MYSTIFICATION. 345 



getting any assistance or information likely to expe- 

 dite his wishes, it is absolutely out of the question ; 

 he will be plagued, misled, and if he w^ill permit it, 

 " fooled to the top of his bent." 



This is put in practice to the utmost extent, should 

 a man attempt to train his own horses, if he or his 

 horses are worth the professional trainer's notice. 

 This might not, and probably would not be done 

 from any dislike to, or a wish to injure the indi- 

 vidual, but from a determination to prevent such 

 a practice gaining ground ; the trainer, therefore, 

 mystifies the thing so much, talks so much of the 

 difficulties of bringing out a horse in proper form, 

 and takes care to let so little of the secrets of his 

 profession escape him, that thousands of sportsmen 

 who are cognisant of the nature of every description 

 of sport, know as little about training a race-horse as 

 they do of catching a wild-horse with the lasso ; and 

 yet a very little more knowledge and observation than 

 is required to bring the hunter of the present day into 

 that state that puts him quite up to the mark, to go 

 his first day's hunting over Leicestershire, as hounds 

 go NOW, would put a horse in form to go the Beacon 

 Course, the Ditch-in, or across the Flat. We must 

 have wind, speed, and bottom, for all these exertions ; 

 the only nicety therefore is, to consider whether for a 

 particular exertion Ave want most wind, speed, or 

 lasting qualities ; and when we have ascertained this 

 point, we have to ascertain by close observation the 

 mode of treatment that appears to bring the particular 

 horse we have in hand into the state v,^e want hiin, 

 and this can only be truly ascertained by closely ob- 

 serving: how that treatment affects him. 



If a man is not a perfect judge of perfect condition 



