FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE 



affects his horse the moment he takes up his 

 reins. That " wireless telegraph " is instantly in 

 action, and the animal is disconcerted before the 

 time for action arrives, half beaten before the 

 battle begins. Again, he has watched profes- 

 sionals " nagging " their horses with bit, whip, 

 and voice to make them display the action and 

 carriage necessary, and he makes efforts to emu- 

 late them which result only in confusing and up- 

 setting his charge, forgetting, or not appreciating, 

 that half their performance is "gallery work" 

 only, and that, through incessant practice, they 

 intuitively understand just how far to go, and 

 just when to stop, or to change methods. Almost 

 any horse that is up to show form, performs at 

 his best when handled quietly, and allowed to 

 display himself in his own way. There are some 

 sluggards, and regular winners at that, which 

 have to be waked up (outside the ring) with 

 stimulants and bale-stick, and to be flogged, 

 jerked, " fished," and lifted when contesting, as 

 if in the last strides of a race, but these are not 

 the sort the tyro will wish either to own or to 

 handle, if he is the good sportsman we all ad- 

 mire, and with a soul above mere mug-and-rib- 

 bon-hunting. Ladies usually accomplish wonders 



290 



