This painting depicts a stable scene with a horse, three men and two dogs. The dogs are being set to fight and a broom lies abandoned in the foreground. One of the men appears to be a stable hand. The painting is somewhat convivial with a lounging gentleman in a red coat, watching the two kneeling men with the dogs, in a warm light. Before the nineteenth century blood sports, such as cockfighting and bull-baiting, were fairly common and were seen as entertainment. Blood sports were made illegal in 1835 but carried on in many areas, including Barrow. A court case in June 1874 described how police had rowed over to Walney and broken up a cockfight being held at North Scale; the defence that the crowd of 150 had all 'been out for a pleasant Sunday stroll' did not impress the magistrates.