214 HANDBOOK OF THE TUKF. 



Roomy. A term used in describing a perfectly shaped 

 brood mare; as a horse having a long, deep, wide middle, 

 with a well-developed pelvic boundary. 



Kosettes. Metal ornaments attached to the upper parts 

 of the side pieces of a headstall ; embossed and plain ; con- 

 taining fancy device, initial or monogram. 



Roug'li-g'aited. A horse is said to be " rough-gaited " 

 when he travels in a hitching, unbalanced way ; a horse that 

 hobbles, falters and breaks in his ordinary gait, or when put 

 to speed. 



Rounding' To. A term used to denote the art of again 

 getting a horse into condition after a hard race. It takes 

 some horses a long time to recover, others will do it more 

 quickly. Mr. Marvin says : " On returning from the East, I 

 found AVildflower and Manzanita somewhat broken up, and 

 both were some time in 'rounding to' again." 



Rovmd-course. What was, without doubt, the first 

 round, circular or oval race track ever built, was that estab- 

 lished at Newmarket, England, in 1666. . It was three miles, 

 four furlongs and one hundred and seventy-eight yards long. 



Rowel. One of the short, pointed arms on the circle, 

 or wheel of a horseman's spur. 



RoAvley Mile. Where the two thousand guineas stakes 

 is run — the important opening three-year-old event of the year 

 on the English turf. The distance was formerly one mile one 

 yard; but is now one mile eleven yards. 



Rubber. A person who rubs down, dresses or cares for 



horses; especially one who rubs a race horse after he has 



trotted or ran a heat or race ; a person who has graduated as 



a stable-boy and is apprentice to a trainer. 



In attending to a hovse as famous as Rarus, the head rubber must be, 

 on every day of the trotting season, prepared to act as a reception 

 commiLtee to thousands of people, many of wliom have, apparently, 

 no idea of the responsibilities that are involved in the care of such 

 an animal. Morrel Higbie was the best rubber I ever saw. He 

 remained with me until the day Rarus was sold, and afterward 

 rubbed for me the pacer Johnston. — Life with the Trotters, John 

 Splan. 



Rubber Tire. The term generally used in describ- 

 ing the pneumatic tire of the bike s,ulky. A rubber tire is 

 described by Mr. Samuel Sidney, in his " Book of the Horse," 

 published in 1880, which is, undoubtedly, the first mention of 

 such a tire having been used for carriages in England or 

 America. He says : " India-rubber tires are a great luxury ; 

 they give to a wheeled carriage the smoothness of a sledge on 

 hard snow, and subdue nearly all the rattle and noise of 

 wheels. But they are usually made on a wrong principle. If 



