TRAINING FOR RACING, POINT-TO-POINT 365 



droves of horses would rush into the sea and drink eagerly 

 of the salt water. The natives considered this acted as 

 a vermifuge, though no doubt it was the salt which was the 

 attraction to the animals themselves. It is never safe 

 to allow horses to be stabled on sand from the sea-shore — as 

 I have known done from motives of economy — since they 

 are so apt to swallow it, for the sake of its saline properties. 



Since 1872, when the late Mr. John Hubert Moore, the 

 famous Irish trainer, first called my attention to the 

 practice, all my horses in training have been ridden at once 

 to a sheltered spot, as soon as ever they have finished their 

 gallop on fine mornings, and then been allowed to graze for 

 not more than five minutes by the watch ; the boys jumping 

 off their backs, and slipping the bits of the quiet ones under 

 their chins during the few minutes of relaxation. The 

 chief reason for the practice is the earth they thereby 

 obtain. 



The full development of muscle can only be obtained by 

 plenty of work, continued over a long period of time ; it is 

 this which hardens it, and increases the volume, as witness 

 the forearm of a blacksmith, or the muscles of the arms of 

 an oarsman. It is impossible to develop the muscles with a 

 short preparation, though the wind may be got right in a 

 comparatively brief space by sharp gallops, if there is no 

 accumulation of internal fat, which takes time to reduce. 

 The system in vogue at the present day is very different to 

 what it was thirty or forty years ago, but certainly the 

 horses seen on race-courses appear to be no fitter than they 

 were formerly, when longer work was in vogue ; and 

 personally I think they are frequently now less fit than they 

 were then. Horses running throughout the season no doubt 

 gradually run themselves fit, but even winners often seem to 

 lather a good deal in these days, which shows that they are 

 not up to concert pitch. Though a horse should sweat a little 

 after a race — and if he does not do so it is probable he is 

 overdone, and dried up — it should be clear sweat, with 

 no appearance of lather. When the latter is present it may 

 be noticed that the horse takes a longer time to cease 

 blowing hard, and the animal is decidedly not up to the 

 form it is capable of showing. 



