CHAPTER XVII. 



Conditioning. — Racehorse methods; feeding; exercise; the 



thermometer ; massage ; plethora ; sore feet ; lameness ; 

 clipping. 



GOOD work in the hunting field and the 

 chances of success in a field trial often 

 are lessened by lack of attention to the 

 details of proper physical form that will enable 

 an ambitious field performer to sustain the 

 prolonged and excessive muscular strain neces- 

 sitated by a closely contested race. The suc- 

 cess of the American horses on the English 

 turf is attributed largely to superior methods 

 of training and conditioning. The quality and 

 quantity of grain and other foods are care- 

 fully watched by the American horseman and 

 the water is frequently transported long dis- 

 tances to obviate any derangement of the bowels 

 that might arise from a change. 



The gentle massaging of the limbs to prevent 

 any checking of the capillary circulation aind 

 supporting the exhausted tissues by careful 

 bandaging is certainly an art, and the study of 

 the characteristics of the animal so as to pre- 

 serve that careful balance between overtraining 

 and drawing too fine, with a stiffening of the 

 muscles and lack of elasticity, and that point 



