TRAINING BY SHORT GALLOPS. 227 



when a horse puts his foot on uneven ground, or hits 

 himself. 



These repeated gallops may be commenced at a 

 quarter of a mile, and be increased by degrees, say, in 

 six weeks' time, up to three-quarters of a mile. At the 

 shorter distances they may be given three times in a 

 morning, and at the longer twice ; while the pace should 

 be gradually improved, as the horse's system becomes 

 braced and strengthened by exercise. 



For a horse that can stand them, I think long single 

 gallops are, as a rule, best in India, taking into consider- 

 ation the peculiarities of the climate, and the difficulty 

 there exists in getting a sufficient number of riding lads. 



One should never forget that many horses run best 

 untrained ; these are generally light carcassed, impetu- 

 ous ones, which a sight of a race-course would upset for 

 a fortnight ; they should be well looked after in their 

 stable, get lots of walking exercise and quiet hacking, 

 and have a gallop only once in a way say every ten 

 days and that away from a course. 



Rogues or bolters should never be trained on a race- 

 course, but should get their work hacking, pig-sticking, 

 or with the hounds. One can often get a long stretch 

 of soft ground by the roadside or in the jungle, on 

 which to extend a horse without letting him suspect 

 that " business " is meant : horses are extremely sharp 

 in this respect, and know a great deal more about 

 racing than we give them credit for. 



At the risk of being laughed at, I positively assert 

 that many horses know when they lose or win a race, 

 and show this knowledge often most markedly by the 



