296 HANDBOOK OF THE TURF. 



Whipping his Boot. A trick of the jockey for the 

 purpose of dehiding his opponent. It is tried by the rider of 

 the speedier horse in the hope of inducing the rider of a stayer 

 to slacken speed from the idea that he has the race in hand, and 

 that there is no use in hurrying. 



Whippletree. The bar to which the traces, or tugs of 

 a harness are fastened, and by which the sulky or buggy is 

 drawn. 



Whirlbone; round-bone; trochanter. The hip 

 joint. Relied upon by all experts as a standard point for 

 measurement of the exterior conformation of the horse. 



Whisperer, The. The name by which Con Sullivan, 

 of County Cork, Ireland, was known aU over Great Britain. 

 He was a most extraordinary person, who possessed great 

 power over vicious horses, subduing them by whispering in 

 their ear. He tamed the vicious horse, Rainbow, owned by 

 Col. Westenra, and Mr. Wholey's horse. King Pippin, in 1804, 

 the latter a terribly savage beast. With the latter horse The 

 Whisperer was shut up in his stable all night, but in the 

 morning the horse would follow him like a dog, obeying every 

 word instantly, allowing persons to put their hand in his 

 mouth, and standing as gentle as a lamb. How he obtained 

 this wonderful command over the horse has never been known. 



Wliistler. A horse th-at breathes hard. Whistling is 



one of the variations of sound emitted by a horse known as a 



roarer. It is legal unsoundness. 



He therefore excited plenty of bidding when put np for sale after- 

 wards, and although a " whistler," is worth the five hundred and 

 twenty guineas at which he was knocked down.— London Field. 



White, as a color in horses, is popularly indicative of 

 weakness, and horses of this color are also believed to be slow, 

 lymphatic, and deficient in energy and vital courage. They 

 are easily soiled, difficult to keep clean, and are said to be 

 more liable to pink-eye and similar diseases than horses of 

 solid color. 



White-boned. A family of pure, milk white horses in 

 Germany. They are foaled pure white, and most of them are 

 wall-eyed, or glass eyed. They are of good size, uniform in 

 color, and have been in-bred for a long series of years. 



White Horse of Berkshire, Scouring of the. 

 The " vale of the white horse " is located between Abingdon 

 and Uffington, in the county of Berks, England. It takes its 

 name from a massive figure of a galloping horse rudely chis- 

 eled on the side of a steep chalk hill, 893 feet high. The fig- 

 ure is about 374 feet in length, and can be seen at a distance 



