58 HAY SEED, OR HOW TO 



are many men whose experience has made them excel- 

 lent judges of speed, and Vvill readily depend upon their 

 judgment in estimating the speed of a horse under nego- 

 tiation. 



Any unsoundness of limbs, feet or wind, in a trotter or 

 pacer renders the animal practically of little value, 

 there are some exceptions however. The loss of an eye 

 would not incapacitate a horse for turf or road purposes, 

 and horses with a bone spavin on each leg, are frequently 

 of considerable value, but atiy infirmity of the locomotive 

 or breathing powers will result in great disappointment 

 to the owner nine times out of ten ; so, if you value your 

 peace of mind, don't buy a cripple. Size in horses men 

 may differ about more than either of my foregoing obser- 

 vations, respecting speed and soundness. Horses both 

 big and little, have been not only great performers but 

 great lasters as well. From fifteen to sixteen hands seems 

 by experience to be about the range that first-class per- 

 formers cover in respect to height. A sixteen hand horse 

 is large enough and a fifteen hand horse is small enough 

 for turf purposes- Length of body is quite as important 

 as height. A horse " long on the groand " has an 

 advantage over a horse much shorter ; some horses 

 fifteen and a half hands high, frequently are longer 

 than other horses sixteen hands, in which case other 

 things being equal, the smaller horse I would prefer for 

 a race horse. Limbs, feet, respiratory and digestive organs 

 in a sound and healthy condition, we must admit, con- 

 tribute largely in the make up of a horse, but a horse 

 without a well balanced head is of no earthly account as 

 a race or road horse of the first order. The brain is the 

 seat of nervous energy, and this is what is absolutely 

 essential in a performer of the first magnitude. VV^ere 

 this not a fact, how can the superiority of Maud S., Jay 

 Eye See, St. Julian, Richball and Johnson, be accounted 

 for, as compared with others of the equine family. Thou- 

 sands of horses all over the United States, trained and 

 untrained, possesses as fine muscular development, just 

 as good bone, from the same families, been educated and 



