EACE-HOESES.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[llACE-UOESES. 



work. We may premise that Chifney entered 

 into the service of the running stables in 

 1770, and was regularly trained to his voca- 

 tion, under the celebrated professors Eox and 

 Prince. Eiding, he says, "he learned him- 

 self. In 1773, I could ride a horse in a 

 better manner in a race, to beat others, than 

 any person ever known in my time. In 1775, 

 I could train horses for running better than 

 any person I ever yet saw." In 1784, he 

 lived with Lord Grosvenor, riding his lord- 

 ship's race-horses. He afterwards entered 

 into the service of Thomas Panton, Esq., with 

 whom he continued four years, until his en- 

 gagement in the service of the prince. During 

 his continuance with Mr. Panton, he rode 

 most of the Duke of Bedford's race-horses ; 

 and tells us, he was assured by Mr. Panton, 

 that " the Duke of Bedford was always highly 

 pleased with his riding, as he always rode to a 

 T, as his grace told him." His grace is well 

 known to have been very precise in his direc- 

 tions to his jockeys ; and appears to have been 

 so well satisfied with Chifney, that, in all pro- 

 bability, had not his grace then meditated a 

 total retirement from the turf, he would have 

 engaged him for life. Immediately on quitting 

 the service of Mr. Panton, he was engaged by 

 his royal highness the prince, at a salary of 

 two hundred pounds per year. 



" I have said," observes Chifney, " that 

 horses change in their twice running. If a 

 horse is in perfect fitness for running, he 

 immediately becomes exhausted, little or much. 

 He must then change in his running. A 

 horse cannot keep his perfect fitness for 

 running more than one race till rested. I 

 have seen one sweat between a horse's twice 

 running, change him for the worse, asto- 

 nishingly It is destruction to horses to 

 sweat them in the manner they are sweated 

 at Newmarket, as the practice there is to 

 sweat them once in six days — sometimes 

 oftener; and between these days of sweating, 

 it is usual for the horse to go out twice a day, 

 each time having strong exercise. In these 

 sweating-days the horses are mostly covered 

 with cloths, two or three times doubled, and 

 go in their sweats six miles, more or less, and, 

 at times, go tolerably fast. Directly the horse 

 pulls up, he is hurried into the stable, which 

 is on the spot for that purpose. As soon as 

 80 



he gets in, there is often more clothes thrown 

 upon him, in addition to those he had been 

 sweated in. This is done to make the horse 

 sweat the more ; and he stands thus for a time 

 panting, before he is stripped for scraping ; 

 and with being thus worked, clothed, and 

 stoved, he is, at times, so affected, that he 

 keeps breaking out into fresh sweats, which 

 pour from him, when scraping, as if water had 

 been thrown on him. Nature cannot bear 

 this. The liorses must dwindle. 



"Now I think, in the first place, that the 

 horse has been too long at this sort of 

 work for his sinews ; then the clothing and 

 stoving him force his juices from him in such 

 quantities, that his spirit, strength, and speed 

 must le destroyed ; and much clothing jades 

 horses. A horse don't meet with this destruc- 

 tion when he runs, for then he is likely to be 

 lighter in his carcase, lighter in his feet, 

 having plates on, not shoes, which are won- 

 derfully in favour of his sinews ; and he is 

 without clothes, and not stoved, and his course 

 in running is very seldom more than four 

 miles ; therefore, this difference between 

 sweating and running is immense. 



" When a horse pulls up from his running, 

 he has time given him to move gently in the 

 air, and is usually scraped out upon the turf, 

 and by these means he perspires no more than 

 suits his nature. 



" Horses should have different brakes, against 

 weather, to scrape in. Buildings for this, I 

 think, would be most properly made after the 

 horse-dealer's rides in London ; open in front, 

 being out of the weather, and not out of the 

 air. Places of this sort would be much the 

 best for horses to saddle in ; for saddling 

 in close, dark stables, makes them, at times, 

 break out with great perspiration when under 

 that operation. Besides, in fine roomy places 

 of this sort, there would be proper space, &c., 

 for noblemen and gentlemen sportsmen to 

 command a sight of the horses at saddling ^ 

 and horses are less timid, when in a crowd, 

 than they are when not in it, yet hear it. 



" When a horse is first taken into work, 

 after having had a long rest, his carcase is then 

 large and heavy; and the practice is to put 

 more clothes upon him, and order him to go a 

 longer sweat. But the horse, in this stage of 

 his training, is the less able to bear more 



