Requisites of Perfect Balance 1 1 5. 



with the regalia which bedeck the trotter and pacer when he appears 

 on the arena to fight his battle let it all be simple; sensible and natural. 

 Nothing strangely complicated and suggesting either an abnormal mind 

 or an abnormal animal should be used or seen on the track when the 

 starter lines them up. Nearly all devices are or should be of tempo- 

 rary use only, or for educational purposes only. The horse appear- 

 ing on the track for a race should be a graduate from his training 

 school and should be free from extraordinary or unsightly para- 

 phernalia of any kind. And, furthermore, should the trotter and pacer 

 appear at ease to please the eye of the spectator. No matter what train- 

 ers may say or claim for the defense of high checking, the mere fact 

 that it looks cruel besides unnatural should classify it among those 

 remnants of darker days which in the process of evolution refuse to 

 slough off. 



Much as I have been a believer in the free head, there is some 

 reason for the humane use of the check line with reference to balance. 

 Any excess, however, in this line of rigging is not only an eyesore, but 

 an act of cruelty. As in other parts of this book I have advocated 

 simplicity as being a part of ideal motion and ideal gait, so here .like- 

 wise I must insist that the free head should be a part of those ideals. 

 It may be urged that we never have ideal conditions and therefore can- 

 not have ideal motion and ideal gait. But all endeavors for improve- 

 ment in any line of activity in human life rest on what we conceive to- 

 be perfect, regardless of the various compromises that result from 

 such endeavors and fall short of our expectations. All progress prac- 

 tically rests on what idea we carry in our mind of the perfect object. 

 Were it not for such a mental picture, ambition would cease to exist 

 and all growth of knowledge would stop. Therefore ideals are as nec- 

 essary for the training of our trotters and pacers as they are for any 

 pursuit where development is sought and effected. 



The free head generally results from an easy mouth, that ideal 

 quality of a good roadster; and this again depends not only on the 

 good condition of the teeth, which like the feet need continual atten- 

 tion, but also on the hand of the trainer. Too heavy a hold of the 

 lines adds neither to the appearance nor to the utility of the horse. 



