240 TRAINING AND RACING. 



The Indian sun bakes the earth hard, and seems to 

 burn up in a very short time whatever kind of manure 

 is put on it; so that nothing but constant picking up 

 and laying down litter, sand, or tan, at least twice a 

 year, will keep a galloping track in anything like good 

 order. 



A track, 5 feet broad, will be found to be quite wide 

 enough on which to work single horses. 



By constant manuring, a thin layer of good soil will 

 in time be formed ; but if the course be neglected for 

 but a couple of years, it will become as hard as a turn- 

 pike road. 



The beau ideal of a galloping track is an elastic one, 

 that will neither jar the joints and suspensory ligaments 

 by its hardness, strain the back tendons, or cause a horse 

 to hit himself by its stickiness, like on soft clay, nor 

 shorten the stride and make it dwelling by deadness, like 

 on sand. 



A heavy course is particularly trying to a horse with 

 oblique, and a hard course to one with upright pasterns. 



Irregularities on the surface of the ground are a 

 frequent cause of sprain to tendons and ligaments. 



A galloping track such as I have mentioned, and 

 If miles round, will cost about Us. 400 a year to keep 

 in good going order. 



The length of a race-course, for big horses, should 

 not be less than 1J miles. One of 5 furlongs will do for 

 ponies. 



A distance is 240 yards. 



On the race-course, where the horses are trained, 

 one should erect a rubbing-down shed beyond the 



