TREATMENT OF YEARLINGS. 125 



Joseph Cannon, ^vho for his years has had as many young ones 

 pass through his hands as most men, says that Lord Rose- 

 bery's Incense filly was the worst he ever had to deal with, 

 and it was fully a month before he could get a boy on to 

 her back ; but in the interim sacks of various weight can be 

 substituted for the boy. Once mounted, the yearlings are led 

 walking and jogging till they ride nicely and quietly, and the 

 instructor feels sure that they will 'go on ' when loose. 



This once accomplished, the rest follows with comparative 

 ease, and as soon as they can be trusted they are trotted about 

 in batches, wheeling in figures of eight, which is the best 

 exercise for mouthing ; they are then allowed to break gradu- 

 ally and naturally from trot to canter, but on no account must 

 they ever be hurried. Real work then begins with an old one 

 in front, and is carried on with due regard to size and engage- 

 ments. 



J. Cannon (to whom we may here acknowledge our indebt- 

 edness for these few simple rules) likes to try his yearlings 

 twice, provided they are eating and going on well ; but there is, 

 of course, no attempt at winding up for these early essays. 

 His light-pressure diet consists of a feed, crushed oats and 

 chaff — not long hay — at 7 a.m. ; a snack at noon, and another 

 feed when done up at 5 p.m. This is one course less than we 

 fancy is given by most trainers. Shy feeders must be tempted 

 with any wJiolesome food which they are found to relish. 



Many yearlings come up calfish and sulky, and too often 

 develop into bad-tempered ones. 'Strict, not harsh,' is the 

 motto for the stable, a most difficult one to impress on the 

 boys, who, full of mischief themselves, are apt to tease, and 

 teach all manner of tricks to, their charges. Familiarity 

 breeds contempt ; then the nip or squeeze is resented with a 

 blow from a stick, and what was intended as veritable horse- 

 play^ may thus be converted into an act of open hostility. 



For the sake of Calendar convenience, all racehorses are 

 supposed to have the same birthday, viz. January i of the 

 year in which they are foaled ; thus, a foal may be born as 



