394 THE HORSE OF AMERICA. 



durance. But since the Orloff breed has been introduced, the Bitugues have 

 been excluded from all matches, on the ground that their pacing is not 

 orthodox. 



" It is with these Bitugues that the peculiar troika team, of which a speci- 

 men was shown in Fleetwood Park, on Saturday, originated. A fast, sturdy 

 Bitugue is put in shafts, and a light running horse from the steppes harnessed 

 on each side of him. A good Bitugue trots so fast that the wild steppe run- 

 ners have to be whipped all the time to force them to keep up with him. The 

 idea of putting an Orloff trotter in the place of a Bitugue is very queer, as no 

 square trotter can equal the speed of those famous pacers of Viatka, and keep 

 abreast with side; runners." 



From these three several sources we learn a number of facts 

 that may have a more or less important bearing upon the true 

 origin of the Orloff trotter. (1) That there are now, and have 

 been for generations past, plenty of pacers in Russia. (2) That 

 these pacers have a common habitat, north and east of the Don. 



(3) That they are a very old race, running back in the centuries 

 away beyond the knowledge of man or the records of history. 



(4) That they are a very fast and very enduring race, and that 

 they have been trained for generations as the shaft horses of the 

 troika and their speed so well developed as to require- good run- 

 ning horses to keep abreast with them. (5) That they are of 

 smaller size than the average and lack symmetry, and thus, not- 

 withstanding their great speed and bottom, they and their blood 

 are excluded from registration with the Orloffs. (6) That they 

 are also excluded from competing for any prizes that may be 

 offered, and no other reason is suggested than that they would be 

 sure to win. 



Russia and America both have pacers and they are both carry- 

 ing forward the breeding and development of the trotter with 

 great intelligence and success. No other nation has been able 

 to make even a beginning in this field of animal economy except 

 by the introduction of the foundation stock from one or other of 

 these two countries. It may be taken as historically true, and 

 as applying to every nation on the face of the earth, that where 

 there are no pacers there are no trotters. Hundreds of unmis- 

 takable experiences in this country go to show that the pacer is 

 a great source of trotting speed. At one time a pacing stallion 

 of obscure pacing origin stood at the head of the list of all stal- 

 lions as the sire of the greatest number of trotters with fast 

 records. A great multitude of our fastest trotters at maturity 

 were foaled pacers from trotting parents. It is no longer a mat- 



