228 hain'dbook of the turf. 



Sent to Stable. A horse sent to the stable is a horse 

 that is ruled out by the judges. A horse may be sent to the 

 stable for any misdemeanor, foul driving, or fraud of any kind. 

 In heats of one, two, three or four miles, a horse not winning 

 one heat in three cannot start in a fourth ; and in heats best 

 three in five, a horse not winning one in five cannot start in 

 a sixth — unless such horse, in either case, shall have m.ade a 

 dead heat. 



Sesamoids ; Sesamoid Bones. Bones developed in 

 tendons where they play over joints. In each foot of the 

 horse there are three ; a pair of nodular form, placed side by 

 side over the metacarpo-phalangeal articulation, or behind the 

 fetlock joint ; and a single, large, transversely extended one, 

 called the navicular bone. The sesamoid bones of the hind 

 and fore feet are exactly alike. 



Set Back. AVhen an offending horse is placed behind 

 other horses of the field for breaking, running or foul driving, 

 he is said to have been "set back," or punished. 



Settles to his Work. AVhen a horse trots low, or 



hugs the track, he is said to " settle to his work." 



This teclinical expression is intended to represent tlie idea that when 

 tlie liorse is speeding the centers of motion are nearer tlie grovind, 

 in order that tlie muscles should act to the best advantage, and 

 that in propulsion the act shall be most direct and longer sus- 

 tained; or, in other words, the i)oints of action and reaction are in 

 a line forming a uiore acute angle with the ground. — The Horse in 

 Motion, J. D. B. Stillman. 



Shaft. A thill; one of a pair between which a horse is 

 harnessed to a sulky or buggy ; the pole, or tongue of a car- 

 riage used with a sj^an of horses. 



Shaft-holder; Shaft-rest. A device for supporting 

 the ends of the shafts projecting in front of the horse's breast. 

 Leather sockets are made to fit the ends of the shafts, and a 

 strap on each side of the horse's neck extends therefrom to 

 the strap supporting the breastplate over the neck ; so that a 

 part of the weight of the shafts is borne by the shoulders, 

 instead of the entire w^eight being borne from the back. 



Shag'-trot. [Eng.] Jog-trot: a slow trotting gait. 



The shag-trot is practiced on the way home by every huntsman, every 

 whip, and every hunting man, after a long day, if he has any con- 

 sideration for h'is hoise.— The Book of the Horse, Samuel Sidney. 



Shake Him Off. To come away from a contending 

 horse. "He came up to my wheel but I shook him off," 

 means that the horse of which it is said did not have speed 

 enough to go past his leader, or pace-maker. 



Shank. That part of the hind leg of the horse above 

 the fetlock and below the hock, corresponding to the canon of 



