i8 THE TURF 



unusual varieties of food. His knowledge of the 



structure, anatomy and constitution of the horse must 



be practically complete, and more than this, of the 



varying constitutions of different horses ; he must 



be, in fact, a thorough " stableman," which is another 



way of saying a veterinary surgeon. The professional 



M.R.C.V.S. is called in at intervals; but unless 



operations of some sort have become necessary, the 



chances are that the trainer knows quite as well as the 



^' vet." what is wrong, and how the ailment had best be 



treated ; if the two differ it is far from certain that the 



man with letters after his name is correct ; but he is 



consulted mainly for the satisfaction of the owner, who 



may complain, if anything goes wrong, that the " best 



advice " was not obtained. The trainer's first essential 



is to be a judge of condition. Some horses do well on 



little work, run better when rather " above themselves 



in condition " ; others, gross horses, require a great 



deal more exercise to make them really fit ; and the 



position is complicated by the fact that some animals 



look perfectly trained, or even "light," when they are not 



really "wound up," and, as the expressive phrase goes, 



"clean inside." It is necessary, therefore, to find out 



exactly what work is required by each horse. There 



are some points upon which the most knowledgeable 



and experienced owners are almost bound to seek their 



trainer's advice ; for the man who has charge of the 



horses naturally sees much more of them than the 



man to whom they belong. The trainer, for example, 



