Racing at Johannesberg. 277 



fetlock joint. The question submitted to me was : could I 

 get the horse sound enough to run for the big handicap? 

 Messrs Ben Curtis and Lay told me that they stood to win 

 a large amount on Vichy, and that they would have to scratch 

 him if I could not help them in getting him well enough to 

 run. As it was one of those cases in which I had frequently 

 proved the immense efficacy of well-regulated pressure (pre- 

 ferably, by means of cotton-wool bandaging) and massage ; I 

 gave these gentlemen strong hopes that Vichy would come 

 out on the day of the race free from lameness, and that if he 

 was good enough, his bad leg would not stop him from win- 

 ning. I put him through the course of bandaging and mas- 

 sage, which reduced the swelling, and had the great satis- 

 faction of seeing him trot down sound to the starting-post, 

 and win his race in easy style. 



The all-pervading presence of ' little men ' and million- 

 aires with the instincts of East Enders makes racing in South 

 Africa an affair in which there is a considerable amount of 

 dog eating dog. This undesirable state of things will natur- 

 ally mend as the country becomes more settled and opened 

 up by railways. The Johannesburg racing company is well 

 managed, and has a flat and steeplechase course with stand, 

 paddock, etc., enclosed like at Sandown Park. Although, 

 when I was at the Gold Fields, there was not a single qualified 

 veterinary surgeon at Johannesburg, I did not see the pro- 

 spect of being able to earn enough to pay my expenses, if I 

 had set up in that capacity at the Randt. The ordinary 

 horses were not worth enough to pay for skilled veterinary 

 attendance, and the treatment of racehorses would come in 

 only in the way of an odd job. 



It is a noteworthy fact that English horses which are 

 imported into South Africa take a comparatively long time, 

 probably two years on an average, before they get sufficiently 

 accustomed to life in South Africa, to thrive and show their 

 proper form there, I have often been asked why it is that 

 these animals take so long to become acclimatised, and have 



