30 BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



the walk-trot-canter gaits common with all saddle horses. 

 The other class has five gaits, the walk-trot-canter, the rack, 

 and the running walk or fox trot, gaits especially found with 

 this breed. If a horse can show these five gaits, he is called 

 a gaited horse. If he has only the first three, he is known as 

 plain gaited. American saddle horses are in great demand, 

 and when of high class, and educated to show their gaits well, 

 bring high prices. 



The American Trotter or Pacer has its parentage dating 

 from the light-weight trotting and running horses of Great 

 Britain first brought to America. One of these, a Thorough- 

 bred 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 a class of 

 horses of the light harness type, that are commonly 

 known 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. 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 1000 pounds, and have a lean, intelli- 

 gent head; a refined and graceful neck; sloping, well laid 



