HOW TO BUY, TRAIN, AND RUN HIM.

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Lieut.-Col. WARBURTON, R.E.

RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT

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LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY

Limited
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Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C.

[All riehts reserved\

PBTNTED BY GILBERT AND RIVIJTGTON¹, LIMITED,

ST. JOHN'� HOUSE, CLEBKEMWELL ROAD.

The sport of racing is one which shares with other out-
door amusements the advantages of healthy employment
for body and mind. It surpasses most of them in one
important respect. While with those, a time must come
when the loss of bodily vigour and the decrepitude of age
give rise to regret that we should have paid no heed to the
warning of Talleyrand, "Young man, what a dreadful
old age you are laying up for yourself;" for the enjoy-
ment of racing we are never too old ; there is never a
moment of his life, so long as reason holds, when a
racing man cannot derive gratification from his favourite
pursuit, and there are few when he cannot bodily engage
in it. The other sports of youth and middle age leave
in the volume of our lives many a blank space as our
story approaches its conclusion. Racing fills each page
up to the last, when FINIS announces our translation to
happier hunting-grounds. But the greatest pleasure of
all connected with this noble sport, one whjch, un-
like most pleasures, contributes to his physical and
temporal welfare, that of training horses himself, is
usually rejected by the owner. It necessitates early rising,
sobriety, and theiraccompaniments, and furnishes plenty
of employment to the mind as well as to the body,
turning an idler into a working man, besides removing
at least one obstacle to success.

That racing means ruin has become almost an axiom ;
doubtless a similar opinion would obtain regarding any
of the industrial pursuits if carried on, Rot only as a
pastime, but without the industry and technical know-

ledge necessary to success, which, in the case of nine
owners of racehorses out of ten, or.even a greater pro-
portion, are absolutely wanting. But there is really no
reason why racing should not pay if conducted on
business principles, just as any other industry pays,
not by the acquisition of large sums of money in the
space of minutes and seconds, but by the application of
skill and industry and patience, which alone can ensure
success in any pursuit. That these are seldom forth-
coming in racing, on the part of owners, I think all will
admit, and none more readily than those who have lost
their money through undertaking what they were neither
qualified to perform, nor willing to sacrifice time and
labour to learn ; preferring to entrust the task to others
vvhose interests were not identical with their own.

As to the knowledge requisite, the apprenticeship
which qualifies an uheducated lad to undertake, at a
later period, the charge of a racing stable, would, of
course, qualify one superior to him in this respect for
the same task. This is an ordeal to which few gentle-
men will submit. In place thereof they can learn the
art of training from observation, from experience, and
from oral or written instruction. The last I have in the
ensuing pages endeavoured, and, I hope, with some suc-
cess, to impart, success which I believe will attend the
efforts of those who deem this little work worthy of
their perusal and attention, and who intelligently inter-
pret th» precepts and practice therein enjoined. These
have been derived from actual experience of training in
New Zealand, the West Indies, the United Kingdom,
and the United States of America, and from observa-
tion of the methods employed by the best and the worst
trainers, and the success or failure attending their efforts,
as well as from the opinion of those whose reputation is
deservedly high, and therefore worthy of consideration.

Introduction.........i

PROCURING THE YEARLING.

Good judgment in buying rare�Rules for buyers�Prejudice
against certain breeds to be discarded�Buy on shape
and action, and with regard to the object in view�Quali-
ties and soundness of sire and dam to be considered�
Roarers and soft breeds to be avoided�The points of a
yearling�Head and neck�Forehead�Barrel�Hind-
quarters�Colour�Action, both walking and in the
paddock�Condition�Examples of a successful applica-
tion of rules.........11

Importance of stabling�Shoula be close to training-ground�
Dry, with southern aspect�Well ventilated, lighted, and
floored�Kinds of flooring�Admiral Rous on stabling�
General description � Drainage � Stalls and boxes �
Fittings� Temperature�Water and tanks�Straw and
hay barn�Verandahs�Winnowing, chaff-cutting, and
slicing macnines � Paddock�Forge�Accommodation
for attendants�Importance of details .... 30

Importance of using the best�Improvement due to food�
Qualities of food�Baron Liebig.�Formation of blood
and muscular fibre�Nutritive value of oats and hay�
Good and bad oats�Description of good oats� Kiln-dried

oats � Chaff-crushed oats � Carrots, beans, parsnips,
turnips�Green stuff�Indian corn�Effect of good and
inferior food on horses�Linseed and its uses ... 44

Importance of water�Mineral water�Effect of lime-water�
Mr. Hinds, V.S., on water�Chalk used in water�Rain
or river water the best� Change of water affects horses�
Proper temperature........57

CLOTHING AND HORSE GEAR.

Uses of clothing�Horses must be kept warm�Summer and
winter clothing�Clothing should fit�-"Roller unnecessary
�Boots are indispensable�Best kind�Knee caps�Fet-
ters�Halters�Muzzles�Reins, leading, common, run-
ning, and gag-reins, and their uses�Bits�Saddles�
Saddlecloths�Cruppers�Breastplates and martingales
�Surcingles�Bandages�Blinkers�Brushes, rubbers,
combs, sponges, burnishers, chamois, etc.�Forks, dung-
baskets, brooms, buckets.......61

Importance of care with horses' feet�A good hoof denotes
health�Vicious practices of smiths�A practical know-
ledge of the foot necessary�Descriptions of a good foot
�The sole�Effects of pressure on sole and frog�Darvill
on shoeing�Shoes should be light and short�Forging�
French and Italians foremost in shoeing�Blundeville in
1580�Nails, and driving them�Conclusions arrived at�
Darvill on plating�Time to plate�The Charlier shoe�
Advantages and disadvantages�American and English
shoeing..........72

Good stable management is essential�Must be systematized
�Best food to be given�Cleanliness�Ventilation�

Stables kept cool�A cool stable a healthy one�Effect on
roarers�Importance of fresh air to young horses�Kind
and firm treatment�Physic�Dressing the racehorse�
Quiet and vicious horses�Grooms not to lose their
temper�Stables opened at sunrise�Instructions as to
procedure�Exercise�Morning and afternoon amuse-
ment for lads�Hours for training�Cost of training�
Bandages, hot and cold�Stopping horses' feet�Clay�
Experience in the West Indies�The object of grooming
�Manes and tails�Eating litter�Best litter�Wheat
straw�Other kinds�Change of air�Filing teeth�Value
of change of air........89

A necessary evil�Nature supplies the best physic�Uses of
physic�Effects�Staleness�Plethora�Barbadoes aloes
�A ball�Hovv to make and give it�Preparations for
physic�Delicate horses�Good-constitutioned horres�
Effect of food on physic � Treatment after physic
�Gross horses in physic�Benefit derived by stale
horses�Horses showgood form after physic�Dangerous
except in competent hands�Physic after an injury�
Objects attained�Course of procedure�Return toactive
work...........in

Town lads make the best riders�Apprenticeship: its advan-
tages and disadvantages�Horses should be ridden by
light weights�Qualities required in lads�Good riders
invaluable�Lads should be taught ab initio�How to
teach the'm�The horse's mouth�The whip�Good
hands�Effect of a secure and insecure seat�Powerful
bits should not be used�Means of controlling horses�
The common martingale, running martingale, and gag-
rein�Their uses described�Lazy horses�Hustling�
Knowledge of pace�Gentlemen riders�Value of time in
learning pace�Higher qualification of riders�Riding
races�Faults of jockeys�Flogging�Admiral Rous on
jockeys � Scrambling �; Waiting races � Examples �
Galopin and Lowlander�Lowlander and Hesper�
Sharp turns�Starting�Fred � Archer�Short distance
riding�The best trainers turn out the best jockeys�

Riding two-year-olds �Rous on whip and spur�Tired
horses�Pace of the racehorse a mile a minute� Advan-
tages of waiting�Jockeys should assist the starter�Not
lodge unnecef sary objections, and be honest and sober .

BREAKING AND TRAINING OF YEARLINGS.

Early training condemned�Time for breaking�Should be
done carefully�Effects of bad breaking never obliterated
�How to break yearlings�Boots always used�Riding
yearlings�Leading yearlings�The proper kind of work
�Yearlings to be classed in lots for exercise�Pro-
gress should be gradual�Force should never be used�
Keen intelligence of horses�Asheton Smith on horses
and dogs�Backward colts�Teaching colts to race

Object of trying yearlings�Trying two-year-olds�Time trials
not reliable�Advantages and disadvantages of the time
test�How yearlings should be tried�Weights to be
adjusted�Backward colts�Failures to be got rid of�
Two-year-old trials�The class of two-year-olds vary
greatly in different years�\%�>i and 1880 compared�
Consistent running of two-year-olds�Trials of older
horses�A trial should be similar in conditions to a race
�Good trials�Trials of no use unless the horse is fit, or
over similar ground�Timing trials .....

CHAPTER XII.
TRAINING GROUNDS AND COURSES.

Superiority of English training grounds�The Down country
�American tracks artificially constructed of earth, gene-
rally flat, monotonous, and cramped�Produce in America
an evil effect on the racehorse�Undulating courses tend
to produce the best shape and qualities�The Derby
course . . ..........

CHAPTER XIII.
REMARKS ON TRAINING.

Paces of the horse�Their uses in training�Staying means
wind�Stayers narrow and deep chested�" Ston�henge "

on chest formation�Mr. Ten Broeck's horses in England
�Horses of to-day stay as well as their ancestors�
Prioress, Saunterer, Fisherman, O rmonde�Longdistance
racing injurious to horses�Light and small horses stay
better than heavy and large ones�Teddington, Stock-
well, Hampton�Delicate horses�Overwork a besetting
sin�Horses run best when big�Training of to-day
differs from the methods of seventy years ago�Require-
ments for short racing�Three kinds of horses�Winter
training the foundation of future success�Backwardness
and its causes� Treatment of horses during the winter�
Winter stable hours�Exercise-�A straw ride�Idleness
deprecated�Horses should be fit to run on ist May at
any distance�Early and late racing profitable�Horses
should love their food and work�Clothing in winter�
Herbert Spencer on the effects of cold�It stops horses'
growth�Delicate horses�Good feeders�Gross horses�
Outward signs of condition�Evidence of internal fitness
�Treatment before a race�Two-year-qlds in the winter
�Their improvement�Last preparation�They run
truly�Require plenty of rest�Clothing in training�
Admiral Rous on clothing�Learning to start�Putting
to rights�Physic�Horse's capacity in mud should be
ascertained�What makes a horse go well in mud�
Examples�Too much fast work undesirable�Afternoon
exercise�Weight of riders to be ascertained�Variation
in stable hours�Spring handicaps�Staying and speed
do not always increase with age�Gradual preparation
important�Leading work�Hurried preparation

CHAPTER XIV.
ENTERING HORSES AND OTHER MATTERS.

Increased value of stakes�Copious entries versus betting�
Lord Falmouth's forfeits�Puiling horses�A bad policy
�Honesty the best policy�Pulling less common than it is
believed to be�The immorality of pulling is purely con-
ventional�Turf as compared with commercial morality
�Touting........" .

Importance of starting in short races�Tricks of jockeys�No
whip should be used in starting�Horses should be
started on the move and not from rest�Walking, the

reverse way�The flags and their uses�The starter's
decision should be final . . . . .

A single judge should be employed, highly paid and trusted
�Judge Clarke � Few mistakes made � Blunders of
American judges�Instantaneous photography for judging
finishes..........

ACCIDENTS AND DISEASES.

Trainers should be capable of diagnosing and treating them�
Principal inquiries�Strains�Of the back sinew�Treat-
ment�Blistering and firing�Their uses and effects�
Absolute rest required � Anecdote � Shin soreness �
Splint�Strain of the knee�Of the shoulder�Of the
pastern�Of the coffin joint�Accident in New Zealand�
Strain of the hip joint�Of the stifle�Of back and loins
�Of the hoek�Of strains in general�Ringbone and
Sidebone�Navicular disease�Acute laminitis�Chronic
laminitis�Dainty Ariel in New Zealand�Bone spavin�
Bog spavin �Thoroughpin �Windgalls � External in-
juries to joints�Sandcrack�False quarter�Thrush�
Corns�Worms�Roaring� Causes�Is hereditary�Cold
�Imperfect definitions of�lts true nature�Mistaken
ideas as to cold�Benjamin Franklin on cold�Catarrh�
Influenza or distemper�Bronchitis�Chronic cough�
Acute laryngitis�Chronic laryngitis�Strangles�Pneu-
monia�Congestion of the lungs�Tetanus�Spasmodic
colic�Flatulent colic�Enteritis and Peritonitis�Crib-
bing...........

No apology is due for the production of a work on
training the racehorse. Numerous publications have
seen the light, and raised great expectations in the
minds of the many who are desirous of obtaining a
certain knovvledge of the trainer's art, but onlyto create
disappointment. Most of these works are interesting to
lovers of the thoroughbred, but fail to teil him exactly
what he wants to know ; namely, how to train him.
They are often replete with anecdotes of what race-
horses, and especially those with whom the writer has
been connected, have done, but the means by which
they have been brought to do it is generally lef't to the
imagination of the reader, who has to evolve such in-
formation out of his inner consciousness, a source of
knowledge which is seldom found to be of practical
value. After reading the interesting work of a trainer
who was well qualified to afford every information con-
nected with a racing establishment, and also capable of
imparting it in a literary form, which few men of his
class can do, I asked him one day why he had not
descended to details as regards breaking, stable manage-
ment, shoeing, and all the particulars which form the
structure of training just as much as the nviterials and
labour with which a house is built form the completed
edifice ; and his reply was a curious one. It would be
impertinent, and a work of supererogation, he said, to
enter into details which every lad who had served an
apprenticeship in a well-conducted stable knew as well
as himself; and more than that, the public would not

care to hear about such details. Bearing in mind that
in distant colonies so long as thirty years ago, when, of
necessity, I had to train horses myself, if I wished to
run them with any certainty of success, it was always
my ambition and endeavour, wherein I spared no
trouble or expense, to acquire an accurate knowledge
from the best sources of the very details which my
trainer friend considered it unnecessary to enter into,
and also that my companions engaged in the same
pursuit were equally anxious with myself to obtain such
information, whether from books or observation, and
from lack of opportunity we failed to do from both
sources ; I arrived at the conclusion that a work on
training the vacehorse, conveying in intelligible lan-
guage, and with the precision of which language is
capable, information as to the best methods employed,
or at all events those employed by the best and most
successful trainers, modified by the observation and
experience of many years, would be acceptable to a
very large number of persons who are interested in one
vvay or another, not �nly in racing itself, but in all the
relations which exist between man and the thorough-
bred horse. Consequently, for inany years I jotted
down or remembered the results of my own personal
experience and observation, and such new facts and
experiences as I derived from the most well-informeel
and intelligent trainers with whom I was acquainted,
and often gave them practical form�always in view of
producing at some future time a work which should
embrace all the details of training, so far as I became
acquainted with them. The result I give to the public.
I have spoken of training as an art, or, to employ the
mcaning of the word, " the application of human know-
ledge and skill to the formation of anything," and there
are few arts wherein more knowledge and skill is requi-
site than in the production of a racehorse fit to run.
The difficulties are here greatly enhanced by exigencies
which in other arts do not impede or affect the artist.
A painter, an architect, a machinist may exercise his

vocation at leisure, tolerably secure that if the material
at his disposal is allowed to remain unused, or if he
completes his task before or after the time prescribed,
no injury will accrue to the structure. The trainer has
no such assurance ; he must produce his work on a
given day, at a given hour, not before or after, and he
has to work with materials which, being endowed with
vitality and volition, present difficulties which do not
occur to him who has to deal with inanimate matter.
Horscs, like men, have idiosyncrasies of mind and
body ; like men, they require humouring, and cannot
safely be treated as machines (which is too often done),
and what is termed tact must bc exercised with both.
The progress of training must be gradual and pro-
gressive�never standing still. Inaction with the race-
horse means deterioration. The bow must be relaxed
when not in actual use, or depreciation infallibly ensues.
Moreover, the subject of the trainer's experiment is
affected by change of climate, of food, of water, of air,
of location, is, like ourselves, "subject to all the skyey
influences ; " and in the artificial life which he leads in
a training stable, subject to the dominant will of the
master, is precluded from availing himself to the full
extent of his capacity of those instincts which nature
has granted him for self-protection, in common with all
her animal productions; wherefore it becomes incum-
bent on the trainer to give through his art that protec-
tion of which he has deprived the animal committed to
his charge; and unsleeping vigilance on his part is
required to do justice to his horse's powers. The
Spanish proverb tells us " It is the eye of the master
that fattens the horse." It is the trainer's eye that
makes him fit. *"~

In all arts certain methods are recognized as neces-
sary to the end in view ; these again are governed by
general principles. Both principles and methods are
evolved from long practical experience, often trans-
mitted from generation to generation ; susceptible
indeed of improvement, and as regards the horse espe-

cially, of beneficial change where variations in climate,
food, courses, and other conditions are met with : but
in the main they must be adhered to if success is to
be assured. In England, the adopted home of the
thoroughbred, in the space of little more than two
hundred years, the puny but enduring Arab of the
desert, by the skill and energy of the Anglo-Saxon
race, has been transformed into an animal who for
courage, speed, power and beauty challenges the admi-
ration of the world. From the centre of his adoption
his descendants have spread over all the world. The
boundless clearings and prairies of North America,
where civilization is contemporary with his European
existence; the vast stretches of Southern America ;
the torrid plains of Australasia ; and the humid and
fertile pastures of New Zealand are peopled with his
descendants. Wherever the Anglo-Saxon race lives
and thrives, there the Anglo-Arab flourishes. He is
found as an emigrant, but scarcely as a colonist, in the
ancicnt and populous Empires of India and China.

The higher if newer civilizations of Europe have
recognized his merits and secured his services. Troops
of buyers, representing private enterprises and the
Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Austro-
Hungary, and even semi-barbarous Russia, have been
and are still competitors in the English market to
secure those qualities in the thoroughbred which prac-
tical experience has taught them improves the breed of
their respective countries. America, too, both North
and South, sends forth her buyers every year to secure
the best stallions and the best mares that money can
buy.

No one thinks of reverting to the original stock from
whence the thoroughbred has sprung. The highest
racing authority in England a quarter of a century ago
said that a fourth-class English thoroughbred could
give the best Arabian ever foaled five stone over
any distance from one to twenty miles. Not only
is the Anglo-Arab pre-eminent for racing purposes, but

an infusion of his blood improvcs every other breed with
which it is blended. The manager of a large tramway
company in Liverpool told me that he bought all his
horses in Ireland after trying those coming from else-
where. The Irish horses he found to be by far the most
effective, and he attributed this to the large proportion
ofthoroughbred blood in their veins. The Irish hunter
maintains his superiority for the same reason, and, for
cavalry purposes, Irish remounts are unrivalled. That
the admixture of other blood is not attended with such
favourable results may be inferred from the following :
The same gentleman alluded to above informeel theauthor
that he had tried American horses, and they did fairly
well at first, but he found they had deteriorated of late
years. This he attributed to the introduction of the
Norman Percheron, an animal whom no one in England
would think of crossing with native mares. The truth
of this statement was confirmed in the judgment of the
author by an incident connected with the same breed
which came under his personal observation. After the
Franco-Prussian war of 1870 the French determined to
eliminate from their army all grey horses, which they
judged to be too conspicuous for warlike purposes.
These partook largely of the Percheron blood, of which
the prevailing colour is grey. About 1874 large num-
bers of these horses were sold by order of the French
Government at auction. As the priecs ruled low, the
British Commissariat purchased a considerable number
as transport horses for the contending armies in the
sham fights, or " Autumn Manoeuvres," as they were
called, of that year, which were organized for the in-
struction of the British army. It was found that these
horses, though of good si ze and respectable appearance,
could not perform anything like the work done by
English and Irish horses, and, moreover, consumed a
greater quantity of forage.

