192 



condition of the colt must be considered ; his tempera- 

 ment; the extent of the efYbrt he is required to make, 

 and his exercise regulated accordingly. As a rule he 

 should only be galloped twice a week, and he should 

 never be sent further than the stipulated distance of 

 the race, nor driven to his full racing speed. If these 

 instructions are neglected, and the colt ridden both 

 fast and frequently, too much will be taken out of him, 

 and instead of hardening he will gradually grow 

 poorer. 



The slow, daily exercise will tend to develop his 

 bone formation, and the regulated gallops along with 

 his feeding will decrease his tendency to lay on super- 

 fluous flesh, while they will brace his tendons and 

 , increase and strengthen his whole muscular system. 



HOW TO RIDE HIM IN A RACE. 



Unless mounted on a high-class colt, only a few 

 degrees below the standard of the good-looking and 



! aristocratic Persimmon, than which no better type of a 

 racehorse probably ever lived in point of substance, 

 fleetness, and breeding, it will generally be found 

 advantageous never to ''make the running." It is 

 better to lie in a convenient place on the inside of the 



: course if possible, and every opportunity should be 

 watched to give the colt an advantage by a good start, 

 steady riding, and a wise calculation for a final 

 struggle. Many a race is lost by asking the colt to 

 make his effort at the wrong time (Fig. 27). In push- 

 ing a colt at a closely-contested finish, the jockey 



