ON TRAINING GROUNDS. 195 



lengths for the horses to finish with in coming home 

 in their sweats. I confess this is but a meagre de- 

 scription of the sweating ground; but by and bye, 

 when I am on the subject of training the horses, this 

 same sweating ground will be brought into use, and its 

 advantages will be more fully developed. 



The ground next to be noticed is Gullane Links, 

 in Scotland, situated to the east of Edinburgh, close 

 to the sea. It is the best, and I believe, the only 

 ground in Scotland which will sufficiently answer the 

 purpose of training race-horses on. The surface of 

 this ground is a sandy soil, plentifully covered with 

 moss, which makes it very soft and elastic for the 

 horses' feet. It is at all times (frost excepted) in 

 good order for horses to work on, in the dry est part of 

 the season, as it also is in the wettest part of it; what- 

 ever quantity of rain may have fallen, is here com- 

 pletely absorbed in a (ew hours. 



The extent of this ground cannot be said to be on 

 a large scale. It is therefore better adapted for the 

 training of country plate horses than for long striding 

 horses, such as are principally engaged in the large 

 stakes in the south of England. 



The gallops to be taken on this ground may be oc- 

 casionally varied ; they can be extended from a mile 

 and a half, to a mile and three quarters. The horses 

 commencing their gallop at the lower side and south 

 end of the sweating ground, can proceed along the flat ' 

 for about three quarters of a mile, when they have to 

 tui-n to the right, and here they find a good hill gallop, 



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