Reverting now to a higher type, and one for which
the United States is justly pre-eminent�the trotter�a
gentleman best capable of judging and intimately con-

nectcd with the breeding of trotters in America�Mr.
Brodhead, of Woodburn, Kentucky, brceder of Maud
S.�assured me that if tvvo minutes to the mile were
attained, it would be by a horse nearly thoroughbred.

I have enumerated these instances tending to show
the practical value of the thoroughbred outside of the
racing track, in what Mr. Jorrocks called "The minor
fields of horse enterprise,''' in order to emphasize the
importance which ought to be attached to his produc-
tion. Now, excellence can only be attained through
strict attention to, and a scientific treatment of, the
three branches of production, breeding, feeding, and
training. The neglect of any one of these implies
deterioration, and insures it. The greatest skill exer-
cised in any two of these branches will, to a great
extent, be neutralized by a neglect of the third. In
its most comprehensive sense, the last named may be
said to include all three, and, even in its more limited
signification, it necessarily covers the second and third ;
while it is difficult to train a young horse properly
without a knowledge of the characteristics and peculi-
arities of his breed. Thus the name of his sire conveys
to a trainer who understands his art, a volume of infor-
mation as to the treatment of a yearling, which he
would otherwise be obliged to ascertain by experiments
very much to the detriment of the animal. I propose,
however, to say as little as possible about breeding in
this work, leaving that branch of the subject to those
who have devoted to it more attention, or, what is often
the case, more imagination. I myself have been able
to derive more valuable information from a study of the
" Racing Calendar " than from all the theories put for-
ward with great confidence by the exponents of infallible
systems of breeding in treatises where facts are too
frequently selected or distorted to suit some pre-
conceived idea held by the writer, just as each advocate
in a suit selects his facts and endeavours to magnify
them in support of the brief he holds, while he distorts
or minimizes those of his adversary. The subject of

breeding cannot, however, bc altogcther avoided, for the
trainer must be supposed to iucludc within the range of
his duties that of advice to his employer on the pur-
chase and breeding of thoroughbreds, which his intimate
experience of their performances and peculiarities
qualifies him to offer. It will always, if he is worth his
salt, or if he has due regard to his own interests, be his
aim and desire to have under his care the best material
that can be obtained. If he has practical experience,
and has benefited thereby, his knowledge of the occult
characteristics of various breeds�or rather, I should
say, families, for all thoroughbreds are of one breed�
will serve him in good stead when in the paddock or
the sale ring, his employer consults him as to what he
should or should not buy, and nearly as valuable
should be his opinion regarding what the latter ought
or ought not to breed. The judging and purchase of
the yearling will, therefore, form one of the most im-
portant duties of a trainer. The most skilful trainer in
the world cannot make a slow horse go fast. No one
can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Within a
certain limit he can improvc the pace of a horse, be he
slow or fast, but this limit is inelastic. On the other
hand, he can nurse and develop the qualities of a speedy
animal so as to increase his lasting powers, but this
also has its limit. Knowledge of the veterinary art in
a trainer is most desirable, especially if qualified by
modesty. By an observant man, and especially one
who reads, it is inevitably acquired. It will be useful
to him at all times in training, but more especially in
the incipient stages of accident and disease, and when
the services of a qualified veterinary surgeon cannot
be obtained at all, or cannot be obtained at once,
the remedies quickly applied are usually the most
efficacious. Pope tells us that "a little knowledge is a
dangerous thing,'^; but in this case ignorance is far more
dangerous. Wherefore the diseases and accidents to
which the race-horse is liable will be treated of in a
separate chapter, in so far as they affect actual training,

and a few practical remedies, suggested by good
authoritics, and confirmcd by expcriencc, will be set
forth. At the same time the services of a qualified
veterinary surgeon should always be available, and his
specialty should be racehorses, because the treatment of
these will differ widely from those of other horses.

Ignorancc of anatomy is unpardonable in a trainer,
because, in fact, it means ignorance of the materials at his
disposal and on which he has to work. The same may
be said, generally, of the qualities of food. What would
be thought of an engineer who knew neither the con-
struction of his engine, nor the qualities of the fuel
which it consumed ?

I think, therefore, that the comprehensiveness of the
term " training," which I have claimed for it, has been
fully established.

In all treatises on the arts it must beremembered that
very little of the matter can lay claim to originality.
At the most it can claim the virtues of arrangement,
discrimination, and completeness. Indeed, the writer's
knowledge of the art of training is principally derived
from written and oral information obtained from the most
competent practical authorities, digested in the crucible
of practical experience extending over more than a
quarter of a century. If any of my readers, on perusal
of these chapters, should meet with obvious truths and
familiar statements, let them remember that although
Solomou's dictum, " There is no new thing under the
sun," may seem a somewhat sweeping assertion, yet,
taken cum grano, it is a tolerably correct one. I may
add that the writer's experience is not solely derived
from training horses in any one country but in several,
where the conditions of climate, food, ground, labour,
and even of the horse himself, were different. In each
he has found it necessary to accommodate the teachings
of previous experience to the changed conditions, a
procedure which success exacted, and by which it
was generally secured.

The object with which the ensuing chapters on

training are written, is to enable those whose circum-
stances or location prevent their having recourse to a
regular training establishment, to prepare the thorough-
bred horse for his engagements on the flat, and to
discover to them the practical methods by which, at least,
they can ascertain whether, in the youngster, to which
hope attributes the flattering tale of a distinguished
career, they possess a mine of wealth, or only a costly
plaything. To enable them to avoid the detriment
which ensues from the absence of early education, or the
employment of improper methods in training, either of
which is a bar to success on the turf; and finally, it is
hoped that even those who are professors of the art
may find something in these pages which may prove
useful to them in their practice. It has been truly
said that " art is long, while life is short." We are all
at school from the cradle to the grave, and there is
no period of our lives, and no condition of progress in
our professions, when we have not still something left
to learn ; while the author's experience has led him to
the conclusion that those who read most are also the
best trainers.

......................... :_.._........

HOW TO BUY, TRAIN, AND RUN
HIM.

PROCURING THE YEARLING.

Good judgment in buying rare�Rules for buyers�Prejudice
against certain breeds to be discarded�Buy on shape and
action, and with regard to the object in view� Qualities and
soundness of sire and dam to be considered�Roarers and
soft breeds to be avoided�i he points of a yearling�Head
and neck � Forehead � Barrel � Hindquarters � Colour �
Action both walking and in the paddock�Condition�
Examples of a successful application of rules.

SOMEBODY immortalized Mrs. Glasse by attributing to
her a recipe for cooking a hare. " First catch your
hare," she is represented as saying. The good lady
never said anything of the kind ; but fame is often ac-
quired on as slender foundations. The owner and
trainer must perforce follow the advice, wherever it came
from. A yearling is not difficult to catch, providingyou
have the proper appliances, which in this case mean a
taste for horseflesh and a pocketful of money. For
hospitable breeders will invite you to their paddocks,
and persuasive auctioneers will charm you in the sale
room, having first lubricated the clasp of your pocket-
book with champagne and other good things, so that if

the appliances are forthcoming, your great difficulty will
beto refrain from buying, especially if you know nothing-
about yearlings. I have often remarked the difference
in the methods employed in selling a good and a bad
yearling. The latter is invested with all the attributes
of equine excellence. On both sides he traces back to
parentage of celebrity and worth, whose qualities were
of such high order that it would appear as if the only
difficulty they could have encountered was in losing a
race ; with blood in his veins to which that of the most
lineal descendant of Adam is a mere puddle. True, he
is on a small scale, but then, you must remember, one
of the most celebrated mares on the turf was so small
when a yearling, that on being sent home to her dis-
gusted trainer he mistook her for a foal; a trifle straight
on the forelegs, but some of the best animals were
foaled that way ; perhaps a little defici�nt in muscle
and light in bone, but you are asked to remember that
so-and-so was even lighter�and what a horse he turned
out to be ! If he has bad action, the attendant is in-
structed not to move him about too much or too fast.
If he has good, he cannot display it too much. A grand
yearling steps into the ring, tossing his head and scan-
ning the crowd with the confidence of courage and
power. You might expect to hear still higher enco-
miums, Pelion piled upon Ossa; nothing of the kind.
" Now, gentlemen, this is lot ten ; I need not say any-
thing about him ; you all know his sire and dam, and
you have seen his full brother run this year. How
much for this colt ? Two thousand guineas ? One
thousand ? Thank you, sir."

He wants no selling; there are a dozen purchasers
eager to catch him, and pay doubl� or treble his value
for him, too ; and talking would be a mere waste of
time ; praise, " gilding refined gold, or painting the
lily." Thousands of yearlings are sold in the United
States, in the United Kingdom, in Australasia, and on
the continent of Europe, but how few earn winning
brackets ! An excellent judge of yearlings assured me

Procuring the Yearling, 13

that he considered himself fortunate if two out of five
he purchased proved to be winners at all : and how few
good judges exist ! Excellence is rare in this respect
as in any other. The qualities of eye and judgment
required to make a successful buyer are as rare, if not
rarer, than those requisite to the achievement of success
in any other branch of art. Like them they are sus-
ceptible of improvement, but I have not the slightest
doubt that they are born with Man, as is the talent for
painting or music. Lay down all the rules you like as
a guide to the buyer, let them be approved by the most
competent judgment and engraven on the memory, and
yet one man will buy better than another. The pre-
liminary advice I should give to a buyer is to discard
all prejudice, if such is possible. Doctor Shorthouse,
an eminent authority on breeding, held such a prejudice
against the Blacklock blood, and abused it so con-
sistently in his paper, that it is said the advent of
" Galopin " nearly broke his heart. Some families pro-
duce, it is true, a larger number of winners than others.
Like begets like in the main, but not necessarily in the
individual, throughout all animated creation, the varia-
tions being greater as the scale rises ; but it is no
greater satisfaction to the owner of a worthless animal
to know that he is of a winning family than to a man
suffering from an incurable disease to know that he comes
of a healthy one. In fact, human nature is so consti-
tuted that it is rather the reverse. A colt, well shaped,
with good action, whose family is in the winning nrinor-
ity, should be purchased in preference to one of lesser
qualifications derived from the most winning blood ;
that is, for racing; breeding is another matter, with
which we are not now immediately concerned. Another
consideration which should affect the buyer is the pur-
pose for which he wants his horses ; whether as money-
making machines, to be got rid of when that end is
accomplished ; to be used afterward for breeding ; or
whether it is principally for pleasure, and the honour
and glory of racing, as in the case of the late Lord

Derby, who spent half a Hfetime trying to breed a win-
ner of the great race which bears his name. If for the
first, I have no hesitation in saying that horses which
can win as two-year-olds are the most profitable. Their
keep is less costly, most of them run generously at that
age, and can be depended upon to run up to their pri-
vate trials and over short courses; the odds against
them are more iiberal, especially in the commencement
of their career, because they have not as vet become
popular idols ; secrets of the stable have been better
preserved; owners of the animals that run against
them are more sanguine than when repeated disappoint-
ments have sobered their expectations, and these
backing their own freely, better odds are obtained.
Notwithstanding the warnings of experience, buyers at
remunerative prices can also generally be found for
them at the end of their two-year-old career ; for expe-
rience is not always a warning to the many. Breeders
will often buy them eagerly, either desirous of repro-
ducing the same class, or hopeful, by judicious crossing,
of improving their lasting qualities. Of the second are
all likcly youngsters, containing fashionable strains
of blood, who may gain credit at the stud, if they do
not adorn the racecourse. Thirdly, colts and fillies by
the best sires, out of the best mares, and likely to train
on. These horses sell themselves as youngsters, many
of them train on, can both stay and go fast, and are a
crown of glory to their owners.

The question of soundness in sire and dam will enter
largely into the calculations of the buycr, especially as
regards soundness in wind.

Unsoundness from accident may be disregarded, but
not that which proceeds from disease; in the latter
category will be ranged roaring, whistling, bone and
bog spavin, navicular, ring and side bones, contracted
feet, and perhaps curbs, which proceed often from a
hercditary form of hoek, but in my opinion are seldom
permanently detrimental to a racehorse. William Day
classes thorough-pin as a serious unsoundness, but does

Procuring the Yearling. 15

not say whether it is hereditary. Most trainers I have
consulted do not agree with him ; nevertheless his
opinion should carry considerable weight. The worst
case of thorough-pin I ever saw was in Marie Stiiart,
winner of the Oaks and Leger. When she ran in the
Ascot Cup, with the best field of horses that ever started
for that race, she did not appear to run unsound then,
and afterwards stood training and ran well, especially
in the Manchester Cup, for which she carried top
weight, beaten only a neck. I regard thorough-pin
more as a sign of overwork than as unsoundness,�
something akin to windgalls. Roaring of a certain kind
is hereditary. A remarkable instance came under my
notice as an owner. A filly whom I purchased at New-
market in October, and who had not run as a two-year-
old, won in the spring five or six consecutive races as a
three-year-old. I thought she was good enough to win
the Oaks, for which she was entered, but kept her for
the Cesarewitch, as she could both stay and go fast. As
the year went on she went on improving; suddenly,
within a fortnight, she turned a bad roarer. She had
not suffered from cold or inlluenza or any cause sup-
posed to produce roaring. Her brother, who ran
second for the Two Thousand Guineas in the spring,
went in the same way. She bcgot winners afterward�
so did her dam ; most, if not all, were roarers. It is
true that roaring is not common in the United States,
where the dryness of the climate seems less favourable
to the disease. It is even stated that imported English
roarers become sound in A merica. Where the disease
is the result of paralysis of the muscles which dilate the
larynx, it is incurable ; and it appears to me that it is
this paralysis, or the tendency to it, which is hereditary.
Prince Charlie, however, imported by Mr. Swigert, who,
as well as his dam and brothers, one excepted, were
roarers, did not transmit that disease during his short
service in America. I never considered the Prince a
bad kind of roarer. A horse that could beat a Cam-
bridgeshire winner like Peut�tre over a mile like a

common hack, and thus wind up an almost unbeaten
four and five-year-old career, could not have been a bad
roarer ; and the disease might with him have been
acquired and not inherited. Roanng is more prevalent
among the largest horses, which is against the heredi-
tary theory. Still, though a buyer, and especially a
buyer for early racing, should not be altogether deterred
by hereditary diseases in sire or dam, it may be re-
asserted that these should certainly enter into his
calculations. But this will be treated of more fully
hcreafter. Families which are notably soft should be
avoided ; that is to say, those whose members, from
some unknown cause, fail to fulfil the reasonable expec-
tations of their owners, formed from private trials.
Rogue and jade are terms applied to this sort; they
are said to be defici�nt in courage. This fault is often
attributable to internal conformation and to nervous-
ness, which affects the lower animals as well as human
beings. Having avoided these pitfalls, the buyer will
consider the conformation of the colt. An intelligent
head is a sine qud non. The shape does not so much
matter, cxcept that the forehead should be broad, de-
noting volume of bra�n ; the eyes far apart, prominent
and observant. A pig, or sunken, eye denotes sullen-
ness, intractability, and want of courage; a furtive eye,
showing much of the white, denotes vice, Roman-
nosed horses are often hardy and enduring, like their
ancient human prototypes, whereas those whose frontal
bone is concave are the reverse; but there is no
unvarying law. The jaws should be wide beneath, so
as to give room for the windpipe, which should be large
and loose. The nostrils wide, and the muzzle not too
small; a small mouth in man or horse denotes weak-
ness of character. The lips should be firm and closcd ;
a pendulous lip shows indecision and physical weak-
ness, which is often its cause. The head should be set
on at a proper angle to the neck, which between the
axes of both should be about a hundred degrees. Set-
ting on at a much lesser angle produces roaring; at a

Procuring the Yearling. 17

greater angle, weakness and a bad mouth, which does
not give and take to the rider's hand as it should do.
The neck ought to be strong and muscular to sustain
the weight of the head (in racing the neck tires first) ;
it should not be too long, and the hand should feel it
firm and substantial under the mane. This indicates a
good constitution. It should swell out gradually to the
head and shoulder, showing no very marked junction
with the latter. The mane should be thin and silky.
Shakespeare says : " Thin mane, thick tail, broad but-
tocks, tender hide;" and he is right. The shoulder
should be oblique, and the scapula, or shoulder-blade,
should extend far back to where it joins, or rather, is
suspended, for there is no joint here, at the wither ; it
should also be long, giving an appearance of oblique
length to the shoulder, which in this form is enabled to
sustain the jar caused by the great stride and speed of
the thoroughbred. With harness horses and others the
shoulder is more upright, which gives rigidity at the
expense of elasticity. This elasticity enables the horse
to recover himself after the completion of the stride.
The numerus, or lowershoulder-bone, must also be long,
and set on to the shoulder-blade at a proper angle�
about ninety degrees. This angle leaves the greatest
freedom for extension and recovery of the fore legs, a
problem which may be illustrated by a common prac-
tice in athletics : Put your toes to a line chalked upon
the floor, take in the left hand a piece of chalk, and
support your body with your right hand on the floor,
then chalk a mark with your left as far as possible.
Having done so, recover a perpendicular position with-
out having moved the feet or the right hand. A few
attempts will quickly show that if the right arm is ex-
tended much beyond a right angle to the body, you
will be unable to recover the perpendicular; if at too
acute an angle, you will be unable to chalk far. So
with the shoulder of the racehorse. Equal power of
extension and recovery are necessary to a long and
uniform stride.

When the lower shoulder bone is long, the elbow is
pushed backward, and this, coupled with the length of
the shoulder-blade, gives to the fore hand of the colt,
looking at it sideways, the large surface or size so much
desired by connoisseurs, while an apparent smallness is
the result of a conformation the reverse of the above.
The skeleton described should be thickly covered with
muscle, which gives an appearancc of roundness to the
angularities. The fore legs should be straight in their
general conformation, and perpendicular, whereby the
utility of the well-shaped shoulder is preserved. The
radius, or bone of the fore arm, should be long, and the
arm itself large, muscular, and full in the outline ; the
knee large, and broad in front, giving plenty of surface
for the attachment of muscle, and, with the joints
generally, should have an aspect of coarseness in the
thoroughbred. The cannon bone should be short.
Animals who have this bone shortest, coupled with the
longest fore arm, are the speediest; this formation being
most striking in the greyhound of all our domestic
animals. The elbow should neither be turned in to the
flank, nor out. If turned in, the legs are turned out
and have to bear the shock of galloping in part laterally,
while there is interference between it and the ribs.
Such horses are generally bad walkers. If out, the toes
are turned in, which is not so weak a form as the other,
but detracts from the speed.

