RACE RIDING. 



straight and level as he would do, were they on different 

 sides of him. 



Bad as the spurs are, with respect to ruining a horse's 

 temper and breaking his heart, their evil effects are as 

 nothing compared with those of the whip. I may safely 

 say that a large percentage of horses which have been 

 once severely punished with the whip by a powerful rider, 

 are thereby rendered useless, as racehorses, for the re- 

 mainder of their lives, whenever they have to contend 

 in a close finish. Cecil, in his excellent little book, 

 * Stable Practice,' remarks about the whip, that " not much 

 benefit often results from it, except with game and 

 indolent animals ; and in using both that and the spurs, 

 unless the horse is found to respond to the call, good 

 feeling and prudence forbid their use. Inflicting pain on 

 an animal when he is doing his best, is not only wanton 

 cruelty, but appears something like punishing him 

 because he is going as fast as his powers will enable 

 him. Horses have retentive memories, and there is no 

 doubt many will cease to struggle at the moment they 

 are called upon to do so, from reminiscences of former 

 punishment." 



A jockey should strike a horse with the whip no- 

 where else except just behind the girth, unless when 



