DOPING OF HORSES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5374, 14 January 1929, Page 2

DOPING OF HORSES.

GOOD FOR A BAD ONE. BAD FOR A-GOOD ONE Although the doping o.f horses in England was in its infancy in 1896, when it was Introduced from America, it increased and in 1903 was described as a scandal w by the Hon. George Lambton. He wrote in his book “Men and Horses I Have Known,” that he was sceptical about any dope making a bad horse into a good one, hut said that very str. <nge things, occurred, and one constantly saw horses who were notorious rogues running and winning as, if they weye possessed of the devil, with eyes staring oat of their heads and the sweat pouring off them. After veterinary surgeops 'had: told him that the practice would be it;he ruin of horsebr.eecjing, and ought to be stopped, Mr Lambton ,told a steward of the jockey Club what had been said, and said that he intended to dope spme of his horses and see the result. He obtained six dopes, .which were not injected with a needle but were just given out of a bottle. Their effect on a horse was astounding. He used five of them, and had four wins and a second. Not one of the; horses had shown any form during the year. By the following year doping, waa made a criminal offence, the penalty bepng “warning off.” Mr Lambton added that a dope undoubtedly had a wonderful effect on a bad hor.se, but he was told it acted in just the contrary way with a good, honest one. in t'he bad ho,rse it supplied the pluck and energy needed, and in the, good one it overdid it, with the result that the horse would run himself out quicker.

Owing to the heavy growth of grass on the Hauraki Plains thfis year farmers are making large; quantities of hay. It is expected that a gpod export trade in baled hay will be done during the winter, months.