BREEDING THE TROTTER 



the races. It would have been much better to 

 have given them many miles a little slower so that 

 they would have been well muscled up for the stiff 

 preparation of the spring. Such a course lessens 

 the number of cripples that have to be shipped 

 home, much to the disgust of the owners, trainers 

 and friends of both. No horse should be worked 

 excessively during the winter. It keeps him 

 keyed up too long. Remember, however, that 

 long jogs, while they muscle up a horse, do not 

 develop its speed ; only brush work does that, so 

 the proper combination of both is necessary. 



While speaking of horse racing I might mention 

 a fact that is not emphasized enough. Many 

 horses are prepared for races in which it is not 

 thought they can win, but in which it is expected 

 they can easily win second or third money. As a 

 matter of fact the second or third horses often 

 have a harder time winning and have more of 

 their vitality sapped than the winner. Usually 

 the winner goes no faster than it is forced, whereas 

 the horse finishing second has probably through- 

 out the mile been struggling either to defeat the 

 first horse or to withstand the rush of the third. 

 Then, again, a horse that wins can often be saved 

 a little at different points in the mile whereas the 

 majority of the horses behind are constantly 

 struggling to better their places. 



Just a closing paragraph of advice to the owner 

 of a horse in training. Never ask your trainer 

 to show you as fast a mile with your horse as he 

 can go. He may need that mile in a race sometime. 



