Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 10.djvu/353

 12 S. X. APRIL 15. 1922.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 287 JUMP IN. A horse which is only able to gallop (i.e., " useful " over) a certain distance, or is not required to run in races over that distance, is often kept at some point on the training ground and " jumps in " with the other horses (which have been galloped farther) and leads them for the conclusion of the distance. JUMP OFF AND GO ALL THE WAY. To start at the same moment as other horses and keep with them over the whole of a certain dis- tance. KIP. The stable-boy's term for bed. NAPPY (" A BIT "). A horse which is inclined to " put in " an unexpected " buck," or "fly jump " ; an animal of uncertain tempera- ment which requires " watching a bit," and a boy on him who can " sit tight " when occasion demands. NIGGLING. The manual acts of the rider of a horse by which he conveys his desires. To niggle at a horse is the opposite to " sitting still," and means that the rider is asking his animal to make an increased effort. This same " niggling " is one of the greatest arts in horsemanship and a part of the mysterious power (given to few) to " ride with their hands." PIPE-OPENER. A gallop given to horses which are gross- " fat in their insides," a little short of " work." PLATER (USUALLY PREFACED BY " ONLY A "). A horse with no pretensions of winning any but small selling plates. PORT AND CAVE. An animal which shows ner- vousness or impatience to be " off " or at feeding-time by scraping the ground with its fore-feet is said to " port and cave." QUARTERED. The term applied to the brushing of the hair contrary to its natural " lay " on a horse's quarters into stars or other diagrams. ROOST. To " set about " a horse, to " roost " him, is to use the " cosh " freely on a lazy or refractory animal which " will not put all i in." SAID HIS PIECE. An animal which has shot its bolt and, so far as winning a race or trial is concerned, is " out of the picture." The expression probably originates from a child having said its piece (i.e., poem) and con- cluded his or her part of an entertainment. STONE COLD. A horse which either during o at the end of a gallop has obviously " said its piece." One frequently hears both ' stable-boys and jockeys say, " Mine was stone cold before 1 got to the distance," or " I had . . . stone cold before we'd gone four furlongs." STRIPPED. To strip a horse is to take off his clothing, either in his box or before a gallop. G^ntlf exorcise wdrk is done with hoods and ! qua 1 ter-pieces on, but when horses are to be ' asked the question " they are stripped. TACK. Bridles, saddles and martingales ait- call' d tack." Stable-boys speak of cl'-an-i ing thei tack. They of ten" refer also to their giooming kit (body-brush, dandy-brush, wisp and rubber) as " tack " or " tackle." j In Yorkshire both are frequently spoken of as " gear " an old word for horse furni- ture and domestic goods. USEFUL (USUALLY PREFACED BY "A BIT"). A horse of which something is expected ; an animal which either " at home " or in public (i.e., on the race-course) has shown some form and a turn of speed. Such an animal is referred to as being " a bit useful." J. FAIRFAX-BLAKEBOROUGH. Grove House, Norton-on-Tees. METHOD OF SIGNALLING. It may be worth recording that during the period in which the penal laws were in force the fol- lowing method of communication was used by some of the Lancashire Catholic families. When it had been secretly arranged for a priest to visit the house of the principal Catholic family in a neighbourhood, the owner of that house would place on the roof, or hang out, washing or articles of clothing arranged in a certain manner, and this was understood by his co-religionists in the village and neighbourhood to mean that religious ceremonies were shortly to be performed in that house. The number of articles displayed usually indicated the number of days to elapse prior to the arrival of the visiting priest. A descendant of one of these families told me that his ancestors frequently, adopted this method. FREDERIC CROOKS. uerietf. WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries in order that answers may be sent to them direct. CARLINGS. The carlings eaten in the north on Passion or Care or Carling Sunday , the fifth Sunday in Lent, are usually sup- posed to have been connected with fasting diet on that day, when the sufferings of Christ begin, to be more completely com T memorated. But in The Daily Mail of April 5 is an illustration of A North Country Custom. The maid of a> Tyneside inn observing the Carling Feast, held to commemorate a blockade of the north-east coast, during which a Tyne vessel successfully ran a cargo of grey peas (carlings) into port. Is anything really known about this- running of a blockade, or is the above explanation wholly imaginary ? J. T. F. Winterton, Lines.