VVV2, ^ \r-/ JOHNA.SEAVERNS HINTS TO HOESEITEI^ SHEWING HOW TO MARE MONEY BY HORSES. HAKRT HIEOVER, AUTHOR OP " TABLE TALK AND STABLE TALK. ; " " PROPER CONDITION OF HORSES;" "SPORTING FACTS AND FANCIES." ETC. LONDON : THOMAS CAUTLEY NEWBY, PUBLISHER, 30, WELBECK STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE. 1856. J. BILLING, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER, "WOKING, SURREY. DEDICATION. Whenever an author prefixes a dedication to his book, it is presumed to be to some one for whom he entertains sincere regard, profound respect, or both together ; to whom, therefore, can I more appropriately venture a Dedication of this little Work, than to those towards whom I not only feel the highest respect, but the most heartfelt gratitude, arising from their more than liberal notice of any little merits my sundry writings may have possessed, and from their more than lenient construction of the many failures in point of language and artistic com- position, that I am as much aware as any one IV DEDICATION. can be, must have been detected in tbem ? To this liberality I therefore appeal in presuming to dedicate this trifle to the Public and the Pressj and in subscribing myself their Most grateful And very humble servant. The Author. PEEFACE. Let cavillers remark, if they will do so, that when any one writes in a tone of advice or instruction, that he presumes on self-supposed superiority of mind or talent; if any do so think, they labour under the influence of very material error. Such writer merely goes so far as to believe that in some particular points and pursuits, his experience in them may have afforded him information that may be useful to those who may not have had op- portunity or inclination to devote as much time to those pursuits as the writer may have done ; and if the adage that " experience makes fools wise," be at all a truthful one, it cannot VI PREFACE. be considered as overweening vanity if a writer places himself in such category, particularly if, as in the present case, he does not even consider that he has become ^^ wise," but merely to a certain extent, " aufaiV^ as regards par- ticular subjects. There are, no doubt, many who would hold those on which this publication treats as beneath their notice ; if so, the title will show of what subjects it consists — they can at once close the book; but it is lucky for authors that de gustihus non est disputandum, otherwise it is only those of a particular class who could live. But fortunately tastes differ ; thus authors of minor grade, if they do not what I should term live, do contrive to keep body and soul together ; for which they are in no way indebted to the exclusiveness of a class, but to the more enlarged views and liberality of those to whom I have ventured my Dedication. CONTENTS. PAGE Explanation of the term horsemen ... 1 Dealing in horses and dealing in dips . . 4 Dealing in cattle ...... 8 The right sort to buy . . . . 11 Breeding horses . . . . . .14 The butcher ...... 15 Troop horses . . . . . .17 Scotch shelties 20 Gipsy dealers 21 Low and high dealers .... 22 Horses for farmers to breed . . . .27 English and Belgian horse . . . 28 The sort farmers too often breed . . .30 An article in demand .... ib. Proper accommodations for brood mares . . 33 Howden Fair 38 Fairs of different classes .... 39 The sort of mare to breed from . . . 41 Proper sires for mares ..... 50 Till CONTEXTS. > PAGE Good looks desirable in sires . . . 51 Proper condition for mares . . . .55 ^Natural food for horses .... 56 Cost of rearing a colt ..... 59 Breeding racing stock . . . . 65 How best to sell ditto . . . , , ih. Action in racing stock .... 69 Treatment of race-horses according to age . 70 Buying racing stock . . . . . 76 Hopelessness of making money by racing . 78 Buying racers to make hunters ... 79 Dealing and dealers . . . . .81 Hunting dealers . « . . . 85 Fences, different sorts of . . . .88 Horses, different attributes of . . . 89 Standing leapers . . . . . .90 Going through dirt . . . . . 92 Weight, its effects 93 AYater, som.e horses' dread of . . . 96 Fear all but incurable in horses ... 98 Fear more than vice to be dreaded in horses ih. What occasions fear, or rather, the nature of it 99 Wall and timber jumping to be taught . 100 Kiders' opinions of different fences . . .101 Horses refusing their fences . . . ih._ Patience and perseverance the only cure . 102 CONTENTS. IX PAGE Horses advance in value as their failings are cured 103 Messrs. Anderson and Elmore, the kind of horse they purchase . . . . . .109 Taste and judgment in horses to be learnt in London, practice in the country . .Ill Farmers not finished horsemen . . . ih. Men who should not look to making money by horses . . . . . . . 112 Gentlemen and traders . . . . .113 Harness horses . . . . . 114 Sir John Lade, and the late Prince of Wales . 115 Sir John Lade and Sir Henry Peyton . . 116 Horses well and ill matched in harness, different effects of . . . Three supposed characters, as four-in-hand coachmen Single harness Yagabond, the race-horse . Trotters .... Ladies' horses difficult to get Ladies' riding Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Elint Where a lady may make money by horses Men of business making money by horses The knowing baker .... h 117 119 122 123 125 129 131 133 ih 135 ih. CONTEXTS. Eace- horses, where they may be profitable to their owner . . . . . .138 Steeple- chasing . . . . . 152 Anecdote of an owner of steeple-chase horses . 153 Directions in steeple- chasing . . . 156 Trotters often a source of profit . . .161 Anecdote of the author and the doctor . ih. How money is made by pouched trotting matches 1 63 Keeping of sires . . . . . 164 Persons likely to have taste in horses and equi- pages . . . . • . .173 Changing horses, its results . . . 1 79 A supposed case . . . . . .180 The doctor's turn-out . . . . 186 The infatuation of some men in betting . .188 Public running, a supposed case of . . 189 Crockford and Davis 192 Pacing men and hunting men . . . 194 Country gentlemen no judges of the value of horses . . . . . . . 198 Their opinions . . . . . .199 Provincial sportsmen . . . . 203 Mr. Gage 205 The author's apology to those he had particu- larized - 210 General intent of the book . . , . 213 HINTS TO HOESEMEN; OE, HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. In using the term Horsemen, I use it as others might that of soldiers, sailors, merchants, or any other cLiss of persons. 'Now we all know that many of the elite have been appointed to supreme command in naval departments at home, who, fortunately for themselves, the navy, and the public, had never attempted to show themselves in any command abroad ; men whose '' Le Eoi le veut " dictated the movements of admirals and fleets, while they, im- portant as they might show in the genial atmosphere of Whitehall, would be '' sorely troubled " in the un- certain one of the Euxine ; and many a brave old 2 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, admiral in receiving command from such temporary- Magnus Apollos, at home, could only bow, virtually- saying, *' Pacha, to hear is to obey," knowing quite well his superior in command at home, could not safely be entrusted with the charge of a gun-boat in the Baltic ; so, to take a liberty with a line of our great bard, *' Thus" interest ''does make" sailors "of us all." So with soldiers, — What makes soldiers in France ? — Study of military tactics, and a chivalric love of arms. What makes soldiers in England ? — Money, interest, and the agremens of home service ; yet we must call many such soldiers. "What constitutes a merchant, dealing wholesale in anj' given produce ? He may be a West or East Indian, an American, Russian, or Turkey merchant, yet has never been in anj- country with which he carries on commerce ; yet he is to all intents and purposes a merchant. Thus, when I mention the term Horsemen, I do not mean riders, but men of any sort, who, for pleasure, convenience, or profit, have to do with horses ; and it is one or other, or all these incentives HOTV TO MAKE MOKET BY HOESES. 3 together, that induce a man to possess himself of such animals. There may be many who may say, *' I do not want to make money by horses ;" that there are many who do not contemplate doing so, no one can doubt. That many from vanity, and others from indolence, would not attempt to do it, is, I quite believe, equally certain ; but supposing (what certainly could not be the case) that, without any sacrifice of vanity or ease, money could be made by horses, I care not whether a man be duke or dustman, the general animus of human nature must totally change, ere I could be brought to believe that either would not make money, unless some counteracting principle stood in the way of his doing so. The fact, therefore, merges into this — whether the general desire to make money, or the unwillingness to undergo the necessary means of doing so, be the strongest bias in the mind. Tew men have through life been less solicitous about the mere making of money, than myself ; had it been otherwise, probably these sheets would never have been written ; but making money by horses I did consider as something quite different to the mere B 2 4 HINTS TO HORSEilEX; OR, trading in an article of commerce. There is, to men of a certain turn of mind, something flattering in the making money by horses ; it shews he is a good judge of the animal — understands its management in all ways, on or off its back ; but for the life of me I can- not conceive there could be anything flattering in making money by a box of candles. In these feelings I may perhaps be wrong, from my never really having dealt in, or interested myself about such articles; but I should be inclined to say that he who " lived on the fat of the land," or of some land by so doing, only shewed himself as a ''prime judge" of tallow, a commodity, I ween, not often brought into proximity with gentlemen. ^Now the horse is all but made a companion of by them, and many would really be offended if you expressed doubts of their judgment of the favoured animal ; but if I said to any friend or companion, *' Eeally, my good fellow ! you are no judge of dripping," I can fancy his first stare of un- mitigated astonishment, his gulping dov/n the offence of my speech as one indicating I could for a moment have entertained the thought of the bare possibility HOW TO MAKE HONEY BY HOESES. 5 of his being so ; and his final act of drawing himself up, thrusting his hands in his pockets, and prior to his walking off, his making the indignant reply, "Xo, sir, thank God, I am not !" He could not lay " this flattering wictio7i to his soul ;" and if unused to the melting mode in one way, I should probably find him quite indisposed to the melting mood in another. He naturally enough wished to be thought of '' otlier moidd,''^ and not only " ivaxed wrath," but was dip'ped in indignation *' to the very lips.'* Some may say it is ^^ in se^* as bad to become what they would consider as dealing in horses, as in dealing in dips, rushlights, and greaves ; it would be so, perhaps, if a man did become a dealer in horses ; but he does not ; the dealer in horses purchases the animals and ostensibly keeps them for sale, never rides or drives them for his amusement, seeks and urges a sale by all the rhetoric he is master of, as much as does the (in trade style) ''sharp young man '* who as shopman recommends and tries to per- suade you to purchase a dozen of moulds, when you merely asked for a wax taper. This, I beg to en- 6 HINTS TO HOKSEMElSr; OR, lighten mj^ sporting readers by telling them, is selling "by introduction," ay, that is the trade term. It may be thought my knowing this, looks mightily like wicks and tallow ; I admit it does, but can slip out of the accusation as easily and smoothly as if I had been greased for the occasion. In my young days I was, in a pro tempore way, mightily smitten by the soul-stirring, full dark eyes, (not of an aide-de- oamp,) but of an aide-de-couuter, in a milliner's shop; from her I learned the term ; who could soon forget what was taught under the influence of such eyes ? They were eyes ! Mais revenons. The gentleman purchases because he wants the horses to ride or drive, and ride and drive them he does ; he is asked — mind, ashed — to sell, and sell he does. Why not ? IN'oblemen, with Prince Albert at their head, breed or buy oxen, sheep, and swine, purposely for sale, land fide and absolutely for sale— in sooth, to make money. I have also done this ; but I must admit, I did not find the same gratification in scientifically handling a sheep or bullock, to ascertain their progress to fat, as I did in feeling a race-horse HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 7 or liunter, to satisfy myself of his state of condition. Chacun a son gout. I admit as fact, that to become a good judge of, and manager, of anything, it is necessary to enter into the details and minutiae of its management. It is so as regards horses ; but how is this learnt by the gentleman ? By from early youth being accustomed to see them in condition, in the rough, in the stable and out of it, at rest, in exercise, and in work. He overlooks his servants, and pro- bably, in his boyish days, those of his father : there is nothing ungentlemanly in this ; and by thi3, he becomes so conversant in such matters, that he knows all that a stud-groom can know, and sometimes a little more, from education having taught him to reflect, an attribute not common in common men. Thus it will be seen, that it is not quite as had (as I supposed to have probably been stated) to be a perfect judge of horses as of dips, or to sell horses to advantage, as it is to sell the other ; nor is it quite the same thing to overlook a string of race-horses at the water-trough (if one is 8 HIIiTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, used), as it is to overlook rows of candles coming from the melting one. In some countries it would be held quite beneath the position of a nobleman or gentleman, to even attempt to make money by anything. Of the propriety of such opinion, it is not for me to offer my own ; but it is not so in England. Among some tribes of men, theft is not held reprobatory, while detection is con- sidered disgraceful ; we do not in business quite carry things to such pitch ; but if a man does make, or has made, money, it is wonderful with what complacence his doings are looked at. So go on, my peers, and ye, their compeers, trade in beef, mutton, and pigs' -flesh, sell horns and hoofs as much as pleases your fancy or avarice, only let me now and then just get a pull with my horses. Now I fancy I can see why people are really so invidious of, nay, irate against, any one who is found, or thought, to turn his horses to profitable account. I shall consider it as such, if he only makes them pay, or nearly pay, their expenses ; for it must be con- sidered that the gentleman's use of his horses, the HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 9 gratification of his pride in keeping them, and the standing they conduce to keep up for him in society, must be set against the dealer's profit, who derives no pleasure from their being in his stables ; thus, if the gentleman got both certain profit and certain pleasure from his horses, he would, in point of ad- vantage, far outstrip the regular dealer. Money and money's worth are pretty much the same thing ; the dealer takes the bare money, the gentleman the money's worth. But to account for so many persons carping at his doing this. I have played chess with numbers of persons, con- sequently, with numbers of tempers to be exhibited. It is not usual for persons to shew any outbursts of temper at this game ; but I certainly seldom or ever saw a beaten player who did not evince evident signs of mortification. iN'ow, at we will say whist, or any other game, the result of which depends much on the cards, I have seen considerable violence of temper shown, though little or no mortification ; and why is this ? At cards the losing party have this salvo to their pride — they can anathematize their ill-luck, and 10 HINTS TO horsemen; or, laj^ their defeat at the door of chance. Now at chess they cannot do this ; we will not speak of a game or two, but if in twenty games the one party beats the other, there is no denying the fact he is the strongest player, the more so, or the less, according with the number of games he wins out of the twenty. Thus by horses : a man making a fortunate hit or two, says little ; but if in the case of two persons keeping horses, each with the same opportunity and appliances as the other, it is found that the one makes them pay their way, and the other does not, it is irre- fragable proof, that in point of buying, management, using, or all, the one possesses judgment and capa- bilities the other does not. This certain proof of in- feriority in these matters stares the unsuccessful adventurer in the face ; hence, his mortification ; he cannot but admit the fact, the other is the best judge and manager when in the stable, and probably by far the better horseman when out of it. I conceive that the two principal appliances to the making money in any way, are capital or ingenuity ; when both are combined, and industry is added, bar- HOW TO MAKE MONEr BY HOESES. 11 ring some extraordinary adverse contingency, the result may be considered as certain. Thus the man who has means to purchase the right sort of horse, and judgment in his subsequent management, is next to certain to turn him to good account. Now comes the important question, of what is the right sort to produce this desirable result ? ''Ay, there's the rub ;" but this is readily answered ; the right sort is that sort best suited to the particular purpose for which he is to be used ; for unless he is so, all the judgment, all the horsemanship or coachmanship in the world will avail little ; for as a jockey once said to me, in allusion to a horse he had been riding, '' IS"© man can win upon a sack of oats, and that horse is little better." Small prospect of making money on the turf with such an animal, though he might win a saddle and bridle. Here want of judgment influenced the purchaser, which no after-judgment can compensate for. It is quite true that such an animal will be far better under good management than bad ; but, to carry out the jockey's idea. What is the use of a '' sack of oats " as a race-horse ? It would be pretty much the 12 HINTS TO horsemen; OR, same with any horse for any purpose for which he did not possess the required capability : here after- judgment would be useless indeed, and capital lite- rally thrown away. A man may easily and surely make money by small Scotch sheep on a Highland farm ; he may see another make more money by a flock in Leicestershire ; but if from seeing this he showed the total want of judgment of purchasing Leicesters to feed on a Scotch hill-farm, he must lose money from the hour he made the purchase. Thus wdth horses : be they used for what purpose they may, to bring money or satisfaction with them, they must be treated in accordance with their na- ture, breed, and habits ; and moreover, though we do not require them to " suit the action to the word,'' if the action is not suited to the work, their owner wall shortly find himself in the position of the man purchasing the Leicester sheep — namely, in a losing one. There are two w^ays in which horses may be made to make money, under judicious management, by their exertions : for instance, as cart horses, cab, post, HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 13 or omnibus horses ; also as hired hacks, such are money-making horses to the farmer or tradesman. Secondly, they may he made to make money in a far more aristocratic way, as race-horses, hunters, harness horses, and even as riding hacks. Their doing so in these latter-mentioned cases, rests on their shewing great superiority in such employ. It also depends ou the judgment shewn in the purchase of them by the owner, and by his management and handling of them afterwards as rider or driver. There is another and a very certain way in which horses may be made to pay ; a way in which no great artistic capabilities are required on the part of the owner. This is by purchasing them out of condition, (perhaps I should rather say, out of flesh), and by proper warmth, rest, feeding, and care, putting them into such state as is pleasing to the eye, or at least to most eyes ; this merely requires attention, and a small share of stable knowledge. With a certain description of horse, this may be done out of doors, and then, as might be said, a little stable polishing to finish off with. 14 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, There is yet a fourth mode of moEey-making by keeping horses, which is breeding. This may appear to be so simple and indeed certain a one, that a man may fancy he will only have to look on, and that money must grow as fast as he expects, or perhaps sees the young animals grow. Breeding — that is breeding to advantage — is, however, not quite as simple a process as may be supposed. No doubt it is quite simple to cause the production of an animal, and rather simple I hold those to be who have caused such productions as I have not onlj' seen, but been shown with very considerable pride and glee, on the part of their owners. I have often seen it with re- gret, as exhibiting a man, and perhaps a very sensible one in other particulars, with most laudable inten- tions, throwing away time and money in a pursuit by which he must to a certainty be a loser. There are two veiy opposite plans tliat different persons adopt in their attempts to make money by horses. Be they used for what purpose they may, or be the^' kept for breeding purposes, the one is to spare no proper expense in having them in the best BOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 15 state they can be for any purpose they are designed and used for ; the other is to save in everj- particular, and bj' doing the thing cheaply, or rather at little expense, to limit the expenditure to the smallest pos- sible item. I can have no hesitation whatever in saying the latter mode never will realise the wishes of those by whom it is practised, unless it may be the costermonger, who buys an unfortunate animal for forty shillings, with the full intent of working him to death. It is true he may make the horse earn money so long as he can stand on his legs ; but when he can no longer do this, the forty shillings are gone. Whereas, the man who buys an animal com- petent to his labour, not only gets more work done, and done with respectability, but sometimes sells out to advantage. I once knew a butcher who, for the cart that took round his meat to different gentlemen's houses, would buy nothing but horses in the lowest pos- sible condition. His plan was this : he bought them at a very low price, and worked them into proper order. He was well known, people saw his 16 niNTS TO horsemen; or, horses at work, and bought them at really good prices ; so he actually got his work done, done well, and all the time his horses were growing into money. But it is time we should now enter a little into the minutiae of the different treatment of horses of their separate classes. We will first look to such horses as we may sup- pose a gentleman to purchase. There are manj* per- sons who are quite decided in their opinion, that in buying a very young horse, he must grow into money ; there can be no doubt but that in buying a very young one, say three j-ears old, he will, in the common course of events, be worth more when he is four ; but whether he will be worth so much more as to -poj for a year's keep, time, and attention, de- pends, of course, on how much he improves. The ''how much" sets at defiance often the very best judgment; consequently, the man without such judgment is virtually playing at a game of chance in the dark ; and this want of judgment is the very thing that would prevent any one persuad- ing or convincing him that he is doing this ; for HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 17 he "Would not have discrimination enough to see that his young bargain, though perhaps a very good three years' old, had become a positive beast at four ; he would pertinaciously adhere to his conviction, tliat a colt having eaten corn and hay for twelve months, must be, to say the least, all that corn and hay the better. I know of no quadruped who varies with time so much as the horse. The ox, from feed- ing, will, in almost all cases, become the more valuable, the horse often does the very reverse — that is, when in a growing state ; though when arrived at maturit}', good care, in nineteen instances in twenty, is sure to improve him, that is, if he were in a bad state before. Our troops purchase horses at a very early age, and it has been found to answer the purposes of govern- ment to do so ; but let the reader bear in mind that such young stock undergoes the ordeal of inspection, not only of a competent judge, but of several, and the judgment of veterinarians also ; so his promising points, size, or the probable size that he may be ex- pected to grow to, and his action, are not only de- liberated upon, but care is taken that there is no c 18 uiKTS TO uousemkn; or, manifestation of incipient disease, or even tendency to disease, or failing, about liim. Thus, the prospect of securing a valuable horse, when he becomes of a proper age to put to work, is all but a certain one. It is no uncommon remark of persons, that it is sur- prising how government get such animals as they see the Life Guards mounted on, at " Troop price." It certainly would be very surprising indeed, if they got them at a useable age at such a price ; but as they are purchased at two and three years old, it will be seen that by the time a trooper is seen on them as regimental horses, they do not stand go- vernment in a price very much below that at which they could be purchased of a dealer. But as such description of horses could not probably be bought in such way in sufficient numbers, it is a verj^ prudent arrangement to always have a stock on hand. So it M'ill be seen that our household troops are not riding £20 or £30 horses, but animals, numbers of whom would be worth from £70 to £100 for harness to any one who drove blacks ; and I have seen many, who, as far as appearance goes, would not now TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 19 disgrace a hunting scarlet coat instead of a military one. Against this, however, must be set that many of these youngsters, though purchased with as much care and foresight as well can be exercised, dwindle away into animals not worth one half of the hay and oats that have been bestowed on them ; and I scarcely know a more thoroughly worthless kind of horse than such large, weak animals, save and except a weedy thorough -bred, that has not speed enough to race, or strength enough for useful purposes. The reader need not be deterred, however, from pur- chasing young horses from the above fact being laid before him ; I merely wish to prevent his ex- periencing disappointment from entertaining the idea that young horses must, as a matter of course, grow into money. We will, however, return to this subject, and dilate further upon it by and bye, and will now turn to that which is antecedent to the possession of young stock : tliis is the breeding of such. That money is to be made by breeding, no one c 2 20 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OE, doubts ; and it is to "be made by breeding the lowest animal of the horse kind, as also by causing the pro- duction of the very highest caste. In medio tiitissi- 7)1118 ibis, we learnt as boys ; but observation and experience as a man, have taught me that the advice, though good, and safe in a general way, must not in all its phases and bearings be taken au pie de la lettre, and certainly not in the breeding of horses ; for I hold the middle course in such speculations to be, in a usual way, a very bad one. The very lowest of all classes of horses will pay for the breeding ; for instance, the little shelties of Scotland pay a some- thing, so do the ponies who run wild in parts of Windsor, and the Kew, Forests ; for these and others bred in the same way, and in similar places, cost absolutely nothing. In spring, when herbage shoots up, they shoot up also ; and in winter they do in a most miraculous way contrive to keep themselves alive. No doubt some perish ; but as if that which has cost nothing should die, it only entails loss of what it would have brought had it lived ; it is not actual loss of vested money in case of its death. HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 21 The rapidity with which these animals recover health, strength, flesh, and spirits, in the spring, is as astonishing as it is how so many survive the winter, during which they shew as mere spectres. It is true the value of such at a useable age is not much ; but four or five pounds really is much to get for that which has cost no expenditure of money, time, care, or thought. There are certain persons who trade in these de- scriptions of animals : many of these dealers are gipsies, and a great trade with them is ruddle, which they sell to farmers to mark their sheep with. They come round at particular seasons, when these ponies have got a little fresh, and also when they know the ruddle will be wanted. Their mode of breaking them to carrj', is, of course, somewhat primitive : they fasten two or three bags of ruddle on a colt's back, fasten him to one accustomed to carry burdens, and thus let him kick or plunge till he has tired himself, which in a very short time he does, and then be- comes as tractable as his tutor, who has been broken in the same rude manner. Those that are not 22 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, wanted to carr}', are driven like sheep, and, like them, cling together, rarely trying to escape. I bought several of these, when I resided in Sussex, for myself and friends ; and it was somew^hat curious to see how correctly these rude dealers would point out among the drove those likely to suit the taste and purpose of their different customers : they evinced in this particular all the tact of a London dealer, witli this difference : the latter expatiates on, and points out the present merits of the nag, the other as confidently enlarges on what his pony will be. "Lord, sir, when he gets into your stable,'' though not much in use with our high dealers, (who are quite aware their horse is at his best,) is as much in vogue with the ordinary dealers as with the ruddle man. The high-flight dealer tickles his customers in a more delicate way : " I am quite sure, my lord, that, with your lordship's fine hand, he will become one of the most perfect animals in London." "What lord is proof against well-timed flatterj-, on which the exquisite of a dealer has as fine a hand, as he persuades my lord he has on a horse ? So goes the HOTV TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 23 "world; from Giles Jolter to Lord Belvidere, from the dealer in ruddle and ponies to the dealer in flattery and two hundred-guinea horses. The Shetland ponies, also termed shelties, when they are docile and pretty, bring (for such little ani- mals) high prices to carry, or sometimes draw chil- dren, from £10 to £15 ; and Mr. Orton of Black wall, the great importer of them, is quite aware of such, qualifications in them as will command such prices. He most probably gives so much for a lot, and then divides and subdivides them, till some get to carry or draw dogs' meat, others the young scions of our nobility. They are probably, in the localities where they are bred, by no means an unprofitable stock ; where a goat can live, they will. They are subject to few, if any, diseases ; and that most fatal one, so common among-high fed horses, namely, inflammation, I should conceive to be unknown to a shelty. "We will ascend the scale of breeding gradually. The next step, I should say, brings us to a pedlar, or some man who works a galloway mare in a small cart. We often, in such cases, see the dam 24 HINTS TO HORSKMEN J OF., accompanied by her foal, who trots at her side as she performs her humble duties. I hare frequently- asked the owners of such, what they proposed doing with this foal. Some have replied that they intended it, when old enough, to take the place of the mother, as it would work and grow into money. Isow this working and growing into money, usually ends in its becoming, from working at an early age, a cat-ham- med, misshaped animal, and comparative!