SETTING. 207 



may be sent on an extra bit. Sweating and long 

 slow gallops should be avoided, and I would ad- 

 vise that the pace of the work should be kept pretty 

 brisk. 



In some parts of India as in Cachar only 

 ponies are used for racing, and are often asked to 

 go long distances, frequently over a mile. Let us 

 suppose a country-bred pony to be trained for a race 

 of that length, and that he has six weeks in which 

 to get fit ; I would, then, recommend something like 

 the fallowing preparation : 



First fortnight. A gallop at half speed, on Mondays 

 and Thursdays, for a quarter of a mile, twice on the 

 same morning, with a walk for a mile between the 

 spins. 



Second fortnight. Single gallops on the same morn- 

 ings, commencing at half a mile, and going up to 

 three-quarters of a mile, improving the pace up to 

 three-quarter speed. 



Last fortnight. Four gallops, a little better than 

 three-quarter speed, for something under a mile. 



On off days, the pony should have a fair amount 

 of exercise, hacking, etc., which, I think, should not 

 exceed 9 cr 10 miles a day. 



If an owner has a real " glutton " for work, he may 

 take liberties with him, but country-bred ponies 

 usually are not of that sort. 



Setting- The degree of " setting," which term is 

 used to express the routine employed in stinting a 

 horse of his food and water before a race, will 

 depend on the distance to be run, the time of day 

 at which the horse is to come to the post, and on 



