MINOR DUTIES OF THE STABLE. 117 



miles to the house of his brother, knowing he would ac- 

 company her. 



Careful attention to the minor duties of the stable is 

 very material, and one of the most difficult things for me 

 to find are grooms that will attend to them. " Order is 

 everything " in all kinds of business, and nowhere more 

 important than in the training stable. Sobriety cannot 

 be expected of the men if the trainer himself drinks too 

 much ; and it would be an insuperable objection with me 

 to place horses in the hands of a man w r ho ever got drunk. 

 The results of one spree might do more harm than a 

 year's careful handling had done good. Inciting a taste 

 for reading in those who have the care of horses is one of 

 the most effective ways of making valuable men. Ideas 

 are fastened on the mind while pondering over the views 

 of others, as expressed in writing, that are more difficult 

 to obliterate than if received orally. We read and com- 

 pare with our own views, either eradicating erroneous 

 impressions, or strengthening those that were correct. I 

 am very glad that you are going to make the subject of 

 sweating one of major importance. The little knowledge 

 I possess of training horses has been acquired more by 

 reading and study than observing others. It is true I 

 have watched those who were in high repute as masters of 

 the art, but have often failed to see the force of the plan 

 they were pursuing, and no part of the system has been 

 so blind to me as " the scrapes " they gave their horses. 

 I have seen them put blankets on a horse every day for 

 two weeks, without preparation or after care, thus nega- 

 tiving the benefit derived from the flow of the fluids. 



Those who train race horses have to be in a manner 

 proficient, as the best race horse in the world is easily 

 beaten if he falls much short of .the mark in condition. 

 With the trotting horse, while it is more of a science to 

 overcome natural bias, keeping a horse in the excitement 



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