}^ not worth a shilling. Others, more sensible, have told me they intended to sell it to some one who had the means of rearing it properly; a much more sensible man, I should say, would be the seller than the purchaser. For we may fairly presume the dam does not show much promise of producing anything very desirable ; and as to the sire, it often happens the owner of the mare has not the remotest idea of what the animal w^as ; probably some stolen leap, or if not, the selec- tion of him could not reflect any great credit on the taste or judgment of the owner of the dam. lu cases where I have seen such breeders intend keeping their foal till it becomes of a useable age, I have HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 25 asked if they expected much profit on its sale, and have often received a much more sensible reply than it would be if they had said they did. Thej^- stated fairly enough, that what the colt cost keeping, went so gradually, and in such small sums, that they did not feel it ; and when the sale took, place, it was a little handful of money each year, as each colt reached a saleable age. Thus, if he did not produce absolute profit, if his rearing caused a saving of money that would otherwise have been uselessly, if not improperly spent, even this minor sort of breeding produced bene- ficial results ; and admitting the profit on his rearing to have been little, or none, the money it cost is got back again, whereas it might have been spent in many ways, where such could not have been the case. If he has produced frugality, it would be equal to profit, or perhaps, in eff'ect, a much greater good. We now will look to a larger sort of animal than tlie two kinds mentioned, one that certainly costs more in the producing and rearing. This must in no way be considered as insuring a larger, or more certain 26 HINTS TO HOUSEMEN ; OR, profit, nor, in sooth, a better sort of animal, nor, in fact, 80 good a kind, for the shelty, though diminu- tive in size, is reallj^ good of its race ; whereas a kind of half-and-half animal, though to be made useful in various ways, shews but little merit in per- forming any of them, nor can such reflect credit on the breeder or owner. The man who breeds a good sort of thoroughly-game little terrier, shows his taste and judgment to be good ; he causes the production of a very useful little animal in its way, and of beauty of its kind ; but I only ask my brother sportsmen what they would say or think of a man who bred mongrel pointers ? Tliey would consume more than the little terror to rats would do, and when reared, the owner must find mongrel-bred sportsmen to buy them. Something of a similar sort of horse is but too often bred by the middle class of farmers ; and a great mistake they make in breeding such, for T am quite sure that, in a general way, they do not pay the cost of rearing. Breeding is very strongly recommended to the farmer by many, and by many whose judgment and HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 27 advice is far preferable to mine ; but in so strongly recommending this pursuit, I think the recommenda- tion is sometimes unaccompanied by what I should hold as most important, namely, the recommending the sort he ought to breed ; for unless this is done, it is virtually holding out a prospect of gain from a source from which gain will certainly not arise, that is, on the aggregate. There are two descriptions of horses that the farmer may fairly look upon as certain sources of profit, if he has capital, a proper locality to breed them in, and proper land to breed them on : these are a really fine sort of direct cart-horse, or such a descrip- tion of horse as are likely to make hunters ; or if not, a superior sort of harness horse : either, at four years old, will command strong prices. There was a time, it is true, when in breeding horses with such views, as to their distinct appropriation, he had a pull in his favour that he must not attempt now ; formerly, from three years old to four, he could use them for agricultural purposes about his farm, and the strong kind of horse then in use was probably none the 28 HINTS TO housemen; or, worse for being so used ; but the three parts, or seven-eighths bred horse now required, quotes, or, at least, his breeding quotes, the old lines from (if I recollect right) the Old Bath Guide — *' Sir, I'm a gentleman/ do ye tlmik it fit I should to vulgar rules suhnit?'^ It is true the'labour of the horse paid for his keep during this year of his growth ; thus a year's keep was saved ; but I should say the greatly-increased prices properly bred and reared horses will now fetch, more than made amends for the year's keep, without the former labour. The very noble animals we see in use by brewers, distillers, and others in London, if bred by the farmer, may be moderately worked while growing into money ; but even with them, their work, if they are intended to be really fine animals, and conse- quently to fetch high [prices, must be but light — that is, far below their actual capabilities. The Dutch and Flemish-bred horse is daily gaining in the estimation of persons using heavy draught HOW TO MAKE MO^'E^ BY HORSES. 29 horses : I prognosticated that they would, if brought to England, when I saw them in their own coun- tries many years ago ; and some few years back, I wrote to that effect. This does not arise from their being, in a general way, finer horses than our own ; but they are more active in their work. It is not the fault of our horses that such is the case ; it is the fault of the carters who drive them, and an adherence to old practices, and old pace, in the breeders and owners of them. They could be made, in their breaking and using, just as active as the continental cart-horses ; but Ealph the ploughman and Giles the carter like, fi'om habit, to walk two miles an hour : and if the cart-horse was accustomed to walk four, Ralph and Giles must walk four also ; and I know, from experience, it is far easier to alter the habits of a horse, or even ass, than those of ploughmen and carters. I must consider a really fine English cart-horse a far handsomer animal than the Flemish ; the latter, unless picked ones, are apt to be cat-hammed, in at their hocks, and their necks too short for per- 30 HINTS TO hoesemen; oe, feet symmetry ; in smallness of head they beat ours ; and many are as free from long and rough hair on their legs, as carriage-horses — indeed, more so than, I suspect, were carriage-horses four-score years since : this could, without doubt, have been remedied by attention in breeding. There is one great feature in breeding cart-horses, and a very important one — they are a class of animal that must be had, they are not an article of luxury or fashion, the demand for which is influenced by prevailing habit or taste ; we must have carts and waggons, so honest Gee- Who will always be wanted to draw them. Such horses are a kind it is quite safe to recommend the farmer to breed. Of a still superior kind of horse we will speak in his place ; but, en passant, we will men- tion a kind many farmers do breed, I firmly believe from no other reason than one that influences such persons in many of their doings to their own loss, namely, "Father did so." Whether such practice was advantageous or not, does not seem to " enter into" their ''philosophy:" they suppose it was right, because it was done. HOW TO HAKE MONEY BY HORSES. ol We will suppose a farmer has a fairish sort of non- descript mare, that he rides and drives in his taxed- cart — is, in short, ridden and driven at times by all sorts of persons, male and female, that are about the farm. One might suppose that her master enter- tained the idea that being a mare, it was by nature intended that she should breed. That the female was and is by Nature so intended, admits of no doubt ; but qucere, had Nature been left alone would she ever have produced such an animal as the mare the farmer rides ? Nature usually keeps animals to their kind, from the Arab to the Scotch shelty. Thus a good sort of their kind is kept up : it is man who, by all sorts of crosses and a heterogeneous mixture of breeds, produces an animal of no distinct breed at all, most probably such a one, or perhaps the precise one, the farmer rides ; and he, in selecting a sire somewhat similarly bred, perpetuates this breed of nondescripts ad infinitum — animals *' of no mark or likelihood." We will suppose the farmer keeps the infoal mare, and herself and foal, as soon as weaned, moderately 32 HINTS TO nOP.SEMEN ; OR, well ; the question might naturally be put to him. Qui bono, no powers on earth can make the progeny into a fine or valuable animal ; he will become, perhaps what the dam was in her best days, worth £30. jS"ow if the mare can have been kept for, say five months before foaling, and the colt for three years after- w^ards, for £30, including the service of the horse, breaking the colt, and time bestowed on the care of both, certainly the farmer is no bad manager. I only put down three years' keep of the colt, because if the farmer rides him, or in any other way uses him, he will say that he earns his living; but farmers must consider mares will not invariably produce a foal every year ; and suppose they do, colts sometimes die, and if not, meet with accidents that render their value all but nominal. JSTow suppose such casualties only happen to one colt in six, and we take £30 as the average value of the other colts, this loss gives £5 to be added to the expense of each that are more fortunate. The farmer may, and would probably, hope that by some chance one of his colts may turn out a fine now TO MAKE MOIS^EY EY HOESES. 33 horse : let him not so deceive himself ; it is quite true that a thorough-bred mare, though put to good sires, may never have produced a colt that, as a race- horse, was fit to run for a man's hat ; yet we will say her seventh or eighth foal turned out a Flying Dutchman. Such things have often happened ; but I never did know or hear of a common kind of Diare, put to as common kind of horse, producing anything much better than themselves. It will thus be seen there can be no profit in breeding a direct sort of very middling animal, under any circumstances ; and the slightest ill luck must entail inevitable loss. Such farmers as I allude to, seem to forget that a little additional hay and oats, a little more expendi- ture in the first cost of the mare, five sovereigns for a sire quite good enough to get hunters or fine harness horses, instead of one sovereign to some wretch of a sire who will beget stock good for nothing, and a little additional care and attention, will just make the difference of possessing an animal at four years old worth from seventy to a hundred, instead of D 34 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OK, one whose value at the same age will range from twenty-five to forty pounds. A farmer may say his land is not such as to suit a fine breed of horses ; this very probably may be the case : I should then say if it is too rank and succu- lent for high-bred, hunting-like colts, then breed cart-horses or oxen ; if too poor for them, breed sheep of a hardy kind, but on no land breed inferior common horses. If such would live and thrive on provender in quantity and quality on a par with their own scantiness of merit, they might, and probably would, pay ; but it will be found they will not. They will about require just so much as they never will pay for. It is quite true that an ordinary class of horse is, in true trading phrase, " an article in general de- mand ;" and it may be inferred, that very high-class horses are not. There is, however, error in this : I quite admit that it would be the case if all men lived in Sunderland or North Shields, where a beast for use is the only desideratum, and the onlj^ article in the horse vray understood or required. So aLon- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 35 don carriage of Hoiilditch or Adams' make, might loug want for a purchaser in Birmingham ; but Heaven, in its mercy, does not doom Horsemen to come in contact with the inhabitants of such places only. It will be found that this ''article in general demand," is Avrongly so styled; he is only in general demand in certain places; for there are others where the mnjorit}' of the inhabitants would not look at him ; so here he would be only an article in particular demand ; by no means particularly in demand, but merely in demand among particular persons. Perhaps, and most probably, there are enough of such to meet the supply ; but suppose the demand even overbalanced the supply, unless an in- creased price could be obtained, what would be the use of finding plenty of purchasers for anything by which no profit is to be made ? In fact, the '' doing a great stroke of business," (I admire technical terms,) would be anything but a stroke of policy. I know my advice to be good, when I say breed a better sort, or do not breed at all — that is, if profit be the object. I) 2 36 HINTS TO hoesemen; ok, We will now turn to the better sort I have men- tioned, and will suppose a farmer to have capital, a situation and soil suited to the breeding of a first- rate class of horse. To do this, of course, he ought to possess good judgment, and spirit to do what he does do well. He has no need of ornamental pad- docks or gothic hovels, both appropriate enough to the domain of a nobleman, or man of fortune ; but let his paddock be of a proper size ; dry, and sheltered from the north and east winds as much as possible. Let his hovels be conveniently roomy, air- tight and water-tight ; the rack and manger at such height that the foal can conveniently reach them when he begins to use them ; convenience for, and ready means for, a plentiful supply of water. Let him take especial care that no angular or sharp edges present themselves to the dam or colt in the entering or coming out of these hovels, which they will often- times do very hastily, influenced either by alarm, or in play. Such are the only things wanting in a habitation for the finest breeding stock our country, or any country, could produce. Let us now look for HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 37 inliabitants for our breeding accommodations, the number, of course, varying with the views and means of the breeder ; but with one mare or a dozen, the system must be the same. "With what I have pointed out as necessary, we have conveniences for breeding even race-horses; but unless the farmer is ak'eady something of a racing man, we should recommend, for many reasons, his confining his views to the breeding of fine hunting-like colts. Such stock he will find, unlike breeders we have mentioned before, are *' articles in general demand," or rather, what is far better, in exclusive demand, in such numbers that he need entertain no fears of the market being overstocked. It never has yet, for really fine horses ; and now, as we are happily on strictly amicable terms with our continental neighbours the French, I think we may fairly infer the demand will increase in lieu of diminishing : for though, in our fathers' and grand- fathers' time, France could boast of but a somewhat Borry display of horses, it is not so now ; they have, from large importations, got accustomed to see and 38 HINTS TO HORSEilEN ; OR, admire fine horses, and however mediocre judges were their ancestors of such animals, most supe- rior judges of horses are now common, among the French. '^0 small encouragement this to English breeders. The time may probably come when France will breed superior horses enough for its own supply ; and if they go on as they now are going, it is equally probable that French- bred horses will be sought for with as much avidity as for many years the French have shown in purchasing ours. But that time has not as yet arrived, and in the in- terim let the English breeder avail himself of the present demand ; and that such demand exists to an almost unlimited number, every one visiting such fairs as Howden, and others of equal celebrity, may readily convince himself. Nor must it be supposed that all the horses bred in breeding localities are necessarily taken to such fairs : many known breeders have their regular yearly customers in our leading dealers, who at once purchase such young- ones as the breeder has by him. Thus such horses sovr TO :\rAKE money by hokses. 39 as young ones never enter a fair. Nothing can more prove the anxiety of dealers to purchase, than the early visits they pay to the stables engaged for horses on sale, for the tyro must not imagine that horses x>f the first class stand strung to ropes in the common fairs. That horses of considerable value and pretensions are thus exhibited, we know; but not such horses as Messrs. Anderson, Elmore, and other first-rate dealers search for as their elite. Horses that, in technical term, '' stand the fair," are chiefly purchased as harness horses and hacks; butstill such are of no ordinary class : the costermonger does not go to Howden — at least, not to purchase or sell horses. There are fairs for all classes of horses as for all classes of visitants; they may be described as the London scamp facetiously designated his universal- knowledge-of-London men, namely, "From the roses, pinks, and tulips of one end, to the bunches of turnups, strings of ingens, tag, rag, and bobtail of the other." At the great fairs, our great dealers show considerable courtesy to each other : if one 40 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, Avas seen endeavouring to buy a horse or horses of the owner, no man, vfho knew himself, would inter- fere imtil the other had purchased or declined. This courtesy does not, however, go so far as to prevent one dealer being earlier '' in the field," id est, the stables, than the other, and an early hour sees them hastening to get the first peep ; and with such men, in their purchases five hundred pounds very soon change hands; much sooner than would twenty where a man who only occasionally buys for his use, is considering the pros and cons as re- gards his purchase : the latter would haggle for a pound difi'erence in the nag, the other would not be deterred from buying a horse he liked, though the twenty pounds (the value of the other horse) were at issue. So let no man proposing to breed hesi- tate in doing so, from any fear of his stock not finding purchasers. "We will suppose the farmer, or any man, does not hesitate, and has his conveniences all made ready : his next step is to get mares ; these must be of a good kind and good breed, as a matter of course. HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. - 41 *' Fine, large, roomy mares," is a favourite descrip- tion with many persons, as regards a good sort of brood mare. " Fine," if by that is meant a good sort, such most unquestionably she should be, and sound, that is, free from any constitutional unsoundness ; she also should have naturall)^ good legs and feet, and no natural deformity or unsightliness about her, for such is quite likely to be hereditary. If " large and roomy," perhaps the better; but I do not consider this to be by any means a sine qua 7ion ; for we see in our own sex mothers of less than usual size produce as fine offspring as the larger ones ; and I know in the breeding racing stock, where blood is of far more importance than size, very diminutive mares often produce foals that grow into large horses. "Whether at their birth they may be of the same size as the produce of larger mares, I am not prepared to say ; but am quite convinced that whether the mo- ther be fifteen hands or sixteen, will usually make little or no difference in the future size of the colt, though in the mother the four inches makes the distinction between a small or large mare. I should, 42 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, I allow, be tempted to attach more value to the being " roomy*' in a mare intended to breed hunters, than the one destined to breed for racing purposes, and for the following reason : to be figuratively speaking, ^' roomy," the mare has usually very deep and curved back ribs, a desideratum, no doubt, in horses for all ordinary purposes ; aftd if progeny ex- hibit a tendency to the shape of the parent in one particular, they are likely to do so in another. Thus, I consider it is an expectation that the foal will exhibit the make of the mother after its birth, is of far more consequence than the room before it. '' Where there is heart-room there is house-room," hospitably says the Irishman, in the warmth of his ever kind heart and feeling ; so I say let the unborn foal be a good-shaped one, I will be bound that somehow he will find room enough to become as large as he need be when foaled, for the development of size and even muscle in the foal in the first four or five days, is often (if a healthy one) truly astonishing. It may be said that mares really of a good sort are somewhat difficult to meet with. I will go HOW TO MAKE MO^'ET BY HORSES. 43 further, and admit tliem to be very difficult of attain- ment, and for this reason : so long as from a common age they are fit for use, they are usually used ; and when too old to use, I should say are too old, in a general way, to promise fine stock ; but there are circumstances constantly arising to such mares, as bring them within the prudent scope of the breeding purchaser's price. First, direct accidents, arising from blows, cuts, falls, &c. ; then come the accidents, or rather, the eff'ects of over- exertion, or the natural failing brought on by exertion of long continuance. Such results must, sooner or later, arise from such causes, however naturally sound a horse may be; and with the exception of race-horses, no animal is more exposed to such catastrophe than the hunter. "When such do occur, and the breeder contemplates purchasing a mare so afflicted, as on her greatly de- pend his hopes of sound progeny, it is not enough merely to know the mare has " broken down," thrown out a hopeless spavin, or has become lame in her feet ; let him carefully examine that the break- down has not arisen from badly-formed or 44 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OE, ill-placed legs ; that the spavin is not the to-be-ex- pected result of ill-formed hocks, and that the feet have not been naturally of a texture to bode con- traction, sand-crack, or fever. A blind mare, or a broken-winded one, I certainly would not buy to breed from ; not from thinking that because a mare had gone blind, that it fully indicates her stock would do the same ; but I would reject her because (unless, indeed, a flash of lightning had produced it) no one can tell how far a predisposition to weak or inflam- matory eyes may have existed ; but, further still, I should hold the objection, that many, indeed most persons, would decline purchasing the produce of a blind dam. I should say nearly the same of a broken- winded one ; for the idea of some ignorant persons, who I have heard aver it as a truth, " that he or she went broken-winded from having a bucket of cold water given while in a state of perspiration," or, as they would more probably term it, " while hot,*' is sheer nonsense — the animal would far more likely be griped hj it. That such injudicious treatment might produce disease that eventually ended in HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 45 broken wind, is not impossible or improbable — but this would be a work of time ; whereas I have heard it roundly asserted that from such cause the animal went broken- winded the next day, or was found to be so. I should say, it was far more likely the horse had been long defective in his wind, but that it had escaped observation, as it did not prevent him work- ing; then, indeed, the bucket of cold water might produce such accelerated motion in the abdominal muscles, that the long-hidden complaint became un- mistakeably apparent ; hence the idea, that a horse could become broken-winded in a day or night. There are controversial — perhaps, I may say, an- tagonistic — opinions as regards the foal inheriting the symmetry of either parent. I should unhesi- tatingly say, I consider the distinctive symmetry is stamped by the sire. I go upon these premises : it is perfectly well known, that in breeding dogs, if a bitch has produced whelps bearing the stamp of a particular dog, though you change the sire, she will often produce whelps the counterpart of the first dog; this shows the sort originated with the first 46 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, sire ; and that idea, or some incomprehensive influ- ence, causes his original stamp to influence the pro- duction of after-litters ; but I never heard of an in- stance where, if the same dog begot -whelps from another bitch, that they exhibited any likeness to the former bitch, but that the likeness observable will still be that of the dog, unless the second bitch had, like the first, some strong tendency to produce whelps like some remembered sire : thus further and more stronglj^ proving it is some sire that stamps his likeness on the progeny, though perliaps not the actual father of them. This must not, however, lead the breeder into the truly fatal error of supposing it is a matter of little consequence what the mare may be, if put to an eligible sire ; for let him recollect, that though the mare may not produce a foal bearing any similitude to herself, she most certainly will produce one bear- ing incontestable proof of the family of the mother, be the sire whom he may. Put West Australian, Weathergage, or the Flying Dutchman to twenty quite common mares : no Flying Dutchmen or West HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 47 Australians will you have — each and every foal will bear testimony to the vulgar origin of the mother ; all you would get would be common-place colts, in some particulars improved by the sire ; in others, all you would get at best would be an amended breed of common-class horse, or a miserably deteriorated kind of blood, or rather half-blood horse, a kind of mon- grel, less useful than the mother for common pur- poses, with no pretensions to higher ones. It would be possible to make a gentleman of the son of a coal- porter and a washerwoman, if taken from his parents before he could talk or understand, though it would not perhaps often succeed ; but nothing can make a race-horse or j&rst-class hunter of the produce of a mare with cart-blood in her veins. Education, as we all know, will do wonders for man, be his family what it may ; education and prac- tice will also do much for horses ; but for purposes for which high caste is necessary, the want of it in the progeny is irremediable. In breeding for racing purposes, a mare of favourite and running blood will always command a strong 48 nixTS TO horsemen; or, price, though she may be, from accident, perfectly useless for any other than breeding purposes : but it is not so with the three-parts bred one ; any incura- ble lameness that stops her quick work, brings her at once from two hundred to twenty or less, unless her owner is a breeder ; it must therefore be either the most direct folly or the most wretched parsimony that would induce any man to breed from an unlikely or coarse-bred dam. Had I such a mare, and could be persuaded into the very bad judgment of breeding from her, I would far rather put her to a good sort of half-bred country stallion than I would to Wild Dayrel, could I even get the service of such a horse for nothing. In the first case I should probably get a useful and probably fine animal for certain pur- poses, though I should anticipate little profit from him in the latter ; for I should have an incongruous admixture of the most common with the best blood, an incongruity that would show itself in shape and make, and probably in utility. There can be no doubt but that this might be remedied by breeding on, and eventually a very superior cocktail racer HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 49 might show himself. But who would be weak enough to suffer in pocket (and if a bad judge, in hopes) by the first and second generation, when he can find mares that from such generations have be- come themselves three-parts, or seven-eighths, bred ? Let the breeder avail himself of the simplicity of him who originally bred from such stock, and wisely buy a descendant of five or six generations from the original dam. He, figuratively speaking, at once steps on the top round of the ladder, that has cost others much in its construction. There is in all things a vast difference between doing what we undertake with a prudent eye to economy, and doing the same thing with direct parsimony: it is often virtually economical to ex- pend a considerable sum, and it is in its way prodi- gal to expend a very small amount, if that sura does not produce an equivalent return. ^Tiere judgment shows itself conspicuous, is in not hesitating in the disbursement of money where a liberal return is to be anticipated, and not, on the other hand, to be led away by the frequent error of supposing that if ap- 50 HINTS TO HOKSEMKN ; OE, propriating £5 to a certain purpose will produce a return of fifty per cent., that reluctantly doling of £2 105. will produce a corresponding return in ac- cordance with the minor sum appropriated. It is quite possible that in many things the £5 would produce a return of ten, when the £2 lOs. would produce only such return as would be eventually loss. Such will be about the case, as regards breed- ing in all its particulars. Now comes the judgment to be shown in the selection of a sire. If the mare is sufficiently well bred to give fair promise of breeding hunters, put her to a through -bred horse by all means ; in doing so, it would be mere waste of money to select a horse who from his own performances on the turf, or that of any one of his get, will command a high price for his services, for, in the first place, there are many, such horses that would be among the last I should select to breed hunters. If a horse has run honestly, gamely, and with good temper, and kept himself sound, barring accidents, or un- fair taxations of his animal powers, though he has HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY ffOESES. 