Page:Notes on equitation and horse training.djvu/100

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Regulate the walk and trot carefully, and have the horse perfectly calm at these two gaits.

Never use the extended trot.

Accustom the horse not to pull, so that he will not waste part of his strength fighting the hand.

The morning of the race, massage the tendons; rub both tendons and joints with a fatty substance, such as vaseline; if the race is in the morning, feed little grain, about 1 or 2 quarts.

During the race the periods at a trot should be considerably shorter than during training, in order to avoid winding the horse. Dismount as often as possible, especially going up and down hill. Do not be afraid to water in moderate quantities once or several times on the road; there is no danger if you do not take too fast a gait just after watering.