RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31462, 31 August 1967, Page 16

RANDOM REMINDER

GETTING THE GOAT OR A HORSE’S BEST FRIEND

The thoroughbred animal lover—that is, the thoroughbred lover of animals—will have rejoiced to note the newspaper item on the New Zealand pacer Orbiter, now in the United States. One might have thought that American accents and the crackling of popcorn would have unsettled a nervous racehorse, but Orbiter was reported to be most contented. And the reason? He has a companion, a goat which is with him all the time. The life of the racehorse is not a happy one. He is dragged out of bed at unearthly hours to gallop madly round training tracks and leap high fences When it is hardly light enough to see them. On race day he is persuaded to do his best with mechanical aids and, possibly, booed roundly for not

going fast enough or for going faster than he did at his previous start. So it is little wonder the racehorse needs a friend. It is a mystery to us why goats should be among the most popular companion helps for horses, for Orbiter is only one of many which look to goats for sincere friendship. The winner of the 1967 Grand National in England was sent to Buckingham Palace, with Royal assent, to help in some charity appeal. His goat had to go with him. But goats are not alone in providing horses with help. There is a North Island galloper which frets if it is without its deep tried chicken. Other noted racehorses love cats, which sleep on the horses’ backs and in general show feline aptitude for taking charge. Dogs are popular, too. A

top New Zealand galloper, Terrific, was sent to campaign in Australia. His trainer tried to send Terrific’s dog friend along, but quarantine regulations made it impossible. Terrific, it may be remembered, was singularly unsuccessful. Some racehorses with more orthodox tastes have other horses as their friends, and often pairs of them are Inseparable. Frequently, the nervous thoroughbred has for a friend a broken-down old nag of spectacularly ugly appearance; and they may go everywhere together. Even, it seems, to the races, for it is clear to us that every time we are rash enough to bet on a horse, our selection will be one of those which has gone along only to keep some splendid and successful beast company.