I have said that the leg should be straight; this is
particularly the case below the knee to the fetlock. If
the back outline of the leg is convex, what is called
calf-knced, it is a sure sign of weakness ; such horses
seldom stand training. The reverse of this shape is
unsightly; nevertheless, horses so formcd seldom break
down. The leg should, with its tendon, appear broad
and flat, and the latter, called the back sinew, or flexor
tendon, should be clearly defined. This sinew should
be quite straight; if it is pinched in, or tied below the
knee, weakness is denoted. The fetlock, like the other
joints, should be large, to facilitate the attachment of

Procuring the Yearling. 19

muscle, and have a hard, clean look. Thence the pas-
tern should descend at an angle to the perpendicular of
forty-five degrees. A lesser angle would jar, and a
greater weaken the structure. The pastern should be
slender, clean, and hard-looking. The foot should be
of good size, at the same angle as the pastern, and the
horn smooth and without rings or streaks, which are
sure indications of disease. The frog should be large,
filling up the heel, and both it and the sole should be
tough and strong, and the latter concave. Standing
in front of the colt, the outline of the chest from the
wither to the b�ttom of the breast should appear like a
flattened oval, smaller at the wither end, and narrow
compared with that of a horse used for any other pur-
pose except racing. If the chest is too wide, and this
is, perhaps, the greatest fault in a horse intended for
racing, the forelegs will stand wide apart, and a great
deal of daylightwill beseen through them, which ought
not to be. I have seldom seen a horse so formed that
could gallop at all, and never one that could stay. The
feet ought to come close together, an inch or so apart.
The chest should bedeep in pr'-portion to width ; horses
so formed stay the best. A decp, narrow chest expands
more readily, and is capable of more expansion in
response to the action of the lungs, as will be explained
more fully later on. As the chest should be narrow, so
should the body behind the shoulders, whose muscles
should swell out so as to keep the saddle in its place;
at the same time the section through that part of the
body should not sink inward suddenly to toward the
lower part of the girth behind the elbow. The withers
should be strong, not fine or "knifey." The former
denotes strong muscular attachment of the shoulder
cartilage to the spine, and a full development of the
ligament by which the forehand is suspended thereto.
A strong wither also tends to keep the saddle in its
place. Looking again sideways at the horse, the chest
should rise slightly toward the belly till at least eight
inches from the elbow, when the lower outline should

fall very slightly; this formation indicates the place for
the girth, and where girth measurements are taken.
The more of the horse there is in front of the girth, the
better will be the shoulder and forehand. The ribs
should be long, and terminate about five inches from
the hip. A horse so formed is tenned " well ribbed
up" and " long in the back rib," two de^irable things,
denoting strength and good feeding qualities. A wide
gap there is a source of weakness ; so is a short back
rib. The latter is to a certain extent allowable vvith
mares, but not vvith horses.

The hips should be wide and prominent, and the
stride turned out. This gives the hind quarters free
play, and prevents interference vvith the ribs. The
horse so formed stands vvith his hoeks close together.

The three principal bones of the hind*quarters should
have nearly the same relative position as those of the
fore quarter, and, like these, must be long. The haunch
bone, or Os Innominatum, composed of three parts�
the illium, ischium, and pubis�unlike the shoulder
bone, is firmly attached to the spine. The angle formed
by it and the femur, or thigh bone, is, however, more
obtuse than that betvveen the humerus and shoulder
blade, about 105 degrees. On the other hand, the
angle formed by the femur and tibia, or second thigh
bone, should be more acute than that formed by the
corresponding bones in the fore quarter by about ten
degrees, or somewhat less than 120 degrees. This
formation, and that of the hind quarter generally, is,
it will easily be perceived, better adapted for propulsion
than the fore quarter, the general line being straighter
in the one than in the other. The quarters should
droop along the upper bone about forty-five degrees
from the line of the backbone, and the line to the
tail very much less ; but this latter is an unimportant
matter, a considerable droop giving, however, a rather
common appearance, which is termed "goose rump,"
but does not affect a horse for good or evil. From the
point of the hoek to the fetlock, the leg should fall straight

Procuring the Yearling.

and perpendicular; it must be broad and flat, with the
flexor tendon clearly defined, as in the fore leg. The
hoek should be broad, coarse, bony, and clean ; delicacy
in appearance indicates weakness. If the posterior out-
line below the point is convex, curbs are indicated ; if
concave, weakness, as in fore legs. The fetlock should,
like the other joints, be large, and both the pasterns
and hoof may descend more perpendicularly than in
the fore leg, while the hind feet will be smaller and
shorter than the fore feet. Standing now behind the
horse, the buttocks must be broad�the broader the
better�and tapering to the hoek, with the outer line
generally convex, denoting muscular development in
the thighs and second thighs, the shape resembling a
peg-top ; the inner thighs should be well filled up with
muscle, the absence of which gives that appearance
called" split up behind." Sometimes at the junction of
the upper bone and spine there is a lump or rise, which to
the unskilled eye appears unsightly, but in such cases
the bone is well developed, and there is more room for
attachment of muscle. This excrescence is sometimes
termed " the bump of speed,' because horses so formed
are generally speedy, Cceteris paribus. The loin and
top of the quarters should be arched across, a form
denoting great muscular development, the absence of
which renders the section of the back angular. As
stated before, the hoeks should be close together and
the stifle joint turned out; and the pasterns and
hind feet should be turned outward. Looking from
behind, the hoeks should present the same solid,
bony appearance as when reviewed from the side.
Looking again at the colt sideways, the line from
the top of the quarters to the wither should be nearly
horizontal, the wither slightly lower, especially in
yearlings. The wither is apt to rise with age more
than the quarter. I do not like a horse with high
withers ; the fore action is likely to be higher than is
desirable, and horses so formed have seldom that
daisy-cutting action so gratifying to the eyes of an

expert. Eclipse was very low before, and, I may add,
went very wide behind, bringing his hind feet well
outside his fore. In this respect many of our best
race-horses resemble him. Finally, it may be said that
the tail ought to be strong and thick. A weak tail
denotes a weak constitution ; so does a loose flaccid
anus.

To the eye, educated by knowledge of anatomy and
of the proper position of the bones forming the skeleton,
the right conformation of the racehorse clothed in flesh,
fat, and muscle, soon becomes familiar, and indeed this
knowledge is necessary to arrive at a proper estimate
of shape and form, with the action consequent to,
if not inseparable, from these ; just as it is required
by the painter of the human figure, and without it he
cannot faithfully idealize or represent symmetry and
strength upon the canvas before him. In both cases
the instructed eye presents to the mind a picture drawn
from the best models of what ought to be, and compares
with that the object immediately before it, either to
approvc or to condemn. As to colour, it is an old
saying that no good horse is of a bad colour; but this,
like many which have the reputation of age and wisdom,
is manifestly untrue. That comparatively few horses of
a bad colour have been successfiu on the turf no one
with experience can deny; and the writer does not
entertain any doubt but that those few would have been
better animals had their colour been good. The most
objectionable colours are those which are weak and
washy of their kind, and where the extremities are
lighter than the rest of the body. Thus, a very iight
bay or chestnut is apt to be of weak constitution,
defici�nt in stamina, and when to this isadded " mealy "
legs, or legs lighter than the rest of the coat and a
lighter coloured mane and tail, the evil is accentuated.
" Black points " (that is, black legs, mane and tail) are
preferable in a bay; and with these the feet are gene-
rally more sound, and the horn is more enduring,
White legs and feet are objectionable, but not so much

Procuring the Yearling.

as "mealy" ones; yet a colt should not be rejected on
that score if otherwise well formed and of good action.
Dark chestnut, bay, and grey, will be better than light
shades of those colours. Blacks are very seldom seen,
a few, as Saunterer, having been excellent. Roans are
still more scarce, and I have never seen a good onc of
that colour. Some horses, like Strathconan, have a
slight admixture of bay or chestnut hairs, but they are
really greys. Browns^ with bays and chestnuts, practi-
cally monopoliz�"'the turf; and the darker and more
whole coloured they are, the b�Tt�n"�'

IS��THa Ti�rslf may be of the best colour and the best
breed, and outwardly possess every contour that repre-
sents a model of speed and endurance, yet, like the
possessor of all the virtues without charity, be worth
nothing. The Athenian orator is said to have described
the three chief attributes of eloquence as action, action,
action; so, indeed, it is with the racehorse: without action,
form, size, colour, ancestry, everything will be neutralized ;
with it they may in some measure be dispensed with.
This is what is meant by the saying " Horses go in all
shapes." It is action that makes them go ; the want of
it that makes them worthless. How can this quality be
ascertained ? Undoubtedly, any person who has been
constantly observing a number of yearlings, raised per-
haps under his care, ought to be able to teil with
tolerable certainty which have good action and which
have bad. But this is precisely the man who will not
teil. If he is true to his employer he will keep his
mouth shut, and he certainly will not depreciate the
property entrusted to him by odious comparisons. A
tip to a stud groom may sometimes procure information,
but it is not to be depended on, and no honourable man
would resort to such a proceeding before a sale. Alter
it the case is different, but then the information loses in
value.

The best yearling the writer ever owned was bought
on his own judgmcnt, afterwards confirmed by that of
the stud groom, who sought him out after the sale and

informed him that the colt was superior to the rest in
the paddock, and had the best action in galloping.
That a pretty good judgment may be passed on the
merit of a colt before he is broken or tried, may be
inferred from the following : Thirty years ago the writer,
who had two pointers being broken at a place about
fifteen miles from where he was then staying, walked
over one day, at the keeper's request, to see them
work. On his return, he called at a pretty cottage some
distance off the road to ask for a glass of water ; and,
being hospitably entertained with something better, as
he was conversing with his entertainer, a clean-shaven
man of about fifty, he noticed an excellent oil-painting
of " Teddington," the winner of a previous Derby,
hanging on the wall. A remark led to explanations,
and he ascertained that his host was the stud groom
of Sir Joseph Hawley, owner of the horse represented
in the painting. An invitation to go around the pad-
docks foliowed ; and while looking at the brood mares
and their offspring, the conversation turned upon the
coming Derby, which was less than a fortnight distant.
In this race Sir Joseph had the favourite " Fitzroland,"
winner of the " 2000 Guineas," and, as is usually the case,
with winners of that race, he was at a short price. He
had another horse entered," Beadsman," by " Weatherbit."
Discussing the chances of the first-named, the stud
groom said : " I have never laid eyes on the colts since
they left my charge nearly two years ago, but Beadsman
always led Fitzroland in the paddock, and he looked to
me then more like a Derby horse." Acting on this
hint, the writer backed Beadsman at a long price, and
remembers well the sensation created on the course
when Wells, Sir Joseph's first jockey, was seen mounted
on the second string, who came with a rattle in the
betting, and won easily, Sir Joseph netting, it is said,an
enormous stake. I believe that if buyers could spend a
good deal of time looking at youngsters as they show
their metal in the paddock, it would be well spent ; but
this can seldom be: breeders of yearlings do not like

Pr omring the Yearling. 25

buyers to be too inquisitive, nor do they care to see
their youngsters rattled about. How, then, can the
buyer obtain that guaranty of speed and galloping
action which will justify him in nodding to the
auctioneer ? From the walk, I reply without hesitation.
If a colt walks really well, he will always gallop ; he
will not necessarily be a stayer, but he can always go.
The sale ring is by no means a good place to observe
the walking capacity of a colt. Led around a small
ring by a man who cannot walk fast himself, and who,
perhaps, has orders not to lead fast, a colt seldom
exhibits his capabilities in this respect. The very best
place I know to judge of a yearling is Doncaster during
the St. Leger week. There, five hundred or more
yearlings are offered at auction during the four days.
Each day the youngsters are led out for exercise in the
paddocks attached to the sale rings, and an intending
buyer can observe their action from every point of view.
A colt that is likely te race will show great freedom in
the use of his limbs, behind and before�what is termed
"liberty of action." The colt that gets over the ground
quickest has not necessarily the best action. Quick,
jerky action often denotes speed, but only for a short
distance ; such rarely, if ever, prove stayers.

The writer ence purchased a filly of this kind, described
afterward in a sporting paper as " one of the fastest
walkers ever led into a sale ring." She walked with a
quick, nimble action I have seldom seen cqualled. As a
two-year-old she won seven or eight races right off the
reel, but these were over the half-mile courses then in
vogue. She could not win at five furlongs, and never
did win when she had to compass that distance or
beyond it, but she was like a rabbit from the slips. The
colt in walking should reach out far with his fore fegs
ancT put" hlsleet down firmly with a decided thud, and
they should not dweil in the air before coming to the
ground. The hind legs should be brought under him
in the same manner, far in front of the spot vacated by
the fore fcot. This s"��o��d be accompanied by flexibility

26 The Racehor se.

of the ncck and body ; the former should be carried
low, and bend gracefully, and the tail should swing freely
from side t� side. The motion should be graceful.
Grace of motion in the horse, as in man or woman, is
the propter hoc of external and internal symmetry. I
say internal, because the action of a body, to the eye
well formed, may be let and hindered by the malforma-
tion of joints and muscles not visible. Fine external
muscular development does not always carry with it
freedom of action�very often the reverse, as may be
scen in human beings. In the human subject, however,
grace may be taught, may be acquired ; but with the
horse, who does not, so far as we know, study personal
appearance, it results wholly from conformation. I
have never found walking action, as a test, to fail in
judging a number of yearlings. At the sale of Mr.
Swigert's yearlings in Kentucky, in 1884, I picked out
two colts and two fillies at the request of Colonel Bruce
of Turf, Field and Farm (American), and an excellent
judge of yearlings, and these proved to be the best out
of about sixty sold. I was guided principally by their
action., I knew nothing of their breeding, being then
quite a stranger to American thoroughbreds. Five
years later, at the request of the New York Sporting
World, I inspected ninety-eight of the Rancho del Paso
yearlings from California, and in an article written
previous to the sale, selected forty-eight as likely to
prove winners. All the subsequent winners, except one,
and there were about twenty as far as I can recollect,
came from those I had selected. In 1890, Mr. J. R.
Keene, the owner of Foxhall, told me that since he
owned the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire winners, he
had bought a number of high-priced yearlings, paying
from 400 to 1200 guineas for them, and that not one
had won a race of any kind. He asked me to select
ten yearlings for him at the various sales in progress. I
selected nine, with the rcsult that six proved to be
winners as two-year-olds. Had the matter been left
altogether in my hands I should have bought for him

Pr�curing the Yearling.

" Yorkville Belle," the best filly oftheyear, and " Lamp-
lighter," who will, I think, prove the best three-year-old
colt, but I only marked the catalogues, and he or his
son exercised their judgment. Had these nine horses
been in good hands when they fulfilled their engage-
ments, all but one would have been returned winners.
The prices paid for these yearlings were low, averaging
160 guineas a head, Mr. Keene being at that time all for
buying cheap, because many of the best horses in the
States at that time had fetched low prices, and he had
himself paid only 150 guineas, or thereabouts, for " Fox-
hall." In these cases I was guided principally by walk-
ing action. Of course I do not mean to say that con-
formation went for nothing ; it goes for a great deal,
but is, as I have said, worthless without action. In
walking, a colt can be made to do his best ; galloping
in the paddock, he cannot, and frequently will not. If
he would, this might be the best criterion. The year-
ling should be observed from before and from behind, to
ascertain how he makes use of his limbs; whether he
turns them in or out. A colt that turns out his fore feet
is more likely to interfere, or strike one against the
other, than one who turns them in; and turning in is
more against speed than turning out. Horses that turn
out their hind feet and legs a good deal are very often
speedy. The hind legs are very seldom, if ever, turned
inward. Perhaps I should have said before this that it
will be well carefully to examine the yearltngs in thcir
boxes before studying their action. It is there that
blemishes and incipient unsoundness can be most easily
detected, and that notes should be made of any defects.
Often, as every one who has had experience will
remember, the colt appears quite a different animal in
the box and out of it. Very often when you see him
led out you will reconsider your opinion, favourably or
otherwise. You will pardon his faults of shape for his
action, or condemn his beauty for his want of action.

I remember to my cost buying a number of yearlings
which I thought well of in the stable. The sale was

held in the open, in pouring rain ; umbrellas and mack-
intoshes were the order of the day, and there was no
seeing the young ones move. It was a good, but an
expensive lesson. And yet, after all that can be said
and all that can be taught, there is in the buying of a
yearling something that can never be communicated,
something in his action that cannot be described�what
the French call a " Je ne sais quoi: " and the perception
of it lies in the man�is, like the gift of painting and
music, born with him ; and in it lies, as in other arts, the
true cause of success. To those who have given intelli-
gent attention to these matters, this will not seem an
extravagant assertion, and yet it must be observed that
few members of the Anglo-Saxon race will concede their
own ignorance where the horse is concerned, however
ready they may be to admit it in other matters ; perhaps
that is why you may hear more downright nonsense
talked about horseflesh than about any other subject of
common interest.

Before quitting this branch of the art, it may be well
to remind my readers that perfect and natural formation
must not be looked for in a yearling ; nay, indeed, it
must be looked upon with suspicion. Colts and
chiklren that are too good-looking seldom fulfil the
promise of their earlier days ; with the former, certainly,
that symmetry vvhich pleases the eye of the inex-
perienced is often a herald of little growth and improve-
ment in the future ; and the development of the sweet
by-and-by must, with horse-fiesh at least, be gathered
from the promise of the present and the experience of
the past.

Breeders for sale, and the general public, love a fat
horse, the former with good reason ; good judges do
not. Like the aforesaid charity, fat covers a multitude
of sins ; on the other hand, it certainly denotes a good
constitution ; and if you see a lean yearling among a
number of fat ones you may be sure that there is some-
thing wrong ; the colt is not a good feeder, or he may
have been amiss. It may have been nothing serious,

Procumng the Yearhng. 29

but on the whole I prefer an animal that has had no
early sorrows. Again, fat colts, when put into training,
fall away; lean ones improve. Lord Falmouth, the
most successful breeder in England, and who never bred
for sale, sent his youngsters to the trainer anything but
fat. I heard the latter say that they always improved
with him from the start. Any one who bears all the
above principles and particulars in mind, and who is
capable of applying them practically, need never buy a
yearling that is not capable of racing, unless of course he
should be prevented by accident or disease. He may
not win big races or in first-class company, but he will
be able to gallop ; what distance, the future, and to a
great extent his parentage, will determine. One who
properly applies the above information need never buy
a colt that cannot gallop fast.

Importance of stabling�Should be close to training-ground�Dry,
witli southern aspect�Well ventilated, lighted, and floored�
Kinds of floonng�Admiral Rous on stabling�General de-
scription�Drainage�Stalls and boxes�Fittings�Tempera-
ture�Water and tanks�Straw and hay barn�Verandahs�
Winnowing, chaff-cutting and slicing machines�Paddock�
Forge � Accommodation for attendants � Importance of
details.

