136 T/w Practical Stud Groom. 



The actual loading of the yearlings into the boxes gives 

 very little scope for useful directions. So much depends on 

 the temperament, bold or otherwise, of the individual 

 yearling. The author has safely loaded a dozen yearlings in 

 forty minutes, and also spent over an hour in " boxing " 

 one. Plenty of straw on the floor of the box and on the 

 loading board is a sine qua non, and the man who leads the 

 yearling should walk straight into the box in an uncon- 

 cerned way, giving no hint to the novice he is leading, either 

 by voice or movement, that anything unusual is happening. 



It immensely facilitates loading operations to have all 

 the partitions of the horse-box removed, practically con- 

 verting it into a loose box on wheels. The exclusive use of 

 a horse-box, constructed to carry three, by one yearling 

 naturally adds considerably to the cost of carriage, and with 

 a large batch of yearlings in question might also necessitate 

 a special train, owing to the number of horse-boxes being 

 too great to be attached to an already heavy ordinary train. 

 Being a firm believer in the unwisdom of * ' spoiling the ship 

 for a ha'porth of tar," the author would not hesitate to 

 spend five pounds for the "excess" fare of a yearling 

 valued at four figures. It is no small ordeal when a 

 yearling, fresh from the comparative quiet of the stud farm, 

 finds itself confined in a compartment, two feet in width, 

 with the roof almost touching its ears, swaying violently 

 from side to side, on a fast-running train, and being at 

 intervals scared out of its wits by the deafening roar of 

 another train passing only a few feet away. I have "shipped" 

 many yearlings in this way without serious mishap, but I 

 have also spent many a bad five minutes vowing never again 

 to tempt Providence in like manner, whilst striving, with 

 hand and voice, to check the mad struggles of a panic- 

 stricken youngster. Even if no serious damage is done, the 



