74 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, 



the money he buj's them in at ; so, in a general way, 

 what he loses by them will be the cost of their keep 

 and the wages of those who attend on them, while 

 being kept in the hopes of their improvement or 

 their capabilities having been overlooked. Somewhat 

 of a forlorn hope, I must admit, and one that, per- 

 sonally, I should not volunteer the being engaged 

 in ; it is, in fact, a species of gambling with living 

 objects, where the odds are so much against the 

 thrower, that I should never consider one coup, how- 

 ever good it might be, would compensate for re- 

 iterated disappointment: but there is no rule for 

 others to go by. 



Having said thus much on the breeding blood- 

 stock, the question may arise. Having bred them, is 

 money to be made by running them ? Much as I 

 would wish (as far as my humble advice would go) to 

 encourage both to breed and use of horses — and con- 

 vinced as I am that money is to be made by both pur- 

 suits — running, in other terms, racing, those a man 

 may breed or buy, are both cases in which I cannot 

 offer him much encouragement. It says little that 