Having procured the yearling, the next question for
consideration is vvhere to put him. That the rnatter of
stabling is very important, and should receive earnest
attention, becomes apparent when it is considered that
it largely affects the welfare of the horse and his success
upon the turf. It is not intended here to suggest
elaborate plans for a racing stable. Excellent and well-
considercd designs will be found in works which treat of
the horse in general, or the racehorse in particular.
With a few alterations, the training establishment built
by Mr. William Day at Woodyates, in Dorsetshire, and
fully described in his book, " The Racehorse in Train-
ing," is a desirable model, and cannot very much be
improved upon except in the matter of fittings and
such like, wherein considerable ingenuity has been shown
of late years. It will therefore be suffici�nt to indicate
the general principles which should govern the construc-
tion of stables, more especially those relating to hygi�ne,
and which can be adapted to structures now in use. In
the construction and arrangement of stables, besides
those sanitary precautions which are directed against

disease, it is desirable, if not absolutely essential, to
study the comfort and convenience of boys and stable-
men�of the general management, in fact. Proper dis-
positions in this respect, if they do not insure, tend at
least to promote economy and to create contentment
among those to whose care the horses are entrusted,
which goes far to attain the desired result. If every
facility exists for carrying on a business, there is always
less grumbling and discontent among employ�s, the
work is easier, and more cheerfully performed. Where
these matters are duly considered and carefully pro-
vided for, a stable very inferior in design and construc-
tion will be better adapted for training purposes than
one superior in these respects, where the former con-
siderations have been neglected, or have received in-
suffici�nt attcntion. Such an establishment will re-
semble one of those dwelling-houses familiar to many of
us, neither picturesque nor pretending in its architectural
proportions, but whose interior has become, from
pati�nt and careful study of the wants of the inmates, a
synonym for comfort, convenience and salubrity. The
stables should be close to the training ground, which, in
wet or bad weather, will enable the horses and riders to
do their work with a minimum of risk and inconvenience.
They should be built on dry ground which has been
properly drained, and if possible, in such a location that
when horses are finishing their gallops and svveats, their
heads may be turned homeward. It is very important,
too, that they should have, if possible, asouthern aspect.
With the dwellings of men this desideratum has been
recognized, if not always acted on. With the racehorse,
the child of a southern sky, a southern aspect is still
more desirable, and indeed the same rule applies
generally to the animal and vegetable creation. Your
garden, your kennel and your stable should have a
sunny aspect, and the same obtains in the southern
hemisphere, changing " Southern " to " Northern." The
tenants of such establishments are stronger in their
growth and less subject to disease. A racing-stable

32 The Racehor se.

should have both stalls and loose-boxes, and horses
should be accustomed to stand in both, because other-
wise, when necessity compels to do so, they will be
restless in that to which they are unaccustomed. It
would be a good plan to have some of the boxes con-
vertible into stalls. All the door posts, with which the
animals are liable to come in contact ought to be
rounded off, which diminishes the chances of injury. I
have seen horses severely hurt by contact with the sharp
edges of door-jambs. If economy of space and money is
no object, ceilings ought to be dispenscd with. Hovv-
cver well ventilated a stable or a room may be, a high
one is preferable to a low one. Under other circum-
stances, however, the stables may be ceiled and the
upper floor used for the storage of hay, oats, etc. Be-
sides the disadvantage of a low roof to the boxes, this
plan is, however, open to the objections that it is pro-
ductive of noise and attracts vermin, unless the latter is
removed by making the lofts vermin proof, as in the
case of the stables of a friend of mine, which are made
rat proof. The noise made at night by these little pests
disturbs horses, and robs them of the rest which isindis-
pensable to their welfare. The same objection applies
to using lofts as sleeping apartments for attendants. If
forage is kept above the horses it is also liable to become
tainted by the foul air arising from the stables. Should
the upper part of the buildings be used as suggested
above, extracting air shafts must be placed at intervals
and carried up to and above the roof, where they should
be louvred or protected by cowls pivoted in such a way
that the wind will not, by driving down the shaft, pre-
vent the foul air from escaping. Whether there are
ceilings or not, louvres should be placed in the roof. I
need scarcely say, in reference to the above, that foul
and heated air ascends, as may be easilytested afterthe
stables have been occupied for some time, by raising the
hand, or the head close to the ceiling. A point has
been made of the fact that carbonicacid and oxide gases
generated by animals is heavier than air, and therefore

should descend. In theory this may be true, but in
practice it is not, for the gas mingles with the heatcd
air and other impurities, and, becoming heated, rises.

Not one stable in a hundred is kept in a proper state
of ventilation. If the means are provided the intention
will generally be defeated by the ignorance and per-
versity of grooms who�and, I am sorry to say, some
trainers also are not free from the imputation�generally
detest pure air. Admiral Rous somewhat paradoxi-
cally remarked in giving evidence before a Parliamentary
Commission twenty years ago, that he only knew of
one stable in England fit to train in, and that one was
in such a bad state of repair that it was impracticable
to patch it up and exclude the air. A proper system of
ventilation requires the admission of pure air to replace
that which is foul and escapes through the roof. This
should be admitted at a point well above the horses, at
least eight feet from the ground, and windows will best
serve the purpose. If admitted from below, close to the
floor, draughts are created about the horses' heels, which
play upon the animals when they lie down, chili their
extremities and generate drease. The discomfort of
this will be patent to any one who is so unfortunate as
to live in a house with badly fitting doors, where draughts
penetrate the bottom, make the feet cold, the head hot,
and produce general derangement of the system. The
human being, under these circumstances, can get up,
walk about and warm his feet ; the unfortunate horse
is deprived of such means of relief, and consequently
requires protection. The want of it is the principal
cause of " cracked heels," which, though not a serious
injury, interrupts a horse's training, and has been the
cause of preventing many from fulfilling their engage-
ments. The windows themselves ought to behinged at
the bottom, and should open inward; this causes the
air to ascend, and in the case of wind prevents it from
blowing down on the horses' backs. These windows, or
rather the frames, had better be of iron, and should
work on curved rachets, whereby the quantity of air "

admitted can be easily regulated. You may see this
form of window commonly used in churches, where
people cannot convenicntly regulate the draught of air,
Light, and plenty of it, ought to be admitted from above
the heads of the horses, the higher the better. There
are few things more tiring to men and horses than glare,
and blinds should be provided to intcrcept the rays of
the sun in summer. The stable, in fine, should be well
lighted, kept at a temperature of about 60 degrees when
practicable, and no offensive smell should invade the
nostrils of the visitor.

Loose boxes may be about fourteen feet by twelve,
and twelve feet high ; the doors four feet by eight. The
walls preferably of plain brick, glazed brick or tiles.
Wood harbours vermin. If wooden structuresare used,
the walls should be smooth and of hard wood, with no
projections, and I recommend that they should he
whitewashed to prevent disease. Stalls may be six feet
wide by ten feet long, then horses cannot get at each
other with their heels. In the partitions the boards
should be laid horizontally ; when thus laid they do not
splinter so inuch from kicking ; are less liable to
damage, and also less liable to damage the horses.
There ought to be an interval of at least half an inch
between the floor and the partition, to prevent the
lodgment of excretions, and to enable the floors to be
thoroughly cleaned. As regards the latter, I disagree
with most writers on this subject. Various kinds of
flooring have various advocates. Brick, concrete,
paving-stones, cobblestones and tiles are the forms
chiefly recommended. These have their respective
advantages. Generalizing, it may be said that the
qualities most desirable in the floors of stables are as
follows:�

2. Suitability to the horses' feet.

The last of these I should dismiss altogether from

consideration, the difference in cost being so small and
the magnitude of interests affected so great. The same
remark will apply in a lesser degree to the first. The
chief objection to a floor that frequently requires repair
or renewal is the inconvenience it occasions. The cost
of repair is comparatively a small matter. The third is
of much greater importance than these two. If a floor
cannot be kept clean, if it becomes impregnated with
the excrements of theanimal to such an extent as to be
deleterious to his health, it should surely be rejected.
The most desirable in this respect of those named are
well-laid brick, cement, and, if cemented, paving and
tiles. Paving, I mean with large flagstones, in conse-
quence of the leverage set up by the horse's weight and
the size of the stones, is more liable to disturbance than
any of the others, consequently, urine is apt to lodge
between the joinings of the flags. Tiles and bricks are
less liable to disturbance for the contrary reason.
Cobblestones, advocated by many, are the most objection-
able of those mentioned, on the score of cleanliness.
The urine must necessarily sink between them, remain
there and become a source of disease.

The second consideration, namely, suitability to the
horses' feet, is in my opinion by far the most important.
The quality of slipperiness, the prcsence of which often
causes injury to horses in getting up or lying down or
turning in the stalls or boxes, is found in cement and
paving to a great extent, but rarely, if ever, in brick or
tiles, while cobblestones are entirely free from it. Con-
sequently, on that ground, I should prefer the last three.
But there is one important consideration under this
head, which, so far as I am aware, has entirely been
overlooked by writeis : that is, hardness. I really can-
not understand why it has been so, and can only account
for it by the fact that, as in most, if not all, branches of
science, existing methods have been accepted as right,
and especially those which save trouble. As a rule, a
trainer or groom will advocate what saves him trouble
or what causes his employer expense. To appreciate

the effect produced on the feet of horses by standing
for a long time on hard substances, let me ask the reader
to experiment by standing for hours on hard pavement
and then on wood or softer flooring. Let him extend
the experiment by having his shoes shod with the
heavy iron brads or nails that are commonly used with
shooting boots. I know myself that when, shod in this
manner, I come across a piece of pavement I get off it
as quickly as possible. What, then, must be the sensa-
tions of the horse, the rcsult to the delicate organization
of his feet, when to the comparatively unyielding horn
is tacked a rim of iron, raising the frog and sole, his
natural supports off the ground, and he is made to
stand for many hours at a time on brick or stone ? " A
fellow-feeling makes us wondrous kind," and after such
an experiment I shall expect the owner to sympathize
with his horse, and perhaps with his pocket. My atten-
tion was first drawn to the effect of a soft floor by the
extreme cleanness, hardness and coolness exhibited by
the legs of hunters belonging to a dealer whom I knew
in Ireland. These animals were kept in rough sheds
and bedded on bog stuff or disintegrated peat, which is
used for that purpose in the Emerald Isle, where it
abounds. The peat was laid upon hard clay slightly
raised to facilitate drainage. My friend assured me that
he had given up standing his horses upon hard pave-
ment for many years, having observed the difference it
made in their legs, a matter of great importance to him
as a dealer. While residing in the West Indies at
Barbadoes, I owned a racehorse whose feet were shelly,
and whose legs constantly filled or swelled in the stable.
Having removed to Demerara, where the spongy
nature of the soil necessitated raised and boarded floors
in the stablcs, I was struck by the remarkable improve-
ment in this horse's legs, and, indeed, my groom assured
me that they were all better in this respect. Returning
to a paved stable the old symptoms manifested them-
selves, leaving no room for doubt as to the advantage of
a boarded floor in that particular case. Again, when

flics are troublesome horscs knock and stamp their feet
and legs about injuriously against hard floors, whereas
on boards or clay the evil is mitigated, if not altogether
removed. If any additional proof were needed to con-
vince me of the value of wooden floors, it would be
found in the fact that the Liverpool Tramvvay Company
have entirely adopted them in view of their suitability to
horses' legs and feet, and their superiority in this respect
over hard pavement, a fact communicated to me recently
by the manager of that company when I visited their
stables. The objection I have to clay or earth is that it is
damp and becomes saturated with excretions, and is not
easy to keep clean. Otherwise I think it would be the
best kind of floor. Boarded floors are not free from this
objection, but I have observed that only a few of the
boards become so saturated, and these are easily renewed
and replaced if fixed with screws instead of nails. I do
not see, indeed, why the centre of the floor should not
be protected by rubber of a proper thickness, vvhich
might be occasionally removed and cleaned. Of
course, paved or other hard floors might be treated in
the same way, but it seems to me as if the rubber would
be liable to wear out. Any slipperiness in the boards
can be easily corrected by strewing a little sand every
now and then. My opinions in regard to wooden
versus earthen flooring have been confirmed by experi-
ence obtained on tracks around New York, where, as is
the case everywhere in the States, earthen floors are the
rule, and especially at Coney Island, where investiga-
tion left no doubt on my mind of the fact that horses
who stood on boarded flooring were healthier than those
that stood on earth, and were less subject to the so-called
epidemie of cold and influenza, which in 1889, afflicted
so many stables, and also to rheumatism which is very
common in America, and I also found horses to be
healthier where the earthen floors had been eovered with
peat, which is a disinfectant. Ordinary wood pavement,
such as is used in the streets of London, laid on con-
crete and paved in with tar and gravel, would be better

for horses' feet than that now generally used. It is
very easily repaired, and at very little expense, but the
oi�ginal cost is considerable. The saturated bricks
could be easily removed and replaced. I think, how-
ever, that on the whole a boarded fioor is better, cheaper
and cleancr. The fioors of the boxes and stalls may
slope a little to the open gutter, which runs the length
of the stable. This is necessary for drainage purposes.
One inch in sixty or seventy will suffice. If even that
slight slope could be dispensed with, all the better, for
horses ought to stand on a Ie vel floor. In loose boxes,
where the horse can shift his position, this slope is not
of much importance. The open gutters or draiiis
alluded to should be of stone or iron, the latter pre-
ferred, and should have a slope of at least one in eighty.
They should have an outlet into a sewage tank, which
can easily be cleaned and emptied. If the stable is long
the gutters may fall both ways, and indeed this plan will
generally be the best. There ought to be a passage at
least six feet wide outside the stalls and boxes, and
therein the saddles and bridles in use may be hung, as
well as the buckets, bandages, sponges, etc, which
should be on shelves above the horses and within easy
reach of the men, so that all the operations connected
with grooming and the care of horses may be carried on
under cover. Here also the lamps should be placed on
brackets. This passage ought to be of brick paving,
and the gutter should run on the inner side, so that the
horses will have a level surface to walk upon.

The whole floor of the building must be higher than
the ground outside, and there ought to be none but sur-
face drainage. In theory, underground drainage, with
the stalls and boxes drained to traps in the centre, is ex-
cellent ; in practice it is execrable. No care or atten-
tion that I have ever seen employed will prevent under-
ground drains from becoming choked, or the consequent
generation of miasmic gases and the attendant evils that
arise therefrom. I have rarcly, if ever, seen such stables
healthy, and in most cases where drains and traps have

been adoptcd, they have soon been discardcd for surface
drains. The evil effect of an underground drainage
system may not be immediately apparent ; but rest
assured that mephitic gases are surely, if slowly, sowing
the germs of disease, and undermining theconstitutions
of the horses. Fortunate, indeed, would it be for owners
if all trainers had this truth engraven on their minds�
that foul air, whether from the above cause, or from im-
perfect ventilation, is insidiously but efficaciously com-
bating the purpose for which horses are piaccd under
their charge.

Care should be taken to prevent all communication
by contact between the horses. By this precaution
disease maybe prevented from spreadingif unfortunately
it finds its way into a stable. For this purpose the
partitions between the stalls and boxes should be suf-
ficiently high. All the fittings, mangers, racks, etc, ought
to be of iron. This is cleaner than wood, and does not
harbour vermin. I recommend also that they should
be reniovable, to enable them to be properly cleaned,
and to prevent crib biting and injury to horses by lash-
ing out and playing. The racks for hay ouglit to be
low down, on the level of the manger ; not, as was the
old custom, high above the horses' heads, which obliged
them to crane their necks to get at the forage, and
allowed dust to get into their eyes. From this an
economy of hay will also result.

The mangers should be furnished with fixed water
buckets, drained off as basins are in a lavatory, and
supplied by pipes in the same manner. They should
be kept filled, by which means horses will drink when
they like and not when they can, as we ourselves would
wish to do, and thus they will consume much less water, in
fact only as much as they really require. The other ad-
vantages of this plan are, protection from disease�each
horse can only use his own bucket�and economy of
labour. Water should be supplied from a tank fixed over
thesaddle room or some warm place, where the chili will
be removed in cold weather. Preferably, the stable, as

statcd bcforc, should face the south, or the south and
east. It may with advantagc occupy two sides of a
square, the othcr two being inclosed with high paling
and occupied by sheds and buildings used for forage,
harness, saddle room, etc, and by the dwellings of the
employ�s, the trainer and his staff. The inclosure
ought to be sufficientJy large to enable horses to take
walking cxercise therein, when such is considered desir-
able, from policy or for other reasons. There should be
one or two loose boxes opening to the exterior of the
inclosure, in order to isolate any cases of contagious
disease. When the possible result of the spread of
disease in a stable is duly considered, no precaution
against it can be deemed unnecessary.

A harness room is an indispensable requisite to a
racing stable. There the spare saddles, bridles, cloth-
ing, etc, not in use ought to be stored, and under lock
and key the weighted saddles and saddle cloths should
be kept by the trainer.

The inflammable nature of hay and straw, and of
wooden buildings, if the stable is of that material,
makes it desirable to take the utmost precautions
against fire. Electric light at once suggests itself, but
as this will seldom be available, the use of that most
easily under command is recommended. Candles in
locked and inclosed lanterns, with horn or mica Win-
dows, are perhaps the best. Kerosene oil should on no
account be employed ; the danger attending its use is
too obvious to require comment. The lanterns should
be fixed and irremovable, except one or two, which
should only be intrusted to steady hands. If the walls
of the stable are of wood, all the parts about the lights
ought to be protected by tin or some uninflammable
substance. In each stable proper arrangements should
be made so that one of the lads can sleep there at night.
This precaution is useful in case a horse gets cast in his
stall orbox, or any accident happens to him during the
night.

Arrangements may be provided for heating the stable

in very cold vveather. This would bc attended with
some danger and difficulty in wooden stables. Of
course this necessity will not arise except in high lati-
tudes or a very severe climate.

The eaves of the stable ought to be guttered. iiy
this means the drip, which causes damp and disturbs
horses at night, will be prevented, and a supply of pure
water can be stored for the use of horses and for other
purposes ; the tank should be of .suffici�nt size to con-
tain a large supply. If raised above the level of the
mangers a continuous flow of water for the horses can
be obtained. Even ifwell water is used it should be
led up into tanks, both for the purpose of being warmed
and to facilitate stable operations. The economy of
labour thus attained will be suffici�nt to enable the
trainer of twenty horses to dispense with the services of
at least one stableman. In addition to this, the water
pipes should be so arranged, that with the addition of a
flexible hose any part of the stable may be thoroughly
washed and cleaned. It is perhaps needless to say that
all the pipes should be protected from the effects of
frost, and this will be suffici-ntly attained by burying
them in the ground when they pass through the open,
and laying the remainder inside the stables.

In one of the lofts there should be a winnowing
machine to clear the oats of dust, and the latter
should be discharged into a bin on the ground fioor,
where they can be served out in the proper proportions
to the horses. A small machine for splitting beanswill
also be required, and when passed through it the beans
may be treated in the same manner. There must also
be bins to hold the bran, oatmeal and chaff, for which
latter a chaff-cutting machine will be required. A
straw barn is an indispensable requirement of a racing
stable, and while the straw is protected from wet, the
barn must be thoroughly ventilated to keep it dry, for
if the straw contracts moisture, the result will be very
injurious to the horses. A similar barn may be provided
for hay, or the loft of the straw barn, provided with a

shoot, will answer the purpose. Carrots, parsnips and
turnips must be kept spread out on a floor, or they will
rot, and a slicer should be provided for cutting them
up.

It will always be desirable, if possible, to have a pri-
vate paddock well fenced, and a few acres in ex tent
where horses can do slow work if required, or be turned
out if necessary.

A small forge and shoeing smith's shop is a desirable
appendage to a racing stable, and if there is not full
employment for one man, his attendance ought to be
insured during certain hours of the day, say before
exercise in the morning and after it in the afternoon.
The loss of time and the inconvenience will be found
very great if it is necessary to send every horse that has
a shoe loose or has lost a nail or even requires to be
shod, to a public forge where he may have to await his
turn, and perhaps contracts a cold, or disease, by conta-
gion. Prevention is easy, cheap and sure ; curc uncer-
tain, expensive and difficult.

When the weather is apt to be very hot, those sides
of the stable exposed to the sun ought to be protected
by verandahs. These need be only very light in struc-
ture and will add little to the expense of construction,
compared to what they will save in value of the horses'
services. Recurring to the interior, I am decidedly in
favour of sliding doors every where. With them horses
are less liable to injury than with those on hinges.
They ought to be hung on runners at the top and not
at the bottom ; in the latter case they become choked
with rubbish and will not work.

