WHIPPING THE Wir-MXG HORSE. 65 



one ill which the most experienced trainer may he deceived, 

 nnless he knows liis horse very welL So lonji' as a horse's wind 

 continues to improve l)y sweats and hard work he should t;et it, 

 but the moment it ceases to do so, there has been enou^t;h of it, 

 and the fast work should be lightened oflT. 



lint, however little work he may demand, see that lie gets 

 enough crawling about in the fresh air, besides getting ar? pure 

 air as possible to breathe in his box. 



126. — It will of course be best to get a horse up to his 

 highest capacity on the very day that he is wanted, but that 

 is a nice point that cannot always be attained, and it is better to 

 have him ready with every ounce of fat off him, a few days 

 before he is wanted, than to have to force it off with double 

 work just before his race. We would even rather leave a horse 

 too fat — bad as that would be — than overwork him on the last 

 few days preceding the race, at the risk of making him stiff or 

 spiritless. Unless a vicious or unruly horse it is very desirable 

 that he should come to his work full of life and spirits, and not 

 in a condition that will want any driving at it. 



127. — AVith most horses it is a great risk to have to resort 

 to whip or spur to bring out their last and best effort. Many a 

 race is lost by their use on a horse previously doing his best. 

 Most horses will "shut up" with any violent application of 

 them, and many will do so with the first touch. There are a few 

 race horses so easy tempered that they will bear and even require 

 pushing to the last, but there are very few that do not become 

 sufficiently excited in a fast race to do their utmost far better 

 without punishment than with. Nothing could be a more 

 degrading exhibition of bad tempei', or more certainly show a 

 man's unfitness to be a jockey, than savagely flogging a willing 

 sensitive animal that evidently cannot win. 



128. — What we have said about food that passes the bowels 

 pleasantly and gives up its nourishment freely (72) is of still 

 greater importance in selecting food for the race horse. All corn 

 for him must be perfectly sweet, l)Ut never so new as to squeeze 

 into balls rather than pulverize ; it must be perfectly dry, but 

 must nevei' have been kiln dried, as kiln dried oats frequently 



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