194 THE HOESE BOOK. 



quired in the roadster have changed. Not so 

 long ago any horse that could trot a mile in 

 3 :00 was called a roadster in the technical sense 

 of the word. Now the ranks of the road horse 

 are recruited from among the very fastest of 

 the great racing performers, both trotting and 

 pacing. The horse that can not trot to wagon 

 in 2 :30 .brings but small money on account of 

 his speed and the 3 :00 horse is only a pleasure 

 animal. That rate of speed is so common now- 

 adays as to be a negligible quantity in the mak- 

 ing of the price. 



The great general use for the horse of trot- 

 ting blood is, 'however, on the road in utilitarian 

 walks of life. The race course and the speed- 

 way consume but an infinitesimal percentage of 

 all the trotting-bred horses foaled each season. 

 The breed is a priceless boon to the country and 

 its fame has extended the wide world over. 



Forty years ago the Morgan was the most 

 favored of the road types. This strain may 

 be traced to a single ancestor Justin Morgan, 

 foaled in Vermont in 1793. Various pedigrees 

 have been allotted to him, but the generally ac- 

 cepted belief now is that his breeding was large- 

 ly Thoroughbred. He was a phenomenal horse 

 in every way, small, but of astounding strength 

 and stamina. From him descended the Black 

 Hawk, Bashaw, Golddust, Lambert and other 

 families, all of which were famous for road qual- 

 ities and good looks. Some of the fastest trot- 



