Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-16
HOW TO TRAIN RACE HORSES.

The education of the thoroughbred
horse should begin while he is still a
for if it is intended that he shall
be trained to run in the races for 2-year-
Odds the sooner he is broken to the saddle
and bride the better it will be for him In
his future work.
The thoroughbred horse Is a tender
piece of mechanism. but if he Is handed
properly in the beginning good results
ought to be obtained with. comparative
ease. If taken in hand as a colt he Is
apt to be more traceable and the elemen-l
taries of his education are fraught with
les pain to himself and far less trouble
to his breaker than If the BUSINESS had
Deer POSTPONED until later in life. Toe
much stress. therefore. cannot be laid
upon this subject. There are many ad-
vantages to be derived by following this
rule. whereas there seems to be biological
reason why it should be adhered to.
The first step in the training of the
race horse is to teach him to carry a boy
on his back. He is then taught to obey
the rein and when these points ave been
digested his actual training begins.
Someone has summarized the prepara-
lions for racing as 'gallop, gallop, gal
lop;" but in the case of the very young
horse the phrase is somewhat misleading
/ The practice of seating wa quite gen
eral in olden times, but 1t has been out
of use for nearly a quarter of a entury.
In the old days the colt, in addition to his
:, regular work, was twice a week smoth-
cred in rugs and hoods and, thus muf-
fed, sent on a four to six mile gallop.
While 1t cannot be denied that such
%roo+vonrf xyon c1lnonccf11l in onffinO 9th q
beef off, it is never resorted to now ex-
cept in the case where it is necessary to
reduce a gross horse whose legs will not
stand much galloping.
The question of the amoun of exer-
else REQUIRED to put a horse in shape Is
one that must be decided by the trainer
only. No rule can be applied in this mat
ter as the treatment may vary greatly
in each individual case. The fact is that
1t lis a matter that must be governed by
many factors. A horse hat feeds well
and dose his corn full justice requires
much more work than a delicate feeder
and it is one of the great secrets OF the
trainers art to learn to tell exactly how
much work each horse car do without
o~verstepping the line where enough
becomes 'too much" The object OF the
exercise is to get off the fat n develop
the muscle. but a horse that is over.
trained is worse han one who has beer
given a l1LLle TOO mucH leeWdy.
The serious business of horse training
commences in the spring, for then every
thing is favorable to the work. The ali
is not too cold and is bracdng; the GROUND
is soft and the young horses a gallol
over it without risk or injury to thei
feet or legs.
The work of training begins in the ear
: ~ morning. At 5 c O'Clock, or shortly afte
that hour. the entire string of horses
each sheeted and hooded and ridden b,
a boy, leaves the stable for the morninl
walking exercise, which usually con
, sumes an hour This walking exercise |
. one of the most essential Of the prelimin
> aries. for If the horse was to betaken di
rectly to the training ground and al
lowed to canter while perfectly fresh tn
e results would probably be disastrou.
Boys would be thrown and the frisk
young horses would be ~galloping Wild
n all over the country. This single hour
walk. however. steadies their natural
: high spirits so that when they are take
e upon the downs for the actual work the
are fairly we'll behaved.
The routine work of horse training
d much the same from day to day: a wal
in the early morning. q little trot I