51 shewn himself a very middling race-horse or even (as regards speed) a bad one, he may be quite likely to prove a most valuable sire to get hunters — far more so than many a flyer worth his couple of thousand as a race-horse. Health, temper, stoutness, and natural soundness, are the first and greatest recommendations in a sire to produce hunters ; speed is of little moment, for it is comparative; and a horse slow as a coach across the Flat, would be fast enough, provided he be good enough, to lead in crossing even Leicestershire. Good looks in a sire are of great importance, where profit is the breeder's chief object ; and should the sire be an untried one, though beauty may not be sure to beget beauty, still the chance of such result must not be neglected. No doubt if a sire has shewn that he begets handsome stock, it does not matter much what his own looks may be ; but even in such case a very handsome sire, that begot stock as good-looking as the other, would be vastly to be preferred if attainable by no more, or little more, expense or trouble ; for should the mare, from E 2 52 HINTS TO HORSEilEX; OR, some feeling or circumstance, produce a foal the counterpart of the sire, that sire being handsome would add greatly to the value of the produce. I am quite aware that many stallions, not hand- some in themselves, have been sires of stock that, as hunters, have produced general high prices, when brought out for sale. Blacklock was one of these, and *'a Blacklock head" was a term patent at the time among the purchasers of young horses ; but it must be borne in mind that it was only after his stock had proved themselves, as stout and good as they were, that such prices were obtained : probably his first few progeny were sold as harness horses, where a coarse head is not so objectionable as in a riding horse. But the success of one or a few sires with objections about them as regards appearance, says little in a general way in favour of such horses ; for be it remembered, that had they or their progeny been free from the family imperfections, both would have been worth more money. Dealers buy by appearances, in purchasing young horses, and they show judgment in so doing ; for they ar-e aware that HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 53 tlieir customers are quite as much, indeed more, influenced by appearance than the dealer would probably be, if purchasing for his own use. They say " a saint in silk is twice a saint in lawn :" this may be the case ; but we do not purchase horses for their sanctity ; and on them a silky coat and beauty covers perhaps many faults less objectionable than want of good looks. We know that prodigies in horses bear as high a value as prodigies in any other living thing ; but we no more ensure the possession of such from a plain than from a comely sire; so I would most certainly endeavour to get looks at any rate, for they are always a marketable commodity. I am quite aware that the saving of twenty pounds in the price of a dam, and perhaps two in the price of a sire, may be an object in breeding low-priced horses; but it is absolutely nothing in breeding stock that we expect to fetch a hundred, often much more, at four years old. There are many men who buy yearlings, in order to be sure that they will be treated, as they 54 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, consider, in the most proper way. Some masters pi hounds do this, and for a handsome yearling will give a price corresponding with his looks; but show them a plain one, I think their observation will be likely to be something to this effect : " Yes, I have no objection to buy him — he will carry the servants;" but this destination of the colt, it will be found, will make the difference of more than half between his price and that of the one bought in anticipation of his carrying the master. Both colts may have equal promise of making hunters, but looks make all the difference in price : it is true, the somewhat plain colt may grow into a very fine and handsome horse; but it will be found difficult to persuade persons that he will do so, and the buyer will not run the risk of his doing so, though he will run that of his handsome yearling disappointing his expectation on reaching maturity. It is not necessary in these pages to offer any directions or advice on the treatment of mares in foal, further than I have done touching the necessary convenience for their comfort, safety, and well doing. HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOKSES. 55 I shall say but little on their treatment as regards provender; this should be, as in the case of all valuable horses, good, sweet, and nutritious of its kind, and in such quantity, and no more, as to keep the mare in the highest state of health and vigour ; for a debilitated constitution must in the generality of cases produce a weakened progeny ; while, on the other hand, absolute fat is injurious to sire and dam. Sires are mostly kept far too fat, in some cases from the very erroneous idea ^that it manifests a superior and thriving constitution ; an inference by no means to be relied on, for fat may, and often does, exist where the constitution is positively in a state of debility. Good firm condition, with full muscle, bodes high health, and consequent vigour ; but fat lessens vigour perhaps quite as much as being some- what under the mark as regards condition ; in truth, fat is absolutely dangerous both to sire and dam. Sires in such overfed state are subject to apoplexy and various inflammatory ailments, and mares suffer from it at the time of foaling. It must strike, I should think, any one, that an accumulation of 56 HINTS TO nOESEMEN ; OR, inside fat must be inconvenient to the breeding female of any animal kind. I once saw two ex- tremes in the state of brood mares, not a hundred miles from Newmarket : those of one person were like fat prize cattle, those belonging to the other looked as if they had carried Don Quixote ; starveling foals could but be expected from the latter, and as such they shewed. I suppose the same penurious treatment was persevered in with the yearlings, who looked gaunt as hungry wolves ; while, on the other hand, the produce I saw of the fat mares, though pretty, playful, and healthy, were certainly small; whether they afterwards grew into full-sized colts, I had not the opportunity of ascertaining. Foals and colts should be liberally fed, but fed on the same principle as their dams — that is, be supplied with food of such quality, and in such quantity, as to render them cheerful, playful, and in the highest state of constitutional vigour, but not in such abundance as to produce habitual craving and gross appetites — still less, so as to give them HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 57 heavy and large carcases, or to produce an unnatural tendency to throw up fat, results to be more dreaded in the racing colt than in the one destined to other purposes. An habitual tendency to throw up flesh to such a degree as involves the necessity of unusually severe exercise, and sweats, over and above a fair share of work, occasions calls upon the animal system that must produce premature decay somewhere. Of all things, keep me from such a race-horse, though I should cherish such a breed of bullocks. A gross appetite in man or quadruped is as much the result of habit, as is any other undesirable propensity ; and nothing produces it so much as too rank and luxu- riant pasturage, or green food, given in improper quantities. The commonly-received opinion, that green food is naturally the food of the horse, should be enter- tained with considerable reserve : that growing, but not artificial, herbage is so, I admit to its fullest extent ; but be it remembered, that in the countries to which the finest breeds of horses are indigenous, the pasturage, at all times scant, is in summer, 58 HINTS TO HOKSEMEN ; OK, while growing, dried up so as to become virtually naturally-made hay ; and in winter there is so little of it that the Arab or Persian horse never in his life had the meal of one turned into a luxuriant Lincoln- shire pasture ; light feeding and plenty of exercise, is natural to the horse of high caste. How and by what means such animals as our London cart-horses have been produced, is, I believe, unknown ; for that warm climates were the original countries of the horse, is not doubted, and in such the dray-horse is, or at least was, unknown. "We have here in England made two important changes in the breed of our horses. It was found that such horses as were used some hundreds of years back, were too heavy for the change that took place in the uses to which we applied them, so we got Persians and Arabs to lighten the breed : this brought out the strong hunter and the stronger coach-horse then in use. In progress of time these were found too slow for their destined purposes. "We again had recourse to the thorough-bred sire, which has produced the very high-bred horse now in use ; HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 59 SO the bare idea of nurturing him on the same I^asturage as the ox is preposterous, and, indeed, so is talking of what was natural as regards an animal in an artificial state more than useless ; but to set the matter, as regards pasturage, quite at rest, I trust I have shewn that our forced luxuriant green food was not the original or natural support of the horse. "We will now take into consideration the probable expense of bringing the colt to maturity. Supposing the dam to have been purchased, the first charge against the expected produce is the price charged for the service of the sire. We will select a celebrated one as a sire for colts not to be thorough-bred : I should therefore set this expense, with groom's fee, and perhaps a man's time in taking the mare to the stallion, at £5. If the mare has been a valuable one, and only to be purchased because she was no longer useable, we cannot calculate on any service from her ; for if unfit for riding or driving purposes, a dam intended to produce valuable stock must in no way be made a drudge : if so, we must debit the 60 HINTS TO HOESEJIEN ; OR, colt with the keep of its dam for close on twelve- months. iN'ot to enter into unnecessary close calcu- lation, but to take usual expenses on the broad scale, we will place her subsequent keep to the charge against her subsequent produce. The colt for the first few months, if the dam is healthy, will be but very little expense ; but so soon as he can eat bruised oats, if at all weakly, some malt mashes, and particularly soft sweet hay, we must charge his keep against him : this, for the first twelvemonths, will not exceed say £5 ; but so soon as he depends on man for support we must charge him. From twelve months old to two years, I think it would be about fair to place his keep at about seven shillings a week ; from two years to three, he will require some- thing more, so we set this down at about eight ; and from three to four he will require as much as any ordinary horse not in absolute work. Then comes his breaking : if the breeder is a Horseman, he may do this himself ; but before he undertakes such task, let him be certain that he is not only a Horseman, that is rider, but a very superior one, possessing the HOW TO ilAEE MONET BY HORSES. 61 finest hands and finest seat ; and, as quite in- dispensable qualifications, he must own nerve and resolution, accompanied by great patience, and good temper. Unless thus qualified, it will be quite to his interest to seek some one who is ; for the saving of say £3, is a mere trifle, when put in com- parison with spoiling the temper of a valuable colt. We will now see what (somewhere about) our colt will stand us in : £ s. d. Expenses of sire ... 500 Keep of dam 11 months 16 10 Colt first 12 months . . 5 From 12 months to 2 years 18 2 years to 3, say ... 21 3 to 4 years, 10s. a week 25 Breaking . . . Shoeing, say . . ..30 ..40 97 10 Many persons will, I have no doubt, consider that I have made a large account as regards the cost of rearing a colt to four years old. I grant I have sup- 62 "" HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OB, posed him to be liberally treated ; some, doubtless, will think I have stated what to them may appear unnecessary profusion. This, however, I must say : in speaking of the advantages and disadvantages of breeding, in comparison with tliose of purchasing, I have ever said that no man will put a fine young horse that he has bred himself into his hunting stable much under a hundred, and that before he can be called a hunter and be fit to take the place of one, he will cost considerably more, for we must not call a four years' old a hunter. Though in the hunting stable, he must only be there to be shown hounds, and ridden for his tuition, not for the master's grati- fication in a chase. It is true, our Irish neighbours do regularly hunt four years' old horses. Whether we are to account for their young horses becoming this in the way Pat will sometimes account for their large families, by saying, " Troth ! it's the prates does it," I know not, but such is the case ; notwithstand- ing which, I feel quite convinced few of our young English-bred four years' old could be thus early put to hard work with impunity. HOW TO MAKE iTONEY BY HOESES. 63 There is one drawback in the colt's favour, as re- gards the sum I have, on rough calculation, set down as his cost : this is, I have calculated provender at the usual price at which it is bought ; but as the breeder would probably grow it himself, it is but fair to reckon it at the cost price to him ; but, on the other hand, he could sell it at a profit : if the colt eats it, he virtually eats that profit, so, after all, I was not far wrong in charging what I have to the colt's account. I suppose young four years' old treated as I have mentioned, to become really fine young horses, and that they will fetch from eighty to a hundred and thirty pounds, the outlay on them has only been about ninety-five pounds, or thereabouts. Now, all this outlay has not been dormant for four years, but only the smallest portion of the sum ; for instance, the twenty-five pounds for the last year only loses one year's interest of money ; so, calculating that ninety-five pounds has lost two years' interest, if the colt produces thirty pounds' profit, this is pretty good interest for money, somewhere about sixteen 64 HINTS TO housemen; or, per cent. ; but, on the other hand, we must not cal- culate as a certainty that the mare will produce ten foals in ten years — she will not do badly if she gives us eight ; so we have two years' keep of her to charge against the profit of the eight colts sold ; but, worse than this, an accident may happen to one out of the eight, which would much reduce the profit on the remainder. Notwithstanding, however, these drawbacks, money is to be made by breeding ; but I would wish to guard ever}^ one contemplatiug be- coming a breeder, against the error of supposing the profit on the aggregate to be much more than on a par with that of other agricultural produce. I be- lieve it will be merely found a fair compensation for time, attention, judgment, and money ; and I con- sider the chief recommendation to the breeding any particular animal, will be found in the judgment and inclination of the breeder to turn his attention to that particular animal. If he bears this in mind, k«eps in view the casualties attendant on breeding, and is not misled by deceptive impressions that he must, with little trouble, expense, or judgment, make HOW TO MAKE MO^-EY BY HORSES. 65 sure profit by it, he will find the reasonable hope that with the necessary care, attention, judgment, and comparative outlay required by other specula- tions, he will not be disappointed in his views in breeding horses for hunting or other purposes to which first-class half-bred ones are applied. The breeder of racing-stock goes on a different principle to the one we have had last in considera- tion. The first has no occasion to wait four years for a return of his money or profit on his care and judgment; for his produce, if good, are money at a very early period. There are two distinct principles on which I consider he should go ; he should, how- ever, confine himself to one of these, whichever his taste or convenience may induce him to select. The one is to breed for sale, the other for his own racing purposes ; but I consider he cannot amal- gamate the two, without disadvantage to himself. If he breeds for sale, I consider selling his young ones as yearlings to be the surest and safest plan he can adopt. If they are of running blood on both sides, they are sure to bring long prices ; and a dam F 66 HINTS TO hoesemen; or, that has produced one or two runners, is a corapa- rative fortune ; her after-produce will sell at (figura- tively speaking) any price he may in any reason choose to ask for them. But to do this, I should decidedly recommend him never to start a horse, unless he may choose to amuse himself by doing so for a hunter's plate or stakes ; for so sure as he starts one of his thorough-bred ones, it will naturally be nferred that he has tried them all, and only sells those offering no promise of becoming first-rate as race-horses. Nor can he expect, or, indeed, would he have any right to expect, that those who they would hold as his rejected ones, would bring high prices ; whereas, if it were publicly known that he hond fide never tried any colt he bred as a race-horse, the strain alone will sell them, and purchasers will be quite content to run the risk of what they may turn out. The price that a promising yearling of known running family will fetch, is often quite astounding to non-racing persons; it is not guineas, tens, or scores of guineas that are to be regarded, but hun- dreds ; in fact, where there is a fair chance of get- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 6? ting a Flying Dutchman, a Yoltigeur, Wild Dayrel, or horses of such pretensions, or rather celebrity, price becomes a secondary consideration. If we had a Duke of York, or George the Fourth as reigning monarchs, they certainly would give a stimulus and eclat to racing, but it would be fatal to the sales of the Hampton Court stud; both were far too good judges of racing and race-horses to often give away such a chance as Weathergage proved : it is good blood, and the known fact that the royal owner of these young ones never permits them to be tried, that occasions their bringing the price they do. I trust that my advice to a breeder not to be a racing man himself, is, in a general way, correct, Notwithstanding this, I in no way mean to say but that a man may keep race-horses, breed, and run them, and at the same time profit by his breeding ; but then he must, in a great measure, go on the same plan I have been told haii'-dressers, or rather common barbers, do by their razors : if they want two or three for use, they purchase a score or two ; out of these there are sure to be as many as they want that f2 68 HINTS TO HO lis EM EN ; OR, on trial are found to be very superior ; these tliey keep, and dispose of the rest at cost price, or less ; so may the breeder of race-horses, but then he must also sell his casts-off at or under what they have cost him. But supposing he does so, if he gets one out of twenty that proves worth a couple of thousand, even on this plan he may make money, if his judg- ment of the merits, or promising merits, of racing colts be good. There [can be no doubt but that a colt for racing purposes will cost more in outlay than any other colt must do ; but persons disposed to purchase racing- stock are aware of this, and will take it into consi- deration in the price they offer for them, unless they are seen to be such as blood-stock but too often shows itself, in which case they are more worthless than any class of horses I know of — in short, are worth literally nothing : such, however, except in a very few instances, is not likely to be the case, if dam and sire are well chosen. \yhen I speak of a man exhibiting judgment as to the promise of racing-colts, I in no way mean that HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES, 69 he is to be guided by their looks : of course, beauty- has nothing on earth to do with running ; symmetry often has, but is by no means to be, depended on. Action may, and should greatlj', nay, chiefly, guide us as to the probable qualifications of horses, either for useful purposes, or for purposes where show is the chief requisite ; but no living man can prognosticate what may or will be the powers and attributes of the race-horse by his action ; for, except in stoutness, it is only at the last extreme of effort and extension that those powers come into plaj^ We may, in a general way, form a tolerable guess whether a colt is likely to run on, or be merely a flyer for a mile ; but even in this I should be extremely sorry to back my own judgment, or, what would be far better, that of others, where the chance is so very uncertain of either judging cor- rectly. 1^0 thing short of a trial, and that most judi- ciously carried out, can to anything like certainty prove the racing-colt's powers and pretensions ; and even when this is done in the most scientific wa}^, it can but tell us what the colt is at the time ; twelve, or even six months afterwards, he might tell us a 70 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, very different story on another trial ; and though a colt that shows little or no promise of running is scarcely ever worth keeping over, on the chance of his improving, such improvement does sometimes take place, to the astonishment of the most knowing and best judges. Mr. T. Parr is often called lucky or fortunate in his purchases of horses thought little of by others : he is lucky, I admit ; but I hold his luck to be in having a head that teaches him to combine circumstances, and judging by such circum- stances, to make purchases that do not, in his hands, often turn out blanks. Yery good judges, and very superior and experi- enced trainers, are sometimes led into error as regards ■a colt, by going on the same principle too frequently adopted towards children, namely, regulating the instruction and treatment of the child by its age, not by its capabilities : thus, a child of somewhat weak, or, at least, ordinary intellect, becomes confused and dismayed, and cannot exert such ability as it does possess to advantage. Correction or rebuke follows, which is felt to be unjust and unmerited, and the HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 71 victim turns sullen and revengeful, or sinks under the oppression. On the other hand, a child of ex- traordinary and precocious ability is frequently kept back, and its dawning talents clouded and damped, from want of proper stimulus and exercise. The child being ''but seven years old," says nothing; it is true, it must be incapable of grappling with the deep science that it is the province of man to attain, but it may be quite capable to appreciate and under- stand the usual studies of other, nay, the generality of children in years far its senior. It is often the same with racing-colts. No doubt but that, in a general way, the treatment of colts in accordance with their age may be a safe guide to the trainer, but it is by no means a sure one, for a very strong constitu- tion and a very weak one may more than counter- balance a year's difference in age. We might infer that this obvious fact must strike every one ; that it sometimes does not is, however, to be accounted for by oversights frequently exhibited by other persons ; for instance, painters constantly, I might say alwaj'-s, exhibit a mannerism in their pictures by which (if 72 HINTS TO HORSEilKN; OR, the artist is one of celebrit)^) their works are imme- diately known ; this mannerism, from habit, often grows into a style of painting, that sets adherence to iN'ature at defiance: the late Mr. Turner, splendid artist as he was, did this, and latterly to a degree that verged on absurdity. The case is, the painter looks at his work till he does not see the error he is committing ; but a fresher and chaster eye, merely comparing the picture with Nature, detects the ab- sence of truthful representation at once. So it is sometimes with trainers ; they train on and train on in the accustomed routine, and as they train on, find a colt " train offC^ the failing is laid to the colt's charge. The trainer, impressed with the conviction that the colt is a bad one, honestly, but sometimes erroneously, advises his employer to get rid of him. He is sold, perhaps, as Pat says, ''for less than no- thing." Like the fresh eye on the picture, an un- prejudiced person fancies he sees, or really does see, the error that has retarded the development of the colt's capabilities ; he buys him, and is rewarded by a Weathergage. We are not to infer from this HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 73 that the purchaser must be a better judge or better trainer than he who recommended the sale, but a fresh and happy thought strikes him that had not struck the other, and this accounts for the latent qualities of colts being sometimes never drawn out by owner or trainer. Let me, however, oppose those disposed to purchase under the idea that they can do what has not yet been done : that is a very dangerous game to play; and if such a trainer as Scott and many others condemn a colt, nineteen times in twenty they will be found right in so doing. Still, monej^ is to be made, even, by going on this system, provided the purchaser takes care that the colts, like the razors I have mentioned, cost him little on the average ; for then, if after making himself owner of the nineteen, the twentieth turns uj) a trump, the buyer pays himself, and his luck and judgment must be both bad indeed if he cannot find one turn in his favour to set against such odds. On the other side, we will not suppose a man to be so astray in his judgment as to purchase such sheer wretches as not to be worth for hacks or some such purpose (about) 74 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, the money he buj's them in at ; so, in a general way, what he loses by them will be the cost of their keep and the wages of those who attend on them, while being kept in the hopes of their improvement or their capabilities having been overlooked. Somewhat of a forlorn hope, I must admit, and one that, per- sonally, I should not volunteer the being engaged in ; it is, in fact, a species of gambling with living objects, where the odds are so much against the thrower, that I should never consider one coup, how- ever good it might be, would compensate for re- iterated disappointment: but there is no rule for others to go by. Having said thus much on the breeding blood- stock, the question may arise. Having bred them, is money to be made by running them ? Much as I would wish (as far as my humble advice would go) to encourage both to breed and use of horses — and con- vinced as I am that money is to be made by both pur- suits — running, in other terms, racing, those a man may breed or buy, are both cases in which I cannot offer him much encouragement. It says little that HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 75 many, nay, hundreds, have made, and do make, money by racing ; nor will we investigate whether those who do so are indebted to luck, or judgment, for their rare good fortune. It is possible a man might find, in gold-mine countries, a nugget the size of his head, but this makes small amends for thou- sands who have brought themselves from comparative ease to pauperism and death in such pursuit : why pursue such phantom speculation when so many ways are open to industry and common sense? So, in racing, why, if the wish is to make money (and money is to be made by horses in various ways), why attempt the most precarious, I may say all but hope- less, means of doing so ? A man maj'- say he likes racing. Well and good : if he runs his horses for amusement, I cannot see one single objection to be offered against his doing so, but much to be said in its favour. But we are not on this tack, but a widely different one — we are looking to the pounds, shil- lings, and pence ; and this, let me impress on the uninitiated, unless he has an income to bear the un- avoidable expense of keeping race-horses, he will, in 76 HINTS TO HbESEMEX; OR ninety-nine cases in a hundred, find the pounds and shillings disappear, and only leave him the pence to console himself with. If a man chooses to buy rejected racing-colts, un- less he really is quite indifferent to save loss, let him never buy weedy ones, under the fallacious idea that among such he is likely to chance on a flyer. He may, it is true, find the nugget ; so he might, and with quite as much probability, find a valuable diamond in a dust-cart ; but purchasing the contents of dust- carts on such hopes would be a somewhat wild spe- culation ; for, let him remember, his weedy ones that cannot fly can do nothing else, so they are worth about the load of dust that does not contain the dia- mond. If a man flatters himself that his luck is a staunch friend to him, and that he will get a race- horse among the rejected ones he purchases, let him buy at least a good sort, and not fancy that spindle legs and herring bodies are indications of extraordi- nary speed. That many horses, with such imperfec- tions, are fast, we all know, but their speed is shortly stopped by want of stamina and power ; and, indeed, HOW TO MAKE MONF.Y BY HOUSES. 77 their career, as race-horses, is usually shortly stopped also from the same cause. That very compact, closely-knit, '' tied up" horses are not usually very speedy ones, I must admit to be the case ; still they may be race-horses where dis- tance and high weights would bring the spindling flyers back to them ; so, if among a lot of such, he does not get any one pre-eminent as a race-horse, he gets a lot of useful animals ; and in buying them of good size, shape, make, and strength, he nearly places himself in the position of the man who breeds a good sort for hunting and other purposes, the dif- ference being that the stock of the one will be three- quarters that of the other thorough-bred ; and pro- bably the very causes that prevent the latter being race-horses, will make them first-rate hunters, and superior horses for other purposes ; for, though a very bad race-horse is usually a most useless animal, it is only when they are weedy that they are so, for, in that case, if they have not speed enough to race, they have not strength or stamina enough for other pur- poses. /8 HINTS TO horsemen; or, I have bought many horses that, as race -horses, their infatuated owners have kept on from two to four years old, in hopes of their training on. Such horses are more fatal to the unfortunate owner than even the worst weed that ever was foaled ; for the latter soon shews he is good for nothing, gets sold off, and there is an end of the expense about him. *' So much for Buckingham." But the other rogues are just good enough to delude their owner, and, in some instances, their trainer, and not good enough to realize the hopes of either. A young man who con- ducts himself with respectabilityj gives fair promise of satisfaction to himself, his family, and friends ; but a young race-horse who runs respectably, is the very d — 1. Some have the happy knack of running decently in most sorts of company, may shew in the front rank in some, but never run fii-st in any. The secret, if secret it can be called, is this — they are really good horses, but have no finishing powers as race- horses. If a horse went away from the post with a first- rate horse, and ran him saddle-girth to saddle-girth lor two miles, it would show he was a very superior HOW TO MAKE ilONEY BY HORSES. 