,—the name of a horse of much celebrity, who won as many capital stakes as most horses of his time. He was bred by Mr. Vernon; was got by Florizel; dam by Matchem, out of an own sister to Sweetbriar. In the possession of the Duke of Bedford, he became a stallion at Wooburn, and was the sire of Augusta, Cub, Victor, Frisky, Hamadryad, Nestler, Fantail, Zemise, Granadilla, Lady Sarah, St. Vitus; all winners; as well as a great number of colts and fillies, who won large stakes at three and four years old, but ran without a name.
FIGGING
—is the sublime art of insinuating a profusion of false spirit, and artificial fire, into a horse, when offering him for sale. This is done by privately introducing a piece of ginger (previously bitten) within the sphincter of the anus, where, by its painful stimulus, it so irritates the animal, that he seems, by the cocking of his tail, the instantaneous erection of his ears, and the deceptive spirit he displays in action, to be a horse of very superior appearance and value to what he turns out when the stimulus of this deception has subsided.
FILLETS
—are, in more intelligible language, the LOINS of a HORSE, and seated above the flank, beyond the last rib, and in a transverse line with the hip-bone. A horse long in the back, narrow across the loins, and tucked up (greyhound like) in the carcase, is said to be badly made in the FILLETS, or, in other words, weak in the loins.
FILLY
,—the female produce of a HORSE and MARE: she is called a FILLY FOAL the first year; a YEARLING the second; and a FILLY till four years old.
FILM
—appertains to a certain DEFECT, and properly used, applies only to a thickening of the outer coat or humour of THE EYE; in which case relief from external applications may very frequently be obtained: but where any of the internal coverings are become opaque, (and sometimes erroneously called films,) success from topical experiments must not be expected.