408 RACE RIDING. 



strike his horse with the whip nowhere else except just 

 behind the girth, unless when preventing him from swerving, 

 etc. When he is hit in this manner, the side away from 

 the whip hand will be hurt more than the other, so 

 that the horse will not be so liable to swerve as he 

 would be, were he hit in any other way. Besides, hitting 

 him thus on the centre of the body will not " double him 

 up," nor make him change his leg, as striking him on 

 the flank or shoulder might do. A jockey who punishes 

 a horse about the sheath, or rips his sides with the spurs, 

 is a disgrace to his profession. 



A novice should not use a whip ; for none but a good rider 

 can sit still, hold his horse together with one hand and flog 

 at the same time. Although spurs do not present these 

 difficulties they are much less efficient than a whip in the hand 

 of a "workman." 



EFFECT OF PUNISHMENT ON HORSES. 



Without wishing to be " hard " on a very meritorious class 

 of men, I must say that a large number of horses are annually 

 ruined for life by needless punishment. Jockeys are apt to 

 attach too much weight to the opinion of the public, and, 

 consequently, often " ride a horse out," rather than ease him, 

 when pursuit is hopeless. 



Although the view backers take of " cutting a horse to 

 pieces " is very different to the one held by a humane owner ; 

 still it is a difficult point to decide whether a jockey is always 

 justified in punishing a horse to the utmost of his power, if he 

 thinks that by so doing he has any chance of winning. If he 

 knows that he has no chance, and persists in using whip and 

 spurs, he ought never to get another mount. Regarding the 

 matter as an old racing man, I hold that a jockey should 

 not " knock about " a young promising horse or valuable old 

 one, for an unimportant event, on the off chance of winning ; 



