Newmarket in the Olden Time, 83 



running in the fretting, sprawling attitudes, with part of his rider's 

 weight in his mouth. 



" And as the horse comes to his last extremity, finishing his race, he 

 is the better forced and kept straight with manner, and fine touching to 

 his mouth. In this situation the horse's mouth should be eased of the 

 tveight of his rein ; if not, it stops him little or much. If a horse is a 

 slug, he should be forced with a manner up to this order of running, and 

 particularly so if he has to make play, or he will run the slower, and 

 jade the sooner for the want of it. 



" The phrase at Newmarket is, that you should pull your horse to 

 ease him in his running. When horses are in their great distress in 

 running, they cannot bear that visible manner of pulling as looked for 

 by many of the sportsmen ; he should be enticed to ease himself an inch 

 a time, as his situation will allow. 



" This should be done as if you had a silken rein as fine as a hair, 

 and that you were afraid of breaking it. 



" This is the true way a horse should be held fast in his running. 



" N.B. — If the Jockey Club \vill be pleased to give me two hundred 

 guineas, I will make them a bridle as I believe never was, and I believe 

 can never be, excelled for their light weights to hold their horses from 

 running away. " 



His name was so inseparably connected with this 

 style of riding, that when Stubbs painted him on 

 Baronet he represented him sitting backward, as was 

 his wont, with an apparently slack rein. It was the 

 son who caused " the Chifney rush" to pass into an 

 English proverb ; but, although many affected to 

 consider him a pedant, Paganini had not more com- 

 plete mastery over a violin than the father acquired 

 over a horse's mouth, however hard and unformed. 

 This was strikingly proved in the case of Knowsley, 

 at Guildford, whither after being purchased by the 

 Prince out of Yorkshire for one thousand guineas, he 

 was sent to run for the King's Plate. This horse had 

 run away with every jockey as yet, and therefore a 

 large party of the Pnnce's friends came down ex- 

 pressly to see how Chifney would handle him. 

 " Take that silly gir,icrack aivay, and bring me a plain 

 snaffle,'' was his remark when they handed him a 

 tremendous curb-bridle for inspection in the weighing- 

 house ; and then sallying forth, snaffle in hand, he not 

 only went first past the judge with a slack rein, but 



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