The Washington times., 1901-11-10

SICK. lie has to be kept up to certain
standard of cleanliness and neatness,
and il allowed to fall below il is almost
| certain to show the result at once in a
| decline in health. Even neglect to wash
out his mouth at regular intervals will
result in fretfulness that may upset
all the work of weeks of training.
This nervous side of the race horse is
very interesting. To do the best work
he is capable of the thoroughbred must
be trained to very fine edge, and
] when in that condition the least thing
out of the ordinary disturbs him.
| Horses have been known to be white
with foam twenty minutes after start
ing on railroad journey, and car sick
ness has killed many a fine racer.
Thoroughbreds in training are used to
| certain handlers, and if anyone else
comes around they do not like it. This
is partly the result of the lavish atten-
ton which these men bestow upon their
charges. On the road the attentions are
doubled. The whole tribe of grooms,
| rubbers, and trainers travel on the car
| with the horses. At regular times dur
ing the day they wash out the mouths
of their charges, rub them down, and
bestow other attentions on them. Food
| and water the horses get at regular in
tervals, and a good trainer will not vary
one minute from the regular time of
feeding for anything. The food is gone
over with an amount of care that would
seem ridiculous to one unacquainted
with the Importance of this part of the
supervision of a racing horse. 1t VIII be
better understood when it is explained
that the least change in diet, any i'm
purity in the food or water of thor
oughbred in training, or the least irreg-
ularity, is likely to be attended by dis
astrous results.
But more than anything those in
charge of a race horse travelling have to
look out for car sickness. The strongest
animal in the world is apt to be attacked
by it, and once it gets hold 1t is a
mighty hard thing to drive away. AS
a rule, it affects horses differently from
men. Some horses vonlit, but others
feel 1t first in a kind of collie, which re-
suits in excruciating pain, not unlike
what men call stomach cramps.
A horse in this plight is very much to
be pitied, for frequently he is not sus-
ceptible to treatment. probably because
of his nervous condition. Horses that
have suffered like this have been known
to reel for days afterward when turned
out for exercise. Many horses die be-
fore reaching their destinations, so that
it is no wonder that the trainer and his
men lose flesh when on trains with their
valuable charges. So important is 1t to
be near the horses all the time that al
most every outfit has its cook and
kitchen utensils and has all meals cook
ed and served right in the car where
the horses are.
Nothing else is SO disastrous to lot
of racers as to be in collision or other
kind of railroad accident So nervous
are they when travelling that violent
shock of any kind will utterly prostrate
them, whether they are seriously IN
jured or not, and once a thoroughbred
loses his nerve his great natural speed
is absolutely of no use to him. If he
loses his nerve he will never get 1t back
again, and without it he cannot win
races.
1t is the stout heart in horse. devel-
oped by man largely, which brings out
his great speed and makes him contest
every inch of ground with a competitor
in a race Some horses that, in race
track parlance, will break watches" in
trials by themselves, will quit like ours
in races where animals of inferior speed
challenge them and run them neck and
neck for few yards. 1t is because
they have lost their nerve or never had
any man might better have car
horse than a thoroughbred with no
nerve. for the former will win him just
as much money and not cost quarter
so much to keep. Turf history records
many cases of speedy horses who could
travel in record time when tried out
alone, but could not win race with
other horses for lack of heart. What is
more distressing, ii records many cases
of splendid. stout-hearted animals that
have been reduced to absolute worth
lessness through shocks suffered in rail-
road accidents.
Modern methods of transporting
horses cost money. but owners pay it
willingly, and nothing but the cheapest
of selling platers are shipped any other
Nay than that described. Insurance on
the horses is expensive. too, but owners
always carry plenty of that. for a car
load of thoroughbreds Is not thing to
take chances with. On two loads of
horses recently shipped it is known that
there was more than $500, 900 insurance.
ON the whole money invested in this
kind of horsefesh is not the most stable
property in the world. The dangers
that threaten a thoroughbred are in
Vulnerable. The greatest dangers of all,
those encountered in travelling, he can
not avoid, for there are rich stakes to
be run for and won all over the coun-
try. and it is part of the business of the
racing man TO take his horses to the
-raclks whore the nurses are richest