetly.

Cough Balls

For Acute Cough

Pulv. Camphorae

3ij

Ext. Belladonnae

3ij

Pulv. Opii

3j

Pulv. Physostigmatis .

. 3j

Pulv. Scillse ....

3ss

Pulv. Anisi. ....

3ij

Excipient q. s. ut ft. bol.

This ball may be given night and morning, and a little lin.
saponis prescribed for the throat if a difficulty in swallowing is
evinced.

A very good powder for coughs is the
following : —

Pulv. Digitalis

3ss

Pulv. Belladonnas

3j

Potass. Chlor.

3j

Potass. Nit.

3j

Pulv. Opii.

3ss

Pulv. Glycyrol .

3iv

M. ft Pulv.

Omni nocte c. cibo.

MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES 273

Thrush-Dressing

Sodium Chloride . . . . sj

Russian Tallow ..... 5ij

Tar 3vj

M.

Harvey & Co. (Ltd.), Dublin, wholesale agents,
Barclay & Sons (Ltd.), Farringdon Street,
London, sell a valuable specific for curbs, splints,
and spavins.

Wolf Teeth

Horses occasionally suffer from superfluous
teeth, which cause them so much pain that it is
necessary to have them drawn, or, as is too
frequently the case, knocked out by a smith in a
too rough and ready manner.

If a horse will not masticate well and eats on
one side of his mouth, have his teeth examined,
as it is more than likely he suffers from a decayed
tooth and will get quite well again if the tooth is
extracted.

Unfortunately horse dentists are rarer than is
desirable. There are, however, a few who per-
form operations which are little short of miracles
to those who have watched them, without chlo-
roform, pull out teeth when their patient is a
confirmed biter and kicker, and has previously
savaged grooms — yet has always showed symp-
toms of kindliness towards his hitherto unknown
operator, who may have learned secrets of dental
extraction from Indian tribes. I allude to a
well-known German equine dentist who recently
astonished clever trainers with his practical skill.

s

274 MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES

Purgatives

Barbadoes aloes, 4 or 5 drachms, is usually
sufficient for an ordinary sized horse ; 6 for a big
cart horse.

Linseed oil is also useful instead of a physic
ball, say 15 oz.

EPITOME

Do not permit hay to be scattered about and
trampled upon ; nor allow corn to be mouthed
over and thus become sour.

Feed regularly ; keep bowels open with a weekly
bran mash on Saturday night, and occasionally on
other nights when the work is fairly light ; next
morning give a teacupful of linseed, boiled until
it is as fine and free from lumps as fine oatmeal
porridge ; mix linseed thus made with crushed
oats, bran, and chop ; occasionally give a few
carrots.

If a horse is inclined to eat his bedding, use
peat- moss instead of straw, or even sawdust ; but
if you bed them down in this manner, be careful
that the urine does not saturate the peat-moss or
sawdust and remain in the stable. It must be
taken out and the floor most carefully brushed
and disinfected the first thing in the morning,
directly your groom arrives, or you stand an
excellent chance of setting up an irritation in the
hoof which may terminate in thrush, or some-
thing more serious and more difficult to cure.

Avoid draughts, yet ventilate with windows
high above the horse's head, and harbour abso-

MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES 275

lutely no smells. Have thoroughly warm rugs
for winter and light ones for summer, but let rugs
be the only warmth imparted to your horse ; let
him not be warmed by the dropping and stifling
stench as occurs in so many ill-managed stables,
which are putrid with foul air.

Only feed your stud on the primest old hay and
the best old white oats, and, not infrequendy at
hours which are unknown to your grooms, make
an inspection of your stables, and ascertain per-
sonally that your horses actually eat the food
which you pay for.

CONCLUSION

My task — it has indeed been a long one : years
of study, varied with many earnest conversations
sometimes with scientific vets, at other times
with high-class practical vets, or owners of valu-
able studs, grooms, and book-makers — these last-
named no mean judges of blood-stock either — my
task, I repeat, has now drawn to a close with this
result, which leaves so much untouched upon
since the early authors rocked the equine cradle
of literature up to the present time. What a span
indeed !

Emperors, poets, statesmen, historians, sports-
men, men of letters, as well as matter-of-fact
business men, ALL have swelled a first-rate
literature on Horses and Brilliant Horsemen ;
and yet Huth merely recorded their names and
the titles of their works.

Equine literature is a stupendous output ; in

276 MEDICINES FOR COMMON DISEASES

point of genius it is fit to rank with books and
essays on any subject. If these chapters have
emphasised this fact sufficiently, and interested
my readers, they will have achieved the object of
the author.

THE END

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