I further recommend that the stables be arranged so
that the stalls and loose boxes are divided into lots of
four, each lot being separated by a sliding door. This
will facilitate the separation of mares from horses,
which should be strictly enforced. It will add also to
the comfort of the animals by guarding against a large
number being unnecessarily disturbed.

Finally, care and attention should be bestowed on

the sleeping apartments and rooms allotted to the
attendants, which should be made as comfortable as
the circumstances will allow. The latter ought, besides
their bed-rooms, to be provided with sitting-rooms and
every convenience in moderation which is found in
dwelling-houses.

It ma)-, perhaps, appear to some that many of the
suggestions I have made, or, at least, that a few of
them, are trivial and unimportant, but I think common
sense and practical experience will convince most
people that they are not so. Comfort and convenience,
added to tact and order, are the oil which makes the
machine work smoothly, and without which unneces-
sary friction occurs that obstructs its working, and
unless I am vcry much mistaken, unless human
nature is a different stuff from what I have under-
stood it to be, the employ�s of a well-arranged well-
ordered racing establishment will take a pride in
the concern which will go far to achieve success.

Importance of using the best�Improvement due to food�Oualities
of food�Baron Liebig�Formation of blond and muscular
fibre�Nutritive value of oats and hay�Good and bad oats �
Description of good oats�Kiln-dried oats�Chaff-crushed oats
� Carrots, beans, parsnips, turnips�Green stuff�Indian corn
�Effect of good and inferior food on horses�Linseed and its
uses.

It is unnecessary, I think, to dilate upon the import-
ance of supplying the best kind of food to the horse in
training. When the magnitude and importance of the
issues involved are fully considered, it will be admitted
that so-called economy in this respect is truly a wilful
and wasteful form of expenditure. If the racehorse is
not supplied with the best kind of food that money can
buy, that enterprise can obtain, an J experience justify,
his chances of winning are as much vitiated as if many
pounds extra were put on to his back�in fact he is, to
use a familiar phrase, heavily handicapped. If two
great railroads entered in a competition of speed, or
the greyhounds of rival Atlantic companies contested
the palm of their superiority on the ocean,the policy or
carelessness which supplied their engines with coal of
inferior quality, would not be one whit less repre-
hensible, or tend in a less degree to diminish the
chances of success, than would the neglect or folly
which supplied horses in training with inferior food.
The experience of centuries has happily left us no
doubt on the kind of food required for a racehorse; it
is the quality of that cstablished kind which is now

immediately in question. The enormous improvement
which during more than twenty generations has 'sepa-
rated the Anglo-Arabian from his progenitor of the
desert was commented on in the introduction to this
work. How much of this is due to superior food it
would be difficult to exaggerate. Note the vast change
that takes place visibly in animals when removed from
poor to rich feeding grounds, and then estimate the
effect that may be realized by an unbroken continuity
of good feeding during the generations that have elapsed
since the time when Captain Byerly rode one of the
celebrated progenitors of the thoroughbred in King
William's wars, twenty-five years before Darley's
Arabian got Flying Childers, and about the same time
before Lord Godolphln's Arabian was foaled.

Cecil tells us that the best method of ascertaining the
qualities of food, and their effect upon the growth and
development of animals, is to consult those authors who
have made those researches their particular study, and
to compare the result of daily experience with the know-
ledge thus acquired. By these means the trainer can
decide what variety or change of food is required under
the varied conditions of time, place and idiosyncrasy of
the horse, and one of the most prevailing causes of
success or failure in his management is the judicious or
injudicious selection of his food. Baron Liebig writes :

" If we hold that the increase of mass in the animal
body, the development of its organs, and the supply of
waste, all are dependent on the blood, that is, on the
ingredients of the blood, then only those substances
can be called nutritious or considered as food, which
are capable of conversion into blood. To determine,
therefore, what substances are capable of affording
nourishment, it is only nccessary to ascertain the com-
position of the food and compare itwith the ingredients
of the blood.

" Two substances require special consideration as the
chief ingredients of the blood ; one of these separates
immediately from the blood when withdrawn from

circulation. It is well known that, in this case, blood
coagulates and separates into a yellowish liquid�the
serum of the blood, and a gelatinous mass which adheres
to a rod or stick in soft, elastic fibres when coagulating
blood is quickly stirred. This latter is the fibrine of
the blood, which is identical in all its properties with
the muscular fibre when the latter is purified from all
foreign matter.

"The second principal ingredi�nt of the blood is con-
tained in the serum, and gives to this liquid all the
properties of the white of eggs, with which it is identical.
When heated it coagulates into a white elastic mass,
and the coagulating surface is called albumen.

" Chemical analysis has led to the remarkable result
that fibrine and albumen contain the same organic
elements united in the same proportions, so that two
analyses, one of albumen, the other of fibrine, do not
differ more than two of fibrine or two of albumen,
respectively, do in the composition of one hundred
parts.

" Both albumen and fibrine, in the process of nutri-
tion, are capable of being converted into muscular fibre,
and muscular fibre is capable of being converted into
blood. These facts have long been established by
physiologists, and chemistry has merely proved that
these metamorphoses can be accomplished under the
influence of a certain force without the aid of a third
substance, or of its elements, and without the addition
of any foreign element or the separation of any element
previously present in their substances.

" Those vegetable principles, which, in animals, are
used to form blood, contain the chief constituents of
blood, fibrine and albumen ready formed, as regards
their composition. All plants besides contain a certain
quantity of iron, which reappears in the colouring
matter of the blood. Vegetable fibrine and animal
fibrine hardly differ, even in form. If these principles
be wanting in food the nutrition of the animal is
arrested, and when they are present the graminivorous
animal obtains in its food the very same principles

on the presence of which the carnivorous animal
depends."

From what has been said, it follovvs that the develop-
ment of the animal organism and its grovvth are de-
pendent on certain principles identical with the chief
constituents of the blood. Liebig and Boussingalt give
chemical analyses of the several vegetables affording
most nourishment to horses and other animals, together
with the requirements they supply, from which it
appears that those which abound most in nitrogen are
the most nutritive, oats containing 5 per cent. and hay
3 per cent. of the lattcr, yet both are necessary to the
racehorse in certain proportions. Chemical analysis is
not, however, strictly a measure, but rather an indica-
tion of the value of foods to particular animals. It
does not follow that those having the greatest abun-
dance of nutritive matter are necessarily the best.
Digestibility, readiness of assimilation, the absence of
heating qualities, are second in importance only to
nutritious ingredients, and inseparable from them in
estimating the value of food. Chemistry is valuable,
but must be tempered by expeiience. It may here be
remarked that nature does not with impunity tolerate
food taken in too highly concentrated a form, that is,
with more than suffici�nt of the blood-producing prin-
ciples. Excess in this particular strains or overtasks
the digestive organs, produces disease, and requires to
be corrected by antidotes, or in other words physic.
This is so with all animals, a�though in the case of the
carnivorous, more highly concentrated food may be
taken than in that of the graminivorous, and is indeed
requisite.

The experience of centuries, preceding, confirming,
and confirmed by the physiological researches of
eminent men, has decided that oats, and hay er grass,
are the best and most nutritious. foods for horses gene-
rally, and the first two especially for those in strong
work. As a support to vitality, and as " brainy " and
muscle-producing food the first named has received
full and well merited recognition. Dr. Johnson satiri-

40 The Racehor se.

cally defined oats as " food for horses in England and
for men in Scotland," and I think it would be difficult
to find any race which can hold its own better than the
votaries of the Thistle, whose motto, Nemo me impune
lacessit, has seldom been more appropriately applied,
either as regards the plant or the people. The nutritive
qualities of oatmeal are indeed superior to those of
flour and any other cereal. In Scotland, too, following
the rule that cereals grow best at their northern limits,
oats attain the maximum weight and the greatest
perfection, weighing in some cases forty-nine pounds
to the bushel.

Experiment has shown that the huskor non-nutritive
part of oats weighs from eightcen to twenty-one pounds
to the bushel. In the United Kingdom oats varies from
thirty-two to forty-nine pounds. Fitzvvygram, in his
book on the horse, characterizes oats from forty-two to
forty-nine as good ; thirty-nine to forty-one, fair, and
thirty-two as very inferior. The Government contract
is thirty-eight pounds to the bushel. Assuming that
twenty pounds in the bushel is husk, and, therefore,
non-nutritive, practically, and that good oats weigh
forty-four pounds and bad oats thirty-two, a horse
derives twenty-four pounds of nourishing food from the
former, and only twelve from the latter ; yet I have
seen grain that was barely thirty-two pounds, what
Fitzvvygram calls " very inferior," fed to racehorses in
the United States. No good horsemaster in England
would give it to his hack, let alone his racehorse or
hunter. Remembering, too, that the stomach of the
horse is small, that he cannot eat at a feed more than
four to six pounds, and, therefore, cannot by increasing
the bulk compensate for inferiority in quality, the
paramount importance of feeding good oats to race-
horses is emphasized. Under no circumstances would
I feed oats weighing less than forty pounds to race-
horses. Some kinds have thinner husk than others.
This superiority is claimed by Wiliiam Day for black
and by Fitzvvygram for white oats. I suspect both

kinds vary in this respect with soil and locality. Other
things being the same, one colour is as good as the
other.

Oats should be clean, dry, sound, plump, full of
flour and rattle like dried peas. Good oats have no
smell unless in fresh samples, when theysavour slightly
of earth. Before being fed to the horse, they should
be cleaned and winnowed to get all the dust out of
them. They should never be used when kiln dried,
vvhich is sometimes done to preserve and whiten them.
These are less nourishing, and cause diabetes. To
horses that bolt their food and do not masticate it
thoroughly, chaff, or hay cut up fine may be given in
each feed, a good handful at a time. Clover hay treated
in the same manner, answers the purpose, and is an
agreeable change. Light feeding horses vvill often eat
their oats the better for it. The same may be said of
carrots finely chopped, about half a pound to a feed, or
even less, as a relish. Horses are exceedingly fond of
carrots, and vvill frequently be tempted by a feed so
flavoured when they would not finish a plain one.
Nevertheless, in large quantities they are not recom-
mended, being apt to produce eruptive blotches on the
skin, difficult to eradicate, and indicating that much of
this food is injurious.

I have seldom seen bruised or crushed oats given to
racehorses, but think the omission is not creditable to
trainers in general. Anyone who examines the dung of
certain horses will perceive that oats are frequently
passed whole, often in considerable quantities, the animal
ofcourse deriving no benefit from their consumption.
In such cases any process which does not destroy the
nutriment of the grain, and yet enables the horse to
derive the full nourishment it contains, should be
welcomed. That crushing accomplishes this the writer
has had practical demonstration, not only in the dis-
appearance of unassimilated grains from the dung, but
in manifest improvement of the animal's condition,
which is also accompanied by economy of food, calcu-

lated by Cecil at twenty-five per cent., which estimate,
however, I think is excessive. The labour of crushing
may slightly offset this economy, but with the racehorse,
however, economy of food is not an important con-
sideration, but rather the economy of his frame, digestive
powers and vitality. If I found that any racehorse
under my charge thoroughly masticated his oats, on
the principle of leaving well alone, I should not supply
them to him crushed�though I should do so to all
horses that did not. An impression prevails among
the opponents of crushing that the process of mastica-
tion is not carried on to the same desirable extent as
when uncrushed oats are used. My experience tells
me the reverse. I am sure that the food is more
thoroughly impregnated with saliva when the oats are
crushed; in this form impregnation is necessary to
enable the horse to swallow the food, which he can do
unmasticated much more easily when the oats are
supplied in their natural state. An ordinary hand
crushing machine, the capacity regulated bythe number
of horses, will suffice. In larger stables horse power
may be employed. It is right to remark that if the
use of crushed oats is established in a stable, it must
be continued or the lapse from it will be injurious ;
also that it is more bulky and does not keep as wel!
as uncrushed grain, neither of which, however, need
ncutralize its advantages if it is crushed as required.

Oats should not be given to horses wetted, as is
often done. This facilitates the bolting of unmasticated
grains, diminishes the quantity of oxygen and saliva
used and necessary to render the food soluble, and in-
tioduces a mass of comparatively insoluble food into
the stomach. The digestive powers of the gastric juice,
which is the mostdissolvent liquid known, is diminished
by introducing water with the food, or immediately
before or after feeding.

Mixed with oats, split beans�which are more nutritious
than oats, astringent and heating�a doubl� handful
with each feed�may be given with advantage to deli-

cate, light-f�eding horses. These are often irritable in
their constitution, and frequently relaxed in their
bovvels from nervousness and excitement. Beans rectify
the internal laxity, tempt the appetite, and increase
muscular development. In large quantities they pro-
duce thirst and costiveness. Gross-feeding horses, who
eat from fifteen to eighteen pounds daily, are better
without them, except on rare occasions when heavy
calls have been made on the system. White peas are
often given for the same purpose as beans, but they
are inferior to the latter, and I do not recommend
them.

Bran given periodically and occasionally, according
to the judgment of the trainer, in mashes made with
boiling water poured thereon and allowed to cool, is
recommended as a laxative. Bran thus treated is not
devoid of nutritious qualities. By the action of boiling
water a mucilage is created which cannot be concocted
in the stomach of the animal. Bran should be fresh
and sweet. lts laxative action is caused by the
mechanical friction of the grains on the mucous mem-
brane. It should not be given dry or mixed with oats
or moistened with cold water.

Parsnips and swede turnips given occasionally in
small quantities raw are often a pleasant change of
food for horses, and may be given to tempt them at
any time when they are off their feed, either boiled or
raw, with good effect, so may also green stuff, such as
lucerne and vetches, as will be explained hereafter.
Observing the wonderfully good effect produced upon
the mules and horses, most of them of American growth,
in the West Indies, by the use of molasses during the
sugar erop season, the writer has given it in water to
racehorses in Barbadoes and elsewhere with satisfactory
results,

Indian corn is very inferior to oats as a producer of
muscle, notwithstanding that it is rich in nitrogenous
matter, hydrocarbons, starch and oil. It produces fat
and is very heating. It should nevcr be given to the

raceliorse in training, or indeed I think at any part of
his career.

I question very much whether the fact of the
thoroughbred having been raised on corn and inferior
oats in the United States has not, among other causes,
occasioned the necessity of importing English horses to
improve or keep up the breed. If, as is stated by
competent authorities, and which we have 110 reason to
doubt, a dry climate is more suitable to the thorough-
bred than a damp one, as shown by his comparative
immunity from disease over here, and America has the
advantage of greater scope of ground and fresher soil
for breeding, what other important condition can pro-
duce the effect of deterioration in the powers of the
animal which is indicated by the performances of the
produce of imported stock and their immediate de-
scendants, as well as by other facts patent to those
thoroughly conversant with the form of racehorses on
both sides of the Atlantic ?

Linseed or flaxseed is an admirable adjunct to the
bill of fare, and no stable should be without it. It must
be used in small quantities, either steeped in water for
forty-eight hours, or boiled till it forms a thick, ropy
fluid and mixed with mashes, oats, etc. It imparts a
gloss to the coat, which is in itself a sign of health.

Next to oats, hay is the staple food for the racehorse,
and the most important; at the same time it is more
difficult to procure of good quality, partly on account
of its bulk, which militates against transport, and partly
because it is more subject to deterioration from the
effects of weather and harvesting. The quality is also
more difficult of detection. The quality of hay as
nutritious food depends very much upon the quality of
the land on which it is grown. At Woodyates, where
I trained some horses in the stabling formerly occupied
by William Day, there was no good hay procurable
within a distance of sixteen miles, and what I used came
from Blackmoor Vale, where the soil was excellent.
The light down land, which extended for many miles

around, though suitable for sheep, and capable, with
plenty of manure, of growing fine crops of wheat and
other farm produce, could grow no good hay. I ac-
cepted this fact as the experience of the above-men-
tioned trainer, who had lived there thirty years ; and
he informed me that when he occasionally was obliged
to use the hay grown in the surrounding district the
effect was visible by the horses falling off in condition.
I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of his statement,
because I have had the same experience elsewhere, and,
as every farmer knows, the transfer of stock from rich
land to poor is accompanied by a like result, and vice
versd. Good and bad seasons will also affect the
nutritive qualities of hay as of other produce. Sound,
dry, upland pasture allowed to meadow makes the best
hay. It is far superior to the ranker grasses grown in
flat, marshy land, however well drained that may be,
or however luxuriant the erop. The nutritive value of
hay is enhanced when derived from a large variety of
grasses, instead of a few, and also when that variety is
made up of the best kinds. In the United Kingdom,
those most estcemed are the white clover, which is
found everywhere ; rye grass (solum perenne), meadow
fescue (Festuca Pratensis), meadow foxtail (alopecurus
pretensis), crested dogtail (cynosurus cristatus), meadow
catstail or timothy (phleum pratense), cocksfoot (dactylis
glomerata), meadow smooth grass (poa pretensis), which
I take to be blue grass. This last is in England con-
sidered to be inferior in nutriment, but unquestionably
it stands, if not at the head, in the first rank in America,
and I may here remark that a gentleman from the
Province of Ontario, in Canada, told me it grew there
better than in Kentucky, was more lasting, and that
thousands of bushels of the seed were exported from
the former place to the latter. I have had no oppor-
tunity of verifying this information, but consider it not
improbable on the " Northern limit" theory. Red
clover hay is nutritive and puts on flesh, but is bad for
wind and condition ; and mixed hay is better without

svveet scented vernal, which gives that delicious smell
we often find in hay, but has little nutriment. If
meadowed pasture hay cannot be procured, then the
most available of the above grasses reared from seed
should be used. This is a matter where the judgment
must be guided by local experience, which, after all, is
the only sure test. Pasture hay should be moderately
fine, somewhat hard, and one year old ; unheated and
with a green tinge. All hay should be cut early in the
season before the seed has matured ; it then contains
more nourishment. Needless to say, it should be well
saved. A sweet smell is no object. That comes from
sweet-smelling grasses, as vernal, and horses will often
reject such hay for that which is nearly scentless. A
variety of grasses is recommended on the ground that
experiment has shown its value, and also that the same
plot of land will support more life when occupied by
divers forms.

While on this topic I think it advisable to quote an
extract from the report of the British Consul-General in
New York on the dairy farming of that State. The
extract is from a report made by a large farmer in that
district to the State Dairymen's Association.

