THE SHOW HORSE 87 



between One can readily name plenty who will 

 go into the ring and show a horse fairly well, but 

 the artists are scarce. 



It surely does not require impressing upon the 

 reader that the horse to be in good show con- 

 dition requires to carry plenty of flesh. He must 

 be what is termed * full of bloom ' and at the same 

 time he must be in good enough condition to go 

 on at his top pace for a considerable period with- 

 out tiring ; for if he is good for anything he will find 

 his stamina pretty severely tried and that perhaps 

 three or four times within the week in the height of 

 the season. And a horse to show himself quite at 

 his best, must be a trifle above himself so that he 

 is light-hearted. Now there is no great difficulty 

 in getting a horse to this point by means of proper 

 food and proper exercise ; though it is by no 

 means so easy to have him at this stage at a 

 certain day, and it stands to reason that it is 

 infinitely more difficult to keep him up to this 

 pitch day after day. 



No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down, any 

 more than a hard-and-fast rule can be laid down 

 for the training of racehorses. The only way 

 by which horses are kept at their best for a con- 

 siderable time is by a careful study of their indi- 

 vidual pecuHarities. The strictest attention to 

 the feeding and exercise is necessary and the man 

 who has the regulation of both had need to be 

 a man of keen observation, whose interest is in 

 his work and who always has the welfare of the 

 horses under his charge in front of him. 



