The traditional manner of
'Sweating a race horse' in 1816


                

Sweating a race horse in 1816

 

From an image in the collection of the Victorian Turkish Bath Project

Admiral Henry John Rous argued in an article in The Field* that the traditional practice of sweating racehorses to remove unwanted fat by means of heavily clothed four or five mile gallops was unnecessary. It left the horse exhausted, fit the following day only for a walk, and frequently resulted in accidents injuring the horse’s legs. But sweating in a Turkish bath was far more effective and left the horse lively and in peak condition.

* 'The Turkish bath as a means of training' / Henry John Rous   The Field   (April 1860)

 

This page enlarges an image or adds to the information found on the following page:

Turkish baths for animals. Part 3: Turkish baths for racehorses
          

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Victorian Turkish Baths:

their origin, development,

and gradual decline

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The right of Malcolm Shifrin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988