292 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



case the horse throws a shoe, and have mud shoes in 

 case you ma}^ have to trot the race over a muddy 

 track. For mud-trotting I use a convex shoe with a 

 toe and heel calk. The shoes should be fitted to the 

 foot and all ready to nail on in case they are re- 

 quired. 



Make it a rule to have every thing ready, and be 

 ready yourself, not only for the day of the race, but for 

 the call of every heat. It is policy to get out promptly, 

 and act in such a manner that the judges and the 

 people may see that you wish to trot tiie race promptly, 

 squarely, and win it if you can without trickery or 

 ^'jockeying." A writer tells us "how to talk to the 

 judges." I would sav,'^do not talk to them at all. 

 Speak when you are spoken to, a,nd don't waste your 

 breath and show 3^our lack of balance by saying 

 "smart" things, making unnecessar}^ complaints, ad- 

 vising the judges, etc. If you are compelled to make 

 a complaint, make it in courteous, plain, and gentle- 

 manly terms, and get through as quickly as possible. 

 In the midst of a race and in the judges' stand is 

 neither the time nor place for a driver to deliver a 

 lecture. If he must talk let him take some more ap^ 

 propriate time. It is a good deal more difficult to 

 know how not to talk to the judges than it is to talk 

 to them. I have occasionally come in for pretty 

 " bad deals" at the hands of starters and judges, but I 

 generally found the old rule to apply : " The least said, 

 the soonest mended." 



On the subject of laying up heats I may state it is 

 seldom necessary, and should never be done unless you 

 are sure it will materially better your chances of win- 