79 animal ; but, cui bono, if in the last ten strides the other left him the moment he was called on, they are both honest, and superior animals ; but the one is a race-horse, the other is not, nor has the peculiar physical power, or rather attribute, ever to become one. Buy him, I say, buy him by all means ; he will be found to keep close company with, or even pass, if wanted to do so, " The flying Ladies," though many race-horses passed him. I have often, in slang phrase, '' waited on" such horses and their owners, feeling quite sure that time, if not persuasion, would tire out the owner, and that he would at last be convinced that racing was not in his horse's ''vocation ;" and, as our continental neigh- bours would say, '' savoir profiler d'wi heureux mo- menty^ has induced me to step in when the owner has determined to '* get rid of the beast," who I ushered into his stall as perhaps the pride and pick of my stable, or, at all events, as one likely to be- come so. I should not have been weak enough to have at- tempted this with men who kept hunters as well as 80 HINTS TO hoesf:31en; oe, race-horses ; for, as these had probably quite as much foresight and judgment as myself, and probably some of them a wee bit more, they would, with such a horse, do the same as myself — make a hunter of him ; but the direct mere racing man holds the horse that cannot race in such contempt and disgust, that, as he could not shew his nose in front, he is very glad to see him shew his tail on quitting his pre- mises ; he had far better have, as I recommend, sold him as an untried yearling. " Nothing venture, nothing have," is an old and true saying : we must venture in some way in any- thing we do in contemplation of making money ; the man who breeds or deals, ventures ; but these are fair ventures where only great defect in judgment, or ma- nagement, or extreme ill luck brings about loss ; but turning from their legitimate course, and taking to the race-course, involves a hazard quite beyond the usual chances of speculation. The merchant some- times makes a bold venture, that involves, perhaps, either independence for life or ruin ; he would be thought by the cooler man rash in so doing, still the HOW TO MAKE MOA'ET ET HOUSES. 81 chances are most probably greatly in his favour ; but the man who risks ruin against independence on the turf, does so with the odds highly against him. " Take any form but this," and he may console himself by saying, '* He does greatly who dares greatly ;" but, in racing, he will, in most cases, be forced to confess, that, in daring greatly, he has done fool- ishly. We will now look a little into dealing in horses as a means of making money — and a ver}^ money- making trade it is, taking it in a general way, in all its bearings — and is one in which a man may suit his dealing not only to his capital, but to his disposition and propensities : money is to be made by it, from the lowest and most rascally " coping" to the most honest, straightforward, and honourable conduct trade admits of — from the Smithfield for tj?-- shilling Garon to the first-class hunter or magnificent cab horse. From the respectable but coarse vulgarian, who, in his leatlier gaiters or pig-jobbing description of top-boots, stands behind his string at a country fair, to the exquisite, whos.e bow that welcomes us to 82 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, his premises, not far from Piccadillj', is perfection. The former, in showing his *' good brown horse" to his customer, wishes something not to be mentioned may happen to his eyes or limbs if he has had sich a orse in his possession ter year. The other ventures to assure his customer he will find the horse shewn him *' a most desirable animal ;" and his usual trans- actions lead us to the fair inference that he believes him to be so. Money is to be made by the scamp Avho is never to be found to any certainty in any place, and also by the man who is always to be found in his own place, that he never disgraces by a dis- graceful transaction. It is to be made by he who liides to evade the laws, that at most times shew in terrorem against him ; and it is to be made a hundred- fold by the one who is sometimes reluctantly com- pelled to seek those laws against those who we might naturally suppose would be incapable of acts that would render such resource necessary. Some persons, nay, many, consider the highest of dealers to be ever ready to deceive the customer ; such dealers could tell many a tale where the highest customers have not HOW TO MA.KE 3I0NET BY HOUSES. 83 only been ready to, but have most completely de- ceived the dealer. Though such things may not be even dreamt of " in our philosophy," there are, no doubt, many fea- tures in horse-dealing — doubtless there are in dealing in everything else ; but I consider two leading and distinct ones to be, on one hand, taking in every customer who is to be taken in, making the most of him at the time, and, of course, never expecting, and, sooth to say, in many cases fervently hoping, never to be seen by him again, being content with the " suffi- cient for the day is the evil thereof," consequently stretching the evil to its utmost extent for the time being J^o doubt, money is made on such system, so it is, for a time, hy Garotting ; but then a new field for depredation must be found, unless the per- petrator is (may the pun be pardoned !) suspended in his career — '' a consummation devoutly to be wished." The other system is widely different : it is adhering to such conduct as not only keeps up, but increases connection, and establishes character. Let a man do this, and respectability, esteem, and success may be G 2 84 HIJfTS TO HOESEMEIf; OE, reckoned as the certain result of his pursuit in mak- ing money by horses. He may make his prices exorbitant if he pleases, and can find persons to give such prices : he will not lose character by that ; for the purchaser may give it or not, as he thinks proper. All it may come to will probably be, that it may be said of him, as I once heard it said of a fashionable dealer, *' You can't open your mouth to — — , without it costing you a couple of hundreds." There are, however, as a matter of course, various classes of dealers between the scum of the trade and the aristocrat in his line. I will only particularise the direct medium between a dealer as far removed from the one as from the other ; he is represented by the ordinary country-fair dealer, described as wearing the pig-jobbing top-boots, and eulogising the "good brown horse." l^ow the designation of " good," does not mean in this case that he may be in nature better than many others standing on each side of him ; it is meant to convey the same idea as if the woollen-draper was to say *'Eeach me down that /w^ black cloth" — namely-, implying that the HO"W TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 85 cloth named was, in shop phrase, ''a superior artiele.'^ So he implies he considers the brown horse to be. So, perhaps, he comparatively would be ; that is, he was worth £40, while the remainder averaged £25 or thereabouts. Such dealers as these really make their money in a most re- spectable way ; they are well known, so it is not their interest, even supposing it to be their inclina- tion, to do anything calling for just reprehension : they are on a par and associate with the middling farmer, miller, and others of the same rank in society. Speaking generally, a man is perfectly safe in pur- chasing from them : if the very bad judgment of the purchaser induces him to fix on an animal ill-suited to his purposes, though, figuratively speaking, he will not '' put the saddle on the right horse," do not let us fall into similar error by blaming the dealer : it is the purchaser who should be blamed ; and if he is to be pitied, the pity can only be as regards his folly in buying without advice an object of which he is no judge. Going higher, there is the hunting dealer, of 86 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, which there are many recognised by different hunts. These men have their correspondents or agents in many places ; and if they find a horse is on sale, or likely to be so, from not carrying the owner to his satisfaction, they are good judges enough to shrewdly suspect the cause of this, which may arise from peculiarities in the horse, and sometimes in the man : so the horse that may be condemned by one owner, might be prized by another; and though thought little of in one country, might shine in one of a different description. Where all but racing speed is wanted, many horses cannot go up to hounds, or if they do, it is under severe distress, which will soon end in his not being able to go at all, if persevered with under such cir- cumstances. Change his country, and he shews himself a perfect and most valuable hunter, for that country ; and vice versa, the racing going horse, who does not, in technical phrase, get quickly on his legs, and may be a little impetuous at his fences, would lose time, and be absolutely unsafe, in a thickly-in- closed country. Send him where the inclosures are HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 87 large, and he can % his fences, he will call forth the admiration of the very foremost flight ; his wide and determined jumping would break a man's neck who attempted to cross some countries on him, while in others he 77iust jump wide, and with great determina- tion, to clear the fences he will meet with in such countries. There is a description of horse that is technically termed a sticky jumper : such horses are not in fast countries worth a curb chain ; they lose time at every fence they are ridden at, are always wanting to do it " one, two," instead of sailing over while the potterers are looking how they are to take them. There are horses, it is true, who will go "on and off," or touch and go, so quickly, that it is difficult to perceive they do this ; and after the pace begins to tell, it is a safe qualification the doing so ; in fact, they save themselves very much by it ; but, not to lose time, they must be quick as thought, then their being able to perform this cat-like feat is a recommen- dation. " 'Twere well, 'twere done quickly ;" but to still call our poet to our aid, there are some '' most 88 Hn7TS TO horsemen; oe, potent, grave, and reverend seniors," who safely enough carry you to the top of a bank, take a com- placent view of the surrounding country, and then condescend to bestir themselves, and land you in the next field, just in time to see " the Field " flying the fence that leads out of it. This is really a desirable quality in a shooting pony, so is quietly remaining gnawing a hedge, without being tied up, till you choose to come back to him ; but for a hunter, I should prefer one that required not only being ''held by the head," but held somewhat strongly. When horses, from natural or acquired habit, become anything bordering on what I have re- presented, whip, spur, hands, judgment, nerve, and determination may improve, but cannot cure them. As luggage trains stop at every station, so will these luggage horses (their only proper employ, by the by) ever stop, more or less, at every fence they come to. Unless it be found that two or three days' '' waking up " greatly improves them, it is useless and cruel to persevere in severity with them ; for probably it may be no fault in the animal. It is more than HOW TO HAKE MONET BY HORSES. 89 likely he has no natural spring in him — a defect no art can remedy ; so, in fact, the animal's instinct teaches him to adopt and continue the only mode of leaping that he can practise with safety to himself, and consequently to his rider. Yet such a horse, though quite useless with fox-hounds, would, no doubt, be highly valued with a pack of slow beagles. There are many horses that will go with racing stride, and at racing speed, across a level country, but cannot go up hill, and are unpleasant, and in- deed unsafe, to ride down them : such horses would make no figure in Surrey and other counties that do not require, in a general way, horses of high pre- tensions to be considered very superior hunters. "Who would volunteer to ride such a horse as Bay Middleton or Birmingham in the neighbourhood of Brighton? their extraordinary stride would send them headlong down those Sussex hills, while the same stride would distress in going up them. Yet I should by no means have objected to trying my hand at converting Birmingham into a hunter for a grass country ; the same power, elasticity, and 90 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, spring he could shew when called upon, I fancy would have sent him bounding from field to field : had he been a worse race-horse, he might not have been a worse hunter for it, and might then have been probably had at hunting price. Commend me to such a sort to put to hunting school. There are many men who quite pique themselves on possessing standing leapers ; and very useful such mode of leaping is in many places and in many situations ; but it is in cramp countries they are the most to be valued. It is well to teach all horses to do this handily, and with one I could point out particular situations where on such a horse a man might pound a whole field of Leicestershire flyers. But supposing this to be done at a peculiarly-situated fence, such a circumstance occurring once in a season would be poor recompense for riding the other days a horse that tediously dwells at every fence he comes to ; and in a general way, I have seldom found prac- tised standing leapers anything bordering on brilliant fencers as flying jumpers. If any one is set upon having a standing leaper, and does not know how to HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 91 readily make him one, I will tell him a mode that will, in a few days' practice, teach any horse to leap standing; I say "any horse," because it does not require any natural bounding or elasticity for him to become one : good strong gaskins, hocks, and loins, are the chief requisites in a horse for such purpose ; whereas, without great elasticity, he cannot be a pleasant, safe, or distinguished flying jumper. Take two good strong rails that will not readily break ; clothe them both with furze ; put up the one (say) two feet and a half high, the other two feet ; put them about seven feet 'apart ; ride or lead the horse over the first, this will bring him within two feet of the other. Touch him with the whip — he must either tumble over the second rail or raise himself on his haunches to get over it ; for, of course, he cannot trot, or even walk up to it, as he may, if he wishes, be permitted to do to the first rail. A very few times going over this, will teach him to do it handily and steadily. So soon as he is quite per- fect at this, gradually raise each bar till they become usual gate height ; the principle of standing jumping 92 HiXTS TO noiisE:vrEN; oe, once learned, he will take any reasonable height as easil}^ as the first two feet : it only requires an in- creased exertion of the hocks, quarters, and loins. Such practice is most beneficial to impatient horses, or such as are apt to rush at their fences ; for in this sort of pound between the rails, they must have patience, for they have not scope for impetuosity. The going '' well through dirt" (as it is techni- cally termed), or the reverse, is an attribute or power that varies wonderfully in different horses : there are many who have not this qualification, and con- sequently are at times, and over certain ground, often and easily beat, yet can fly over another country, even carrying heavier weight. Their style of going greatly produces this difference : horses that have their haunches well under them, and strike quickly in their gallop with something like round action, usually get well through dirt, very long- striding horses seldom can ; the latter want racing ground to go on, then they shine. A friend of mine has at this moment a horse as clever a hunter, and certainly as good and game an HOW TO MASE MONEY EY HOESES. 93 animal, as any man need wish to possess ; yet his master tells me he cannot get through dirt. Now I will mention a circumstance as regards this horse and owner, that may perhaps solve what may be a mystery to persons similarly circumstanced. I always told my friend his horse was under his weight : though in a run his thorough gameness brings him through, it may be that the horse has not the powers of getting through dirt ; but quare, might he not show very differently even in the same country if two stone were taken off his back? He now carries nearly twelve stone and a half: too much b}'' the two stone, I think, to do him justice, he ought to be eased of. He carries his master, and carries him well ; but the dirt tells, and when it does, the weight tells doubly. It was always a rule with me, as regards hunters, to have a stone and a half, or more, to spare ; and my readers may depend on it this helps through dirt wonderfully, and, in- deed, through and over everything else ; it often makes a very indifferent horse bearable, a moderate one a good one, and a good one ''a Comet" to be 94 HIIS^TS TO HOESEilEN ; OE, " wondered at." I am convinced it saves money in the long run, and is the way to make it for those who wish to make it. Nature cannot and will not bear continued and often-repeated distress, without showing it in some way, that deteriorates from a horse's value, while, on the other hand, a manifesta- tion of superiority always attracts attention and ad- miration. There is another thing, the having weight to spare , saves, as well as money, that which many will think of some consequence — it often saves a man's neck. Sportsmen who are hunting men only, seldom think much about weight : I have met with some who had not weighed for years, so concluded they were "about" so much, when they were perhaps a good stone more : anything in the racing way sets this to rights, for the about is not ever mentioned in such cases. In former days, when the slow pace of hounds per- mitted a horse to go within himself, a stone in weight mattered little, but, now-a-days, when horses are obliged to extend themselves, it tells awfull}'. A fair sized and shaped race-horse would shew little differ- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOKSES. 95 ence in his going his preliminary canter up the course, whether he had seven, eight, or even nine stone on his back ; but when at his full extent, for the last few hundred yards, a stone would just make the differ- ence between winning easy or being nowhere. Weight is in itself the same everywhere as regards its gravity, call the weight what you will; but, figuratively speaking, twelve stone in Hertfordshire is near four- teen in Leicestershire, as regards its effects. I quite believe that some horses, who have peculiar powers as regards carrying weight, would not be seen much forwarder with twelve stone on them than with near fourteen ; but this would arise from their want of speed, not from the little consequence of weight. A very slow horse can but go a certain pace ; if he were turned loose, he would only go with more ease to himself ; but, in a very fast one, the effects of weight shew themselves at once — the weight distresses him, the pace the other. The great advantage of fast horses is, they are distressed by weight only, and the pace not telling on them, they get along under high weight in sometimes a wonderful way ; while the slow one 96 HINTS TO HORSEMEX ; OR, cannot do so, put as light weight on him as you please. Thus many a really good horse gets con- demned, or, at all events, his merits are prevented shewing themselves, from his carr5'iDg weight beyond his powers, that is, beyond his powers of carrying it, and, at the same time, shewing himself in his true character; for, be it remembered, we are not to judge of weight-carrying power by size and apparent strength. There is a peculiar power some horses naturally possess, and some acquire by habit, that enables them to carry a couple of stone more than their appearance would warrant ; whereas, on the other hand, some strengthy- looking ones have not, and never acquire, such ability. There are many horses that have a seeming dread of water ; they may possess, and willinglj^ manifest, the power of wide jumping at ordinary fences, but will hesitate, and many refuse, a brook of only ten feet water. The friend I have alluded to as having a horse under his weight, and who cannot, from some cause, get through dirt, has, at the same time, one of these HOTV TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 97 water-dreaders. This fault is not of much conse- quence to his master, who candidly owns he dreads water as much as his horse when hunting, and much more afterwards, as those who have sat at his hospi- table board can verify. Luckily, there is but little water in the county the horse is hunted in, and very little consumed at the table the master presides at, so their mutual antipathy is not often outraged. At anything but water, this horse is a most willing jumper ; but shew him the crystal stream, and, like his master, he determinately says, ''I won't have it." !N^ow, this horse would really be of no value as a hunter in Lincolnshire, or parts of Essex, and, were he there, would be to be bought at a trifle. Other circumstances often cause really good horses being sold far under their value, for other localities than the one they happen to be in. The natural or acquired dread of water is a fault, or rather peculiarity, that, in a general way, it is next to impossible to cure a horse of ; and rarely can much improvement be made in him, for he is actuated by fear. Now, if a horse is a lazy or careless jumper, H 98 HINTS TO horsemen; or, if lie gets into a dry ditch well filled with strong thorns and brambles, he will be careful not to get in a similar predicament again ; but force him into water, you increase the evil by increasing his fears ; he will not attempt to keep himself out of it by clear- ing it, but will resolutely refuse to go near it. Some- thing in the way of improvement may be effected by great patience and command of temper, in habituat- ing the horse to jump very small ditches with water in them, and then gently putting him at very small streams; but a water-jumper he never will be, so long as he is a horse. Some persons may be surprised at my making so definite and bold an assertion : I will give my rea- sons for so doing. There is no feeling so difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate in the horse as fear ; vice may, in many cases, be cowed, so as not to shew itself in an inconvenient or dangerous degree. The unwillingness to exert himself on the part of a lazy horse may be stimulated by the fear of, or the appli- cation of, the whip, or spur, or even voice ; this wiU, however, only have a temporary efi'ect, for he will HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 99 never become a willing one. But of all domestic animals I have met with, the horse is the most diffi- cult to control or pacify when under the influence of fear. He is, take him all in all, a courageous ani- mal, but there is a word or two to be said on this subject. Like some men, horses often shew great courage in situations of danger, but this not unfre- quentlj^ arises in both from their not being conscious of danger in that particular situation. For instance, a horse would charge up to a regiment of infantrj', though the bullets whistled around, as fearlessly on the field of battle as he would at a review ; he is not conscious of the difference of the situations ; but dis- charge a cannon in his front, though only loaded with powder, the chances are, it would be difficult to get him up to a gun again — he has seen what alarms ; the bullets he does not see, though he might be wounded by them ; and if, after a discharge of small arms, he should fear to face a regiment in line again, the fear would arise from the supposed danger of the flash, not from the real one of the bullets. He can- not reason : if he could, he would know that if he H 2 1 00 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, had a dread of water, the readiest way would be to jump over it; but, not thus reasoDing, he avoids approaching that which he holds as boding danger ; and this impression or impulse it is, I say, next to im- possible to overcome. Wall and timber jumping is to be taught a horse as a knack — for a knack it virtually is, and no natu- ral feat of the horse — for we know the wild horse never saw a wall or gate in his life. He meets, in his wild state, watercourses and ravines ; these he jumps over under the influence of fear, or any other excitement, but leaping artificial impediments must be taught. The Irish horse jumps walls almost natu- rally ; he has seen them and leaped them as a foal ; but shew him an English gate, and he does not know what to do with it till taught. So it is, vice versa, with the English horse as respects walls, unless bred in the very few localities where walls are common. I have frequently found men, bold riders too, who disliked walls, or water, or timber, and some who disliked all three of them. Personally, I prefer either HOW TO MAKE MONET BT HORSES. 101 to most other fences. I mean this as no boast, for if I held them more dangerous than other fences, I most certainly should vote strongly for the latter ; but on good leapers at either, there is a touch and go at a wall, that gives me the same assurance of its being done, as if I saw a hound do it ; so at timber, there is no rotten, slippery, or hog-backed bank to deceive a horse, no stump or hole to throw him down — he sees what it is, and knows how to do it ; and as regards water, the swing a good jumper takes over it, I feel perfectly delightful. To this, I fear, may be added a little spice of triumph, if one sees a score or two on the wrong side, seemingly investigating if there are any fish in the stream ; and such is no uncommon occurrence, if only a very fair show of water has to be navigated. I think I have stated a suflScieut number of the attributes that some horses do and others do not possess, to shew the reader that the hunting dealer has a very wide scope wherein to exercise his judg- ment, and those on the look-out for him, as regards the getting hold of horses that have been misplaced. 102 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, and consequently misjudged, in the county in which they may have been ridden. Now, it is not absolutely necessary that these horses should be cured of such failings as they may possess, even supposing such failings to be curable ; for a man of quick perception, knowledge of different countries and different men's tastes, habits, and stjde of riding, knows where, and with whom, different horses may be placed, so as to give satisfaction even with all their imperfections still existing ; for a bungler at walls will not be de- tected in being so, where there are no walls to jump ; and, on the other hand, a horse that will skim over water like a swallow, is not wanted where there is no water to skim over. Thus, the hunting dealer having, in figurative terms, got the cards, sorts them, and, by doing so judgmatically, ensures playing a winning game, and this without any deception as regards horse, customer, or himself ; but, on the con- trary, by knowing the peculiarities of his horses and customers, can have the gratification of pleasing each purchaser. I have hitherto alluded to the hunting dealer buy- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 103 ing and selling horses that have been hunted, and, consequently, shewn their merits and demerits as arising from natural failings ; but there are acquired failings, and here great judgment is necessary to dis- criminate between faults that are curable and those that are not. Many horses get into the habit of refusing their fences from two very opposite modes of treatment from their riders ; a shirking, cunning rogue will ver)" shortly find it out if he has a timid horseman on him, and, having made this discovery, will very shortly jump when he thinks proper, and refuse when he does not ; while, on the other hand, a nervous and timid animal will often become so alarmed by being driven at his fences without being allowed time to collect himself, and take off at the right place, that fearing, by such bull-riding, being driven into a fence, he refuses it altogether ; such a rider will probably turn him round, take a longer gallop up to it, and by increasing the pace, or, as probably he would term it, " not giving him time to refuse," he drives him fairly, or rather unfairly, into it, making matters far worse than they were before, 1 04 HIXTS TO HORSEMEN ; OR, and increasing the animal's fears tenfold. Eefu-sing, and I speak from practical experience, from which- ever of the two causes named it may arise, is, in nine cases in ten, to be permanently and radically cured by doing one very simple thing, that should always, when possible, be done — namely, investigat- ing the cause that produces the effect on the animal. Having done this, our business is half accomplished. The rogue, without brutalizing him, must be taught that he is not to consult his own fancy in selecting the few favourite fences he may choose to take, or the occasions on which he pleases to take them ; and here I venture a hint. I have seen men who, on their horses refusing a fence, would, rather than lose a run, take him to some other place, or get through a gate ; this will absolutely establish the habit of re- fusing on the part of the horse, and, as Pat says, '' small blame to him," when he finds so pleasant a result arise. If the fence was an improper one to put the horse at, the rider was to blame in putting his horse at it, more than the animal in refusing it if it was one not calculated to impress a horse with HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 105 justifiable apprehension. If a man possesses as much sense as I give my reader credit for, and, conse- quently, does not wish to confirm a bad habit in his horse for the sake of one run, let him never leave that fence till his horse has taken it. I would not, if I stayed there till dark ; and then, if I had not succeeded, I would bring him to it the next day; but, by fair or foul persuasion, over it he should go. But, be it remembered, I only mean this as regards a horse who refuses from roguery or obstinacy ; it would be cruel thus to persevere with a horse who refused from sheer fear ; he must be kindly and gently ridden at minor fences till he gets confidence to face the one, or similar ones, to the one that alarmed him. The bull-riding system of forcing a nervous horse " in or over,'* is lasting ruination to him ; for though such riders are not prone to reflect, other men are, and reflection will satisfy them that forcing a horse into a place he fears, only multiplies that fear, for it confirms his dread of it. It shews him that, by not resolutely refusing to go near it, he gets the very fall he dreaded, for, be assured, a fall 106 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, is not a bit more agreeable to horse than man ; in- deed, I quite believe the former is more shaken by it than the latter. There are many horses most unpleasantly fidgetty while hounds are drawing. I have seen many who have worked themselves into a far greater sweat in such cases than would have been produced by any ordinary run ; this in some horses arises from nervous- ness, in others that have been severely and unfairly ridden, from downright apprehension of what they may expect ; and to shew to what extent this will influence some horses, I had one that had been so ridden, and can assure the reader that, for months after I bought him, if by chance I went into the stable with a red coat on, he would fidget for an hour or two afterwards ; by degrees this wore off, and he became, even with hounds, as quiet as a naturally- excitable animal could be. There are two things to be done with such horses — the one is, let the horse be very gently ridden every day, if possible, with harriers, just walking, trotting, or cantering about, so as to keep him within hearing of them ; this will HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 107 usually effect a cure from three different causes — the constant, but not severe exercise, will steady him, he will be accustomed to constantly hear and see hoands, till he takes little notice of them ; and never being distressed or punished, he finds hunting is not to be dreaded as a source of suffering to him. The next alternative is to ride him, or sell him, to be ridden with stag-hounds. Here is no drawing cover to excite him ; he is brought up at the pro- per time, and away he goes without having had time to work himself up to a kind of frenzy, which he would with fox-hounds ; for, mind, hunting him two or even three times a-week, though it might reduce him to a skeleton, would in no way still his nervousness — it would increase it ; for the weaker and more thoroughly jaded he becomes, the greater would be his punishment ; so his apprehension, or expecta- tion of it, would be increased. The reader may depend on it, that though most failings in the horse are to be cured or palliated, fear is not ; I have therefore no hesitation in saying, a horse subject to the influence of fear, is a far more 108 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OR, dangerous animal than the one disposed to vice ; for the latter, even when exhibiting his bad propensities, retains his instinct, not to say sense. The former loses it altogether ; neither pain, nor the presence of what bodes even death, checks his scared and mad- dened career; he becomes as reckless, and, indeed, furious from fright, as the most savage one from animosity. There is no resource with the nervous animal, but habituating him to the objects that alarm or excite him. It must be quite evident to the least astute, that any animal or article purchased with a recognisable imperfection, must increase greatly in value when that imperfection no longer exists, or is even palli- ated ; the absence or palliation of the imperfection, renders the animal or thing of any sort, to all intents and purposes an object of greater value, and this in- creased value is honestly the due of him who works the reformation ; it is a just tribute to patience, judgment, or ingenuity, or all combined. Many may Bay, I will work this reformation, and by so doing reap the advantage myself. There could be but one HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOUSES. 