The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-10-13
OLD HORSES MADE NEW.
TRICKS OF TRAINERS AND JOCK
EYS TO DECEIVE THE UNwARY.
by the Use of Drugs and Instruments
All Sorts of Defects and Ailments
Can be Covered Up for Time.

c. A. the other day.
tlf horse has q chronic lameness
in either foot the trainer can inject
into the foot n solution OF cocaine,
which for the time being will render
the horse sound-that is, it will dull
the sensibility to pain for more than
half an hour to an hour and half, and
the horse will act rs if he was sound.
"Another method in n case like this
il to sever the nerves of the foot, therc
being two nerves, one on each side bf
the foot. This deprivcs the lower part
of the limb of oil sensation, and the
horse will go sound for perhaps year,
when the nerves will form together
again.
'The leopard may not be able to
change his spots, but good trainer
can take an animal and make him n
horse of AM her color. He will use
nitrate of yer (peroxide of hydro
gem to leNh different parts of the
body so rs ~ make them match. Sup
pose you hat$ team of sorrels; one
had silver mane and tail and the
other had not The trainer would
bleach the name and tail of tho latter.
If star wns wanted in the forehead
he could put it there or produce for
you n white nose, one or moro white
legs, bleaching them SO as to make them
match If horses tail is not big
enough or symmetrical he can switch
in some false tail, just as the ladies do
with their hair.
ga horse will show his age by the
hollowncss over his eyes. In such n
case the trainer will Introduce n. little
tube, and, by blowing in air, will
cause tho hollows to puifup, and if the
chest or shoulder of horse is astro-
phied-what is known rs sweeney of
the shoulder he will introduce II little
tnbe and blow up the skin. This con.
dition in horse can always he de-
tected by pulling the skin, which will
crackle under the touch; it will not
have rx,solid feeling OF tiesh.
'In regard to teeth, young horses
naturally have what is known rs cups,
excavations, marked black, which dis
appear when they become older, being
worn off. The trainer, to mislcad
those who are Interested in the horse,
will nrtifcially excavatc or cut out the
surplus of the teeth and blackcn them
with nitrate of silver. This can al
ways be detected in 'bishoped
mouth, as it is called, by the absence
of the ring of enamel around this black
cup, it being always present in young
horses.
''The shape of horses teeth from
youth to age is oval, then triangular,
then fattened on the sides, the latter
being the shape of the tooth itself.
The root is very narrow, and rs the
tooth wears off it assumes that shape.
'tBut there are tricks especially con-
nected with the races. In running
race suppose trainer wants his horse
to lose. To misiead the public he will
hire good Jockey and just before the
animal goes to the post he will give
him pailfui of water. This, of course,
far, to feel troubled about his wind
and, in jockey parlance, he is called "A
dead horse The jockey is not sup
posed to know anything about this
proceeding. A pail of water or some
anodyne like opium will be sufficient
to make horse 'logey' and lazy and
cause him to lose race which he
would otherwise win.
Sometimes pebble or nail will
be put under horses shoe to cause
him to go lame, 80 that the owner can
scratch him. OF course, the stewards
of n racing club do not allow horse
to be scratched unless there is very
good excuse, but if an owner does not
want his horse to run he can put some
foreign body under the shoe or tie a
a H. -
which causes the leg to swell and the
horse to be lame.the next morning.
can injection of hydro chlorate OF
cocaine is often put into horses to
, make them run faster, and undoubt-
edly it does have that effect. This is
the same medicine the leaves of which
Weston, the pedestrian, used to chew
when he made his long journeys. To
show the efficiency of the trick / will
say that the preparation WAS once in
troduced into horse called Spartacus.
He was very well-bred horse, but
wind broken. A half drachm of this
solution was introduced hyperdermi-
cally. A strong man was put on the
horses back with orders to Jog him
until the half-mile post and then let
him go for a mile. The horse went
along easily for the first half-mile,
then took the bit and ran steadily for
five miles, the jockey being obliged,
from sheer exhaustion, to fall off. The
horse was finally stopped by row of
men standing. across the track. The
effect of this 1ection generally lasts
for about hEP hour. 1t is used a
"I once perimented with this
medicine. A number of old horses
were brought in, and two of them
! dropped from sheer exhaustion half a
mile from the establishment They
could not make the animals move. We
gave each of them an injection of CO.
cnine, and in five minutes they got OH
their feet, and not only appeared
strong, but actually ran and appeared
very lively. This illustrates the stim.
nlatinS effect of the drug.
electricity is also used to increase
n horses speed. A jockey will carry
n battery attached to belt around
| his body, the conductors passing to