HANDBOOK OF THE TURF. 257 



utmost importance. If it yields too miicli, the fetlock is liable to 

 strike the ki'ouikI ; if it is too ri}ii<l and it does not yield enough, 

 there will be stiffness and a hobbling gait. — The Horse in Motion, 

 J.D. B. Stillman. 



Swallow the Bridle. A horse having too wide a 

 mouth and too small a bit is said to " swallow the bridle." 



Sweat Flaps. Pieces of leather which are placed under 

 the girth straps of the saddle, on each side, to prevent the 

 sweat of the horse from working through. 



Sweat Out; Sweating Out. An exercise given a 

 horse before a race for the purpose of sweating out his throat 

 to put him in better condition. Such an exercise is usually 

 about three miles at three-quarters speed. 



Sweepstakes, is usually construed as meaning a race 

 over all ; a free-for-all. By the rules of the Turf Congress it 

 means a race publicly declared open to all complying with its 

 conditions, to be fulfilled, wholly or in part, subsequent to its 

 closing or in handicaps subsequent to the acceptance of weight, 

 and in which stakes are to be made for each horse. 



Switclied. A veterinary term meaning a glandered 

 horse. 



Switclier. A horse given to a habit of constantly 

 switching the tail when in harness. It is a serious fault. 



Symmetry. Beauty and harmony of exterior conforma- 

 tion in regard to size, shape and arrangement of the various 

 parts of the body to some particular type of the useful horse. 

 It possesses a different standard in that of the race or trotting 

 horse from what it is in the Clyde or Hackney, but is present 

 alike in each according to its own type. 



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