HOW THE TROTTING HORSE IS BRED. 523 



forward in order to secure such classification was overwhelming. 

 This led to many rejections of performances, adroitly shaped up 

 to deceive, and every rejection made a batch of enemies. But 

 great as this evil was, there was another that began to manifest 

 itself very strongly. The Eegister was rapidly filling up with 

 colts under rules seven and eight, and every one of them, as soon 

 as he was able to stand up, wanted his number, for he was to be 

 kept as a standard stallion. The public attention was urgently 

 called to the preponderating numbers of these feebly bred colts, 

 as a menace to the hitherto unimpeded progress of the grand 

 purpose of establishing a breed. The Breeders' Association 

 thereupon took up the standard and revised it, wholly in the 

 direction of higher qualifications and more stringent require- 

 ments. By comparing the revised standard with the original, 

 above, it will be observed that rule ten was stricken out, and 

 that rules seven and eight were restricted to fillies only, thus 

 cutting off the source of danger altogether. The rates of sub- 

 sidiary speed were advanced and there was a tightening up of the 

 requirements in other directions. This revision did not suit all 

 interests, especially beginners who were just starting to breed 

 their first colt by a standard horse, but as every one knew there 

 would never be a time when there would not be just such ground- 

 less complaints, the action received the hearty indorsement and 

 support of all breeders who kept in view the central object of 

 the standard in building up a breed of trotters. 



When fast horses began to multiply by the thousand, annually, 

 say about 1890-91, we began to hear an increasing number of 

 gibes at the standard as "a slow coach," "away behind the times," 

 "a 2:30 horse was no longer considered a trotter," etc., and 

 every one of these taunts had an element of truth in it. The 

 standard, as the teacher of the breeders of the country, had not 

 only produced trotters, but great trotters, with marvelous rapid- 

 ity. At one time it was the ambition of all breeders to place 

 their stock inside of the limits of the standard, not only because 

 it was an honor, but because it added materially to the bank ac- 

 count and to the value of every animal, so bred, in the establish- 

 ment. But breeders both great and small are no longer stimu- 

 lated to enter a standard with the antiquated 2:30 rate of speed 

 that is everywhere received with a sneer. When the standard 

 was formed on the basis of 2:30, it was within about fifteen 

 seconds of the fastest performance, and if the same ratio were 



