168 THE HORSE IN AMERICA 



breeding has been encouraged by government as- 

 sistance the foundation has been native stock, 

 and the key to successful work has been selection 

 according to a certain type. Furthermore, with all 

 due respect to Godolphin Arabian, the Darley 

 Arabian and their contemporaries, the great fac- 

 tor in developing the Thoroughbred horse was the 

 method of the English breeder, and more credit 

 is due to native English stock and to environment 

 than has generally been acknowledged. The Thor- 

 oughbred has been the great leavening power in 

 developing English breeds of light horses; the 

 trotter may bear the same relation to the horse 

 stock of America. 



"The trotter is found throughout the country 

 wherever horses are raised, and any improve- 

 ment in this breed affects in time the entire horse 

 industry. The light harness classes can be sup- 

 plied from this source, and there is no more effec- 

 tive way to provide a supply of suitable cavalry 

 horses for the United States army than by show, 

 ing how the native horse may be improved. 



"That the trotter has faults no one will deny, 

 and that the speed idea has been responsible for 



