EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 1 45 



from his head to his tail, then strip and scrape him and rub 

 the water out nicely and he would act like another horse. 



With other horses they wanted the water outside instead 

 of inside. After trotting a hard heat or two on a hot day 

 they would seem to be terribly distressed and would not 

 drink any water. • In such cases I would take a large sponge, 

 dip it into a pail of cold water, place it between their ears, 

 passing quickly down the spine to the roots of the tail, squeez- 

 ing the water out as you go. I would do this about three 

 times, which would seem to produce a shock like electricity 

 and would start a reaction ; then scrape the water out of 

 them, put on rum or the body wash, throw on the blanket and 

 walk them a few minutes, and the water would pour out of them 

 like rain, and they would be relieved at once, and as soon as I 

 could get them scraped out and rubbed out lightly they would 

 seem to be ready for the bell to ring again. Too much rub- 

 bing on the body does more harm than good, as it irritates 

 the horse, gets him sore and fretful, and he will not get the 

 rest that is necessary. See also that your grooms are light- 

 handed, and do not put too much weight on the rub cloth or 

 scraper. See that the legs are well cleansed of dust and dirt 

 by a damp sponge and rub cloth from the body to the feet, 

 then apply your wash, and see that they are thoroughly 

 rubbed out. The muscles above the knee and hock should be 

 as well cared for as below. Put on your bandages either of 

 flannel, linen or derby. I think well of a linen bandage rung 

 out of cold water, as they are on but a few minutes, and are 

 used simply as a support to the tendons while walking, and 

 they are much cooler. If the day is hot and dry see that the 

 soles of the feet are bathed thoroughly in cold water after 

 each heat. I have seen horses throw a shoe after going a half 

 or three quarters of a mile, and, on picking it up, found it so hot 

 I could not hold it in my hand. This taught me it was as 

 necessary to bathe the feet as it is the head and mouth. 



The best nourishment I know of for a horse between 

 heats, in case one is needed, say after a horse has went two or 



