WEIGHT CLOTHS. 429 



the whip, might hurt his knuckles against it. To prevent a 

 weight cloth slipping off during a race, it may be secured, on 

 each side, by a strap attached to the front part of the cloth, 

 having at its end a loop through which the girth strap passes. 

 This arrangement will prevent the cloth from slipping back- 

 wards. It has no tendency to slip forwards. Or the weight 

 cloth may be kept in its place by straps at each end, which 

 straps come over the flaps of the pannel and girth, and are 

 then buckled together. 



The leads should be thin and very pliable, and may be 

 covered with washleather, on which it is convenient to mark 

 their respective weights, which will average about half a 

 pound. There should be a few light leads to make up exact 

 weight. In order to obtain increased pliability, leads of 

 half the ordinary thickness may be sewn up in pairs. Leads 

 are covered with washleather, to prevent them from slipping 

 out of the pockets of the cloth, and also to permit of their 

 being provided with " tags," so that they may be readily 

 removed, if required. 



WEIGHT JACKETS AND BELTS. 



Instead of a weight cloth, a weight jacket may be used, in 

 case the trainer wants to keep a trial " dark." The jacket 

 should be made to fit tightly, and should have pockets round 

 the body to contain leads. In this way a stone or more 

 may be carried. A shot belt may be used for the same 

 purpose, around the waist ; and should be supported by 

 shoulder straps. For a steeplechase, a weight cloth is much 

 to be preferred to a weight jacket ; as the latter impedes, 

 and often hurts, the rider by the leads striking against his 

 sides. For a flat race, I think the jockey will ride to greater 

 advantage with a weight jacket, than if all the lead was in 

 a weight cloth. 



