52 EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 



would commence with new life and take to his work kindly, 

 go on and improve, and I had a better horse in the fall than I 

 would if I had kept his work up all summer. It is not neces- 

 sary to let up entirely in their work, so as to relax their mus- 

 cle. You might use them in your business on the road, so as 

 to keep their strength, but not go near the track or attempt 

 to speed them. When in the stable give them just ordinary 

 business horse care, see that their feet are kept soft and grow- 

 ing, take fairly good care of their legs, feed them so they will 

 not take on too much flesh. By using them in this way you 

 can have them ready in twenty-four hours to go out and step 

 off a good mile for you, without endangering their legs or 

 affecting their wind, as we all know that to give a horse fast 

 work, many times a quarter or half mile at speed, will do them 

 more injury than a hard race when in good condition. I 

 speak from actual knowledge, as in my earlier experience 1 

 injured some myself, as well as seeing the same thing done by 

 others. A burned child dreads the fire and is able to warn 

 others. 



Continue the conditioning and working of your colt dur- 

 ing the summer and winter of his three-year-old form about as 

 described at two years old, with the exception that he will 

 stand more work, if in your judgment he has acquired addi- 

 tional strength and muscle. In the spring, at four years old, 

 your colt virtually enters the ring as a mature horse, if well 

 developed, and w ill hereafter be treated as such, as the four- 

 year-old record is 2:1(!, and we must now admit that at that 

 age a horse that has had proper handling ought to trot a good 

 race. 



We will now proceed on horses in training. Morses while 

 in the hands of a driver arc many times over trained and go 

 amiss, which should be charged up to the owner instead of the 

 driver, on account of his anxiety to sec him move on the track 

 and fully extended every morning. I will cite one instance 

 to prove this and could mention several. 



I had a horse in training at Messina Springs man}' years 



