DRAWING HORSES FINE. 215 



with clean " pipes," and the " faculty of going" thoroughly 

 developed. This desired state can only be obtained by 

 work, which cannot be continued, if the horse be pre- 

 maturely brought too fine, for the consequent strain on 

 his nervous system will be more than it can bear, and 

 he will, consequently, soon become stale. 



" It is well known to horsemen who are close observers, 

 that, though a horse cannot make a great race when 

 decidedly off the feed, some of the finest efforts that 

 ever were made, and some of the greatest successes that 

 ever were won, came just as the horse was beginning 

 to get dainty, and to pick and nibble at the oats." 

 (Hiram Woodruff.) 



I think experience will bear me out in saying that 

 Country-breds, during training, can very rarely stand 

 being galloped oftener than every second day. 



Horses differ so much in the way they stand work, 

 that it is impossible to lay down fixed rules on this 

 subject; while a writer on training can only give illus- 

 trative work and general rules, just as a whist 

 authority may point out the proper leads, and how to 

 play certain hands. In both cases, the inferences to be 

 drawn, and lessons to be learned, will be only for 

 general application. 



In the following pages I shall consider the training 

 of the average style of Waler we have in India, taking 

 for granted that he continues sound and in good health. 

 If a horse in training has a soft constitution, or has 

 infirm legs, I must leave the trainer to exercise his own 

 common sense, to provide for the varying circumstances 

 under which the uncertainty of horse-flesh may place him. 