" The dairy farmers pay a great deal more attention
than they formerly did to the seeding of their meadow
and pasture lands. It was found scarcely possible to
make a permanent meadow with timothy only, yet, with
the exceptioa of clover, it was almost the only seed used
until, with the information acquired from the State and
local agricultural societies, the farmers were able to
select intelligently the seeds best adapted to the soil and
climate. In many parts of the State there are meadows
yielding over three tons of hay to the acre, which under
timothy barley produced one ton, with little or no after-
math for the autumn. Experiments have shown that
the mixing with timothy a variety of good, hardy, suc-
culent grasses that vvill ripen, or nearly so. with it, is the
best method of insuring a good erop and a permanent
meadow, while under timothy alone, there is the change

of upheaval by frost or destruction by heat to such an
extent as to require an annual re-seeding. A well-known
agriculturist writes in connection vvith this ; Almost all
distinguished writers on grasses in this country follow
the lead of English authorities, and recommend in their
mixtures of grasses and forage plants which vvill not
ripen uniformly vvith our staple grass, timothy, while
others vvill not stand the winters of central New York.
In meadovv mixtures, even our highest authorities re-
commend the famous ray grass, or what is knovvn in
England as perennial rye grass (lolium perenne), which
is to British agriculture what timothy is to the American
farmer, the staple grass. There are many bales of the
seed of this grass imported every year into this country,
and the seed is extensively and indiscriminately used in
meadow mixtures all over the country. Until better in-
structed, I must say that perennial rye grass is good
for nothing in northern and central New York. Almost
all writers on the grasses in this country conclude
their essays or books with a formula of meadow grasses
for the whole Northern States, regardless of the ciffer-
ence of climate. Some writers advocate a score or more
of grasses to grovv with timothy, conspicuous among
which are the two large valuable and very early varicties,
the orchard grass (dactylis glomerata) and the meadow
oat grass, which are altogether too early to grow with
timothy ; but when these two, the oat grass and the
orchard grass, constitute a meadow in equal propor-
tions, no combination can be more profitable to the
dairy farmer, either for early hay, or afterward, for soil-
ing or late pasturing. I am reluctantly led to the con-
clusion that there are but few grasses adapted to our
meadows. I mean by this that there are but few that
will stand the climate and ripen evenly together, making
a good uniform sward with our timothy. I name such
as my own observations and actual test, on bleak up-
lands and in intervals, have shovvn to be by their time
of ripening, hardiness, structure and average altitude,
adapted to our soils, and to grow with timothy and

clover: rough stalk, foul meadow, yellow oat, Italian
rye, tall fescue, meadow fescue and red top. If the
meadow is moist, then fescue or bromus grass and alsike
may be introduced. The grasses above namedare most
of them good, not only for meadow, but for pasture,
after one or two mowings.

" I will now name separate mixtures for meadow and
also for pasture such as I know have been productive of
the very best results. For an average meadow, per
acre : A mixture consisting of twelve pounds of timothy,
five pounds of Italian rye grass, five pounds of meadow
fescue or tall fescue, four pounds of red top, three pounds
of rough-stalked meadow grass, six pounds of medium
clover. As before stated, if the meadow is moist, bromus
or alsike may be introduced, the red top increased and
the fescue and clover lessened. For a permanent
pasture per acre : five pounds Kentucky blue grass, five
pounds meadow oat grass, five pounds of orchard grass,
five pounds of meadow fescue, five pounds of red top,
two pounds of sweet vernal, two pounds of Pacy's dwarf
rye grass, and if not natural to the land, two pounds of
white clover."

On comparison of the eight grasses last enumerated
with the same number included in the list I advocate, it
will be seen that there is notso much difference between
the two, and certainly not so much as might be expected
from the variations of soil and climate. One list in-
cludes timothy, the other sweet vernal, both of which are
also discarded, vernal for the reason that it is low in
nutrition, timothy because it ripens at a different time.
It appears, too, that pasture of this kind, and conse-
quently hay made from it, is equally suitable to horses
and cattle. I may add that the importance of a good
kind of pasture in dairy farming emphasizes that which I
have attached to the quality of the hay which is fed to
horses.

Salt should always be put within reach of the race-
horse. Common table-salt is better than rock-salt.

Importance of water�Mineral water�Effect of lime-water�Mr.
Hinds, V.S., on water�Chalk used in water�Ram or river
water the best�Change of water affects horses�Proper tem-
perature.

Water has a very important influence on the health
and condition of horses, admitting, however, that the
constitution may become accustomed to, and through
custom may require, a kind of water which under other
circumstances might be prejudicial to health. About
80 per cent. of the blood is water, and this fact alone
ought to be a suffici�nt evidence of the valueofasupply
of good water. When it is considered, too, that water,
besides being absorbed into the blood, saturates the
food, and comes into contact with the digestive and
vital organs, permeates the body, being given off from
it before assimilation through the pores of the skin in
the form of sweat, no further evidence is necessary to
prove how careful we should be as to our water supply.
Dr. Johnson, in his " Economy of Health," says that
one grain of mineral substance in a mineral water is
equal to twenty grains prepared by a chemist. If this
be anywhere near the truth, a knowledge of the con-
stituents of available water supply should te one of the
most valuable pieces of information in the possession
of a trainer. It is well known that horses and cattle
grown upon limestone soil�that is, where the subsoil is
limestone�are larger and finer than those grown else-
where ; and, to remcdy the defect in other soils, the farmer
has to lime his pasture. No doubt the increase of size

alluded to is attributable to the presence of material for
bones, composed principally of phosphate and carbonate
of lime, which affords greater development to the
skeleton. In the little island of St. Kitts the only lime
to be found in appreciable quantities is on a solitary
limestone rock, where the old barracks are situated.
The writer had occasion to notice that, vvhereas the
land snails elsevvhere on the island were very diminutive,
on the rock in question, though of exactly the same
species, they attained considerable size. It is also vvell
known that where the soil is defici�nt in lime men are
defici�nt in stature, and vice versa.

Not only is lime necessary to develop the growth of
animals, but it is also required to supply the waste of
bone in the system. I have seen it stated on good
authority that the consumption of a certain quantity of
lime will arrest the decay of teeth in human beings,
and I have no difficulty in believing this to be true. It
must not be inferred from the above that I think it
absolutely necessary that water impregnated with lime
should be served to horses. The supply required they
will probably derive from the hay they consume, and I
should certainly prefer that grown on limestone soil. I
myself always supply a picce of chalk or carbonate of
lime to each horse, and generally find that he will lick
it. Mr. Hinds, V.S., the author of" Veterinary Surgery,"
in another book called " The Groom's Oracle," published
in 1830, says:

" We may divide all water into the hard and the soft
kinds ; the first mentioned rising from a stone or gravel
substratum, is commonly drawn from the well, and
drank upon the spot; it is the prolific harbinger of
internal inflammatory complaints and of tubercles on
the lungs, the liver, etc. ; and of encysted tumours on
the mesentery of fat and idle horses, causing strangula-
tion of the gut. We can detect this water by making a
lather of soap with it, which curdles if the water is hard ;
whereas, if not so, the soap dissolves equally and im-
pregnates alike the whole of the water. Indeed, all

water is thus impregnated with some foreign substance
or other. As a corrcctive, let it be procured a long
time before required for use, and kept in a tank or
cistern exposed to the sun. Give less at a time and
oftcner, when the obnoxious kinds cannot be avoided.
I am convinced that many a horse has lost his race in
a distant part of the country through not being inured
to a certain kind of water that is inoffensive enough in
itself. The chalky water of Kent, in parts of Gloucester-
shire below Bath, and along by Basingstoke to Win-
chester, is that which most completely belies its first
disgusting appearance. I am not certain, but it may
possess a salutary effect on the constitution of some
horses, upon the same principle as that applied to lime
water, of the nature whereof it partakes : solvent of
stone, destructive of worms, absorbent of bikj I appre-
hend a better corrector of hard water than chalk or
whitening cannot be employed artificially when re-
quired."

From the foregoing, which accords with my own ex-
perience, it appears that chalk is valuable either as a
constituent or corrective of water, more probably as
both. It is an ingredi�nt which can always be added,
and I have no doubt horses will be the better for it. The
definitions, hard and soft, applied to water seem to me
rather loose and indefinite, and if the former includes
limestone water, which I have always considered " hard "
for laundry purposes, the above quotation appears some-
what contradictory ; but I suspect, as the term is one
familiar to grooms, it was used by Mr. Hinds to suit
their intelligence. I do not think it would beadvisable,
however, to supply racehorses with limestone water
unless it were procurable wherever their engagements
took them. Mr. Darvill says : " Soft, fresh, wholesome,
pure rain, river or pond water is, of course, the most
proper for horses," and I entirely agree with him, if
only for the reason that it can be obtained everywhere,
for what is river and pond water in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred but rain water? The same authority

says that "hard" water, to prevent it from injuring
horses, should be put into troughs with clay or chalk
to soften it. Here again the words "hard " and " soft"
are rather vaguely employed, but I presume by the
former this is meant " impregnated with mineral," and
by the lattcr pure, and possibly the clay and chalk may
prccipitate the mineral held in solution, or neutralize
its effect. It is quite possible that horses accustomed
to " hard " water might miss it, and not do quite as well
for a while with pure or soft water, just as a similar
effect may be produced on a man who changes from
beer to water, or from one kind of liquor to another,
although the change both in the case of horse and man
will ultimately be productive of benefit.

This is why in the chaptcr on stabling I have recom-
mended the collection and storage of rain water.
Water at a low temperature is injurious to both horse
and man, and much of the dyspepsia prevailing in
America is due to its indiscriminate use. The effect on
a horse can be traced almost at once in the coat, which
it causcs to " stare " or stand up, a sure indication of
something wrong internally. Therefore water ought
aiways, if too cold, to have the chili removed before
beiug given to horses, and I should never serve it at a
lovver temperature than 60 degrees or 65 degrees.

CLOTHING AND HORSE GEAR.

Uses of clothing�Horses must be kept warm�Summer and winter
clothing�Clothing should fit�Roller unnecessary�Boots are
indispensable�Best kind�Knee caps �Fetters�Halters�
Muzzles�Reins, leading, common, running, and gag-reins, and
their uses�Bits�Saddles�Saddlecloths�Cruppers�Breast-
plates, and martingales�Surcingles�Bandages�Blinkers�
Brushes, rubbers, combs, sponges, burnishers, chamois, etc.�
Forks, dung-baskets, brooms, buckets.

The principal uses of clothing are to keep the horse
warm, to protect him from flies in hot weather, and
against injury, and to reduce fat, especially in those
horses where otherwise it could not be got rid of with-
out so much work as would be injurious to their limbs.
Under the head of clothing will also be considered the
various trappings that are used in his management.

It is absolutely necessary to keep horses warm ; if
this is not done they will not derive fuil benefit from
their food, in the formation of muscle, much of it being
taken upin the task of keeping up the animal heat. When
cold they will be uncomfortable, irritable, and fidgety,
and soon assume that appearance whichisdistinguished
by the term " tucked up." The horse at exercise can
almost always be kept sufficiently warm, even without
clothing, but as the legs would not stand the pace at
which he must be kept moving for that purpose, it is
desirable to clothe him not only in the sttble, but on
the exercise ground during a great part of the year. A
proper system of heating the stables will, of course,
diminish the necessity for clothing, but it would be

undesirable to heat them to a grcater tempcraturc than
65 degrees.



		viii
		viii		Contents.
				Contents.

		oats � Chaff-crushed oats � Carrots, beans, parsnips, turnips�Green stuff�Indian corn�Effect of good and inferior food on horses�Linseed and its uses ... 44 CHAPTER IV. WATER. Importance of water�Mineral water�Effect of lime-water� Mr. Hinds, V.S., on water�Chalk used in water�Rain or river water the best� Change of water affects horses� Proper temperature........57 CHAPTER V. CLOTHING AND HORSE GEAR. Uses of clothing�Horses must be kept warm�Summer and winter clothing�Clothing should fit�-"Roller unnecessary �Boots are indispensable�Best kind�Knee caps�Fet- ters�Halters�Muzzles�Reins, leading, common, run- ning, and gag-reins, and their uses�Bits�Saddles� Saddlecloths�Cruppers�Breastplates and martingales �Surcingles�Bandages�Blinkers�Brushes, rubbers, combs, sponges, burnishers, chamois, etc.�Forks, dung- baskets, brooms, buckets.......61 CHAPTER VI. SHOEING. Importance of care with horses' feet�A good hoof denotes health�Vicious practices of smiths�A practical know- ledge of the foot necessary�Descriptions of a good foot �The sole�Effects of pressure on sole and frog�Darvill on shoeing�Shoes should be light and short�Forging� French and Italians foremost in shoeing�Blundeville in 1580�Nails, and driving them�Conclusions arrived at� Darvill on plating�Time to plate�The Charlier shoe� Advantages and disadvantages�American and English shoeing..........72 CHAPTER VII. STABLE MANAGEMENT. Good stable management is essential�Must be systematized �Best food to be given�Cleanliness�Ventilation�



	Introduction.
	Introduction.		5
			5

an infusion of his blood improvcs every other breed with which it is blended. The manager of a large tramway company in Liverpool told me that he bought all his horses in Ireland after trying those coming from else- where. The Irish horses he found to be by far the most effective, and he attributed this to the large proportion ofthoroughbred blood in their veins. The Irish hunter maintains his superiority for the same reason, and, for cavalry purposes, Irish remounts are unrivalled. That the admixture of other blood is not attended with such favourable results may be inferred from the following : The same gentleman alluded to above informeel theauthor that he had tried American horses, and they did fairly well at first, but he found they had deteriorated of late years. This he attributed to the introduction of the Norman Percheron, an animal whom no one in England would think of crossing with native mares. The truth of this statement was confirmed in the judgment of the author by an incident connected with the same breed which came under his personal observation. After the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 the French determined to eliminate from their army all grey horses, which they judged to be too conspicuous for warlike purposes. These partook largely of the Percheron blood, of which the prevailing colour is grey. About 1874 large num- bers of these horses were sold by order of the French Government at auction. As the priecs ruled low, the British Commissariat purchased a considerable number as transport horses for the contending armies in the sham fights, or " Autumn Manoeuvres," as they were called, of that year, which were organized for the in- struction of the British army. It was found that these horses, though of good si ze and respectable appearance, could not perform anything like the work done by English and Irish horses, and, moreover, consumed a greater quantity of forage. Reverting now to a higher type, and one for which the United States is justly pre-eminent�the trotter�a gentleman best capable of judging and intimately con-

		*J<� -*



		The Racehorse.
	24	The Racehorse.
	24

informed him that the colt was superior to the rest in the paddock, and had the best action in galloping. That a pretty good judgment may be passed on the merit of a colt before he is broken or tried, may be inferred from the following : Thirty years ago the writer, who had two pointers being broken at a place about fifteen miles from where he was then staying, walked over one day, at the keeper's request, to see them work. On his return, he called at a pretty cottage some distance off the road to ask for a glass of water ; and, being hospitably entertained with something better, as he was conversing with his entertainer, a clean-shaven man of about fifty, he noticed an excellent oil-painting of " Teddington," the winner of a previous Derby, hanging on the wall. A remark led to explanations, and he ascertained that his host was the stud groom of Sir Joseph Hawley, owner of the horse represented in the painting. An invitation to go around the pad- docks foliowed ; and while looking at the brood mares and their offspring, the conversation turned upon the coming Derby, which was less than a fortnight distant. In this race Sir Joseph had the favourite " Fitzroland," winner of the " 2000 Guineas," and, as is usually the case, with winners of that race, he was at a short price. He had another horse entered," Beadsman," by " Weatherbit." Discussing the chances of the first-named, the stud groom said : " I have never laid eyes on the colts since they left my charge nearly two years ago, but Beadsman always led Fitzroland in the paddock, and he looked to me then more like a Derby horse." Acting on this hint, the writer backed Beadsman at a long price, and remembers well the sensation created on the course when Wells, Sir Joseph's first jockey, was seen mounted on the second string, who came with a rattle in the betting, and won easily, Sir Joseph netting, it is said,an enormous stake. I believe that if buyers could spend a good deal of time looking at youngsters as they show their metal in the paddock, it would be well spent ; but this can seldom be: breeders of yearlings do not like



		The Racehorsc.
	34	The Racehorsc.
	34

admitted can be easily regulated. You may see this form of window commonly used in churches, where people cannot convenicntly regulate the draught of air, Light, and plenty of it, ought to be admitted from above the heads of the horses, the higher the better. There are few things more tiring to men and horses than glare, and blinds should be provided to intcrcept the rays of the sun in summer. The stable, in fine, should be well lighted, kept at a temperature of about 60 degrees when practicable, and no offensive smell should invade the nostrils of the visitor. Loose boxes may be about fourteen feet by twelve, and twelve feet high ; the doors four feet by eight. The walls preferably of plain brick, glazed brick or tiles. Wood harbours vermin. If wooden structuresare used, the walls should be smooth and of hard wood, with no projections, and I recommend that they should he whitewashed to prevent disease. Stalls may be six feet wide by ten feet long, then horses cannot get at each other with their heels. In the partitions the boards should be laid horizontally ; when thus laid they do not splinter so inuch from kicking ; are less liable to damage, and also less liable to damage the horses. There ought to be an interval of at least half an inch between the floor and the partition, to prevent the lodgment of excretions, and to enable the floors to be thoroughly cleaned. As regards the latter, I disagree with most writers on this subject. Various kinds of flooring have various advocates. Brick, concrete, paving-stones, cobblestones and tiles are the forms chiefly recommended. These have their respective advantages. Generalizing, it may be said that the qualities most desirable in the floors of stables are as follows:� 1. Durability. 2. Suitability to the horses' feet. 3. Cleanliness. 4. Economy. The last of these I should dismiss altogether from



		The Racehorse.
	36	The Racehorse.
	36

the effect produced on the feet of horses by standing for a long time on hard substances, let me ask the reader to experiment by standing for hours on hard pavement and then on wood or softer flooring. Let him extend the experiment by having his shoes shod with the heavy iron brads or nails that are commonly used with shooting boots. I know myself that when, shod in this manner, I come across a piece of pavement I get off it as quickly as possible. What, then, must be the sensa- tions of the horse, the rcsult to the delicate organization of his feet, when to the comparatively unyielding horn is tacked a rim of iron, raising the frog and sole, his natural supports off the ground, and he is made to stand for many hours at a time on brick or stone ? " A fellow-feeling makes us wondrous kind," and after such an experiment I shall expect the owner to sympathize with his horse, and perhaps with his pocket. My atten- tion was first drawn to the effect of a soft floor by the extreme cleanness, hardness and coolness exhibited by the legs of hunters belonging to a dealer whom I knew in Ireland. These animals were kept in rough sheds and bedded on bog stuff or disintegrated peat, which is used for that purpose in the Emerald Isle, where it abounds. The peat was laid upon hard clay slightly raised to facilitate drainage. My friend assured me that he had given up standing his horses upon hard pave- ment for many years, having observed the difference it made in their legs, a matter of great importance to him as a dealer. While residing in the West Indies at Barbadoes, I owned a racehorse whose feet were shelly, and whose legs constantly filled or swelled in the stable. Having removed to Demerara, where the spongy nature of the soil necessitated raised and boarded floors in the stablcs, I was struck by the remarkable improve- ment in this horse's legs, and, indeed, my groom assured me that they were all better in this respect. Returning to a paved stable the old symptoms manifested them- selves, leaving no room for doubt as to the advantage of a boarded floor in that particular case. Again, when



		^^^QjMvutlM

	THE RACE HORSE

HOW TO BUY, TRAIN, AND RUN HIM.



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		LOWDON: PBTNTED BY GILBERT AND RIVIJTGTON¹, LIMITED, ST. JOHN'� HOUSE, CLEBKEMWELL ROAD.



		PREFACE.

