146 EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 



three hard heats and has become tired, is to take a quart or 

 two of clean oats, dampen them and put them into a sieve 

 and spread them out, so the horse cannot get a large mouth- 

 ful at once. While the man is walking him to cool out let 

 him carry them in his hand and occasionally let the horse 

 take a mouthful. If you attempt to let him eat them while 

 the men are rubbing him he will fret and be uneasy and will 

 not chew them well and will waste more than he will eat. 

 This should be repeated after each heat, if the race lengthens 

 out to five or six heats. I have used oatmeal gruel and it is 

 good for those horses that will eat it, but my experience is 

 that very few horses like it and any horse will eat oats. We 

 all know that when a man is tired a few mouthfuls in the 

 stomach will build him up wonderfully, and it is the same 

 with a horse. 



For a stimulant to give a horse I formerly used cherry 

 wine, whisky, brandy, etc., but all. of these I discarded years 

 ago, the after effect is so bad. It has the same effect on a 

 horse it does on a man — first stimulating then depressing. 

 When any stimulation is necessary I use a homoeopathic pre- 

 paration — a few d'rops on the tongue — and the effect is not 

 only immediate but permanent, and is beneficial and no bad 

 effect afterwards. This has helped me to win many a long 

 and hard race. 



In a long race you must watch your horse and see if he 

 shows any indications of wanting to stall. If so, and your 

 stable is not handy, have a bundle of straw with you and 

 shake it out under him, which will usually have the desired 

 effect, and would win you the race, which he might have lost 

 without this relief. 



After a horse has trotted a race, and you are cooling him 

 out, and it is getting late, the dew beginning to fall, or you 

 are near a body of water, a lake, river or the seashore, you get 

 a different atmosphere than you would if away from the 

 water ; there is more dampness in the air. Keep your horse 

 well clothed and out of the wind and night air. See that his 



