150 A STUDY OF FARM ANIMALS 



plain gaited. American saddle horses are very popular in 

 certain parts of the country. Those of the better class, and 

 educated to show their gaits well, bring high prices. In 1913 

 the horse My Major Dare sold for $10,000. 



The American trotter or pacer has its origin in the light- 

 weight trotting and running horses of Great Britain first 

 brought to America. One of these, a Thoroughbred named 

 Messenger, imported in 1788, through his great-grandson, 

 Hambletonian 10, did much for trotting blood. For many 

 years we have had in this country what are known as light 

 harness horses which are commonly referred to as trotters. 

 They were so called because, when they moved faster than 

 a walk, their gait was a trot, a movement of the front foot 

 on one side and the hind foot on the opposite side at about 

 the same time. The pacer moves back or forward at the 

 same time, the feet on the same side of the body. The pace 

 is about three seconds faster as a gait than the trot, but is 

 not regarded as an attractive movement. Occasionally a 

 horse may be taught to trot or pace as desired. Some 

 famous race horses have both trotting and pacing records. 



The trotter or pacer is not a true example of a breed, 

 because he has been mixed so much in the past in this 

 country with all kinds of blood ancestry. The principal 

 idea seems to have been to get speed. Trotters of this sort 

 are often referred to as "Standard Bred." That means that 

 they have official records of 2:30 (2 minutes, 30 seconds), or 

 better, or are from stock registered in the American Trotting 

 Register. A nice type of trotter or pacer should weigh 

 around 1,000 pounds, and have a lean, intelligent head; a 

 refined and graceful neck; sloping, well laid shoulders; be 

 narrow on top over the shoulders; have a strong, fairly level 

 back; a muscular rump with tail set high; a deep, round 

 body; and legs short, clean, and fine-boned and good feet. 

 This horse picks up his feet with snap, and moves off smoothly 

 and easily. The coat is of different colors, with bay or 