109 reply made to this— If you are qualified to do it, do it by all means : but to many of those proposing this with horses, I might probably say. Can you make a watch ? or, if a faulty one, can you improve it ? The answer would in most cases be — No. To very many I should say, You could no more make a hunter, or im- prove a faulty one, so you had better leave the doing either to those qualified to do both. Another feature in the hunting dealer's business is the purchasing young ones, that is, chiefly four years' old ones ; those, of course, he will not meddle with, if showing natural irremediable imperfections. Persons who kngw the man, if he is one of note, such as, for instance, the Andersons or Elmores, or the late Thomas Smart, know such persons will only pur- chase such young horses as promise to become quite or very nearly first-rates, so they, that is, purchasers, are quite ready to repurchase such horses, either as quite untaught ones, or in their different stages of improvement ; and unless purchasers are themselves first-rate judges, they cannot do better than purchase from those who are ; they are then pretty sure of 110 HINTS TO hoesemen; oe, getting at least good raw material to go to work upon, and will not be throwing away their time, money, patience, and ingenuity, on what can never be wrought into valuable commodity. The being seen in the hands of such persons as I have mentioned, stamps a certain prestige on young horses, that will usually end in intrinsic worth. The price at the time of purchase is, of course, very pro- perljT- made in accordance with the stage of progress and proficiency of the pupil while in the hands of the first purchaser ; and be it remembered, that though the plane increases the value of the plank, it is the after high polishing that prodmies the ultimate value, and this increases in far more than gradual ratio as the article nears perfection ; thus, the un- skilled workman must expect to pay a high price when availing himself of the skill of others. It may be asked, why the breeder should not per- fect what he has bred, and thus keep for himself the profit of the dealer ? !N"o doubt a few do this, but such are very few. The best judgment in breeding in no way capacitates a man to make a hunter of the HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. Ill horse he has bred, nor does the being able to make a raw colt into a perfect hunter teach a man the management of mares and foals. The mahogany- merchant could no more make his timber into a sideboard than could a bricklayer; and the artisan who could, knows not whether Honduras is in the far West or the extreme East. Thus, though the landowner may very judiciously breed a horse, it leads to no inference that he could ride him ; and if he could, not knowing the fastidiousness of men who give high prices, he would probably spoil him for their use ; for, odd as it may appear to some the saying so, it is nevertheless true ; the country is by no means the place to find finished horsemen in, or good judges of horses either. To polish a man off in these two ways, he must learn taste and judgment in London, and practise in the country. The man (and there are many) who professedly keeps hunters for sale, and at the same time farms, is often a most perfect horseman. The man who farms, and occa- sionally hunts, very rarely is. He may ride very boldly, and perhaps to many show the way, but it is 112 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OR, in a rough-and-ready style of riding, that makes his horse as rough-and-ready sort of customer as he is himself, without, perhaps, as many good qualities to make amends for it as has his boisterous, joyous, and open-hearted master ; in fact, such horses are seldom fit to carry a gentleman. Many such are capital performers, and are bought up to be taught more aristocratic manners ; but as they are when carrying the worthy farmer, they are no more fit to be put in my lord's private hunting stud, than is the common Spanish blackstrap fitted for his cellar, till meta- morphosed into a wine fitted to refined taste. This the dealer does both in wine and horse. And why not the gentleman? some one may say; and why not ? I should say ; but this is little to the point, for on such subjects no doubt there will be diversity of opinion ; but to such as would say, Why not the gentleman ? I beg to saj^, that I have stated different ways in which money is made by horses by many persons as a hint to gentlemen that, sub rosa, they may do pretty much the same. To the noble- man, or man of large fortune, I should be inclined HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 113 to say, do not do it ; in you it would show avarice, and consequent meanness, as it would if you made any sacrifice of joxly time, pleasures, or enjoyment, to fill a situation in some measure compromising one, or all of them, for the sake of making money ; but as respects the man to whom a few hundreds a year is a matter of importance, the thing assumes a widely different appearance. In him it is prudence, whether ho does it to enable him to the more fully indulge in such pursuits as he finds gratification in, or for the still more prudent wish of adding to his income. There can be no doubt but that doing anything in any way savouring of trading is contrary to the true spirit of the idea conveyed by the term gentleman ; it more or less gives a bias to the mind, at variance with the education, habits, and associations insepa- rable from the gentleman. He has been taught by precept and example how to spend money as a gen- tleman, not how to make it ; and this is a marked distinction between the gentleman and the trader ; tlie . latter may assume the characteristics of the former as much as he pleases, or rather, as much as I 114 HliNTS TO HOKSEMKN ; OR, his position in society will permit him to do without giving offence ; but it must be very little indeed of the characteristic of the trader the gentleman can take up without losing caste : still, a fondness of horses and the amusements they contribute to, and also piquing himself a little on his taste, judgment, and management in either or both, will go a long way towards (or perhaps quite) excusing a man of mode- rate means turning these to account, if done in an honourable and gentlemanly way. Let the difference of opinion on this subject be what it may, or which way it will, it is not my province, nor if it were, have I influence enough to direct it ; my object is to show money is to he made. As regards whether or not a man may choose to make it, supposing him qualified to do so, is a matter in which I can but say, in this '* the patient must minister to himself." But it is not in breeding, racing, or hunting pur- suits alone, that money is to be made by horses. Time was, when harness horses opened a wide field for speculation, if entered into by such men as the late Lord Sefton, Sir John Lade, Mr. Agar, and HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOKSES. 115 some others, possessing as good taste in, and know- ledge of, harness horses as they did. Whether they all did, or wished to, make money by horses, I am not prepared to say ; but every one knows, or has heard, that Sir John did ; and at that time the then Prince Eegent was a royal and liberal customer of his. Sir John knew precisely the kind that would strike the prince's fancy, and if the animal was on earth, Sir John would ferret him out. The prince, from so frequently as he did sitting on the knowing baronet's box, knew every horse he had, so a new one was sure to be noticed. This Sir John took care he should be, and took as much care that he should be shown to the best advantage when seen. *' Well, baronet, what have you there?" was all but a certain check on the prince's banker. I must per- petrate a pun by saying, that when the prince gave the baronet a check, the latter knew etiquette too well to give the prince a repulse in return. He has ventured so far as to say, that nothing but his royal highnesses pleasure should induce him to separate that horse from his partner. The prince was far too i2 116 HINTS TO nOliSEMEN; OE, astute not to see through the money-loving baronet's drift, so it usuallj- ended in both horses being taken at a price named for the one, that made it a pretty good speculation. Sir John and the late Sir Henry Peyton were about on a par in one or two particulars ; both were perfect artists on the box, neither were dashing coachmen, which probably led to the fact that neither ever got into difficulties. The marked difference between them, in one particular, was this ; Sir Henrj*, as far as seat, hands, and artistic manner on the box went, looked the artist he was, but he also looked the gentleman ; Sir John took so much pains to look like a coachman, that it left little to make him look like anything superior to it. His remarkable broad-leafed hat, enormous leather breeches, and roll upon roll of neckcloth, -^ere all in the extreme of bad taste, and showed a mind not of the largest calibre. Eut both are gone; Sir John when I was a boy. Sir Henry lately : the latter lived to see the glories of the box go long before himself. There now no longer remains the temptation to an after-dinner stroll to see the mails start from the HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 117 Gloucester Coffee House, or one to see them pass through Kensington turnpike-gate, when each horse having settled to his collar, the cortege glided by, smooth as a vessel in still water. But I am writing of things which, admitting I have seen, might cause the youth of to-day to ask me if I remember the colour of Koah's Ark. It is little use saying, that some coaches were so celebrated for their teams, that the owners constantly sold out different matched pairs to go into gentle- men's hands for their carriages ; and this was an item in the money-making way in coaching long since gone by. I will say, alas ! that it is so, though the expression may cause me to be hissed two-fold by all the locomotives between Berwick and the Laud's End, Dover, and Liverpool. Fair enough, too ; for years back, though change of public taste and a love of novelty might have prevented locomotives from being, in technical term, "hissed off*^ the stage, they certainly would have been hissed from every stage or mail that came near them. However, they are established, and I suppose (to indulge in a little 118 'hIXTS to nOESEMEN; OR, coaching reminiscence) the wisest thing I can do is to say, " AU right !" There are few situations in which we could place horses where the master-hand shows its effects on them, more than with a four-in-hand ; the matching them well as to step and action, the bitting each in accord- ance with his mouth, the placing to suit the temper of each, just makes the difference between each and all being admired, or each and all going nohow ; between their sliding along the road as a united body, or jostling all over it comparatively like four pigs with four separate strings to their legs ; it makes the difference of the vehicle progressing smooth as a duck through water, or rolling about like an ill- built Dutch boat in a rough sea. But, as in man}^ other things, these are secrets, or rather facts, only known to the ancients ; the art is lost, the craft are gone. Whether we shall see gentlemen practising and officiating as stokers, I know not ; but their giving up their four-in-hands was at one time a cir- cumstance as little dreamt of. Where so much was to be done by the artist, the HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 119 reader even of the present day will at once see how monej- was to be made by harness-horses belong- ing to gentleman or plebeian, and may guess how dif- ferent men's tastes, predilections, or circumstances produced different specimens. See that young aristocrat, fresh from the Univer- sity, with his first team, all young and fresh as him- self, from their place of education, namely, one of our leading dealer's stables. They have cost what would purchase a modest independence for the less fortunate of his fellow-men ; they are wild as their owner, and as impatient of control ; but, in skilful hands, they need not be feared ; there is no more vice in them than (let us hope) in their master ; it is only the exuberance of high spirits natural to youth ; and our workman on the box (suppose him to be one of 1820, not 1856) has too often sat by the side of Black "Will (if an Oxford man), or Dick Vaughan (if a Cam- bridge one), to be flurried. So instructed, even the old hands hail and recognize him as a brother of the bars : let us hope prudence may long continue to him this gratification — I call it absolute luxury of enjoy- 120 nixTS TO noESEMEN; or, meul — may no contaminating lox, with its vile appur- tenances, and viler projectors, drive him from his own ! See, on the same arena, that steadier man of forty or more ! How truly his team step together, each bar steady as a level ! The hands that are behind them make no mistaken display of handling the reins ; a turn of the wrist, and gentle pressure of the whip- hand, can make the practised team cut a figure of eight true as the figure itself. If the cortege stops, it stops smoothly and gradually ; no pole against the leaders' quarters, no rattling of swing-bars against their hocks, but each horse well up to his traces, and cool as their master ; their perfection makes them worth a diadem — m.ay one of laurel and olive bind his brows ! Eut here comes the team of one who, with the nninitiated, creates wonder how, with his known comparatively small means, he contrives to do the thing, keep his four-in-hand and, at the same time, his character : they marvel much, but he does both ! Eeader, I will let you behind the scenes. The four- in-hand are not (to buy them singly, and out of har- ness) worth thirty pounds a- piece ; but they are fine HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 121 horses, have crossed our best countries when twice the present value of the lot would not have pur- chased one of them ; but their condition is as perfect to the eye as it was in their best days ; their looks and courage shew them of high family, and, like the reduced man of family, their still proud bearing shews to the last. True, they are, perhaps, one and all, cripples at first starting ; the owner gives no as- surance that they are not. They are bought as they are ; they look imposing ; they are bought from and for their looks ; whether, in other hands, they will ever again look as imposing as they did when pur- chased, will depend on who buys them. If some rich parvenu, the price won't hurt him ; it will be, per- haps, a cheap lesson as to teaching what taste, judg- ment, and artistic proficiency can do with faulty ma- terials ; and if he has sense, he will endeavour to acquire each in whatever he undertakes. Thus, reader, and in many other ways as allusive to horses, money is to be made even by cripples. Eut I may be told, if a similar team were now got together, they could not be sold, for the simple rea- 122 HixTs TO horsemen; or, son that there is no one to buy them : it is true, too true ; but we have phaetons, broughams, and cabrio- lets, so we are not beat yet. Two blood-like high steppers put together, and put together well, are worth far more than each may be bought for sepa- rately ; and it is only under particular circumstances that the man, aware of his own tact and judgment, will purchase them together ; for this would, in a general waj', be giving away the advantages his attributes can produce. "We now come to the single-harness horse. Size as well as fashionable action is wanted. Many such are purchased by persons knowing little of such matters as riding horses ; sometimes, indeed, under the somewhat extraordinary ideas that, from their size and appearance, they are to be made hunters of, though harness shews itself in all and everything about them. Such mistakes daily arise, but not on the part of the man who knows what he is about ; the innocent first purchaser finds his supposed future hunter too great a brute to ride anywhere ; he is dis- gusted with him, and rather than be laughed at for HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOKSES. 123 his bad taste and worse judgment, sells liim at any price ; the good judge buys him, and, probably, the same day, sees the animal in his proper place, — namely, a break. The reader may ask, how comes it the dealer he was purchased from had not done this ? Probably he had ; but if he found his custo- mer fancied him as a hunter, or a horse to make one, depend on it he was far too knowing to let his pur- chaser know he had done so ; or, if asked if he had put him in harness, and he had not, his answer would probably be, ** I, of course, intended to do so, but I had no occasion, as I found a f — 1 to buy him without" — honest, but not flattering. ]S"ow, any man with the slightest knowledge of horses must be aware that the ver)^ action that would make a horse particularly desirable for harness, is precisely such as to quite disqualify him for a hunter. I had, for instance, as one of my very early posses- sions in the horse way, the race-horse Vagabond ; he had not only remarkably high action for a thorough- bred horse, but for any horse ; nor did even training lower it, as might fairly have been supposed it would. 1 24 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, Being a rather large and strong horse, with wonder- fully-propelling powers in his haunches, thighs, and hocks, he was tried on, expecting that at four years' old he would at least make a superior plater, at a time when heats were in vogue. His action with his hind-parts was faultless, hut he could not get those fore-legs of his either awaj'- from him, or out of the way of his hind ones. I bought him, think- ing he would make a hunter, and a very so-so one he made ; and what was worse, and what, had I then known as much as after practical experience taught me, I should have foreseen, — namely, he was con- stantly more or less overreaching ; however, his good looks induced his being purchased for a purpose that would, and did, suit him, — namely, a charger ; so, as in my case with him, a very faulty horse may be a very good speculation, provided the hint I before gave is acted on — always buy good-looking ones, or rather, never hiij common-looking ones, unless they are, or you are, quite sure they will turn out wonders. This brings me to another feature in speculating in horses. There are certain qualities that some men HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 125 make it a point their horses should possess in a pre- eminent degree, whether in hunters, harness-horses, or hacks ; and are quite content to sacrifice other, perhaps more intrinsically valuable, qualifications, provided they possess the favourite one. Thus, in hunters, some men are all for speed — I admit my having ever been prone to sacrifice no little for this quality — some men will have astonishing leapers, some will have beautj^ and content themselves with other qualifications in mediocrity. I^umberless persons, and now-a-days more than ever, will not be content without, in technical phrase, '^ extravagant action ;" others look for speed. Some few will have, as their hacks, regular trotters — and a most execrable taste I must hold it to be — for, in the first place, if a horse is what may be termed wager-fast, it is not one in twenty that is pleasant to ride, or fit to carry a gentleman ; and it must, in a general way, ever be so, for mouth, carriage, style of going, are all sacrificed for increase of speed. But, supposing it otherwise, the speed of the trotter is onl}' called forth in a wager ; for a gentleman has no 126 HINTS TO horsemen; or, other opportuuity of shewing his horse rating twenty miles an hour, unless he choose to risk the getting the soubriquet of '' The Flying Dutchman." In harness, the thing is quite diiferent; there a little '' shew off*' on fitting occasions is quite admissible. Fortunately, for persons of different tastes, there are horses that will eventually exhibit superior capa- bilities in some way, foaled nYery day ; and the adage says, though it would not be courteous to believe it, that " there is a (something) born every hour." But there is no occasion to depend on the coming of the last-mentioned personage, for there are plent)^ of sensible men, and men of good taste, who are always on the look-out for, and quite willing to give liberal prices for, anything that exhibits beauty, merit, or unusual qualifications, as regards extraordinary per- formance, in any particular ; and highly to be prized and applauded such men are ; it is those that give an impetus and encouragement to the production of that (be it what it may) that is superior in its way. Sup- posing a man of fortune should pay a strong price for anything he may see is superior, we are not to set HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOKSES. 127 him down as a weak man for doing so ; ho would only shew himself a niggardly one if he debarred himself from possessing what he prized, because its price was high ; he gets what is uncommon, merely at the cost of what he can well spare : it is only the man who purchases that which does not possess merit that shews his weakness; and that weakness or, at all events, ill-judgment, would still be shewn, though the price was a low one. He may say the object purchased, though not remarkable fcr superior merit, will answer his purpose as well as the one that did ; if so, the object purchased has merit ; that is, the merit of satisfying the wishes and answering the purpose of those content with direct mediocrity. But I must infer that he who pays a high price for that which has no merit (and such things are done), is one of those " born every hour" doubly distilled — very convenient persons, no doubt ; and I can fancy I hear dealers in anything say, ' ' may they increase and multiply." Ladies' horses are acquisitions to the stable of a man of fortune that will always command a high 128 niNTS TO horsemen; oe, price, and it should be so ; the idea that an5-thing good-lookii]g is good enough to carry a woman, is a most mistaken one ; there is no description of horse so difficult ta get, which will appear evident, when we specify, without any exaggeration, the qualities he must possess to approach perfection for this purpose. He must be unequivocally courageous, at the same time perfectly gentle; high-spirited, yet eminently good-tempered and docile ; safe in his action, and that action graceful ; easy in his motions, with a mouth that is sensible to every motion of the hand, or pressure of the finger ; always ready to go, but equally amenable to the voice or hand giving him the signal to stop ; he must be firm on his legs, and strong from unity and symmetry of make, with, at the same time, an absence of anything approaching coarse- ness of appearance ; he must, in fact, look a gentle- man at a lady's service ; he must be, at the same time, what it is not indispensable that the biped gentleman should be, — namely, strikingly handsome. The reader will judge how far it is easy or difficult to find a horse with such combined good qualities, HOW TO MAKE MOXEY BY HOUSES. 129 every one of which are quite necessary in a lady's horse. It is true, beauty may be dispensed with ; but a woman on a plain, common-looking animal, inspires one with something bordering on that feeling of regret we experience on seeing an elegant, deli- cate, and refined creature married to a coarse, not to say vulgar, man ; each thus playing the characters of Beauty and the Beast. Who, with any soul in him, would, as regards her horse, grudge a few extra tens to procure an animal worthy so lovely a burthen ? Whenever I see such a one badly mounted, an idea of reproach, as regards her husband or relatives, always arises in my mind, accompanied by the mental inquiry and wonder, of '' who, and what, on earth, can they possibly be r" As one proof or corroboration of my statement of the difficulty of getting a perfect lady's horse, I had, about twelve years since, a grey that carried my wife ; he was very near what I have stated a wo- man's horse should be, or, to use a favourite ex- pression of the well-known late Tom Smart's, *^very near quite a nice one ;" by some chance unknown to K 130 HINTS TO HOKSRMEN ; OR, me, this horse was heard of in London, and a person came a hundred and ten miles to purchase him, in- tending to submit him to the approval of our present Uueen, to carry her Majesty. I had, however, sold him a few days before, which I most certainly should not have done, had my circumstances warranted my refusing the price given. I stated where the horse was gone to — this was eighty miles further. The person set off in pursuit of him ; the result I never heard, but it shows a superior lady's horse is worth some trouble to get. One thing must, however, be borne in mind : very perfect ladies' horses require very perfect hands to ride them. I would no more have allowed any or- dinary groom to ride the horse I have mentioned in a double bridle, than I would trust a tine repeating or duplex watch in the hands of a blacksmith. Rude hands throw well-broken horses in dire confusion ; it is like trusting one of Erard's best harps in the hands of acookraaid; no doubt she would make it produce louder souuds than its fair owner, but, alas ! poor harp ! HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY H.OKSES. 