496 THE HORSE. 



have received the appellation of speedy-cut. It should not be 

 inferred, that cutting the knee is any sign of speed. It only hap- 

 pens, that a horse with this defect in his way of going, hits his 

 knee when he goes fast enough to get his foot up that high. It 

 is a serious objection, but many more fast horses have that action 

 than the opposite one of paddling. 



Nearly every good trotter goes with his hind-feet wide apart, 

 when he goes fast. There are some exceptions to this rule, but 

 they are not numerous. Some horses have a short stride, and as 

 they generally show plenty of knee-action, and step fast, they ap- 

 pear to go very fast, and so they do sometimes. The Cannucks, from 

 Canada, generally go in that way ; and all of such steppers are 

 usually spirited and pleasant road horses, being free-goers. Long- 

 striders are sometimes rather heavy in a jog-trot; but they get 

 over the ground faster than they appear to, and on the road will 

 often pass short-steppers that appear to be going as fast, or faster. 

 Many of the best are long-striders, and, other things being equal, 

 the probabilities are greater of a horse going fast in a long stride 

 than in a short one. 



Hiram Woodruff, in his admirable work on " The Trotting 

 Horse of America," expresses the opinion that short-steppers are 

 better weight-pullers at speed, and gives reasons speculative rea- 

 sons for the opinion : but his own instances do not sustain the 

 rule, unless we accept the logic, that as exceptions prove the rule, 

 the more exceptions the stronger the proof. The truth appears to 

 be, that the ability to pull weight does not depend much on the 

 stride. The strongest movers are stout, muscular horses, broad 

 behind, with the knees and hocks let well down ; that is, with 

 short cannon bones. 



A horse may be lazy, and yet trot fast when called on ; or he 

 may be very spirited, always willing to do his best, and not be 

 able to trot in four minutes. A very strong horse, that can trot 

 off with a loaded market-wagon behind him at a good gait, and 

 keep it up for miles, may not be a fast trotter at any weight. Or 

 a horse may have most excellent bottom may take two men in a 

 wagon over common roads sixty miles in a day, and repeat it every 

 day in the week ; or he may be good for ten miles an hour under 

 the same circumstances, and not be able to trot a single mile in 

 four minutes. 



Speed, then, does not depend entirely on the form, nor on the 

 way of going, nor on the strength, nor on the spirit of a horse. 

 The value of a fast trotter may depend greatly upon these quali- 

 ties, but not his speed. Any form, and any style of going, may 

 do, if he can step fast enough ; and the power to step fast does not 

 depend on form, spirit, strength, nor stamina though all of these 



