TROTTING HORSES. 63 



strongly of Irish hunters ; and this is not strange, 

 for, as a rule, the best American trotters, like 

 Irish hunters, are partly thoroughbred. The Duke 

 of Marlborough has made recently a similar state- 

 ment. "The type," he says, "is something of the 

 class of the English hunter with a shorter head, and 

 not quite such good shoulders." Palo Alto, Stamboul, 

 and Xelson x are examples of this type, except that 

 their heads are not short. Allerton and Axtell are 

 more stockily built, and show less quality ; Arion, 

 again, is much smaller and somewhat finer than 

 they. These are the fastest six stallions now on 

 the track. They all, with the exception of Arion, 

 stand higher at the withers than at the rump. 



A more common type, perhaps, is that exemplified 

 in the three mares holding the fastest records, namely, 

 Sunol, Maud S., and Nancy Hanks. 2 These are on 

 the racing machine order ; they are somewhat narrow- 

 chested ; their necks are straight ; they stand higher 

 at the rump than at the withers. Sunol is a large 

 mare, sixteen hands high. Maud S. and Nancy Hanks 

 are smaller. The trotter of the present day is repre- 

 sented best perhaps by these last two mares ; but it 

 is probable that the trotter of the future will more 

 nearly resemble Palo Alto and Stamboul. 



When it comes to details of form, the difficulty 

 of fixing general rules is even greater. If there be 

 one invariable feature in a trotting horse it is prob- 

 ably this : great length from hip to hock. Such was 

 Messenger's conformation, derived, it is said, from 



1 Nelson is a beautiful horse, of Hambletonian, Morgan, and 

 thoroughbred descent. 



- Xancv Hanks, it may be mentioned, was the maiden name of 

 Abraham Lincoln's mother, near whose birthplace the mare was 

 raised. 



