HANDBOOK OF THE TURF. 39 



hind legs. Very few, if any, horses can go witliont scalpers. I 

 think it absolutely necessary tliat a horse should have quarter 

 boots. Some horses wear knee and arm boots, a few wear elbow 

 boots, and still others have to wear what is called a brisket x^ad ; 

 and if a horse shows a disposition to liit himself in any i)lace the 

 lirst thinjr 1o do is to have him properly booted. After ii horse has 

 hurt himself a few times he ^ets tinud and won't try to extend him- 

 self.— Life with the Trotters, John Splan. 

 Boots are absolutely necessary with horses that habitually interfere, 

 and with colts whose peculiarities in this respect an? unknown, 

 and with all horses doing strong work. They should l)e worn up to 

 the time they start for a race. It may also be sometimes necessary 

 to put them on in the stable in case of horses that are restive when 

 being groonu'd, ajit to throw their legs about, paw, and otherwise 

 incur tlie risk of accident. They must tit the leg, and the buckles 

 imist not be drawn too tightly so as to impede the circulation or 

 fray the skin. They should be" always kept clean and dry.— How to 

 Train the Racehorse, Col. R. ^yarbul•tou. 



Boring". A habit with some horses of carrying the head 

 too low, or too far out to one side, at the same time boring on 

 the bit as though they would drive the fore feet into the 

 ground. It is inveterate with some horses. To overcome the 

 habit, hold both curb-reins and the left snaffle-rein in the left 

 hand, in the proper position ; then with the right snaffle-rein 

 only in the right hand, draw it upward so as to press the snaffle 

 against the corner of the mouth on one side. This has an 

 eifect that an upward pressure on both snaffle-reins entirely 

 fails to produce, and is said to be effectual in overcoming this 

 bad habit ; which habit occasionally leads to the disqualifica- 

 tion of a horse for the course. 



Boston. A famous American race horse. Bred by John 

 Wickham of Richmond, Va. Foaled in Henrico County, Va., 

 in 1833. He was chestnut in color, stood 15.2 hands high; 

 was short-limbed, with a flat barrel, his neck and head were 

 unsightly, and his hips ragged. By Timoleon, by Sir Archy, 

 by English Diomed ; dam by Florizel, by English Diomed ; 

 second dam by imported Alderman. Between 1836 and 1841 

 he started forty-five times ; won forty, lost five ; total winnings 

 $51,200. Defeated by the chestnut mare, Fashion, at Union 

 Course, Long Island, N. Y., May 10, 1842, in four-mile heats 

 for $20,000 a side ; time 7:321 ; 7:45. 



Botfly; Gadfly. (Gastrophilus egui). A dipterous insect. 

 The fly deposits its eggs on the shoulder, base of the neck and 

 inner parts of the fore legs, especially about the knees, as in 

 these situations the horse will have no difficulty in reaching 

 the ova with its tongue. In a little less than three weeks from 

 the time of the deposition of the eggs the larvse have made 

 their escape, having been hatched by the warmth and moisture 

 of the tongue. As maggots tliey are transferred to the mouth 

 and ultimately to the stomach along with food and drink where 