131 I have seen women who were pretty much the same kind of horsewomen as our friend the cook shewed as a harpist. The boast of some women, that they can ride anything, may not unfrequently be set down that they cannot eide at all ; they may, and perhaps could, keep their seat on anything, but this is not riding, it is merely sticking on. A little reflec- tion will shew such boast or capability are each un- feminine ; it merely pretends or amounts to the boldness of the man, and is not unfrequently found in those disposed to evince a leetle, a very leetle, bold- ness in the woman. The being able to ride anything, is a most desirable quality in such persons as the Misses Eeynolds, who break horses for ladies ; but grace is the desirable quality of a gentlewoman on horseback, and also the being able to produce and keep up unity of action in a perfect animal. We are not to suppose a lady riding post from St. Petersburg to Moscow on Rus- sian horses. She ought, in fact, never to be put on any horse that requires boldness in the rider, or that is in any way difficult to ride, further than regards delicacy of touch. k 2 132 HINTS TO HOKSEMEN ; OE, On the other hand, if a woman is so perfect an equestrian that she can make a horse handy, docile, and perfect in his performance as a lady's horse, there can be no possible objection to, or anything un- feminine in, her doing it. If, by her patience, gen- tleness, and command of timber, she can, as, indeed, women frequently do, render an impatient, nervous animal amenable and quiet, she only employs the attributes of her sex in doing so ; but subduing a violent or nervous horse, is an act that shews little of the gentleness and amiability of women in the at- tempt, and is but the performance of a horse-breaker or rough-rider, if performed. Such men are ex- tremely useful in their way, so is an ostler ; but the vocation of either is not that of even a gentleman, and is the very antithesis of anything a lady should attempt, even if she possessed the very unenviable determination that would enable her to do so : the great attraction of woman is being the direct oppo- site to man. A man may, very properly, resolutely lay his whip on the flanks of a sulky, vicious brute, but to see a woman do this, could only be equalled HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 133 by seeing her refresh herself by tossing off a stiff glass of grog afterwards. We know Mrs. Thornton rode a race over Knavesmere against Mr. Flint — but who was Mrs. Thornton ? Probably, in herself, a very amiable woman : the greater pity then, and the less excuse was there, for the Colonel encouraging such an exhibition, before a gaping multitude. In a private park, with only her friends and acquaintances as lookers-on, exhibiting the speed of her favourite horse, a lady might do so with impunity ; but on a public race- course, the very lowest condemned the act, though they indulged their wonder and curiosity in going to see it. "While on the subject of making money by horses, though the doing so is quite at variance with general ideas of propriety, as a female ; still, if a lady has by her own act produced perfection, there can be no harm, or is there anything unfeminine, in her parting with her horse to some one of larger fortune than her own : but the offer and the acceptation of it require a little nice management ; and if both are gentle- women, such would be sure to be the case, and in 134 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OR, such case, I sliould say, accept the offer by all means, as you might one for a picture or drawing done by your own hand. Many would say she might be proud of the two latter objects mentioned, as accom- plishments ; no doubt she might ; nor is riding to be in any way put on a par with them ; still, if she rides gracefully and elegantly, I must hold it as a minor accomplishment, to be indulged in as a relief from others requiring more mind in their execution. This I must say, I have seen many women, who were by no means refined in a general way, ride ex- tremely well ; but I never saw one who was not more or less graceful in her usual deportment, that rode like a gentlewoman. Driving is another amusement a lady may take without in any way derogating from the softness of her sex : a low phaeton, with well-matched and per- fectly-broken ponies, galloways, or even light blood- horses, is a pretty corUge; but from a woman driving a pair of spanking bays at " a slap-up pace,'* the Lord defend us ! "We might fairly expect to hear her make use of the slang expression I have quoted ; HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 135 her place would be on a break. "We will not suppose such an Amazon charioteer being a wife, but probably an elegant accessory to the hasty disposal of the for- tune of some very, very young man, whose mistaken taste glories in being known as enjoying the tempo- rary smiles of " Dashing Kate," or some other sobri- quet equally flattering to the good sense of the enter- tainer of its owner, whose many friends are, let us hope, grateful to him for his good nature ; why, it is not my business to mention. Unwitting philanthro- pist, '^ vaUy We will now look a little to the making money by horses by men who employ them in their business • and this is done, from the wealthy cheese and butter factor of May-Fair to some of the smaller fry who find horses necessary to their trade. I will instance one of the latter. In a village in which I once lived, in Berkshire, lived also a baker; a very knowing- looking, and very knowing little fellow he was. I believe there are many light-weight bakers as regards their bread, but this baker was a light-weight as regarded his person, 136 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OK, and albeit he was a baker, no trotting-mateh came off within a reasonable distance that he was not at, and was often called on to officiate as a jock on such occasions ; and well he looked, and well he rode. He had a very light cart, in which he went round to his customers ; in this he always drove one kind of horse — light cobs of about fourteen hands, all of them more or less trotters, or, at least, very fast. AVho- ever wanted anything of this sort, for miles round, applied to the baker ; his horses were always good- looking, and always in capital condition. How or where he got them, no one knew ; but no sooner was one sold, but he was supplied by another of the same sort. He was as particular in his harness as any London gentleman, and this was turned out as bright as Day and Martin could make it ; so his horses lost no advantage that such setting-off could give them. He dealt in no Smithfield bargains, not he ; he would ask, and get oftentimes, fifty guineas for one of his goers ; and, further, he occasionally took in the less-knowing by producing a wonder, of whose capabilities he wisely said nothing while using him HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 137 as the rest in his daily round. If they were fast (which they were sure to be) when he bought them, they became faster in his hands ; and the faster they went, the faster his money came. I was induced to write on the subject of making money by horses, from having so frequently heard many persons complain of the heavy expenditure their horses produced. In saying this, they no doubt were perfectly correct ; for horses are an expensive luxury to maintain, even under judicious manage- ment. Where there is nothing as a counterpoise, they become very far more so, particularly where want of time, inclination, or judgment, lays the owner open to imposition, or, when not this, mis- management on the part of those in the care of them ; for in such case, the owner not only pays for the cost of the animals, but for his own want of knowledge as regards what he possesses : it v/ould be pretty much the same as regards his whole establishment and all he does, if he knew as little about such things as he does of his horses. The diminution of expense decreases in the same 138 HINTS TO horsemen; or, ratio ^ the good judgment and management of the owner increases. Thus, one man pays twice what he ought for the purchase and keeping up his stud, and, indeed, all and everything that belongs to them ; the next keeps up such establishment at perhaps a large but fair cost ; a third now and then gets a pull on the right side ; a fourth greatly diminishes the ex- pense ; a fifth actually makes money by his horses, having the credit, amusement, and services of them at the same time, though I grant few do thus much. These different results from keeping horses arising chiefly from the man w^ho keeps them, or oppor- tunity, is the reason why I recommend one man to do a thing I as strongly advise another to abstain from. I will instance racing, which, in a general way, I strenuously advise men to let alone, knowing, as I do, that, with few exceptions, they will eventually lose their money at it ; but in doing so, I advise the multitude, not a particular man. The man who keeps first-rate race-horses, if his property is vested in them, goes on the principle of sink or swim ; and where one keeps on the surface, nineteen sink. He HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 139 has, however, the chance of winning, though long odds are against him ; but the man who keeps mode- rate race-horses in a public racing- stable, has really no chance at all. Horses merely qualified to run for fifty-pound plates, will always, on the score of profit, be beat by expenses. "We will suppose a third-rate race-horse to start for such prizes six times, and to win three times out of the six, which, unless the horse be very judiciously entered, is quite as much, or more, than his owner has a right to expect ; such horse must lose money for his owner. If he " dis- claims so mean a prize," and runs horses where the stake is higher, the case becomes worse for them ; barring some unforeseen circumstances, he will never win. And on this rock so many split ; they fancy the taking the chance of winning a good stake, whereas there is no chance in the case ; they run to be beat to a certainty, save such contingency as I have men- tioned, and the chance of such occurring is about on a par with that of their horse coming in first. The only plan I know of with such a horse, is to keep him constantly going for such prizes as he has a fair 140 HmXS TO HOP.SEMET^; OE, chance of winning. The reader may object that if winning three times out of six is a losing game, the running oftener would lose still more. A little re- flection would, however, show this as a fallacious conclusion, which the following rough statement will show. I will put down the expenses incurred against the amount won in winning three out of six fifties the horse starts for in the season. The usual cost of a race-horse's keep in a public training-stable is about a hundred a-year, so now we go to our amount : — £ Keep 100 Entrances for six races ... 18 Three winning jockies . ... 15 Three losing ditto 9 Expenses of horse and lad going to each race, say £2 . . . 12 Your own, or trainer's expenses . 6 "Winning three races, £150. £160 So much for starting six times, and winning three times out of the six, less ten pounds ; but if the horse can win six times out of twelve starts, it will pro- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 141 duce a profit, because the hundred pounds' keep would in such case have to be set against three hun- dred pounds won, instead of against a hundred and fifty, the expense of additional jockies, entries, travel- ling expenses, being all that is to be brought against the additional hundi'ed and fifty ; but, on the other hand, he must be a very stout and game horse to bear such frequent running without becoming so stale as to be below himself; thus his chance of winning is poor indeed. Added to this, he may break down, and thus never having been much estimated as a race-horse, he would be as little so as a sire, so we must in such case put down his value, which we will call a hundred, as lost ; this would bring his win- nings to a very low state ; but with such risks to encounter, running him often is the only way so moderate a horse can be made profitable ; if he can only be started a few times, the loss by him is cer- tain. Thus it will, I hope, be seen that I advise for the best, when I recommend the generality of persons who cannot afford to pay for indulging their fancy, not to keep race-horses. 142 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OK, Now, on the other hand, there are men who, if their taste lay that way, may indulge it in racing not only with impunity, but profit. We will sup- pose a man to live on, or close by, Salisbury Plain, and has seen enough of racing and race-horses to be able to train his own, and has judgment and pru- dence enough to enter his horses for such stakes as they are likely to win a fair share of; I should to him say, indulge your propensity by all means, for he would do it under circumstances that make it quite probable he may gain by it, and must be most unfor- tunate if he lost money by it. We know that a race- horse costs very little more in keep in your own stable than a hunter — perhaps thii-ty pounds a year is as much as his keep costs ; it is true, he will want a lad for himself exclusively, but we have seventy pounds saved from the charge of a public training- stable to do this with ; so setting the expense of the boy at thirty pounds a year, we save forty by keep- ing the horse at home. Whether he will be as well trained as if under a public trainer, depends on the qualification of his owner for the task he undertakes. HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOUSES. 143 By doing this himself, he saves in every particular the profits of the trainer, who, as a matter of course, has his on all he does or has done to the horses under his charge. If the owner leaves home to superintend his horse at any meeting where he sends him to run, his bare expenses are all that have to be taken out of his winning, if he does win. He probably drives in his gig there, or rides ; the trainer charges a fair price for his conveyance, go as he may : nor is he to be expected to leave his home business without being paid for it. The expenses of the lad taking the horse are to be paid for in the same ratio ; such expenses, or much heavier ones, are a matter beneath consideration where high prizes are run for, but they tell wofully against those where the ''take up" is but small, if won ; and it is only for such that in- ferior horses are qualified to run with any reasonable hope of winning. Another advantage a man gains by training his own horses, if inferior animals, is, they meet with under his hands every attention, which would not be the case in the generality of public trainicg-stables, where such horses are considered all 144 HINTS TO housemen; or, but a disgrace to the establishment, and not worth taking much trouble about, for trainers of note hold the running for small stakes about on a par with play- ing at chuck-farthing : notwithstanding this, it is far better to play and win at such humble games, than it is to meddle with the more aristocratic one of hazard, and be brought to penury by so doing. The man who quietly trains his own horses and runs them for moderate stakes, is not likely to be led into the fearful habit of betting deeply, the result the most to be feared from a man going on the turf — for in such races as his horses are qualified to run for, there is little betting ; and, further, the stakes he runs for are not of consequence enough to the ring to cause his movements to be watched or his horses hocussed ; the first, the certain consequence of run- ning for great prizes, and the latter the frequent one. The man training his own horses can calculate his expenses to a few pounds, and if he does not bet, he cannot be seriously hurt by what he does, more than by keeping as many hunters as he does race-horses ; in fact, not so much, for the hunter can win him HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOUSES. 145 tiling, unless by his owner's judgment producing profit in the way of sale ; the race-horse must be a wretch indeed if he does not win something in the season, or the owner's judgment must be as bad a.s the horse ; besides this, if a man buys a race-horse, and by some good management causes him to show himself a better horse than he was held to be at the time of purchase, he will find purchasers for him at a price as much advanced as is the horse in public esti- mation. The great thing against which any, and every man, keeping race-horses should guard himself, is the not being misled b}^ the success of his horses (if they are successful), and thus fancying that be- cause they win moderate stakes, that they have a chance of winning higher ones ; a most fatal error, and one it requires no small degree of firmness to abstain from. Many men, led on by their horse often winning against a certain field, are apt to forget that in company only a little better, the same horse has no more chance than he would have if he run for a Derby : it is the being a little better that wins tlie race, for horses do not usually start together where L 146 HINTS TO horsemen; or, any recognised great disparity exists between them. There cannot be any very great difference between the speed of two horses, at equal weight, when the one only wins doing his best by half a length, but it is enough for the purpose ; and this little better, or speedier, just makes the difference of perhaps thousands to the owners of the two horses. Thus, the man training his own horses, and in the generalitj'- of cases putting them in stakes where they are likely to be a little the best or a little the worst, makes the difference of losing or making money by his horses. I quite admit, that if in certain company he sees his horse win technically " in a canter," he is quite warranted in trying him in better ; but let him not in such case set it down as by any means certain that his horse will win, for it is in many cases somewhat surprising to see a horse win quite easy in a race run ait a certain pace, not placed in one where the horses are but a little superior. There is in some horses a pace that suits them ; at this they can win compara- tively easy ; increase it, and all their powers seem prostrated — they are nowhere. It is in racing the HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 14? same by weiglit : up to a certain point they will run well at any weight, but after that certain weight, be it what it may, a very few pounds leaves them help- less. It may seem extraordinary that a horse who can ran respectably under from seven to eight stone seven or ten pounds, should be beat, in j&gurative terms, like a common hack if nine stone is put on, but so it is ; and so is the horse that can run and win against a certain class of competitors, beaten as decidedly by those only a little better. I have men- tioned a hundred as a supposed price of an inferior race-horse; it may seem a low one for an animal bearing the name of race-horse, but I must apprise the totally uninitiated in such matters, that I have stated a very handsome price as regards many bear- ing such name and showing in such character. Three or four horses walking along the road or en- tering an inn yard, in the way racing horses are seen, create quite a sensation among the bystanders. In the first place, their being led each by his own lad, leads to the supposition that they are too valuable to be ridden on any ordinary occasion ; then their L 2 148 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OH, being clothed as they are with their muzzles and their contents hanging by their side, shows the dress- ing them to be a matter of some importance, while their boots or leggings, with their knee-caps, indi- cate that a cut knee or hit ancle is considered as a catastrophe of great importance, should it occur ; yet have I seen horses attracting such attention, any one of which would be gladly sold for far less than the hundred I have mentioned. Such horses happen to have a little turn of speed, which gives them a cer- tain value, and a very trifling one, for racing pur- poses, and many of them for any other would be dear at a twenty-pound note, and probably would be gladly sold at such price at the end of the racing season, rather than incur the expense of wintering them. It may be said that, in technical terms, ''leather plating," or, in more slang diction, ''leather flap- ping," borders on a low pursuit. I grant it is fre- quently made so by persons who have no other means of support ; but in the man who does it from love of racing, albeit he profits by it, it is only on a par with HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 149 playing whist for shilliDg instead of guinea points. The man of large means, with a spice of the love of gambling in him, can feel neither interest nor ex- citement, unless he plays for high stakes. The noble, or man of large means, runs for the Derby, Leger, and two thousand : he would feel it beneath him to run for a paltry fifty ; but let him not sneer at the man who does. Each have their amusement ; and if there even is anything derogatory in a man running for small prizes whose means or inclination does not permit his running for large ones, it is equally so in the man of larger means running his horse for larger ones — that is, if both try to make money by it ; and this I have no hesitation in saying, setting aside the owner, the trainer, and the jockey, there are more of the refuse of society, more of those who are a disgrace to mankind, who are interested, one way or another, about the two great races, the Derby and Leger, than there are about all the leather -plating in England. This is, however, all as it should be : the man of large fortune encourages racing by running for large stakes ; it is not his fault, but his misfor- 150 HINTS TO horsemen; or, tune, that a set of swindlers will interfere with his doings ; but if the man of small means runs his horses as fairly and honourably as the other, it would be hard to decry what he does because he does it on a minor scale ; in truth, in point of prudence, he may be the most to be commended. Such a man going on quietly amusing himself, and at the same time turn- ing that amusement to good account, may laugh, as they say those do who win, while all that can be brought against him is, that he does that which it is the object of this book to shew, may be done under judicious management — namely, he makes money by his horses, even in that most precarious of all pursuits in which they are employed, namely, racing ; still, though knowing this is to be done, were my advice asked, I should know my man perfectly well ere I gave it in favour of his keeping race-horses of any sort ; for there are but few men who escape loss and disappointment in doing so. To venture on such speculation, a man ought to have (independent of good judgment in such matters) such command over himself as few men possess. He should be of most HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 151 imperturbable coolness, neither to be elated by tem- porary success, nor dismayed by temporary disappoint- ment, for he must encounter both in racing ; if he is dismayed by the latter, he will probably leave the turf in disgust, when a proper perseverance would repay him for temporary loss ; or, on the other baud, if of a sanguine temperament, he will become con- fident in himself and his horses, will be led to esti- mate the latter beyond their pretensions, and be tempted to back his judgment by betting, in which case it would avail little his horses winning a few fifties, if in one bet he lost hundreds ; or, as many have found to their cost, if a man wins the two thou- sand at Newmarket, and loses twice as much on the Derby, he is not in the way of making money. It requires no small share of determination to resist backing our judgment where the latter has brought us off triumphant ; but a man must be confident in his power to do this, ere he can with any degree of safety keep race-horses, unless he means to be a pro- iossed leg — a character, I presume, such readers as I address in no way contemplate becoming. 152 HINTS TO horsemen; or, Steeple chasing lias of late j-ears become a fertile source, as regards making money, and much money has been made by it : so there has by picking pockets. The energy of the police has greatly marred this accom- plishment ; and the somewhat too glaring robberies by the first-mentioned mode of committing them, have greatly lessened their field of action. I merely speak of them here as among other modes of making money by horses ; but let not the reader imagine that by steeple-chasing he can, under ordinary cir- cumstances, do so in an honourable, or commonly honest way — that is, by running his horses to win, if they can. "With a very few exceptions, I neither know, nor have heard, of any man who has made money by steeple-chasing ; that is, by his horses running to win. Hundreds have by running to lose, not money, but the race, which we must admit is by far the surest mode of winning money : it is true the favourite being destined to lose, gets, perhaps, the most dangerous horse out of the way of him who runs with the intention of winning, and would be in his favour greatly if the clique would let him win ; HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 153 but he will most probably find that though the horse he most feared is virtually out of the race, some one is left behind quite good enough to beat the horse of the owner, who only fears the one from whom, were he in the secret, he would know he had nothing whatever to fear. But let him not flatter himself he will be permitted to carry off the stakes ; they that make their chief harvest by the favourite not being permitted to win, will not let the gleaning of the stakes pass from their hands ; no, no, they (that is, the clique) pocket both. There is no free trade in steeple-chasing ; monopoly and combination carry the day. There is an anecdote extant of a very well known owner of steeple-chase horses going to a meeting where the entries were made the evening before starting ; he took with him three horses. The morning of the day of entering he went where the elite (God save the mark !) of the ring were as- sembled. " Well," said one of the clique, ^' , you have brought , , and down ; which do you mean to win with ?" '' That would be 154 HINTS TO HOESEMRN ; OB, a very bold thing in me to say," said the old hand ; *' but I will tell you what it is, gentlemen : I will," said lie (holding out his hand and moving his fingers as if clutching money), " I will lose with whichever suits you best." The exact fact may be unique, but similar practice is pretty general. Such statements as I have made, and they unfor- tunately are but too true, hold out but little induce- ment to any man who regards his character, to venture on steeple- chasing ; for I hesitate not in saying he must, in a general way, rob, or be robbed, if he does. I, of course, allude to his keeping horses for the express purpose of steeple-chasing, and starting them where the stakes are of sufiicient consequence for *'the money to be got on," as relates to the result, be it on the winning or losing tack. This need not, however, prevent a man or gentleman from occasionally taking a chance at it ; for instance, supposing a man to be a hunting one, residing where there are a few steeple-races in his immediate neighbourhood not of consequence enough to challenge the attention or attendance of the steeple-chasing and betting fra- HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOBSES. 155 ternity : there is no reason why he may not start his horse, or horses, for one or all these. If he be a good horseman, and possess nerve and hand sufficient to enable him to ride his own horse, so much the better ; he will be sure he is at least honestly ridden : but to do this with any fair chance of success, he must as his hunters ride horses of no ordinary pretensions : he must, in fact, buy and ride horses that can race ; for he must bear in mind that though a very inferior race-horse will, with proper practice and tuition, make a superior hunter, a very valuable hunter, that has no racing qualifications about him, would be a most inferior steeple-chase horse ; in fact, would not have the ghost of a chance against a horse of infinitely less value with a little racing turn of speed about him. Let his owner have sense enough to ride his horse as a hunter, keeping perfectly quiet any racing properties he may possess : his acquaintance regard- ing his horse as a hunter only, will enter their own against him; tlie result, barring accidents, will be tolerably certain, the stakes will pay for the keep of the horse and training expenses, and probably lo6 HINTS TO HORSEMEN"; OR, result the third will be, his being sold at a good price. Let not, however, those who have never ridden in a steeple-chase deceive themselves, by thinking that because they may ride forward boldly and well in a run with hounds, they possess all the necessary attributes for riding in a race : to do so, a knowledge of racing, and pace, as it affects their own horse and others in the race, is quite indispensable, as is the knowing, or rather feeling, the precise moment when it becomes necessary to take a pull at his horse ; or, if finding him full of running, to have an eye to the state of the other horses who he may see in diflSculty : then, supposing he feels his own horse strong under him, increasing the pace takes all the running out of them, and he is left, in technical phrase, to ''win as he likes." The knowing when it becomes prudent, or necessary, to ease a horse, is quite necessary' to the mere crossing country with hounds, but in such case should a man neglect to do this till his hunter be- comes pumped out, the horse, by a little after-nursing, recovers himself, which, if in proper condition and HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 157 wind, lie will very soon do ; and having got what is termed his second wind, he resumes his place in the foremost rank. But in a race he has no time for this : if brought to anything like extremity, his chance is out. In hunting, if a man only pays com- mon attention to his horse, he will find his energies gradually decrease when distress comes on : it is not so in a race ; he may feel fresh on entering a field, but before he has half crossed it that indescribable feeling comes on, that tells him accustomed to riding race-horses, that if he were to persevere at the same pace for fifty strides further, his horse would neces- sarily shut up : then it would take so long a time for him to recover, that he is virtually out of the race ; for though that time is a short one in hunting, and a slackened pace during that period only lets the field get part of an enclosure ahead, three minutes is an age in steeple-chasing — in fact, probably a fourth part of the time a steeple-chase occupies; and when four miles are frequently run in that time, the reader will see that none of that time must be wasted. In flat racing, a horse is not unfrequently, in figurative 158 HINTS TO HOESEMEIf; OB, language, beat two or three times during the last half mile of the run home ; but a pull for a few strides at the critical moment, saves him, and sets him going again ; and after all, he, perhaps, wins his race. It is thus, in a mitigated degree, in a steeple -chase. I have seen runners, when only running half a mile, run in apparently, to the bystanders, perfectly fresh, faint the moment thej^ stopped : they would probably have dropped from exhaustion had the race been ten yards further ; they had just wind and strength to finish with, and this leaves their energies completely prostrated. It is much the same as regards horses : in racing, the extreme pace reduces them to a state bordering on what I have mentioned in men, and if not eased before it" comes to this, though they would not, like the man, faint, they would fall off till they only staggered home in a canter, if they did not stop before they reached it. The man feels whether by extreme exertion his strength will carry him home, and if a game one, he taxes his powers to carry him through : if he feels exertion is useless, he wisely gives in. The jockey, from practice, feels his horse's HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 159 powers and what is left in liim : this is the leading attribute that gives the professional jock the decided advantage over the amateur, who may be quite as good a horseman as the former. It is this, and general judgment, that cause the superiority that one professional possesses over another; the want of it causes inferior jockies to as often beat their horses as they do ; and this is done in a tenfold degree by the generality of amateurs. It may be asked why (if a man is not qualified to ride his own horse in a steeple-chase) not employ a professional rider ? If his object is merely the ecldt of winning, he had far better do so ; but if the making money is the object, the objection to em- ploying a professional is this : if he applies to one of known celebrity, and few of the others are to be trusted in any way, such a man will not risk his neck but at a price that in small events would, with other expenses, run away with the profit. Supposing the stakes won, and as a man may hold himself lucky if he wins one out of three steeple-chases, he runs with the certainty of loss ; for the paying the 160 HiXTs TO hoksemen; oh, losing jockey twice — and they will not be paid a simple three guineas, as flat-race jockies are — would bring the balance sadly on the wrong side of the book. Thus, to the best of my knowledge, there are but two ways of making money by steeple-chasing ; the first is, to keep first-rate horses that