262 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



able in sight, and even in their sleep will dream of 

 hay-stacks. With such a horse I would far rather 

 regulate his feed carefully, bed him with something 

 he cannot eat, or even tie him up. In a rare case the 

 muzzle might be used on a gluttonous colt, but they 

 are hardly ever necessary, and their use hardly ever 

 excusable. 



I do not conceive it necessary, nor a profitable use 

 of space, to go through all the details of stable equip- 

 ments and describe the simple uses of such utensils as 

 brushes, combs, towels, sponges, etc. Whatever curry- 

 combs may have been invented for, they should not be 

 applied to a horse's skin, but only to the brush. Corn 

 brushes are labor-saving devices in cleaning, but are 

 more irritating than the softer kinds, and are apt to 

 show their work in thinning out the mane and tail. 

 The towel, backed up by sufficient and willing "elbow- 

 grease," should do the principal work in cleaning the 

 horse. 



The importance of having good rubbers, and the 

 difficulty of getting them, are things that confront 

 every trainer. Cheap rubbers are a poor investment, 

 and they are always to be had, while the competent 

 ones are scarce. An inferior or a vicious rubber will 

 render ineffective the best efforts of a trainer. They 

 should be sober and competent men, good-tempered 

 and kind, and should show a pride in the horses they 

 care for. Such men generally soon graduate into the 

 driving ranks, for as a rule they are intelligent, and 

 naturally adapted to handling horses. At Palo Alto 

 we have one rubber to care for three horses; while 

 out campaigning one looks after two horses. 



