HANDBOOK OF THE TUUF. 37 



House of Commons, and the lattei* moaned out : " You do not know 

 what the Derby is." "Yes 1 do," iei)lied Beaoonsliekl, " it is the 

 blue ribbon of the turf."— Tlie Blue Ribbon of the Turf, Louis Henry 

 Curzon. 



Body-wash. A preparation used as a body-bath for 

 the trotter alter he has been given work. The forniuhi gen- 

 erally used is: Compound soap liniment, sixteen ounces; 

 liquid ammonia, two ounces ; tincture cantharides, tw^o ounces ; 

 tincture opium, two ounces ; mix and add about two ounces of 

 this preparation to one pint of water and one pint of Pond's 

 Extract of Witch-hazel. After the horse has come in from 

 work, scrape quickly, wash as above, rub the loins and muscles 

 of the shoulders, and put on his clothing according to the 

 weather. 



Bolt. To swallow hurriedly without chewing. AVhere 

 horses are addicted to this habit, Dr. James Law recommends 

 that they be given a little hay, to appease hunger, before being 

 fed grain. 



Bolt. To spring aside or away, suddenly. A horse 

 that bores to one side, or out of the line the rider wishes to 

 take, is called a bolter. By the racing rules, if a horse bolts 

 or leaves the course, he must turn back and run the course 

 from the point at which he left it. When bolting results from 

 defective vision, or a rush of blood to the head, it renders the 

 horse unsound. 



Bones. The total number of bones entering into the 

 skeleton of the horse is 189, viz. : In the vertebral column, 

 44 ; head, 28 ; thorax, 37. In the following parts of the skel- 

 eton, which are called the double regions, the bones are the 

 same in number on each side, and in the enumeration the 

 total number is given, viz. : Shoulder, 2 ; arm, 2 ; forearm, 4 ; 

 fore foot, 32 ; pelvis, 2 ; thigh, 2 ; leg, 6. 



Bone Spavin in the hock is unsoundness, and a breach 

 of warranty, though not producing lameness at the time, or 

 even for years after. 



Book-maker. One who makes a book on a race, or 

 other contingent event. In betting, there are two parties — 

 one called " layers," as the book-makers are termed, and the 

 others called "bookers," or "bookies," in which class may be 

 included owners of horses, as well as the public. The backer 

 takes the odds which the book-maker lays against a horse, the 

 former speculating upon the success of the animal, the latter 

 upon its defeat. Taking the case of Cremorne, for the Derby 

 of 1872, just before the race, the book-maker would have laid 

 three to one, or, perhaps, $5,000 to $1,500 against him, by 



