H E -:- H O R S E 



CHAPTER VI. 



Racing and race horses — Early training — Reasons for the 

 light bit and the short stirrup — Use and misuse of the whip 

 in racing — Horse show ethics — Looks are everything — Satisfy 

 the judge — Importance of etiquette — Polo ponies — They just 

 happen and are not bred — Di&culty of finding them — Ameni- 

 ties of the polo pony trade — What constitutes a perfect polo 

 pony. 



Racing. — The race horse is usually halter- 

 broken when it is a few months old. From the 

 time of its birth it is constantly handled by 

 man, so that even from colthood it is a very 

 domestic kind of animal. Its training begins 

 when it is a yearling. The lightest possible 

 rider is found in order that the minimum risk 

 may be taken of injuring the animal's legs, 

 which are naturally very subject to injury at 

 this time. 



Many of the most important races in the 

 history of a horse are run when he is but two 

 years old. Horses of this age, and under, 

 generally are "breezed" (exercised) about an 

 eighth of a mile once or twice a week. 



To determine the possibility a horse has of 

 winning a given race, the weight carried and 

 the length of the race must be known, the 

 horse's staying qualities, its breeding and past 

 performance borne in mind, and its probable 

 behavior at the line-up taken into considera- 

 tion, so that some idea may be had of what 

 kind of a start is to be expected. 



The method adopted in racing a horse and 



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