EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. I47 



head and ears are thorougjily dried out and warm and his legs 

 are well cared for. It is better to not try to do much with 

 the body that is strip and rub it, or you may produce 

 what is called an air founder or rheumatism, which will take a 

 long tinie for them to recover from, if they ever do. I remem- 

 ber once at Island Park, Peter Pollard, of Baltimore, and myself 

 walked around where they were cooling out the horses after a 

 hard race. We picked out three horses that were cooling out 

 that we thought would not be fit to trot again in some time, 

 and we were right, as neither one of the three the next morn- 

 ing were able to get out of the stable, for they were as stiff 

 as a poker. One of them has recovered and appeared on the 

 track, but is not herself, and I don't believe she ever will be. 

 The other two have never been heard of since. This many times 

 is also caused by a horse being left standing in one position 

 in a draft or dampness. They should be walked until thor- 

 oughly cooled out, and should not be allowed to stand in one 

 position over five minutes, unless in a warm stable. 



A man should have sufificient tools to remove and replace 

 a horse's shoes. I think it very necessary, after a hard race, 

 to remove the horse's shoes the same night, so as to rest the 

 feet, and it is well to put the front feet in poultices. Take 

 two quarts of wheat bran, put hot water on it and scald it 

 thoroughly, divide it and put in the centre of two rub cloths ; 

 take three or four raw onions for each foot, pound them soft, 

 spread over the bran, and set the horse's foot in the centre, 

 bring the rub cloth up and tie around the ankle, and leave x>n 

 during the night, take them off in the morning and wash the 

 feet clean, and you- will find the feet in nice condition, free 

 from fever or soreness. For their supper the old rule used to 

 be a hot bran mash the night after a race. That may be good 

 for some horses, but I would prefer a bundle of nice fresh 

 grass, or three or four quarts of scalded oats prepared at 

 noon, so they may be cool when needed, or in fact any other 

 nourishment which they would eat the best. 



The next morning after a race see that your man gives 



