THE SYSTEM 221 



then let loose in his box and allowed to rest, the 

 stable being thereupon locked until five o'clock in 

 the afternoon. In the meantime the boys dine, and 

 should there be a second string of horses to exercise 

 the same routine is pursued. At five o'clock we go 

 to stable again, to the morning horses, and a similar 

 process is carried out, the trainer examining every 

 horse as before. They are left standing until half- 

 past seven, when they are again fed and locked up 

 for the night. Persistent attention has to be paid to 

 ventilation, which, of course, is continually regulated 

 according to atmospheric conditions. If the system 

 I have sketched is maintained with proper diligence, 

 there will be little occasion to examine the manger. 

 The method will have to be slightly varied now and 

 then in the matter of feeding. For instance, the 

 horses should have a bran mash twice a week, with 

 occasional carrots and grass, according to the season 

 of the year. This change of diet keeps the animal 

 in a healthy condition. I am no advocate for physic 

 of any description. A dose of medicine in the 

 spring before commencing work is, in my opinion, all 

 that is necessary. The best tonic is fresh air, and 

 good food the best medicine. 



1 Compared to what it used to be some forty or 

 fifty years ago, the life of a stable boy is one of 

 continual pleasure. Then he had a rough time of it, 

 and no mistake. It is no more than the simple 

 truth to say that every possible care is taken of the 

 boys in these days. When I take a youngster 

 provisionally he comes a month on trial. If at the end 



