192 ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 



distance from the exercise ground, so that the horses 

 standing there have some advantage over those stand- 

 ing in the town. The trainer who resides here has some 

 fields through which the horses can walk, and by 

 passing through two or three gates, reach the moor, 

 and thereby avoid the above mentioned hill in going 

 to exercise. This trainer has, I believe, also a certain por- 

 tion of the upper moor, which is his own property, and 

 which is adjacent to the public part of the moor, on 

 which the horses train. This gives him a decided ad- 

 vantage, for by opening two large gates which are here 

 situated, he has a communication from his own ground 

 on to the public one, and by this means he obtains a 

 tolerable fair portion of ground for the horses which 

 he trains to sweat over. 



But that which greatly excited my astonishment, 

 was, that there was no rubbing house on any part of 

 these moors. Now that the trainer (and I may say 

 jockey, for he has been both) who is living in Belleisle, 

 is very competent, cannot for a moment, jbe doubted ; 

 and, therefore, I cannot conceive why he should have 

 neglected erecting so necessary a part of a racing es- 

 tablishment as a rubbing-house on his own ground. 

 It is true that there is every convenience for horses 

 coming into their own stables after sweating ; and that 

 all hands are at them until they are done and ready to 

 go out again to take their gallop with the other horses, 

 which are kept in to go up the gallop with them, so 

 that the stables may be shut up all at one time. 

 I allow, also, that taking up the dry cloths, wisps, 



