THE IMPROVED ART OF FARRIERY. 30!) 



It may be proper in this place to advert to the dis- 

 tinct quaUties in the racer of stoutness and honesty ; 

 a discrimination made, but to be aware of which may 

 sometimes be of consequence. A horse may be 

 honest without being stout ; that is, he may have the 

 will, perhaps the ambition, to run to his last sob, but 

 being deficient in physical power — he faints, he sinks 

 internally ; his lungs, his limbs, refuse any longer to 

 perform their office with their highest energy, and his 

 pace is compulsively slackened. The stout, but not 

 honest horse, will occasionally slacken his pace, and 

 suffer himself to be beaten without any of the above 

 symptoms or appearance of debility ; perhaps there is 

 some analogy in this case with that of the cart-horse, 

 which however, in general, a capital drawer, never 

 will or can draw dead pulls. It would be difficult to 

 discuss satisfactorily this point as regards the racer ; 

 but it may fairly be insisted on, abuse with the whip 

 and spur never succeeds in the case, and in fact horses 

 are well known to have their running days, and there 

 are so many obvious and constantly recurring impedi- 

 ments to racing exertion, and the edge or extreme ot 

 speed is so delicate a thing, that we may well wonder 

 at the degree of certainty vvdiich we are accustomed to 

 witness on the course. In whipping the horse, the 

 hand of the rider is elevated above his head, that the 

 strokes may proceed from the extremity of the whip. 

 Spurring is performed by turning the toe outward, and 

 giving quick strokes. In making the last run, it is an ob- 

 ject to keep the whip hand, and to avoid being hemmed 

 in by the other horses. It is also politic and usual 

 not towinthe race too hollow,Vs'hen in thejockey's power, 

 that the extent of the horse's abilities may not be known. 

 The winning by the shortest possible distance is one 

 great and difficult business of the rider. 



