behold of valuable horses being worked when their limbs are not in a proper state, or those unfortunate members subjected to a course of treatment calculated to confirm the injuries which they have sustained. Although diuretic medicines are not remedies which I am disposed in a general way to sanction, judiciously administered with a sparing hand, they may sometimes in these cases be admissible as a means of purifying the blood and reducing its tenuity; they may have a good effect, as the fluid will naturally flow more freely through the inflamed vessels, and thus they will be relieved. These medicines must not, however, be used inadvertently, or continued for too long a period: they weaken the coats of the stomach to a very great degree; and thus, by debilitating the system, lay the foundation for innumerable perplexities, which those who are ignorant of the consequences of such medicines are not readily able to account for.

Upon putting a horse to moderate work, if any symptoms appear which indicate insufficient energy in any of the joints or tendons, such rest with physic must be permitted as will restore the parts once more to their wonted functions, when another attempt may be made with such attention, and the application of suitable remedies, the weak and doubtful part will in all probability have acquired a tone which will qualify it for the necessary exertions; if not, it is possible that some physical defect may exist, in which case all future attempts will prove futile, and the expenses incurred will only add to the mortification arising from the failure of past efforts, and the sooner all expensive operations are dispensed with the better. Cantering from half a mile to a mile, with a steady horse to lead, is all that must be attempted at first. Exercise must constantly be regulated by circumstances; as the animal's power increases, it must be prolonged, and also increased as to pace; at the same time it must be remembered no hurrying is to be allowed at this period. Young things will of course be put to follow other horses, in order to teach them to go straight; consequently it is highly necessary that their schoolmaster possesses an unimpeachable character in that respect. If there is nothing else for them to follow, a hack will do at first.

The length of time during which a colt is to be thus employed must depend so entirely upon a variety of events that it is totally impossible to fix the period; some, also, will require two or three canters almost every morning, whilst others will scarcely bear more than one, and some not even that every day. Then again the state of the ground, the season of the year, and the period when the animal will be required to run, must all combine to influence the nature of his work, but under the most favourable circumstances not less than two months can be calculated upon as sufficient to render a horse capable of going into strong work; previous to which two doses more of physic will be required, which, with the necessary relaxation from work, will no doubt render him very fresh on his legs, and prepare him to undergo as much exercise as judicious treatment can reconcile.

CHAP. III.-STRONG WORK.

The exact quantity of work that a horse requires varies so essentially in different animals, that it is quite impossible to state what may

be necessary for each to perform. The regulating this very nice point to the utmost advantage is the most difficult and important duty of a trainer. If a horse be brought to the post without sufficient work, he cannot race-at the same time the danger of rupturing blood-vessels, inflammation of the lungs and eyes, with various other maladies consequent upon great exertion, at a time when the system is not prepared to sustain it, constantly await him. Unless freed from all superfluous external fat, the muscles cannot perform and maintain their action for any length of time, nor can the lungs possess that elasticity necessary to promote what is generally termed good wind, unless the superabundance of internal fat be thoroughly evacuated: when these desiderata are once accomplished, a moderate portion of work is necessary to keep the muscles in action, and by that means encourage their development and power. It is astonishing how quickly they will sink with idleness, and how mean and weak a horse will become in appearance, as well as in reality, when his fat has been reduced to the proper standard for racing, and a short period of idleness permits the muscles to sink away and lose their fulness. When a horse is once prepared to run, the due portion of work required to continue him in that state is very commonly a matter for the exercise of much skill; if too much be given, the horse will be debilitated by it, and rendered slow, stale, and dejected; if he have not sufficient to keep the muscular powers in full action, his abilities will fall off on that account. Young horses in general will not require so much galloping as older ones, although some instances occur that the former take a great deal in comparison of their age, whilst some of the latter can bear but very little, and thus the quantum will be nearly upon a par; such, however, are extreme cases, and must by no means be regarded as general rules to act upon.

After leaving the stable for the purpose of exercise, each horse should walk at least half an hour, that he may evacuate himself; in mentioning the period of half an hour, it is as being the shortest portion of time for horses to walk, before they are put to more speedy exertions, but a greater length of time is generally advisable, and an hour's walking exercise may with great propriety be recommended. Should it be cold and windy, occasional trotting exercise, just to keep the blood in circulation, is desirable. In former days the idea of trotting a race horse was held in the utmost contempt; now, however, it is quite a different matter, and you see strings of race-horses stepping away with the utmost grace and activity. That the practice is a good one cannot admit of a doubt; in the first place it calls those muscles into action which are most immediately the agents of producing that pace; in the next place it gives horses liberty of action, and teaches them to move in a manner that may render them much more valuable should they be found to be incapable of racing, than they would be if they were never required to fall into the trot.

Before horses are allowed to gallop, they should be prepared by a steady canter for the purpose of relaxing the muscles and sinews, or, more accurately describing it, of increasing the circulation and rendering them supple. The rigidity which arises from work, creates a very painful sensation when the muscles are called into active exertion without a preparatory excitement of the circulation. A man may

by not giving him so much of it, otherwise he will be reduced to a weak, debilitated condition, and cause great disappointment when he comes to the post to run. If a horse be thus relaxed, and the cause is found to originate in the state of his bowels, and not from alarm or nervous excitement, having taken it, rise from too much hurried work, a dose or two of physic will be the most likely means of relieving the complaint, and the following tonic balls may be used with advantage :

Where there is a state of relaxation proceeding from acidity, they will be found excellent, and, as mild tonics, may be relied upon as not possessing any injurious properties; at the same time, the less such remedies are resorted to the better. If this treatment does not produce satisfactory results, it will be desirable to obtain the assistance of professional skill, as it is clear the system must be in a disordered state. This latter observation is, of course, founded upon its having been decidedly ascertained not to arise from alarm and nervous excitement-causes which will with some horses appear, in spite of the most judicious treatment; and as the remedies lie most immediately with those who superintend their work, and those who ride them, they alone can introduce the relief sought for.

