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CHAPTER X. 



BREAKING FOR SPECIAL WORK. 



The race horse — The lady's horse — The cavalry horse — The polo 

 pony — The park hack — The fashionable harness horse — The 

 shooting pony — Mules and zebras. 



For convenience sake, I have grouped the description of 

 the breaking of certain classes of horses in this chapter 

 without regard to similarity of method. 



The race horse. — As race horses are generally *' tried " 

 as yearlings in November or December, their breaking 

 cannot usually be deferred beyond the age of eighteen 

 months. As their trial will probably not be beyond three 

 furlongs, and as it will be given merely to see if the 

 youngsters are worth persevering with and entering for 

 future events, the breaking need not be more than what 

 will be sufficient to make them handy to ride. In order to 

 imperil the soundness of their legs as little as possible by 

 having no weight on their backs, they should be broken 

 chiefly by means of the long reins, and by the whip, on 

 foot. Having been handled from the time they were 

 dropped, there will be but little difficulty in rendering them 

 quiet and obedient. Between their trial and the following 