will command the attention of the public, and by winning or losing with them as suits the way the money is on — that is, robbing the public — or by a man training and riding for himself, in places where sport is more the object of the meeting than robbery. I will not insult my reader by supposing he would choose the former. It is true, a man may chance on a wonder of a horse capable of winning in the most important events, but he would be of little use to him in running at some places unless his master became one of the gang ; for what is the good of owning a wonder, if he is not permitted to show himself as such r and if he was, the wonder would be more at the circumstance than the horse. They say *' wonders will never cease ;" I can only say, if in such events the best horse not belonging to the clique was permitted to HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESFS. 161 win, it would be a wonder that would very soon cease. Trotters have, in many persons' hands, been made the source of making a good deal of money — some- times fairly, by their superior capabilities, much oftener by very unfair practices. I have had a great many very fast ones in harness, but rarely availed myself of their speed in the wager way; I must, however, mention an occurrence in which I did, and to good (yet I trust justifiable) account. I heard of a mare who had twice done her seventeen miles in the hour iu harness ; I resolved to treat m.yself to her, if I liked her looks, for my gig. I had no idea, when I bought her, but of a little harmless gratifica- tion of giving others the ''go by," if I chanced to come alongside any one I found fancying he had a goer. In the neighbourhood lived a surgeon, who piqued himself on possessing fast ones ; and, as ordi- nary horses, fast they were. He was boasting in a coffee-room of what his horses could do, and that he met none that could touch them. I knew their capabilities well enough, and that, though fast, they M 162 HINTS TO horsemen; or, were uo trotters iu the wager way, so I denied their pretensions, and it ended in my saying, ''Well, doctor, I will trot the mare you have seen me drive, against either of 5'our horses." ''Done!" said the doctor; " what distance ?" " Any you please to name, for twenty sovereigns." The bet was booked, seven miles. "Now, doctor," said I, "bet me twenty more, and I will give you two hundred yards' start." " Done !" and that was booked. " Now," said I, " I have not done ; bet me ten to five, and I will give you a quarter of a mile." The doctor smiled at my innocency, or fool-hardiness, and booked that also ; but judge his astonishment on my saying, " Now, to close the matter, bet me twenty to five, and I will give you a start of four minutes, which, with your fast horse, must be considered a good mile." He no doubt set me down as gone mad — but the bet was made. Two days after, the match came off: about a quarter of a mile from home, I caught him, and in the last hundred yards passed him, winning all my bets. The truth was, his horse could rate about HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 163 fourteen miles an hour, and no more ; this enabled him to pass common horses on the road, and made him fancy he had a trotter. He, however, paid for his mistake, when his horse was tried against one that really was worthy the name. The chief way in which money is made by trot- ters, is not the most honourable one : it is done by matching them against another horse, or time, under a false description. In places where their true character is not known, this is done, when trotting to win is the game ; when it is not, the horse is correctly described. His capabilities being known, plenty of persons are ready to back him to win, whether against an inferior horse or against time, the distance in that being such as he is known capable of per- forming. Of course, agents are employed to get the money on against him : the result may be guessed, to the astonishment of those who backed him ; he, of course, loses. Probably a cry of indignation is raised by those who have been *' put in the hole ;" they can only express their opinion, for proof is wanting. Many excuses are framed for the horse being beateu, H 2 164 HINTS TO housemen; oe, but the money is pouched. Let us hope the backers are made wiser men by their losings. Among the various ways in which money is made by horses, I know of none by which it can be made more honourably, or to a greater certainty, than by keeping sires (if judiciously chosen). It is true, this requires considerable capital to start with, if entered into on a scale that will produce a handsome remune- ration. Sires of first-rate character, as regards their racing career, not only command very high prices, but are often difficult to be obtained even at such prices : a couple of thousand is often the price asked, nor will they be got for less, and the higher the price the better will the horse pay. "We will sup- pose such a sire purchased ; he will probably be ad- vertised to serve a given number of mares. Fifty guineas is the price some horses have covered at; but we will supppose the horse purchased at two thousand is limited to thirty mares at thirty sove- reigns, nine hundred of his cost price comes back in his first season ; thus, in a trifle over two seasons, the horse has paid for himself; and as such horses HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY nOESES. 165 rarely race after they are six years old, the owner may fairly look forward to enjoying a large income, for from ten to perhaps fifteen years. I know of no means by which a man can as safely turn his money to good account. Sires are to be had at all prices, from a hundred to the two thousand specified, and I quite believe they all pay, and soon repay their cost price, be that what it may ; but the great difference is, the owner of the first-class horse may choose the number of mares he will permit him to serve, the owner of a low-priced one is obliged to seek them ; such a horse will probably have to travel from town to town, and serving at a low price, the travelling expenses of himself and attendant bring on consider- able charges against the profit of the horse ; and further, unless that attendant be a very trusty one, the temptation is so great, that the horse is weakened by over-exertion, without the proceeds of it reaching the master's pocket. There is, however, a medium-priced sire that pays as well in proportion to his cost price as does the highest class of horse ; by a medium-priced one, I 166 HINTS TO horsehen; or, mean one whose price we will set down at from three to five hundred ; such sire would bring, perhaps, five guineas a mare for his services, and would serve say- sixty ; this brings him, in point of proportion as to a return of money, about on a par with the one that costs two thousand ; the diiference between the two being the amount of income they bring : a result as much to be anticipated as that the man who invests two thousand in an annuity, of course has a right to a larger income than he who invests five hundred. The great advantage a first-rate sire holds out to his owner, is the certainty of his services being sought, though he be an untried one. Here it may be useful to the totally uninitiated in such matters, to explain what the term '' untried " means, as they might na- turally enough imagine it meant untried as a race- horse ; this is, however, not the case : it means un- tried as a sire, that is, that his produce have not appeared in public as race-horses. Eut there have been instances of sires, who have been themselves untried as to their merits on the turf, from their having met with accidents that prevented their run- HOW TO MAKE MONEY EY HOKSES. 167 ning, yet mares Lave been put to such horses, in fair confidence that the produce of such a sire would run ; this, I trust, shows my advice to be good, in recom- mending any one purchasing sires, or brood mares, to be rery particular in selecting running and fashion- able blood ; and nothing shews it more than the case I have mentioned, of a sire being patronized, though he never ran ; of course, such horse is sought as a sire solely from his blood being of a running strain. Tried sires, if they have been successful as regards the merits of their produce, are, as may be expected, diflScult to get, and if sold, will, of course, realize prices in accordance with the amount they have brought in during their season, or seasons — for this is known to all interested in such matters. A tried sire is a sure income, an untried one has to establish his credit. Yet a man purchasing such a horse as Wild Dayrell, who is untried as a sire, is pretty sure of realizing a remunerative income at first ; but his purchaser, or owner, must not confidently rely on this continuing, for good as the horse is in himself, and fiattering as maj^ be the hopes as regards his 168 HINTS TO HOESEMKN ; OR, produce, it is quite possible few, if any of them, may run a yard ; this once found, of course his career as a sire, as regards the public, is over ; and instances do occur, where the best of horses, let them serve what mares they will, never beget a colt fit, in tech- nical terms, to " run for a man's hat;" yet it is by no means impossible, that if one of those were used as a sire, his get might run as well as his grandsire ; there seems a something, as it were, latent in blood, for which no one can account, but which causes its efforts to totally fail in one instance, yet shews itself conspicuously when least expected ; but on an average, running blood is sure to tell. A man proposing to keep sires should be careful to have them of different known merits, so as to have one among them likely to suit the different mares brought to them ; for instance, it would have been very bad policy (had they all been procurable at the same time) to have purchased Velocipede, Bay Mid- dleton, and Eagle, to stand at the same establish- ment ; for the chief merit of each of these would be of tlie same kind, so the choice of either would be HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOKSES. 169 but dictated by fancy. ]N'ow ^^halebone and Veloci- pede, standing at the same place, would each suit a diametrically opposite mare ; for if we are to rely on the sire perpetuating his merits, here would have been two of quite opposite character — one likely to perpetuate speed, the other, as he proved by his pro- duce, stoutness. ''Good little AVhalebone!" "Honest little Whalebone !" are terms that to this day speak in honour of the horse. Direct speed, such as Eagle possessed, who in his match with Sir Charles Bunbury's famous mare, Eleanor, winner of Oaks and Leger, beat her, is not, I conceive, by any means so surely hereditary as is stoutness ; for the first depends chiefly on the attri- bute of the particular horse, the other on constitution and game — this probably arising from blood, as does bravery in some families ; but it by no means follows that each member of it is equally active, and speed in a horse is a certain degree of activity that he pos- sesses, but may not perp etuate ; such very speedy horses are a little apt to be currish in difficulty — a failing, I must think, they are more likely to hand 1 70 HINTS TO HORSEMEN ; OE, down to their get than their acti^dty, or, in more appropriate terms, speed. To what extent or certainty a sire may perpetuate his leading attribute to his progeny, is at best but a speculative opinion ; but I should say, that if a man proposed breeding from a hasty, tall, light-made mare, whose chief merit was speed for a mile, or mile and a half, he would never contemplate putting her to Bay Middleton, or such a horse ; and, on the contrary, if he had a somewhat slow one, of rather a sluggish temperament, he would never for her select a sire whose characteristic was running long distances, but wanting rousing all the way : thus, to meet the wishes of owners of mares of different characters, sires should be kept of different characters also. One great thing to guard against, in keeping sires, is the men acting as grooms cramming them, which they will do, if not strictly watched ; but there is a still more destructive practice among them, which is not so easy to prevent, namely, dosing them with nostrums, to (as they imagine) produce a fine coat, and impart vigour : the first, proper feeding, physic, HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 171 grooming, exercise, and proper warmth, will in most cases produce ; the last (if these nostrums have any effect at all) it is but temporary, and is slow destruc- tion to the animal; each groom has his favourite nostrum, in which he has implicit faith, and the more ignorant he is, the stronger his faith, and probably the more ridiculous, if not destructive, his panacea ■will be. The attendant on a cart-sire once told me, as a valuable secret, that he gave his horse oil of vitriol, by steeping a few corns in this abominable compound. I own to have been guilty of a breach of confidence, for I forthwith acquainted his master of the circumstance. I believe I have now run through the catalogue of such horses as may be made to pay money, without their owner becoming a trader ; but before any one attempts to look to making them pay, he would be wise to look to himself, and I should recommend his being as alert a critic on his own qualifications, as in that of the horses he buys and uses for such purpose ; the chief attribute required in the man is judgment ; in the horse, merit. Judgment, as regards any de- 1 72 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OE, scription of horse, is, I am quite satisfied, only to be attained by being habituated to look at them from early age ; by this he will probably also attain taste — a most necessary attainment, for it is on taste that depends our purchases of anything being admired. The great gratification in possessing most things, depends on their being admired by others, either for their beauty or merit ; it is pre-eminently so as re- gards horses, and the leading feature in turning horses to account, is their being admired for one of these, or both. Horses attracting notice, or the reverse, frequently depends on the description of man possessing them ; they may be handsome, and possess merit, yet in some men's hands they seldom attract attention enough for any quality they may possess being no- ticed, and persons would be very sceptical as respects their merits. 'Now, with all proper respect for the persons I am going to name, who would look at the horses of my Lord Mayor, or Mr. Sheriff (anybody), expecting to find any of them possessing unusual merit ? It is true, they cost as much, perhaps more HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 173 than did the carriage-horses of the late Marquis of An- glesey. Mr. Sheriff (anybody's) carriage indubitably costs more than did the noble Marquis's, but where is the taste exhibited? the horses Mr. Sheriff pays a high price for, no doubt, will be found in themselves high enough and to spare, though not of high caste; but they answer the purpose for which they were purchased, which, verily, is far more than can be said of those of many other persons. Then, again, no doubt Mr. Sheriff would not stoop to make money by his horses, though he does so by making breeches — (I should say pantaloons, for now-a-days no one in London wears breeches, except footmen, coal-porters, and dustmen). iSTot even the imposing title of Lord Mayor of London holds out any prospect of his horses being admired by good judges of animals, though his dinners are very much so, by good judges of good eating, No, we must not look in the neighbourhood of the Poultry for first-rate living animals, though it abounds with the very finest dead ones. I once bought a horse that went leader in a gentleman's four-in-hand, not being a match for the others, which he was not, being 174 HINTS TO horsemen; or, by far the finest horse, and turned out one of the best and fastest hunters I ever possessed ; but "angels and ministers of grace " defend us from a leader from my Lord Mayor's coach ! IsTotwithstanding my having taken somewhat of a liberty with the cortege of the great city representative, as also with his taste as regards it, there may have been hunting lord mayors, for all I know, nor is there any reason there should not be again ; this I can vouch for, there has been a sporting sheriff, for I knew him. He hunted, and kept a horse or two that could run a bit ; moreover, he sometimes rode them himself, and I well remember seeing him ride at some races that were got up on Hounslow Heath; he cut rather a singular figure there, for he rode in an oil-skin jacket, a somewhat unusual dress, no doubt, but it rained, and I suppose this jacket was kept for such contingencies; many laughed at this, but in wearing it, the sporting sheriff showed his good sense, by doing what probably but few of the laugliers would have done, and what few persons have sense enough to do on ordinary occasions — namely, he set custom HOW TO iTAKE MONEY BY HOESES. ' 175 at defiance, where comfort was to be attained by doing so. Some worthy citizen may somewhat indignantly remark, if he holds good taste in horses and equipages, or its reverse, a circumstance worthy his indignation, why should not a lord mayor or sheriff possess as good taste in either, or both, as a nobleman or gen- tleman ? There is certainly no reason why they should not, but why they do not is easily explained : till late in life, neither have probably possessed either ; and the man whose early life has been devoted to perfecting his judgment in indigo, cloth, or sugar, profitable and meritorious as such pursuits may be, is not likely to have devoted much attention to horses and equipages, more than men differently situated have to cloth or indigo. I mean no sneer or disre- spect to worthy citizens by what I say, for I fervently now wish, as perhaps do many more, that my early life had been devoted to becoming a judge of horses' hides, instead of the living animal, though at the time I should have been ready to jump down the man's throat who made such a proposal to me. 1 76 HINTS TO HORSEMEX ; OE, But supposing a man, brought up to city business, disposed to acquire the taste of the west-end man in horses, he has no opportunity of doing so, for he has only the horses and equipages of his cotemporaries constantly under his eye ; his acquaintances are not horse men, and a turn in the park -will not suffice to perfect his taste, or improve it much either ; for when there, he will probably most admire the style his eye has been accustomed to, unless he has quite a different sort of man to himself with him, to call his attention to what is held admirable by good judges. He would, no doubt, see among the equipages some quite to his taste, and seeing them in Hyde Park, he would probably carry their style in his eye, as a pattern for his own, if he proposed keeping one ; it would, most likely, not strike him to enquire whether they came from Park or Mincing Lane ; and if one was known to him as coming from the latter locality, he would return satisfied that it looked quite as well as the Duchess of Wellington's; thus he would go home with his bad taste confirmed. To show what this taste would probably be, a very now TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 177 worthy and opulent merchant was speaking to me of the carriage and horses he had come to the determi- nation of setting up, told me he had bought a pair of horses, and the carriage was just finished. I saw neither, but judged of the style of the latter from his giving me the following information : ''I have ordered my harness of ," mentioning a city harness-maker. " Is it to be brass or plated ?" said I, pretty surely guessing it would be the latter. *' Brass !" said he, ''that is only fit for a stage-coach; no, I have ordered plated, and have directed it to be made as rich as possible." Hick harness ! I had heard of neat and of handsome harness, but rich was a new term to me, and that it was to be rich in plated orna- ments was to me a settler. What hope is there of such a man ? The only thing to do was to wish the worthy merchant, his lady, and his four really amiable daughters health to enjoy their newly-ac- quired equipage, rich harness and all. I fear he is not one of those to whom I can hold out much pros- pect of making money by his horses. To convince himself of which, he has only to look at the man I 178 HINTS TO HOUSEMEN ; OE, describe as being so, and then ask himself, Am I that man ? Let him look at the characters I have described in the young man, in the more experienced one, as driving their four-in-hand, and also at that of Sir John Lade and the late Sir Henry Peyton, he will at once see the difference between himself and them ; hut there is no reason why he should become one of these, so there is no reason why he should make money by his carriage-horses; but till he does take them, or others, for his guide, one thing is quite certain, he never will. jSTowletus look at the hunting man. In no shape do I mean to say there are not some very good riders who have begun hunting somewhat late in life, — at all events, they ride well enough to amuse themselves and ride up to hounds ; but then they must have a horse that wants no teaching, they must buy the article ready-made to their hands. By this money is not to be made, for they must be more fortunate than they have any right to anticipate, if they get a horse for a hundred that is worth two, unless they purchase him of some one knowing less about the HOW TO MAKE MONRY BY HOESES. 179 matter than they do themselves, which it might be difficult to do ; for riding a horse, or rather sitting on one that perfectly understands his business, is quite a different thing from riding one that knows little or nothing about it ; but it becomes a matter of doubt whether such a person will purchase a horse understanding a business that his master really does not : but we will suppose him to have done so ; he has purchased him at his full value ; what is to make him worth more ? certainly not the way in which he is ridden, for this, though good, will in no way im- prove him who has probably been ridden better, and which has brought him to the state in which his present owner purchased him ; consequently, as ofteji as he sells he loses, instead of making money, and probably he has neither time nor opportunity to ac- quire that knowledge by which he can when he sells, and he will find it too late in life to learn it. He probably hunts twice a week at most, never sees his horse from one hunting day to another, his inter- mediate time is occupied by matters of greater im- portance to him than making or losing money by his .N 2 180 HINTS TO nOESEMEN; OE, horses. He lays by a certain sum for his hunting expenses, and for his losses by his horses. He can aiford to do this, but he must not ^ronder how Mr. So- and-so usually, in fact, barring accidents, always sells his horses at an advanced price ; let him remember he is not Mr. So-and-so, nor ever will be, consequently cannot do as he does, nor do his horses do as those of the other do, so they fail to attract attention, while the other's do ; besides which, he is not recognised as a judge and a rider. A rider he certainly is, and perhaps, in a general way, a good one, but of quite a different sort to the other. He may purchase one of Mr. So-and-so's horses ; as well might I purchase Sig. Sivori's violin, and then be surprised that it produced no music, for one of those horses in the hands of an indifferent rider would be found a very different thing to what he was when in his former master's posses- sion. It is the man that makes the horse, and having made him, calls forth all his attributes into play. Another thing should be borne in mind, the belong- ing to, and being ridden by, a particular man, gives them a 2>restige that those ridden by other persons in HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 181 no way possess. If they are ridden for any length of time by a recognised judge and rider, it is inferred, nay, it is fact, that they must be good, or they could not carry him ; and it is equally certain that having carried him, they must be clever. ISTow, having car- ried the other is no assurance of their being either ; that is, no assurance strong enough to make people at all anxious about the matter. jS'ow we will suppose that seeing the latter carried in a superior manner, induces the former person to purchase a horse that he has seen carry his master, and that he induces him to take his own horse in exchange ; mind you, he loses considerably by the exchange, for the owner of the horse will not sell unless he gets his price, and will not buy unless he sees something in the horse offered that he shrewdly suspects has not been made the most of. They exchange. The purchaser does not find that he is a whit better carried than he was on his former horse, — he cannot make it out. In a fortnight's time the purchaser of his horse appears on him, and to his utter astonishment beats him on the horse he sold. It would be ever thus in horses that 182 HTIS'TS TO nORSKMETf; OR, were in any way on a par : the purchaser of the other s horse saw well enough he was not made the most of, saw his master was not at his ease on him, and only waited for the chance he got of buying him, seeing clearly enough that he was not in the right sort of hands. Be content, my good sir, with a horse that carries you well as you ride him, for, be assured, to bo carried as the other is, depends not so much on the horse (that is, we will suppose he is a good one) as on the man who rides him. IS'ow, the horse sold does not go to the satisfaction of his master ; why was this ? he went pleasantly and comfortably enough at first, but his rider very soon altered this ; he stood in his stirrups, to a certain degree balancing himself by the bridle ; his horse, who had been used to be ridden in a different way, in his own defence bored against the hands, nor can it be any wonder that he did so, with such a fulcrum to pull against : he did so in his own defence, thus throwing his whole weight forwards, and going, as it were, in his shoulders. Kow, how differently would this horse show pulled, as it were, together, not permitted to go depending HOW TO MAKE jVIONEY EY HORSES. 183 on his fore-parts for safety, bis head at liberty, and bis bannches well under him in bis gallop. Why, be could go half as fast again as be could in the way he had been ridden. "What bad his new master been at with him during the last fortnight ? he bad been teaching him to undo all his late master had taught him ; the purchaser saw this, knew he was a good horse spoiled for the time, bis own, that be swapped for him, drawing a handsome sum, will, be fairly prognosticates, be spoiled too, if bis present owner continues to ride him. Well, it matters not, he rides as he likes, and his horses go as they like ; he rides up to hounds in the way most pleasant to himself, is a good-natured and well-disposed man ; but to teach him to improve would be impossible — be is too old to learn ; and I am afraid be is too old also to learn how to make money by bis horses. It may be said, that most arts are to be learned so as to enable a man to perform his part in such arts with moderate skill : I allow they may, and so may riding, but it must be observed, that a man thus taught is taught to ride a horse that is taught too ; 184 HINTS TO horsemen; or, here he has no difficulties to encounter, and he will ride with ease, and even grace ; but put him on to a horse the very reverse of what he has been accustomed to manage, and he will be all abroad directly. IS'ow, the man who is a perfect horseman, knows from habit, and from having had such and ridden them, what to do ; he may be riding one that, with the generality of riders on him, would be constantly showing a dis- position to do something his rider as constantly checks, and this so stilly, that no one perceives any- thing of the matter. ]^ow, the other could not do this for the life of him ; if his horse had the habit of getting his head up, he would do so ; and if of carry- ing it down, why, down he would carry it, ad in- It may be asked, how a gentleman makes himself so complete a master of all a horse should or should not do ? It is briefly answered, by having time, op- portunity, and inclination so to do. I^ow, there are many men who are perfect judges of what a horse should or should not do, but have neither inclination nor temper to remedy the failing, HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOUSES. 185 consequently they sell him, probably to the man who has both, and he reaps the benefit of their doing so. Without going back to lord mayors or sheriffs, there are many men who drive, and drive fairly, safely, and, to a certain degree, well; give them a pair of horses properly bitted and properly put toge- ther, they can drive them in most situations with perfect safety and without attracting comment on their doing so ; but if, on the contrary, they were put together so as to be two horses, but not a pair, they would know no more how to remedy this, than the horses would know it themselves. If such a man should wonder why his horses, for which he gave a liberal price, are not admired — if he should be surprised that others could always find persons ready to purchase their horses, and he cannot — if he should find that when he wishes to sell he invariably loses — let him look at the man who does otherwise, he will then find that this book has told him a secret that none of his friends would do ; that it has laid the truth bare before him, and he will admit that, in 186 HINTS TO horsemen; or, that case, if it does not qualify him to make money, it, at least, tells him why he does not do so. Why is it that the doctor's turn-out is almost always to be pointed out ? yet, with a few excep- tions, such is invariably the case, from his gig to his carriage. If the latter, there he sits, to be driven by some Yahoo who guides, not drives, his horses into holes and corners that no other man would find out, the man savouring strongly of quinine and bark. If the doctor chooses to drive himself, the boy (not lad) accompanies him, which he does first, to hold the horse, and secondly, to know all the places at which he is to call with the medicines, the result of his master's visits. He is probably in such clothes as he finds himself, or, if a livery is perpetrated, it is sure to be an ill-made green, turned up with red, or a light-blue with yellow ; his hat well worn, with silver band ; and for inexpressibles, a pair of the doctor's, cut to suit the younker's dimensions. Now the style of doing the thing is quite diff'erent, from the neat dark -grey short frock, with w^hite leathers, still whiter gloves, and top-boots, cleaned as neatly HOTT TO MAKE MOXEY BY HORSES. 