The sport of racing is one which shares with other out- door amusements the advantages of healthy employment for body and mind. It surpasses most of them in one important respect. While with those, a time must come when the loss of bodily vigour and the decrepitude of age give rise to regret that we should have paid no heed to the warning of Talleyrand, "Young man, what a dreadful old age you are laying up for yourself;" for the enjoy- ment of racing we are never too old ; there is never a moment of his life, so long as reason holds, when a racing man cannot derive gratification from his favourite pursuit, and there are few when he cannot bodily engage in it. The other sports of youth and middle age leave in the volume of our lives many a blank space as our story approaches its conclusion. Racing fills each page up to the last, when FINIS announces our translation to happier hunting-grounds. But the greatest pleasure of all connected with this noble sport, one whjch, un- like most pleasures, contributes to his physical and temporal welfare, that of training horses himself, is usually rejected by the owner. It necessitates early rising, sobriety, and theiraccompaniments, and furnishes plenty of employment to the mind as well as to the body, turning an idler into a working man, besides removing at least one obstacle to success. That racing means ruin has become almost an axiom ; doubtless a similar opinion would obtain regarding any of the industrial pursuits if carried on, Rot only as a pastime, but without the industry and technical know-

	i



		Preface.
	VI


ledge necessary to success, which, in the case of nine owners of racehorses out of ten, or.even a greater pro- portion, are absolutely wanting. But there is really no reason why racing should not pay if conducted on business principles, just as any other industry pays, not by the acquisition of large sums of money in the space of minutes and seconds, but by the application of skill and industry and patience, which alone can ensure success in any pursuit. That these are seldom forth- coming in racing, on the part of owners, I think all will admit, and none more readily than those who have lost their money through undertaking what they were neither qualified to perform, nor willing to sacrifice time and labour to learn ; preferring to entrust the task to others vvhose interests were not identical with their own. As to the knowledge requisite, the apprenticeship which qualifies an uheducated lad to undertake, at a later period, the charge of a racing stable, would, of course, qualify one superior to him in this respect for the same task. This is an ordeal to which few gentle- men will submit. In place thereof they can learn the art of training from observation, from experience, and from oral or written instruction. The last I have in the ensuing pages endeavoured, and, I hope, with some suc- cess, to impart, success which I believe will attend the efforts of those who deem this little work worthy of their perusal and attention, and who intelligently inter- pret th» precepts and practice therein enjoined. These have been derived from actual experience of training in New Zealand, the West Indies, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and from observa- tion of the methods employed by the best and the worst trainers, and the success or failure attending their efforts, as well as from the opinion of those whose reputation is deservedly high, and therefore worthy of consideration.



		CONTENTS.

	Introduction.........i

CHAPTER I. PROCURING THE YEARLING. Good judgment in buying rare�Rules for buyers�Prejudice against certain breeds to be discarded�Buy on shape and action, and with regard to the object in view�Quali- ties and soundness of sire and dam to be considered� Roarers and soft breeds to be avoided�The points of a yearling�Head and neck�Forehead�Barrel�Hind- quarters�Colour�Action, both walking and in the paddock�Condition�Examples of a successful applica- tion of rules.........11 CHAPTER II. STABLING. Importance of stabling�Shoula be close to training-ground� Dry, with southern aspect�Well ventilated, lighted, and floored�Kinds of flooring�Admiral Rous on stabling� General description � Drainage � Stalls and boxes � Fittings� Temperature�Water and tanks�Straw and hay barn�Verandahs�Winnowing, chaff-cutting, and slicing macnines � Paddock�Forge�Accommodation for attendants�Importance of details .... 30 CHAPTER III. FOOD. Importance of using the best�Improvement due to food� Qualities of food�Baron Liebig.�Formation of blood and muscular fibre�Nutritive value of oats and hay� Good and bad oats�Description of good oats� Kiln-dried



xii Contents.

		reverse way�The flags and their uses�The starter's decision should be final . . . . .

	CHAPTER XVI. JUDGING. A single judge should be employed, highly paid and trusted �Judge Clarke � Few mistakes made � Blunders of American judges�Instantaneous photography for judging finishes.......... CHAPTER XVII. ACCIDENTS AND DISEASES. Trainers should be capable of diagnosing and treating them� Principal inquiries�Strains�Of the back sinew�Treat- ment�Blistering and firing�Their uses and effects� Absolute rest required � Anecdote � Shin soreness � Splint�Strain of the knee�Of the shoulder�Of the pastern�Of the coffin joint�Accident in New Zealand� Strain of the hip joint�Of the stifle�Of back and loins �Of the hoek�Of strains in general�Ringbone and Sidebone�Navicular disease�Acute laminitis�Chronic laminitis�Dainty Ariel in New Zealand�Bone spavin� Bog spavin �Thoroughpin �Windgalls � External in- juries to joints�Sandcrack�False quarter�Thrush� Corns�Worms�Roaring� Causes�Is hereditary�Cold �Imperfect definitions of�lts true nature�Mistaken ideas as to cold�Benjamin Franklin on cold�Catarrh� Influenza or distemper�Bronchitis�Chronic cough� Acute laryngitis�Chronic laryngitis�Strangles�Pneu- monia�Congestion of the lungs�Tetanus�Spasmodic colic�Flatulent colic�Enteritis and Peritonitis�Crib- bing...........



			��

		INTRODUCTION. No apology is due for the production of a work on training the racehorse. Numerous publications have seen the light, and raised great expectations in the minds of the many who are desirous of obtaining a certain knovvledge of the trainer's art, but onlyto create disappointment. Most of these works are interesting to lovers of the thoroughbred, but fail to teil him exactly what he wants to know ; namely, how to train him. They are often replete with anecdotes of what race- horses, and especially those with whom the writer has been connected, have done, but the means by which they have been brought to do it is generally lef't to the imagination of the reader, who has to evolve such in- formation out of his inner consciousness, a source of knowledge which is seldom found to be of practical value. After reading the interesting work of a trainer who was well qualified to afford every information con- nected with a racing establishment, and also capable of imparting it in a literary form, which few men of his class can do, I asked him one day why he had not descended to details as regards breaking, stable manage- ment, shoeing, and all the particulars which form the structure of training just as much as the nviterials and labour with which a house is built form the completed edifice ; and his reply was a curious one. It would be impertinent, and a work of supererogation, he said, to enter into details which every lad who had served an apprenticeship in a well-conducted stable knew as well as himself; and more than that, the public would not B



			1

		2 Introduction. care to hear about such details. Bearing in mind that in distant colonies so long as thirty years ago, when, of necessity, I had to train horses myself, if I wished to run them with any certainty of success, it was always my ambition and endeavour, wherein I spared no trouble or expense, to acquire an accurate knowledge from the best sources of the very details which my trainer friend considered it unnecessary to enter into, and also that my companions engaged in the same pursuit were equally anxious with myself to obtain such information, whether from books or observation, and from lack of opportunity we failed to do from both sources ; I arrived at the conclusion that a work on training the vacehorse, conveying in intelligible lan- guage, and with the precision of which language is capable, information as to the best methods employed, or at all events those employed by the best and most successful trainers, modified by the observation and experience of many years, would be acceptable to a very large number of persons who are interested in one vvay or another, not �nly in racing itself, but in all the relations which exist between man and the thorough- bred horse. Consequently, for inany years I jotted down or remembered the results of my own personal experience and observation, and such new facts and experiences as I derived from the most well-informeel and intelligent trainers with whom I was acquainted, and often gave them practical form�always in view of producing at some future time a work which should embrace all the details of training, so far as I became acquainted with them. The result I give to the public. I have spoken of training as an art, or, to employ the mcaning of the word, " the application of human know- ledge and skill to the formation of anything," and there are few arts wherein more knowledge and skill is requi- site than in the production of a racehorse fit to run. The difficulties are here greatly enhanced by exigencies which in other arts do not impede or affect the artist. A painter, an architect, a machinist may exercise his



			THE RACEHORSE. HOW TO BUY, TRAIN, AND RUN HIM.

		CHAPTER I. PROCURING THE YEARLING. Good judgment in buying rare�Rules for buyers�Prejudice against certain breeds to be discarded�Buy on shape and action, and with regard to the object in view� Qualities and soundness of sire and dam to be considered�Roarers and soft breeds to be avoided�i he points of a yearling�Head and neck � Forehead � Barrel � Hindquarters � Colour � Action both walking and in the paddock�Condition� Examples of a successful application of rules. SOMEBODY immortalized Mrs. Glasse by attributing to her a recipe for cooking a hare. " First catch your hare," she is represented as saying. The good lady never said anything of the kind ; but fame is often ac- quired on as slender foundations. The owner and trainer must perforce follow the advice, wherever it came from. A yearling is not difficult to catch, providingyou have the proper appliances, which in this case mean a taste for horseflesh and a pocketful of money. For hospitable breeders will invite you to their paddocks, and persuasive auctioneers will charm you in the sale room, having first lubricated the clasp of your pocket- book with champagne and other good things, so that if



		The Racehorse.
	I 2


the appliances are forthcoming, your great difficulty will beto refrain from buying, especially if you know nothing- about yearlings. I have often remarked the difference in the methods employed in selling a good and a bad yearling. The latter is invested with all the attributes of equine excellence. On both sides he traces back to parentage of celebrity and worth, whose qualities were of such high order that it would appear as if the only difficulty they could have encountered was in losing a race ; with blood in his veins to which that of the most lineal descendant of Adam is a mere puddle. True, he is on a small scale, but then, you must remember, one of the most celebrated mares on the turf was so small when a yearling, that on being sent home to her dis- gusted trainer he mistook her for a foal; a trifle straight on the forelegs, but some of the best animals were foaled that way ; perhaps a little defici�nt in muscle and light in bone, but you are asked to remember that so-and-so was even lighter�and what a horse he turned out to be ! If he has bad action, the attendant is in- structed not to move him about too much or too fast. If he has good, he cannot display it too much. A grand yearling steps into the ring, tossing his head and scan- ning the crowd with the confidence of courage and power. You might expect to hear still higher enco- miums, Pelion piled upon Ossa; nothing of the kind. " Now, gentlemen, this is lot ten ; I need not say any- thing about him ; you all know his sire and dam, and you have seen his full brother run this year. How much for this colt ? Two thousand guineas ? One thousand ? Thank you, sir." He wants no selling; there are a dozen purchasers eager to catch him, and pay doubl� or treble his value for him, too ; and talking would be a mere waste of time ; praise, " gilding refined gold, or painting the lily." Thousands of yearlings are sold in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Australasia, and on the continent of Europe, but how few earn winning brackets ! An excellent judge of yearlings assured me



		Procuring the Yearling, 13 that he considered himself fortunate if two out of five he purchased proved to be winners at all : and how few good judges exist ! Excellence is rare in this respect as in any other. The qualities of eye and judgment required to make a successful buyer are as rare, if not rarer, than those requisite to the achievement of success in any other branch of art. Like them they are sus- ceptible of improvement, but I have not the slightest doubt that they are born with Man, as is the talent for painting or music. Lay down all the rules you like as a guide to the buyer, let them be approved by the most competent judgment and engraven on the memory, and yet one man will buy better than another. The pre- liminary advice I should give to a buyer is to discard all prejudice, if such is possible. Doctor Shorthouse, an eminent authority on breeding, held such a prejudice against the Blacklock blood, and abused it so con- sistently in his paper, that it is said the advent of " Galopin " nearly broke his heart. Some families pro- duce, it is true, a larger number of winners than others. Like begets like in the main, but not necessarily in the individual, throughout all animated creation, the varia- tions being greater as the scale rises ; but it is no greater satisfaction to the owner of a worthless animal to know that he is of a winning family than to a man suffering from an incurable disease to know that he comes of a healthy one. In fact, human nature is so consti- tuted that it is rather the reverse. A colt, well shaped, with good action, whose family is in the winning nrinor- ity, should be purchased in preference to one of lesser qualifications derived from the most winning blood ; that is, for racing; breeding is another matter, with which we are not now immediately concerned. Another consideration which should affect the buyer is the pur- pose for which he wants his horses ; whether as money- making machines, to be got rid of when that end is accomplished ; to be used afterward for breeding ; or whether it is principally for pleasure, and the honour and glory of racing, as in the case of the late Lord



		14 The Racehorse. Derby, who spent half a Hfetime trying to breed a win- ner of the great race which bears his name. If for the first, I have no hesitation in saying that horses which can win as two-year-olds are the most profitable. Their keep is less costly, most of them run generously at that age, and can be depended upon to run up to their pri- vate trials and over short courses; the odds against them are more iiberal, especially in the commencement of their career, because they have not as vet become popular idols ; secrets of the stable have been better preserved; owners of the animals that run against them are more sanguine than when repeated disappoint- ments have sobered their expectations, and these backing their own freely, better odds are obtained. Notwithstanding the warnings of experience, buyers at remunerative prices can also generally be found for them at the end of their two-year-old career ; for expe- rience is not always a warning to the many. Breeders will often buy them eagerly, either desirous of repro- ducing the same class, or hopeful, by judicious crossing, of improving their lasting qualities. Of the second are all likcly youngsters, containing fashionable strains of blood, who may gain credit at the stud, if they do not adorn the racecourse. Thirdly, colts and fillies by the best sires, out of the best mares, and likely to train on. These horses sell themselves as youngsters, many of them train on, can both stay and go fast, and are a crown of glory to their owners. The question of soundness in sire and dam will enter largely into the calculations of the buycr, especially as regards soundness in wind. Unsoundness from accident may be disregarded, but not that which proceeds from disease; in the latter category will be ranged roaring, whistling, bone and bog spavin, navicular, ring and side bones, contracted feet, and perhaps curbs, which proceed often from a hercditary form of hoek, but in my opinion are seldom permanently detrimental to a racehorse. William Day classes thorough-pin as a serious unsoundness, but does



		Procuring the Yearling. 17 greater angle, weakness and a bad mouth, which does not give and take to the rider's hand as it should do. The neck ought to be strong and muscular to sustain the weight of the head (in racing the neck tires first) ; it should not be too long, and the hand should feel it firm and substantial under the mane. This indicates a good constitution. It should swell out gradually to the head and shoulder, showing no very marked junction with the latter. The mane should be thin and silky. Shakespeare says : " Thin mane, thick tail, broad but- tocks, tender hide;" and he is right. The shoulder should be oblique, and the scapula, or shoulder-blade, should extend far back to where it joins, or rather, is suspended, for there is no joint here, at the wither ; it should also be long, giving an appearance of oblique length to the shoulder, which in this form is enabled to sustain the jar caused by the great stride and speed of the thoroughbred. With harness horses and others the shoulder is more upright, which gives rigidity at the expense of elasticity. This elasticity enables the horse to recover himself after the completion of the stride. The numerus, or lowershoulder-bone, must also be long, and set on to the shoulder-blade at a proper angle� about ninety degrees. This angle leaves the greatest freedom for extension and recovery of the fore legs, a problem which may be illustrated by a common prac- tice in athletics : Put your toes to a line chalked upon the floor, take in the left hand a piece of chalk, and support your body with your right hand on the floor, then chalk a mark with your left as far as possible. Having done so, recover a perpendicular position with- out having moved the feet or the right hand. A few attempts will quickly show that if the right arm is ex- tended much beyond a right angle to the body, you will be unable to recover the perpendicular; if at too acute an angle, you will be unable to chalk far. So with the shoulder of the racehorse. Equal power of extension and recovery are necessary to a long and uniform stride. C



		The Racehor se.
	i8


When the lower shoulder bone is long, the elbow is pushed backward, and this, coupled with the length of the shoulder-blade, gives to the fore hand of the colt, looking at it sideways, the large surface or size so much desired by connoisseurs, while an apparent smallness is the result of a conformation the reverse of the above. The skeleton described should be thickly covered with muscle, which gives an appearancc of roundness to the angularities. The fore legs should be straight in their general conformation, and perpendicular, whereby the utility of the well-shaped shoulder is preserved. The radius, or bone of the fore arm, should be long, and the arm itself large, muscular, and full in the outline ; the knee large, and broad in front, giving plenty of surface for the attachment of muscle, and, with the joints generally, should have an aspect of coarseness in the thoroughbred. The cannon bone should be short. Animals who have this bone shortest, coupled with the longest fore arm, are the speediest; this formation being most striking in the greyhound of all our domestic animals. The elbow should neither be turned in to the flank, nor out. If turned in, the legs are turned out and have to bear the shock of galloping in part laterally, while there is interference between it and the ribs. Such horses are generally bad walkers. If out, the toes are turned in, which is not so weak a form as the other, but detracts from the speed. I have said that the leg should be straight; this is particularly the case below the knee to the fetlock. If the back outline of the leg is convex, what is called calf-knced, it is a sure sign of weakness ; such horses seldom stand training. The reverse of this shape is unsightly; nevertheless, horses so formcd seldom break down. The leg should, with its tendon, appear broad and flat, and the latter, called the back sinew, or flexor tendon, should be clearly defined. This sinew should be quite straight; if it is pinched in, or tied below the knee, weakness is denoted. The fetlock, like the other joints, should be large, to facilitate the attachment of

			I



		Procuring the Yearling. 19 muscle, and have a hard, clean look. Thence the pas- tern should descend at an angle to the perpendicular of forty-five degrees. A lesser angle would jar, and a greater weaken the structure. The pastern should be slender, clean, and hard-looking. The foot should be of good size, at the same angle as the pastern, and the horn smooth and without rings or streaks, which are sure indications of disease. The frog should be large, filling up the heel, and both it and the sole should be tough and strong, and the latter concave. Standing in front of the colt, the outline of the chest from the wither to the b�ttom of the breast should appear like a flattened oval, smaller at the wither end, and narrow compared with that of a horse used for any other pur- pose except racing. If the chest is too wide, and this is, perhaps, the greatest fault in a horse intended for racing, the forelegs will stand wide apart, and a great deal of daylightwill beseen through them, which ought not to be. I have seldom seen a horse so formed that could gallop at all, and never one that could stay. The feet ought to come close together, an inch or so apart. The chest should bedeep in pr'-portion to width ; horses so formed stay the best. A decp, narrow chest expands more readily, and is capable of more expansion in response to the action of the lungs, as will be explained more fully later on. As the chest should be narrow, so should the body behind the shoulders, whose muscles should swell out so as to keep the saddle in its place; at the same time the section through that part of the body should not sink inward suddenly to toward the lower part of the girth behind the elbow. The withers should be strong, not fine or "knifey." The former denotes strong muscular attachment of the shoulder cartilage to the spine, and a full development of the ligament by which the forehand is suspended thereto. A strong wither also tends to keep the saddle in its place. Looking again sideways at the horse, the chest should rise slightly toward the belly till at least eight inches from the elbow, when the lower outline should C 2



	Procuring the Yearling.
		2 1


and perpendicular; it must be broad and flat, with the flexor tendon clearly defined, as in the fore leg. The hoek should be broad, coarse, bony, and clean ; delicacy in appearance indicates weakness. If the posterior out- line below the point is convex, curbs are indicated ; if concave, weakness, as in fore legs. The fetlock should, like the other joints, be large, and both the pasterns and hoof may descend more perpendicularly than in the fore leg, while the hind feet will be smaller and shorter than the fore feet. Standing now behind the horse, the buttocks must be broad�the broader the better�and tapering to the hoek, with the outer line generally convex, denoting muscular development in the thighs and second thighs, the shape resembling a peg-top ; the inner thighs should be well filled up with muscle, the absence of which gives that appearance called" split up behind." Sometimes at the junction of the upper bone and spine there is a lump or rise, which to the unskilled eye appears unsightly, but in such cases the bone is well developed, and there is more room for attachment of muscle. This excrescence is sometimes termed " the bump of speed,' because horses so formed are generally speedy, Cceteris paribus. The loin and top of the quarters should be arched across, a form denoting great muscular development, the absence of which renders the section of the back angular. As stated before, the hoeks should be close together and the stifle joint turned out; and the pasterns and hind feet should be turned outward. Looking from behind, the hoeks should present the same solid, bony appearance as when reviewed from the side. Looking again at the colt sideways, the line from the top of the quarters to the wither should be nearly horizontal, the wither slightly lower, especially in yearlings. The wither is apt to rise with age more than the quarter. I do not like a horse with high withers ; the fore action is likely to be higher than is desirable, and horses so formed have seldom that daisy-cutting action so gratifying to the eyes of an



