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TRAINING THE THOROUGHBRED Methods That John E Madden Has Followed Suc ¬ cessfully in Handling Race Horses An article on the training of the thoroughbred from the pen of John B Maddcu originally written for the New York Herald is a feature of a book iecently published by Mr Maddens sous Edward and Joseph dealing with the Hamburg Place horses It is entitled Modern Training Methods nnd com ¬ ing from such eminent authority is well worth perusing it is as follows followsIn In training the thoroughbred of today there are certain rules very essential to the success of the horse horseFirst First and foremost I would say regular feeding good oats nntl hay bran and grass and regular work workDn Dn work days lie sure that the horse has had ample time to digest his fowl fowlShould Should the trainer be a betting man he generally likes to wager on his horse the tirst time he starts This is often followed with bad results since to know that your horse can win the flrst time must have required fast trials One can win his first bet but at the cost of a good horse leaving him quite often iu a nervous condition and perhaps a breakdown breakdownIj Ij takes a skillful trainer to handle successfully a nervous horse A good foreman a good night watchman and u good exercise boy weighing about 110 pounds who will adopt the balance seat Sloan reestablished which was shown iu the Herald to have been used by the riders three hundred years ago are very necessary in the training of horses Dont overlook the necessity of having an owner with plenty of money moneyit it is important that the night watchman report the behavior of the horse during the night of his work day He may not lie down which indicates nervousness the result of overwork overworkThe The trainer today strives to keep his liorse in high flesh It requires a skillful trainer to prepare a horse not having started during the season and have Win good for his lirst race raceIf If a trainer has a trial horse to be tised in con ¬ nection with preparing his horse it js of greater benefit than half a dozen workouts and gives the wainer a better line on his coudition Much de iuuds of course upon the liorse you are preparing mr long races You have to take into considera llW the age degree of soundness constitution and Disposition and more especially those with extreme fcpeed known as sprinters which if easily placed way be prepared to go a distance One that can iiot be placed will fail over a distance as whether you let him run out or take him back he usually runs just as fast inside insideFrequently Frequently I hear of a horse described as a quitter or it is often mentioned that he stops iUIs is a recommendation for the horse as after all we are trying to breed a very fast horse md only fast horses stop and quit 1 believe there are plenty of stayers or horses now in training that would run stayers if they were trained to do so but the opportunity for their development in this particular line does not exist in tlie same degree as it did in the past pastThe The breed is as good and indeed better today than when long distance racing was an attraction in the turf world Staying is so much a matter of training nnd Is in so great a degree a merely rela tive attribute that It is ditlicult to gauge the merits of the stayer of one time with those of the stayer of another All anotherAll sound horses can stay at their own pace The horse is celebrated for his power of endurance that is to say for his ability to stay AVhat is meant by a good stayer is an animal which can last longer over a distance of ground at a better pace than his antagonist Though all or several of his opponents may he able to move at u higher rate of speed than lie can over a part of that distance but withal are constitutionally unable to maintain their efforts for the same length of time as the stayer and in accordance to what the stayers speed is so is he reckoned among the good moderate or Inferior class of stayersThose stayers Those who decry the race horse of today on the ground that in Ills case every quality is sacrificed to speed either entirely overlook or do not under ¬ stand the term staying They fail to see that speed to which they assert everything is wrongly sacrificed is in itself the very bedrock of staying j lower lowerOf Of course in saying that staying is to a great greatextent extent a matter of training it is not intended to be beimplied implied that a horse constitutionally a nonstayer i nonstayeri can bo made to stay by simply training him to run runlong long distances distancesAs As a rule when horses are really nonstayers they are so from physical conformation or lack of brood ¬ ing Take the quarter horse a combination of hot and cold blood What is it that anchors him the cold or hot blood bloodA A natural nonstayer cannot be trained into a stayer Hut many a horse judged by the runuing of liis early days to be a nonstayer lips proved OH being trained to rim long distances to possess stay ¬ ing powers of high order If there is an incentive to owners to look out as much for stayers as for speed milers horses able to go a distance will soon be found in largely Increased numbers numbersA A good many horses which in these times are branded as poor stayers would have been considered good enough In that respect in the older days when races were certainly not run as fast as they are now 1 won the Annual Champion two and onequarter miles value 25000 with Salvidere and King James Salvidere was delicate and dnsound for ¬ tunately he did not require much work