210 SAM DARLING'S REMINISCENCES 



possible, and some of them even earlier. In con- 

 sequence, I'm sure there are many good horses 

 whose racing qualities have never been fairly 

 tested. It is an important part in the art of 

 training to know which of one's charges would 

 benefit by giving them time. It is not always 

 the big horses alone that want time ; I have known 

 many little ones require as much as the bigger 

 ones. 



I have for the last thirty years used grey winter 

 and black Tartar oats, mixed, and found this 



satisfactory ; always crushing for 

 Feeding 



mash ; also for horses with teeth trouble. 



Split peas and beans are judiciously used with 



sweet sanf oin chaff ; a little cut green food, as soon 



as it comes in ; and when it is nearly ripe a good 



handful of seeds and clover grass or other green 



food that may be handy, and cut carrots with their 



corn in the winter, besides linseed mashes. 



I think that at some of the stud farms the risk 



they run of getting sickness through the large 



Risks at number of visiting mares from all parts 



stud farms Qf ^j^^ country is often overlooked. 



Some of our best studs take the wise precaution 



by top dressing the paddocks used by these 



mares with Hme, and I am sure this purifies and 



sweetens the ground and pays for the expense 



and trouble. Captain Greer never fails to top 



