UPON TRAINERS. 197 



say that when within a fortnight of the date of the race many quaint 

 and exacting duties have to be promptly done and performed. 



' Now, lastly,' observes our author, in conclusion of this remark- 

 able chapter, 'as touching the day in which your Horse mustrunne 

 for your wager, thus shall you use him : First, the night before, 

 you shall giue him but a verie little supper, so that he may be 

 passing empty in the morning, when you are to haue him out and 

 ayre him an howre or two before day, taking great care that he 

 empty himselfe thorowly while he is abroade, and then bring him 

 in ; and after you have well rubd all his foure legges, and anoynted 

 them thorowly either with Neates-foot oyle, Treane oyle, Sheepes- 

 foote oyle, or Linceede-oyle, all which be the most excellent oyles 

 that may be for a horse. Then give him this food : Take a good 

 bigge penny white loafe and cut the same all out into toastes, and 

 toaste them against the fire, then steep them in Muskadine, and 

 lay them betweene hote cloathes, and dry them, and so give them 

 to your Horse. This be so comforting and pleasant that your 

 Horse's empties shall little aggrieve him. When he hath eaten 

 this, put on his mussell, giue him great store of lytter, unloose his 

 sursingle that his cloathes may hang loosely upon him, and so let 

 him stand e to take his reste till the howre in which he must be led 

 forth to runne, not suffering any man to come within your stable, 

 for fear of disquieting your Horse. When the howre has come for 

 you to leade him out, gyrd on his cloathes handsomely, bridle him 

 up, and then take your mouth ful of strong Vinegar, and spirt it 

 into your Horse's nosethrils, whereof it will search and open his 

 pypes, making them apt for the receite of wind. This done, leade 

 him to the race, and when you come at the end therefor where you 

 must unclothe him, having the vinegar carried after you, doo the 

 like there, and so bequeath him and your self to God, and good 

 fortune.' Che sard sard. 



That a great improvement in training was effected between 

 the end of the sixteenth and the commencement of the nine- 

 teenth century is attested by the following passage which we 

 quote from ' Nimrod's ' celebrated, but most inaccurate, article 

 upon the Turf, which appeared in the ' Quarterly Review ' of 

 Juty 1833. 



That noble gift of Providence, the horse (writes ' Nimrod '), has 

 not been bestowed upon mankind without conditions. The first 

 demand upon us is to treat him well ; but, in order to avail 