King James was different a glutton at the feed box as well as work It was necessary to repeat this horse something I have often done aud with good results His final work for this stake was one and onequarter miles in 211 and twentylive minutes after I repeated him a half mile in fortynine seconds secondsSalvidere Salvidere worked handily a mile and a half in 238 but was not repeated repeatedIt It is easy to train a good horse horseA A good horse is dangerous in anybodys hands the same as a shotgun is In a cornfield niggers hands handsA A horse will usually show Ins condition at ftedlng time and if nervous work should be postponed Nervous horses are often subject to scouring scouringFrequently Frequently you hear of fast trials for big events These are given generally by young trainers just beginning their career but as they grow older you will note a Change in their methods and they work instead of running trials against the watch watchThe The American trainer is a great caretaker spend ¬ ing much money for linaments to De used on legs and body which remove soreness after a hanl work ¬ out or a race raceThe The trainer of today uses grass freely Instead of the medicine ball ballHorses Horses which are expected to take part on the prominent tracks around New York generally com ¬ mence their work about January 15 Many trainers do not commence until the first of February and are confined to the shed as the weather climate and roads on metropolitan tracks seldom permit of outdoor work at that time timeSome Some horses are given as much as from five to seven miles of slow jogging daily under the shed until the weather opens up The trainer considers himself fortunate if be can get on the course as early as St Patricks day when after about two weeks of slow galloping miles are made in about two minutes and then you itradually work up to a mile In 1 45 This Is the point where you can de ¬ termine the soundness and constitution of your horse A horse with a good constitution can be given more work than those to which nature has not been so kind kindVery Very few blankets are used by the American trainer Every effort is made to keep as much flesh as possible on his horse Light weight linseya are mostly used nnd they take the place of the old time woolen blanket blanketAmerican American weather especially when it is very hot makes American training methods different from English methods as the weather iu England is generally cold coldAfter After a strong workout the condition of his wind will show the condition of the horse horseGenerally Generally two days are given between work and the horses are then indulged in trotting and slow gallops gallopsSome Some horses will race to their best form when given slow breezing every other day and at no time a fast trial trialWith With a stable of twenty horses there might be but two which require the same treatment to race suc ¬ cessfully cessfullyJudgment Judgment must be used in estimating the indi ¬ vidual qualities of your horses as to soundness con ¬ stitution and disposition dispositionSobriety Sobriety Is most desirable in a trainer and a good jockey always adds to the success of the horse horseIt It is necessary that you have discipline of the strictest kind in a racing stable and the more gentle the attendant or the caretaker the better the results resultsUemember Uemember tills a horse only knows what you teach lii in inWhen When a horse shows fear of his attendant the man has abused him and should be discharged dischargedA A thoroughbred like the works of a watch needs careful handling handlingIn In mating much attention should be paid to dis ¬ position and constitution for a good disposition and a strong constitution with the ever necessary gift of speed makes the stake horse He can lay off the pace in the early stages of a race and win winThe The beginner will often tell you that he Is going to breed stayers only I know then that he Is going to breed a lot of slow horses horsesI I have been asked regarding color and size Of a good race liorse This is a ditlicult question and often a matter of fancy The old saying is so true u good gamecock has no bad color colorNow Now as to size many big turnips are hollow hollowLess Less blanks are likely to follow the selection of small or medium sized yearlings The yearling that tills your eye as to size is often too big when he is two years old oldI I approve of the big horse if you judge him by the scales instead of the tape or standard standardIn In case of illness or lameness consult a reputable veterinarian veterinarianBeware Beware of quacks who Wire all ailments or profess to do so soIn In case of lameness very frequently the trainer or owner resorts to the firing jron or severe blister too quickly From bitter experience I am as afraid of the tiring iron as the devil is of holy water Many cases of lameness can be cured by using cooling lotions with cotton and a bandage Remove the shoes trim the feet so they will have frog pressure turn the liorse into a paddock two hours in the morn ¬ ing and two hours in the afternoon In many cases it is well to give a mild purgative especially in tlw case of gross horses Cut their grain down to one half of what they were being given while in train ¬ ing Instead of using a severe blister on the leg you will get better results if you apply a mild blister on the horses liack directly where the saddle is placed This will insure a rest of about two weeks then the blister will be healed and by this time the cooling lotion has removed the fever from the leg and you have lost very little time