187 as liquid top mixture and Warren's blacking can make, who jumps out of the equipage to stand at tlie horse's head while the master gets out. The doctor knows his patient is at home, so he hands the reins to his boy, who, like the horse, is glad enough to avail himself of the opportunity of standing still. Let me ask, is such a man one likely to make monej" by his horses ? yes he is, but it is By their labour that he makes it. N^ow let him turn to the anecdote of the baker with his trotters, he will find that he got his business done, and well done, and made money too ; so might the doctor, if he chose to drive the sort to do it. jS'ow, the knowledge of any particular sort of horse is not an object of very great difficulty for any man to attain ; a knowledge of the merits of all sorts is ; let but a man make himself a judge of the horse he uses, and he will in most cases make money by him. The man not in business using, as he does, all kinds, requires a very general knowledge of the merits and faults of all of them, and this nothing but practice can effect. And now let us turn our attention to men who 188 HINTS TO hoesemen; or, will attempt to make money by betting. I have known, and now know, several of tliese men, who know no more of a race-borse than that horse knows of them ; men who have not the smallest idea of the comparative merits of the horse they bet upon, yet will these sensible men in the ordinary business of life, go and risk perhaps the amount of a year's industry on a race of which they are perfectly ignorant : what their infatuation can be, I know not. If they were fond of racing and of race-horses, I can easily believe their pleasure in the sport might lead them on, they might then back their opinion ; but that men who I have heard say that they should not know West Australian from Yoltigeur except by colour, should go and spend their time and money in a sport they know nothing on earth about, seems to me to be an infatuation for which I can in no way account; better, far better, to risk their money at cards or dice, of both of which they may be quite competent judges. They say they go upon such a horse's public running ; now what do they know about his public running ? They hear that he ran for the cup at such HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 189 a place, hear that he was heaten, the public odds are made out upon his running, thus they are high against him. Such men as I specify bet with these odds against the horse : let them ask his trainer ; he could, if he chose to do so, tell them a far different tale. But we will suppose a case : a colt runs twice, or oftener, and has been beaten ; the horse that beat him has in his turn been beaten by another in a similar race ; the colt has to start against him. "Well," says the man disposed to bet, ''here is a certain thing, this colt has been beaten by one horse who has been beaten by another ; why, they must be mad to start him under such circumstances." He puts the pot on, and to his utter dismay, from thinking he has a few hundreds clean in his pocket, he finds his pocket is cleaned out by the transaction. He wonders what it is, how can it have occurred ? here is a colt that has been beaten by a horse that has been beaten by another, yet this colt goes away and beats this winning horse handsomely ; it must be a sell, a take-in, a monstrous piece of robbery, con- cocted to mislead the public, and by doing so, to put 190 HINTS TO HOUSEMEN ; OR, money in the pockets of a set of scoundrels, whose doings ought to be exposed in the public papers. Patience, my good sir I you have really had a very good but somewhat expensive lesson, as regards mix- ing yourself up with things of which you had no earthly knowledge : you went on the colt's previous performances and on his public running; now in this case there is no occasion to put the circumstance in the public journals. Here has been no sell, no robbery at all ; the colt ran in a race of a mile, he was beaten ; the horse that ran against him was also beaten ; but you seem to forget that this was quite a different race ; it was two miles and a half, run at a pace that quite suited the colt, who had not a chance in the former race ; his trainer knew this, and pro- bably availed himself of that knowledge for his own and his employer's pocket. '' Well," says our suf- ferer, " I am obliged for this information ; I shall be wiser in future for it." ''You will; but not sufficiently wise to get any good by racing ; show 5'our wisdom by not attempting to retrieve your losses, for depend on it, there are many things that HOW TO HAKE ilOXET ET HORSES. 191 would astonish you in such matters, much more than that a beaten horse in one race should be the win- ning one in another. I am aware that I here show myself a bad friend to the turf in strenuously ad- vising those no more conversant with such matters than yourself not to bet, for it is precisely such that are wanted to fill the pockets of those who are adepts in such matters ; but as I write with the intent of showing a man how to make money, and at the same time how he will lose it, common honesty calls for my doing so in this instance." That there is money made, and, indeed, fairly made, by betting, no one will attempt to deny ; for it would be hard if a pursuit in which hundreds fail, none should succeed ; but it is done by betting round, so that if one thing fails, another succeeds. It is done by having scouts in the neighbourhood of the differ- ent racing establishments, ready to give such infor- mation as is likely to affect the odds for or against any particular horse, and the bettor alters his bets accordingly. You may often hear that such a horse has gone back in the betting ; this has been from some 192 HINTS TO horsemen; or, cause or other that sends him back, and brings another into his place ; and this, probably, arises from some influential man having had some information that causes the alteration in the betting. It may be asked, how do illiterate men manage this betting-book — we will say such men as Davis or the late Crockford ? The answer to this is, they had been betting long before any one noticed their proceedings ; they had been dabbling in betting for years, with varied success ; they had devoted all their time and attention to it, had passed through an ordeal that few men but themselves would have en- countered; had got down somehow to all the best races ; thus they became known ; then, when they had made a lucky hit, their career began ; they made it a point to pay honourably every losing bet ; this established their character ; and it was thus their inte- rest not to deviate from a line of conduct they found to their advantage to adhere to. Stories are told that Crockford did not know how, in writing, to set down two and two make four ; this may have been the case at his commencement in betting, but, depend HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 193 on it, long before he became the Great Leviathan — long before he kept race-horses, and long, very long before he became possessor and inhabitant of one of the best houses in Newmarket, " il avoit change tout cela'^ Something like this has been said of our present Leviathan : how far it was true, I know not, nor need we inquire : he pays his losings cheerfully, and without a murmur. Let others, of whom this was expected, from their position in society, take a hint : for it matters little who or what he is, the man who has honesty enough not to risk more than he can pay, brings no unpleasant feelings to his family or friends, but, in accordance wdth his position in life, enjoys the respect of all who know him. I make not the least doubt but that those who are in no way advocates for betting, and many who have suffered by those who are so, will cordially join me in asking how such a man as I have described, as bet- ting on the colt and losing his money, could have the folly to mix himself up with a pursuit of which he had not the necessary knowledge for his guidance ? 194 HINTS TO hoesemen; oe, Supposing then! to express such opinion, would it not be quite fair in me to suggest, how can they pos- sibly expect to make money by horses of whom their knowledge is about on a par with his in betting ? Let no man's vanity be offended by what I say, for there are many who are fair enough judges of horses to be always well mounted, to ride them so as to avoid criticism, to be on a par with the generality of riders, and to be inclined to laugh at many whose attempts at horsemanship call forth such remarks ; yet those who thus ridicule the bad attempts of others, are in no way qualified to make their horses remunerative. A man, to do this, must, at all events, be a perfect judge of the horse he keeps ; for, to make money, it is quite unnecessary for a man to be a judge of a de- scription of horse that he is not in the habit of using. The driving man, who does not hunt, need not be a judge of the qualifications of a hunter : but he must be wide awake to what are held as perfections in the harness horse — the racing man the same ; many of these never rode a day's hunting in their lives, con- sequently, know nothing about hunters : while, on HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 195 the otlier hand, there are many men who, as masters of hounds, or their friends, totally d — n all racing and race-horses, cannot see what pleasure can be de- rived from the pursuit, and, consequently, with some exceptions, anathematize all who keep them, as per- sons keeping a description of horse whose only recom- mendation is, that he is made a means of robbing the public — in which opinion, by the by, they are in some cases not very wide of the mark. Such men will go to see a hunter's plate run for ; the only event of the meeting the racing man cares not one farthing about, and probably takes the opportunity this affords him of paying a visit to Mr. Careless, or some one in the same line. Some masters of hounds permit their huntsman to sell out ; that is, to sell the horse they are in the habit of riding. A good deal may be said for and against this practice, with which we have nothing to do here. Thus, each man becomes more or less a judge of that particular kind of horse adapted to that amuse- ment in which he takes the most interest ; others may hold his judgment light, while he, in his turn, o2 196 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, will do the same by that of the other, very probably arising from his knowing but little of the animal that ranks highest in the estimation of him who patro- nizes the amusement he is calculated to produce. This is enough for that man to know, let him adhere to that with which he is conversant, he will then have horses fitted to their task, be it what it may, and he will be in a fair way to make his horses remu- nerative ; whereas, if he is a thorough coachman, and a very bad rider with hounds, he will find, that though he makes money by harness-horses, he loses it much faster by hunters ; for, let it be observed, the one pursuit leads very little to a knowledge of the other, and vice versa. I have seen men who always, com- paratively speaking, led the field, the veriest muffs in creation on the box : the fact is, they have not attended to the one, and they have to the other; and this will be found to mar all attempts in after-life to become equally at home in both. But there is no occasion for this, unless it be for amusement ; he knows perfectly well what he is about in one pursuit, let him stick to that and pursue no other, and all will be right HOW TO MAKE IVTONET BY HORSES. 197 enough. The breeder is a good judge in his way : he breeds fine horses, and sells them ; but it in no way follows that he is a good judge of the purpose each animal he breeds is most calculated for ; this he leaves to the persons who purchase what he has bred, who probablj^, in their turn, know nothing about breeding. The hunting-dealer, living in the country, selects those most fit for hunting purposes ; the London man, those who, by their action, are cal- culated to sell there : thus, each man, in his way, selects such as, in his hands, are likely to make money. It is well for the breeder that it is so, for though, by great care, attention, and management, he produces a certain number of fine animals, he cannot insure each possessing similar action, attri- butes, or, indeed, looks ; for instance, he may breed one singularly handsome, but with, at best, very mo- derate action, while, on the other hand, another may be in no way prepossessing in appearance, but evi- dently shewing indications of very superior capabili- ties ; so, take them altogether, they find purchasers, from each man having a difi'erent pursuit to employ them in. 198 HINTS TO hoesemen; oe, It may seem odd to say so, but it is nevertheless fact, that mere country gentlemen, keeping their three or four hunters, are about the very worst judges of horses of any man who is in the habit of keeping them ; that is, there is not one in twenty who ever makes a shilling by his horses ; they are, perhaps, good judges of thier qualifications, and ride them as well as most men could do — but they are no judges of price. I have often gone into their stables, and heard them name such prices as their value, as has produced a concealed smile, at the idea of what would be the owner's surprise, if his horses were valued by a man who knew anything about the matter. It is quite easy for a man to name a hundred and fifty as the value of a horse he has no intention of selling ; he believes him worth it, and .would only be undeceived if from any chance they were ofi'ered for sale. To shew the truth of this assertion, I went on a visit of a couple of days to see a gentleman who hunted regularly, which he had done all his life. Of course, I, as a matter of compliment, asked to look at the stud ; and into the stable we went. I began compli- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 199 menting the owner on the condition of his horses, which I could conscientiously do, for it was first-rate ; I then admired the sort ; this I also did with truth on my side, for a better sort, take the four together, it -u'ould be difficult to find. I had them stripped. I felt them — no horses could be better ; their muscle firm and elastic ; thus far, all was as it should be. Observing the horse I looked at had a pair, or rather two fore legs, on which he stood somewhat shaky, the one savouring very much of relaxed sinews, I took no notice of them, out of compliment to my host ; but I suppose he caught my eye, as it scanned the failing. ''Ah," said he, "the bangs and bruises they get in hunting will show, but he is as sound as a trout. I would not take a hundred and fifty for him." Coming away, I cast my eye on a very good imitation of a curb. " Oh," said he, "I see you are looking at his hock ; he threw that out the begin- ning of the season ; but it is of no consequence, it does not interfere with his work, and at the end of the season we shall set that all to rights." Now here was a man fancying he had near five 200 HINTS TO HOKSE:yrEN ; oe, hundred guineas' -worth in his stable, while the truth was, about two was the maximum price of the four, who were all of them more or less faulty ; they were, in short, a set of fine old screws, that carried him Avell, and which, from want of that universal know- ledge of horses which enables one who has it to value them for what they are really worth, deceiving him- self most grossly as regards their value, it would have been really an act of cruelty to undeceive him. A man thus circumstanced, has but one chance with his horses, (and even this would be no chance at all, with a man who purchased horses with an eye to making money by them) ; being known and seen as a good rider, his horses will sell to one who does not possess such advantages ; here he occasionally gets a pull, and country gentlemen are fond of buying a horse they have seen carrying their friend with ease and comfort ; his soundness is a thing not doubted by buyer or seller, they only consider him the reverse when he is forced to be stopped in his work ; and even then, if it is considered a temporary thing, the horse returns to the field with his character for HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 201 soundness uninjured; he is bought, and some months afterwards is lame : this is the old affair come against him, which was not suspected, whereas a good judge would anticipate that such would be the result. Of all things, that which is the least understood by- persons in the country is soundness ; of all men (that is honest ones) of whom I might buy a horse, there is no one I should doubt more as to his horses being sound than the farmer — his opinion in such matters is not worth a farthing, for he really knows not whether the horse is sound or not ; of any incipient disease, or indication of one, they are totally ignorant. Such persons will perhaps find out, or be told of it, that their horse is going, as the term is, a ''little stiff" on his hind leg : they suppose it is a little strain, but expect it will go off again ; but when he becomes dead lame, they send for a veterinary surgeon, who at once pronounces it a veritable spavin, or curb ; the only circumstance that awakens their attention to any lameness, is the horse being unable to continue his work. It is thus that persons accustomed to ride inferior 202 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, horses, though good judges of them, have no eye whatever to appreciate the merits, or indeed the appearance of superior ones ; they get so much accus- tomed to regard common horses as superior animals, that they will talk to a man accustomed to horses quite of a different character, of the merits of their horses, forgetting that if he listens to their praises, they are only indebted to his courtesy for doing so. I remember once, returning from hunting, I was overtaken on the road home by the son of a neigh- bouring gentleman; he joined me, and by way of information, told me that his father being out, he had taken the liberty of riding one of his horses, which he assured me was never ridden on the road. The thought that suggested itself to me was, that the horse was used in harness, and I hinted as much ; but my youngster bristled up at once. " Ko," said he, ** my father values him far too much as a hunter to use him for any other purpose ;" so off my offended companion rode. Now I really meant not to under- rate my neighbour's hunter, who I recollected having seen with the hounds ; but he had never attracted my HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOESES. 203 attention sufficiently to remember him, meeting him in a situation so far beneath his dignity ; though, for the life of me, I could see nothing about him to indi- cate its being so. But what does appear somewhat extraordinary, is this : if they were content to ride this kind of horse, and call him n hunter, it is all well enough ; but they seem not to have the slightest discernment be- tween the appearance of two horses, the one 'their own being worth perhaps forty, or at most fifty guineas, the other a couple of hundred. These are the kind of men usually boasting that they care not for looks one farthing, provided they are carried well up to hounds ; they are men as care- less about their appurtenances, either to their horses or themselves, as they are about the appearance of the animal they ride. Lift up their upper saddle- flap, my life on it you see Saddler and Harness Maker, of some provincial town ; their bridle, not one of Latchford's, or some other recognized maker's, best case-hardened ones, but a sort of iron instrument, whose only recommendation is its being 204 HixTS TO horsemen; oe, free from rust, as, in sooth, it is of polish. Then, for themselves, their breeches made with the knee- buttons looking, as it were, backwards, their boots turned out by a country maker, and their coat — oh ! such a coat. Their horse carries them well, in such a country as such men are found in ; there they may boast of his exploits and their own, and in this opinion they are confirmed by seeing, if perchance any stranger is seen among them, that he is carried no better, for in such country superior horses are lost ; but let them go where men of a different class, and horses of a different caste, can shew themselves, they will find that the horse that carried them so well, is just nowhere ; they will find that there is a vast difference in countries, and a still greater one in horses. We will suppose him to have gone where he would have this showed him practically, where he would have found his famous liorse beaten, and himself eclipsed ; what would be the probable result ? He would go back fully impressed with the idea, that hunting was in no way the object of those he saw, that they met to show themselves and their horses,- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HOESES. 205 that the pace gave a fox no chance, and that it was, in fact, a steeple-chase with hounds before you ; and would return to his own country, where, if a fox was found in one cover, he just cantered away to another, and would swear, that what he held to be a perfect hunter, could not show his merits but in such a country as he hunted in. JSTow I remember Mr. Gage coming down into the Duke of Richmond's country, certainly not the best ; he brought four or five horses with him he had hunted in Leicestershire ; he, different to our last- mentioned friend, d d the covers, the country, and the foxes ; and swore that if he stayed in it, he would sell them all, and buy fifty-pound hacks, which he complimented the country by holding to be quite good enough to ride as hunters in it. It is true, that men riding common horses, in such a country as that our friend hunted over, may and do sell their horses sometimes advantageously ; but where the generality of persons ride horses of pretty much the same stamp, this would not be often, for where sixty or seventy is held as a long price, it 206 HINTS TO HOESEMEN ; OE, leaves little advantage to be gained ; for among such men, and in such a country, horses to be sold for a hundred and fifty, or two hundred, are not appreciated ; and it must be recollected, that un- less a man becomes a regular dealer, the selling a horse for sixty that cost forty would never do ; they cost in keep just the same as the highest bred one does, and thus a man must sell much more frequently than would become a gentleman, to make anything by such sales. Now the buying a race-horse at a hundred, making him a hunter, and selling him at two, tells ; and he will have this advantage, that instead of offering his horse for sale, horses of such stamp are known and sought for. J^ow our friend has to persuade people that his horse is something superior, which, in fact, he would find it difficult to do, unless it was among his own set — the other wants no such recommendation. A nobleman, or any man accustomed to give long prices, sees or is told of such horse ; when he is determined to have him, he de- putes a proper person to get him, if possible ; here there is no ofi'ering for sale, no chafi'ering for ten HOW TO MAKE MOI^ET BY HOESES. 207 pounds, which must be the case in the low-priced one — he comes to buy, and b.uy he will, be the price anything in reason ; this alone is sufficient reason for riding high-priced horses, independent of having an animal under you that is sure to be admired whenever he is seen ; he is seen as an animal of value, whereas on the low-priced one, a man is con- stantly subject to the enquiry, " Does he go in har- ness ?" which shows at once in what estimation he is held by his looks alone. What matters his being first in a run ? but depend on it, he would not be so, if brought in competition with superior horses : all that can be said of him is, '' he is better than he looks." It is true he may go in a run, but then it will be that he is always at his best, and though he may go to the surprise of every one, still it will merely end in "he is better than he looks to be," but that will not end in his being bought; and unless there is something far more imposing in the look of master than horse, no one will take the trouble of enquiring where he comes from. Now let a man keeping first-rate horses go to a 208 Hii^TS TO horsemen; or, country where he is a stranger ; let him send on one of them by his servant, ten to one but the horse at- tracts the attention of those going to the meet, and the servant is asked by many to whom he belongs. On the arrival of his owner, /' Who is he r" is asked one of the other. The master, seeing a stranger, whose appearance bespeaks him a sportsman, wel- comes him into the countrj-, hopes they will shew him sport, and, in short, sees he is somebody accus- tomed to see the thing done as it ought to be, there- fore does not wish him to go away with an unfavour- able opinion of the hounds, and the country th-ey hunt. He brings out his horses in turn ; they are found to be all of the same stamp, and that a very superior one, and he knows how to ride them ; before he has been there long, a gentle hint is thrown out to the owner, that if he is disposed to part with one of them, a purchaser is ready ; or, what is more pro- bably the case, the groom is applied to, to know whether his master would be offended, if such offer was made ; thus he sells at a price that pays, or goes a long way in paying, his own and his horses' ex- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BY HORSES. 209 penses ; he has, in fact, had his amusement for no- thing. But, says the m^xn riding the common-looking horse, ^' I do not want to sell my horses ;" this may be very good, sir, and if you are a man of large means, and ride as fine horses as the man who thinks a hun- dred worth having, it is all very well ; but the result of your going into a strange country with your horses has been, neither yourself nor them have been noticed, farther than the somewhat equivocal eulogium goes, *' that he, the latter, is better than he looked to be," and you have attracted no notice at all, and for this have put yourself to considerable expense. Make your selection, therefore, between the two; ride common horses, which you boast you do not wish to sell, and if you did, nobody would think of buying them, or ride such as are sure to command attention, and if wished, are purchased, take them where you will, that is, into any country where fine horses are appreciated ; bearing in mind this, that a horse worth a hundred and fifty requires no more com than a common wretch worth thirty, though nominally p 210 HINTS TO horsemen; OB, valued by Ms master, and by him alone, at sixty. It is true, any person who can clean, not dress, a horse will suffice ; but twenty or thirty pounds a-year in wages make th e difference between a Yahoo who, if he takes your horse to cover, takes his own dirty feet out of the stirrups, which he hands over to you, and the servant who does things properly. But every man has an indisputable right in all such mat- ters to act as pleases him ; but only do not let it create surprise, that in one way he never can or will turn his horses to account, nor wonder why men who know better so frequently do. I believe I have now run through the different modes in which money is to be made by horses by those not professing to deal in them. I am aware I have spoken in a manner of some men that may lead to the impression that I have indulged in ridicule ; I beg here to absolve myself from such charge by stating, that if anything bordering on ridicule ap- pears, I have only used it as we do the common phrase of '' a sailor on horseback ;" whereas there are among them some as fine horsemen as any going. In HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HORSES. 211 a general way, I should not apply to a sailor for his opinion whether or not the Flying Dutchman, take him all in all, was a better horse than Voltigeur : but I should rely with perfect confidence on that of Captain Eous on this or any other circumstance con- nected with racing. If I have spoken of city men as affording a bad sample of good taste as regards horses, equipages, &c., it is of the city in general that I have spoken ; for I could point out men of city avocations whose equi- pages are in as good taste as any to be found at the West End. If I have spoken disparagingly of them in a general way as sportsmen, I am quite ready to allow that among them are to be found men as en- thusiastic in their sporting pursuits as others, and some of them as good sportsmen. In short, whenever my observations may border on ridicule of a particular class, it in no way means to include every individual of that class. I in no way mean to say it is necessary for every man to make himself a perfect judge of horses ; this I do not mean to say, it becomes absolutely necessary i> 2 212 HINTS TO horsemen; oe, for any man to be a judge of race-horses and racing ; and so long as lie has nothing to do with either, he in no way lays himself open to any charge of igno- rance or the slightest ridicule in not being so ; but it becomes absolutely necessary for him to be so if he does. There could be nothing ridiculous in itself if a man saw a creature not worth fifty pounds winning his races with ease, to suppose he would put Sauce- box to his best to beat him ; that is, nothing ridiculous in the man, ridiculous as in a racing point of view the thing might be ; but let not such a man venture to back his opinion by a bet. There is nothing ridiculous in a man sporting an equipage driven by some representative of a coach- man, who, though wanting a third hand for his reins, would not, if he had it, know what to do with it ; his master thinks him a coachman, because he brings home his family safely ; his horses, that cost per- haps a couple of hundred, looking and going, from the way they are driven, like omnibus horses, save and except their not being onC' tenth part as handy ; there is nothing ridiculous in all this, but it is a sad HOW TO MAKE MONET BY HOUSES. 213 waste of money. "Why, it will be said, docs not the master ask some one who knows how things should be done ? Simply for this reason — he thinks all is done that should be, and few people will tell him the reverse. Thus, if taken as it is intended, this Book acts the part that few friends will be found honest enough to do ; it shrinks not from the somewhat unpleasant task of telling many persons that they really know nothing about what they consider they are doing as well as it can be done ; and if they will only take the Author's intentions as they are meant, they will find that if he describes their doings in a somewhat deri- sive way, he mentions them in a way that will at once show that they are indebted to their own want of knowledge of such matters, that they do them as they do, and that they must do them at considerable loss. He has in no way misled his readers by pre- tending to teach them how to make money ; there are many persons whose time and avocations will not per- mit them to do so, and whose knowledge of horses is far too confined even had they time and opportunity ; 214 HINTS TO horsemen; ok, but lie flatters himself that a careful perusal of the Book will at once show them where they err, and by correcting that, they will find that laid before them of which they had no idea that it existed, namely, that all they do as regards their horses is more or less wrong ; that by looking at what men do who make money, though it will not qualify them to do so, it will at least teach them to make such altera- tions in what they do, as will prevent their losing it to the extent they have, to their great surprise, been accustomed to do ; and, further, they will find increased comfort, increased credit, and decreased ex- pense from so doing; and this to them will be tantamount to making money. THE END. J. RILLING, PKIXTEll AKD STEREOTYPER, WOKIXG, SURREY. %