The influence of cold will not unfrequently produce similar symp. toms, and require to be attended to with the utmost vigilance; in such cases horses are very subject to inflammation, and, if any degree of exertion be called forth, the most alarming and dangerous results may be anticipated. More than half the horses which are destroyed by inflammation of the bowels have that complaint established from the effects of cold, which, acting upon the mucous membrane of the bowels at all times capable of and prone to great excitement from trivial causes-soon creates a disease, the consequences of which are so well known, that it seems scarcely necessary to offer cautionary remarks.

There are many horses constitutionally subject to constipation when in training: this may be considerably relieved by giving them their water when at exercise; of course it is to be given after all their gallops are performed, and they are perfectly cool. They should, however, have a steady canter, in order to prevent it from chilling them and causing their coats to set it is an old-fashioned practice, and condemned by many trainers of the present day; nevertheless, with some constitutions, I have no hesitation in observing that it is attended with beneficial results, if judiciously and rationally directed. These cautions must, at all events, be introduced: not to let a horse drink until he is quite cool, and his blood has recovered from the excitement of his gallop; not to let him drink to excess, which should be regulated by counting the "go-downs"-fifty, or at most sixty, of which to be the utmost-and to break his draught at twenty-five; the other caution, not to go too fast with him in his canter. The action

Preceded by from a drachm to 1 drachm of calomel the day before, if thought necessary.

of water given at exercise is readily explained: it is taken into the stomach when it contains but a small quantity of food, with which it readily mingles, especially while the animal is in action; the solvent properties of the fluid reduce the food, and assist digestion to a greater extent than a similar quantity of water could do, flowing on to a greater portion of undigested hay and corn. The moistened aliment, accompanied by as much fluid as it is capable of absorbing, passing through the bowels in that state, is naturally thrown off in a more relaxed condition than it would be if it came into immediate contact with a greater bulk of undigested food, or when given in the stable, where it is immediately, or nearly so, supplied with additional quantities of hay and corn, the absorbent properties of which necessarily render the fluid contained in the stomach so much firmer. An intermediate system may be resorted to with good effect, if necessary, that of giving a horse part of his water (say thirty or thirty-five go-downs") when out at exercise, and the remainder when he returns to his stable.

After the horses have done galloping, they will be allowed to return to their stables; but this precaution should invariably be attended to, that they be perfectly cool before they enter. If the exerciseground be so near that the extent of time occupied in walking home does not allow of their being in a proper state, and as some horses, from their superior condition and other causes, will become cool sooner than others, those which are not fit should be kept walking about in a paddock or other convenient situation till they are, and on no account taken into their stables in such a careless state, unless driven to the extremity by rainy weather. To state the precise distance that a horse is to gallop, how many gallops he is to take each morning, or whether he is to gallop every day, would be attempting to establish a rule which practice could not carry out. It will be seen as we proceed, that a good striding gallop may be required on the day previously to sweating; the day after sweating, unless under very peculiar circumstances, walking exercise, or at most a canter, is all that will be advisable. With a good, sound, healthy four-years-old colt, of a fair average constitution, a gallop of from one mile and three quarters to two miles, with a preparatory canter, and another after the gallop, on most days may be considered the standard of a race-horse's work, and about three hours per day the time usually occupied. That there are many which will not do so much, and others that require more, is quite certain; but the proportion must be left to the discretion of the superintendent, who must be governed by the condition of his horse, and other circumstances, which it will be my province to call to his attention in these pages.

Such is the uncertainty of the weather in this mutable climate, and consequently such is the variation of the hardness and condition of the most perfect training grounds, that it becomes necessary to embrace the opportunity of doing good work when the ground is in a favourable state; and rather than rattle horses along when it is very hard, refresh them, and keep them light with physic till the latest period arrives, when, as a last resource, they must be subjected to the risk.

THE DERBY DAY.

BY W. H. FISK.

Breakfast was finished, and the waiter came
With napkin à la main, to know our will:
"John," cried my friend, " be quick and bring the bill";
'Twas quickly brought, and by our host and dame.

"Good sirs," quoth she, "ye'll have a scorching day
To see the fun, for mark me, sirs, last night
The stars were shining, and the morning's bright
And hotter, than last thirtieth of May."

"Nay, Dame," chimed in our hostess' smaller half,
"You quite mistake, the day was burning hot!"
"Go to, go to," she cried, "I'm sure 'twas not,
For I went out, you staid at home to quaff."

Accounts were settled, John had brought our hacks,
Both of course quiet, old, and sure of foot,
Each neatly saddled, and with whips to boot;
And soon we sprang, light-hearted, to their backs.
From smoky London we were far away,

And jostling through a mass of vans and carts,
Cabs, gigs, and horses, crowding from all parts
To visit Epsom on the Derby day!

Soon we arrived; the crowd was dense and thick, But in the midst each reined his panting horse, Within some twelve feet of the racing course. "Beware!" we cried, "these horses, friends, will kick!" "Ha, ha!" cried one-a sturdy looking clown"Good maister cockney, which way kicks your hackOut here afront, or out ahind his back?

Gad, zure I'm safe in front of your old brown!"

But soon a shout proclaimed from every part,
The joyful tidings to the gaping crowd,
And every one by instinct screamed aloud,
"They're off! they're off!" or, "See! they start! they start!"

Not many seconds ere with "slapping pace"

They dashed before our eyes: some cried for blue,
Some "Go it, red," as o'er the course they flew,

Each swearing each would win the doubtful race.