196 THE HORSE BOOK. 



Arabian stallion with a Danish mare. The re- 

 sult of this union was a colt called Polkan 1st, 

 and he proved a great sire. Continued intelli- 

 gent effort soon raised the strain to the dignity 

 of a breed, recourse being had to the English 

 Thoroughbred, the Arab, Barb and Dutch 

 breeds for new blood. The Imperial govern- 

 ment of Eussia has extended plentiful and time- 

 ly aid to further the development of the Orloff, 

 by subsidizing stallions and offering very valua- 

 ble stakes and purses in trotting races. A high 

 degree of speed has been achieved, despite the 

 handicap imposed by the peculiar racing rigs 

 used. Of later years, however, American sul- 

 kies and harness and more or less American 

 training methods have promoted a material low- 

 ering of the Eussian records at all distances. 

 Determined to take advantage of the latest 

 American methods of training and racing the 

 trotter the Imperial authorities engaged the 

 noted American trainer George Fuller of Ten- 

 nessee to- go to Eussia and take charge of the 

 training operations at the roy? stud. Part of 

 his work was -to instruct Eussian horsemen in 

 the true principles of the art of balancing trot- 

 ters and so getting their speed out of them. A 

 few American trainers also have been resident 

 in Eussia for years and some American stallions 

 have been imported to cross with the Orloff 

 mares. Distances over which these horses are 

 raced are long, extending sometimes to three 