		The Racehorse.
	2 ?


expert. Eclipse was very low before, and, I may add, went very wide behind, bringing his hind feet well outside his fore. In this respect many of our best race-horses resemble him. Finally, it may be said that the tail ought to be strong and thick. A weak tail denotes a weak constitution ; so does a loose flaccid anus. To the eye, educated by knowledge of anatomy and of the proper position of the bones forming the skeleton, the right conformation of the racehorse clothed in flesh, fat, and muscle, soon becomes familiar, and indeed this knowledge is necessary to arrive at a proper estimate of shape and form, with the action consequent to, if not inseparable, from these ; just as it is required by the painter of the human figure, and without it he cannot faithfully idealize or represent symmetry and strength upon the canvas before him. In both cases the instructed eye presents to the mind a picture drawn from the best models of what ought to be, and compares with that the object immediately before it, either to approvc or to condemn. As to colour, it is an old saying that no good horse is of a bad colour; but this, like many which have the reputation of age and wisdom, is manifestly untrue. That comparatively few horses of a bad colour have been successfiu on the turf no one with experience can deny; and the writer does not entertain any doubt but that those few would have been better animals had their colour been good. The most objectionable colours are those which are weak and washy of their kind, and where the extremities are lighter than the rest of the body. Thus, a very iight bay or chestnut is apt to be of weak constitution, defici�nt in stamina, and when to this isadded " mealy " legs, or legs lighter than the rest of the coat and a lighter coloured mane and tail, the evil is accentuated. " Black points " (that is, black legs, mane and tail) are preferable in a bay; and with these the feet are gene- rally more sound, and the horn is more enduring, White legs and feet are objectionable, but not so much



	Procuring the Yearling.
		-⁷J


as "mealy" ones; yet a colt should not be rejected on that score if otherwise well formed and of good action. Dark chestnut, bay, and grey, will be better than light shades of those colours. Blacks are very seldom seen, a few, as Saunterer, having been excellent. Roans are still more scarce, and I have never seen a good onc of that colour. Some horses, like Strathconan, have a slight admixture of bay or chestnut hairs, but they are really greys. Browns^ with bays and chestnuts, practi- cally monopoliz�"'the turf; and the darker and more whole coloured they are, the b�Tt�n"�' IS��THa Ti�rslf may be of the best colour and the best breed, and outwardly possess every contour that repre- sents a model of speed and endurance, yet, like the possessor of all the virtues without charity, be worth nothing. The Athenian orator is said to have described the three chief attributes of eloquence as action, action, action; so, indeed, it is with the racehorse: without action, form, size, colour, ancestry, everything will be neutralized ; with it they may in some measure be dispensed with. This is what is meant by the saying " Horses go in all shapes." It is action that makes them go ; the want of it that makes them worthless. How can this quality be ascertained ? Undoubtedly, any person who has been constantly observing a number of yearlings, raised per- haps under his care, ought to be able to teil with tolerable certainty which have good action and which have bad. But this is precisely the man who will not teil. If he is true to his employer he will keep his mouth shut, and he certainly will not depreciate the property entrusted to him by odious comparisons. A tip to a stud groom may sometimes procure information, but it is not to be depended on, and no honourable man would resort to such a proceeding before a sale. Alter it the case is different, but then the information loses in value. The best yearling the writer ever owned was bought on his own judgmcnt, afterwards confirmed by that of the stud groom, who sought him out after the sale and



		Pr omring the Yearling. 25 buyers to be too inquisitive, nor do they care to see their youngsters rattled about. How, then, can the buyer obtain that guaranty of speed and galloping action which will justify him in nodding to the auctioneer ? From the walk, I reply without hesitation. If a colt walks really well, he will always gallop ; he will not necessarily be a stayer, but he can always go. The sale ring is by no means a good place to observe the walking capacity of a colt. Led around a small ring by a man who cannot walk fast himself, and who, perhaps, has orders not to lead fast, a colt seldom exhibits his capabilities in this respect. The very best place I know to judge of a yearling is Doncaster during the St. Leger week. There, five hundred or more yearlings are offered at auction during the four days. Each day the youngsters are led out for exercise in the paddocks attached to the sale rings, and an intending buyer can observe their action from every point of view. A colt that is likely te race will show great freedom in the use of his limbs, behind and before�what is termed "liberty of action." The colt that gets over the ground quickest has not necessarily the best action. Quick, jerky action often denotes speed, but only for a short distance ; such rarely, if ever, prove stayers. The writer ence purchased a filly of this kind, described afterward in a sporting paper as " one of the fastest walkers ever led into a sale ring." She walked with a quick, nimble action I have seldom seen cqualled. As a two-year-old she won seven or eight races right off the reel, but these were over the half-mile courses then in vogue. She could not win at five furlongs, and never did win when she had to compass that distance or beyond it, but she was like a rabbit from the slips. The colt in walking should reach out far with his fore fegs ancT put" hlsleet down firmly with a decided thud, and they should not dweil in the air before coming to the ground. The hind legs should be brought under him in the same manner, far in front of the spot vacated by the fore fcot. This s"��o��d be accompanied by flexibility



		26 The Racehor se. of the ncck and body ; the former should be carried low, and bend gracefully, and the tail should swing freely from side t� side. The motion should be graceful. Grace of motion in the horse, as in man or woman, is the propter hoc of external and internal symmetry. I say internal, because the action of a body, to the eye well formed, may be let and hindered by the malforma- tion of joints and muscles not visible. Fine external muscular development does not always carry with it freedom of action�very often the reverse, as may be scen in human beings. In the human subject, however, grace may be taught, may be acquired ; but with the horse, who does not, so far as we know, study personal appearance, it results wholly from conformation. I have never found walking action, as a test, to fail in judging a number of yearlings. At the sale of Mr. Swigert's yearlings in Kentucky, in 1884, I picked out two colts and two fillies at the request of Colonel Bruce of Turf, Field and Farm (American), and an excellent judge of yearlings, and these proved to be the best out of about sixty sold. I was guided principally by their action., I knew nothing of their breeding, being then quite a stranger to American thoroughbreds. Five years later, at the request of the New York Sporting World, I inspected ninety-eight of the Rancho del Paso yearlings from California, and in an article written previous to the sale, selected forty-eight as likely to prove winners. All the subsequent winners, except one, and there were about twenty as far as I can recollect, came from those I had selected. In 1890, Mr. J. R. Keene, the owner of Foxhall, told me that since he owned the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire winners, he had bought a number of high-priced yearlings, paying from 400 to 1200 guineas for them, and that not one had won a race of any kind. He asked me to select ten yearlings for him at the various sales in progress. I selected nine, with the rcsult that six proved to be winners as two-year-olds. Had the matter been left altogether in my hands I should have bought for him



		Procumng the Yearhng. 29 but on the whole I prefer an animal that has had no early sorrows. Again, fat colts, when put into training, fall away; lean ones improve. Lord Falmouth, the most successful breeder in England, and who never bred for sale, sent his youngsters to the trainer anything but fat. I heard the latter say that they always improved with him from the start. Any one who bears all the above principles and particulars in mind, and who is capable of applying them practically, need never buy a yearling that is not capable of racing, unless of course he should be prevented by accident or disease. He may not win big races or in first-class company, but he will be able to gallop ; what distance, the future, and to a great extent his parentage, will determine. One who properly applies the above information need never buy a colt that cannot gallop fast.



			CHAPTER II.

		STABLING. Importance of stabling�Should be close to training-ground�Dry, witli southern aspect�Well ventilated, lighted, and floored� Kinds of floonng�Admiral Rous on stabling�General de- scription�Drainage�Stalls and boxes�Fittings�Tempera- ture�Water and tanks�Straw and hay barn�Verandahs� Winnowing, chaff-cutting and slicing machines�Paddock� Forge � Accommodation for attendants � Importance of details. Having procured the yearling, the next question for consideration is vvhere to put him. That the rnatter of stabling is very important, and should receive earnest attention, becomes apparent when it is considered that it largely affects the welfare of the horse and his success upon the turf. It is not intended here to suggest elaborate plans for a racing stable. Excellent and well- considercd designs will be found in works which treat of the horse in general, or the racehorse in particular. With a few alterations, the training establishment built by Mr. William Day at Woodyates, in Dorsetshire, and fully described in his book, " The Racehorse in Train- ing," is a desirable model, and cannot very much be improved upon except in the matter of fittings and such like, wherein considerable ingenuity has been shown of late years. It will therefore be suffici�nt to indicate the general principles which should govern the construc- tion of stables, more especially those relating to hygi�ne, and which can be adapted to structures now in use. In the construction and arrangement of stables, besides those sanitary precautions which are directed against



	Stabling.
		3'


disease, it is desirable, if not absolutely essential, to study the comfort and convenience of boys and stable- men�of the general management, in fact. Proper dis- positions in this respect, if they do not insure, tend at least to promote economy and to create contentment among those to whose care the horses are entrusted, which goes far to attain the desired result. If every facility exists for carrying on a business, there is always less grumbling and discontent among employ�s, the work is easier, and more cheerfully performed. Where these matters are duly considered and carefully pro- vided for, a stable very inferior in design and construc- tion will be better adapted for training purposes than one superior in these respects, where the former con- siderations have been neglected, or have received in- suffici�nt attcntion. Such an establishment will re- semble one of those dwelling-houses familiar to many of us, neither picturesque nor pretending in its architectural proportions, but whose interior has become, from pati�nt and careful study of the wants of the inmates, a synonym for comfort, convenience and salubrity. The stables should be close to the training ground, which, in wet or bad weather, will enable the horses and riders to do their work with a minimum of risk and inconvenience. They should be built on dry ground which has been properly drained, and if possible, in such a location that when horses are finishing their gallops and svveats, their heads may be turned homeward. It is very important, too, that they should have, if possible, asouthern aspect. With the dwellings of men this desideratum has been recognized, if not always acted on. With the racehorse, the child of a southern sky, a southern aspect is still more desirable, and indeed the same rule applies generally to the animal and vegetable creation. Your garden, your kennel and your stable should have a sunny aspect, and the same obtains in the southern hemisphere, changing " Southern " to " Northern." The tenants of such establishments are stronger in their growth and less subject to disease. A racing-stable



			Stabhng. 3 7

		flics are troublesome horscs knock and stamp their feet and legs about injuriously against hard floors, whereas on boards or clay the evil is mitigated, if not altogether removed. If any additional proof were needed to con- vince me of the value of wooden floors, it would be found in the fact that the Liverpool Tramvvay Company have entirely adopted them in view of their suitability to horses' legs and feet, and their superiority in this respect over hard pavement, a fact communicated to me recently by the manager of that company when I visited their stables. The objection I have to clay or earth is that it is damp and becomes saturated with excretions, and is not easy to keep clean. Otherwise I think it would be the best kind of floor. Boarded floors are not free from this objection, but I have observed that only a few of the boards become so saturated, and these are easily renewed and replaced if fixed with screws instead of nails. I do not see, indeed, why the centre of the floor should not be protected by rubber of a proper thickness, vvhich might be occasionally removed and cleaned. Of course, paved or other hard floors might be treated in the same way, but it seems to me as if the rubber would be liable to wear out. Any slipperiness in the boards can be easily corrected by strewing a little sand every now and then. My opinions in regard to wooden versus earthen flooring have been confirmed by experi- ence obtained on tracks around New York, where, as is the case everywhere in the States, earthen floors are the rule, and especially at Coney Island, where investiga- tion left no doubt on my mind of the fact that horses who stood on boarded flooring were healthier than those that stood on earth, and were less subject to the so-called epidemie of cold and influenza, which in 1889, afflicted so many stables, and also to rheumatism which is very common in America, and I also found horses to be healthier where the earthen floors had been eovered with peat, which is a disinfectant. Ordinary wood pavement, such as is used in the streets of London, laid on con- crete and paved in with tar and gravel, would be better



		The Race hor se.
	4 3	The Race hor se.
	4 3

statcd bcforc, should face the south, or the south and east. It may with advantagc occupy two sides of a square, the othcr two being inclosed with high paling and occupied by sheds and buildings used for forage, harness, saddle room, etc, and by the dwellings of the employ�s, the trainer and his staff. The inclosure ought to be sufficientJy large to enable horses to take walking cxercise therein, when such is considered desir- able, from policy or for other reasons. There should be one or two loose boxes opening to the exterior of the inclosure, in order to isolate any cases of contagious disease. When the possible result of the spread of disease in a stable is duly considered, no precaution against it can be deemed unnecessary. A harness room is an indispensable requisite to a racing stable. There the spare saddles, bridles, cloth- ing, etc, not in use ought to be stored, and under lock and key the weighted saddles and saddle cloths should be kept by the trainer. The inflammable nature of hay and straw, and of wooden buildings, if the stable is of that material, makes it desirable to take the utmost precautions against fire. Electric light at once suggests itself, but as this will seldom be available, the use of that most easily under command is recommended. Candles in locked and inclosed lanterns, with horn or mica Win- dows, are perhaps the best. Kerosene oil should on no account be employed ; the danger attending its use is too obvious to require comment. The lanterns should be fixed and irremovable, except one or two, which should only be intrusted to steady hands. If the walls of the stable are of wood, all the parts about the lights ought to be protected by tin or some uninflammable substance. In each stable proper arrangements should be made so that one of the lads can sleep there at night. This precaution is useful in case a horse gets cast in his stall orbox, or any accident happens to him during the night. Arrangements may be provided for heating the stable



	CHAPTER III.

FOOD. Importance of using the best�Improvement due to food�Oualities of food�Baron Liebig�Formation of blond and muscular fibre�Nutritive value of oats and hay�Good and bad oats � Description of good oats�Kiln-dried oats�Chaff-crushed oats � Carrots, beans, parsnips, turnips�Green stuff�Indian corn �Effect of good and inferior food on horses�Linseed and its uses. It is unnecessary, I think, to dilate upon the import- ance of supplying the best kind of food to the horse in training. When the magnitude and importance of the issues involved are fully considered, it will be admitted that so-called economy in this respect is truly a wilful and wasteful form of expenditure. If the racehorse is not supplied with the best kind of food that money can buy, that enterprise can obtain, an J experience justify, his chances of winning are as much vitiated as if many pounds extra were put on to his back�in fact he is, to use a familiar phrase, heavily handicapped. If two great railroads entered in a competition of speed, or the greyhounds of rival Atlantic companies contested the palm of their superiority on the ocean,the policy or carelessness which supplied their engines with coal of inferior quality, would not be one whit less repre- hensible, or tend in a less degree to diminish the chances of success, than would the neglect or folly which supplied horses in training with inferior food. The experience of centuries has happily left us no doubt on the kind of food required for a racehorse; it is the quality of that cstablished kind which is now

		� .



	Food.
	Food.	45
		45

immediately in question. The enormous improvement which during more than twenty generations has 'sepa- rated the Anglo-Arabian from his progenitor of the desert was commented on in the introduction to this work. How much of this is due to superior food it would be difficult to exaggerate. Note the vast change that takes place visibly in animals when removed from poor to rich feeding grounds, and then estimate the effect that may be realized by an unbroken continuity of good feeding during the generations that have elapsed since the time when Captain Byerly rode one of the celebrated progenitors of the thoroughbred in King William's wars, twenty-five years before Darley's Arabian got Flying Childers, and about the same time before Lord Godolphln's Arabian was foaled. Cecil tells us that the best method of ascertaining the qualities of food, and their effect upon the growth and development of animals, is to consult those authors who have made those researches their particular study, and to compare the result of daily experience with the know- ledge thus acquired. By these means the trainer can decide what variety or change of food is required under the varied conditions of time, place and idiosyncrasy of the horse, and one of the most prevailing causes of success or failure in his management is the judicious or injudicious selection of his food. Baron Liebig writes : " If we hold that the increase of mass in the animal body, the development of its organs, and the supply of waste, all are dependent on the blood, that is, on the ingredients of the blood, then only those substances can be called nutritious or considered as food, which are capable of conversion into blood. To determine, therefore, what substances are capable of affording nourishment, it is only nccessary to ascertain the com- position of the food and compare itwith the ingredients of the blood. " Two substances require special consideration as the chief ingredients of the blood ; one of these separates immediately from the blood when withdrawn from



		The Racehorse.
	₄6	The Racehorse.
	₄6

circulation. It is well known that, in this case, blood coagulates and separates into a yellowish liquid�the serum of the blood, and a gelatinous mass which adheres to a rod or stick in soft, elastic fibres when coagulating blood is quickly stirred. This latter is the fibrine of the blood, which is identical in all its properties with the muscular fibre when the latter is purified from all foreign matter. "The second principal ingredi�nt of the blood is con- tained in the serum, and gives to this liquid all the properties of the white of eggs, with which it is identical. When heated it coagulates into a white elastic mass, and the coagulating surface is called albumen. " Chemical analysis has led to the remarkable result that fibrine and albumen contain the same organic elements united in the same proportions, so that two analyses, one of albumen, the other of fibrine, do not differ more than two of fibrine or two of albumen, respectively, do in the composition of one hundred parts. " Both albumen and fibrine, in the process of nutri- tion, are capable of being converted into muscular fibre, and muscular fibre is capable of being converted into blood. These facts have long been established by physiologists, and chemistry has merely proved that these metamorphoses can be accomplished under the influence of a certain force without the aid of a third substance, or of its elements, and without the addition of any foreign element or the separation of any element previously present in their substances. " Those vegetable principles, which, in animals, are used to form blood, contain the chief constituents of blood, fibrine and albumen ready formed, as regards their composition. All plants besides contain a certain quantity of iron, which reappears in the colouring matter of the blood. Vegetable fibrine and animal fibrine hardly differ, even in form. If these principles be wanting in food the nutrition of the animal is arrested, and when they are present the graminivorous animal obtains in its food the very same principles



	Food.
	Food.	�i
		�i

around, though suitable for sheep, and capable, with plenty of manure, of growing fine crops of wheat and other farm produce, could grow no good hay. I ac- cepted this fact as the experience of the above-men- tioned trainer, who had lived there thirty years ; and he informed me that when he occasionally was obliged to use the hay grown in the surrounding district the effect was visible by the horses falling off in condition. I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of his statement, because I have had the same experience elsewhere, and, as every farmer knows, the transfer of stock from rich land to poor is accompanied by a like result, and vice versd. Good and bad seasons will also affect the nutritive qualities of hay as of other produce. Sound, dry, upland pasture allowed to meadow makes the best hay. It is far superior to the ranker grasses grown in flat, marshy land, however well drained that may be, or however luxuriant the erop. The nutritive value of hay is enhanced when derived from a large variety of grasses, instead of a few, and also when that variety is made up of the best kinds. In the United Kingdom, those most estcemed are the white clover, which is found everywhere ; rye grass (solum perenne), meadow fescue (Festuca Pratensis), meadow foxtail (alopecurus pretensis), crested dogtail (cynosurus cristatus), meadow catstail or timothy (phleum pratense), cocksfoot (dactylis glomerata), meadow smooth grass (poa pretensis), which I take to be blue grass. This last is in England con- sidered to be inferior in nutriment, but unquestionably it stands, if not at the head, in the first rank in America, and I may here remark that a gentleman from the Province of Ontario, in Canada, told me it grew there better than in Kentucky, was more lasting, and that thousands of bushels of the seed were exported from the former place to the latter. I have had no oppor- tunity of verifying this information, but consider it not improbable on the " Northern limit" theory. Red clover hay is nutritive and puts on flesh, but is bad for wind and condition ; and mixed hay is better without