THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 47 



this, do no such thing with the colt that is to be a trotter, 

 or, rather, do it with great moderation. Never mind oat- 

 meal gruel ; never mind bruised oats while he is with his 

 dam. The milk of the mare, she being kept in good heart, 

 and the grass, will afford her colt all the nourishment he 

 needs, and ought to have. This is Nature's plan : the other 

 is the "forcing system," and ever so much more artificial 

 than the trotting-gait. I do not undertake to disparage the 

 method pursued by the race-horse men, so far as it only 

 concerns their own purposes. That purpose I take to be 

 early maturity ; and I am convinced that very early maturity 

 will not be advisable in the case of the fast trotter. Early 

 maturity means early decay, in nineteen cases out of every 

 twenty. 



Now, in order that a horse may become a first-rate trot- 

 ter, it is necessary that he should - last a good while. He 

 won't jump up to his greatest excellence at three years old, 

 or at six either, if his excellence is going to be very 

 great; but will probably be improving most when the 

 thoroughbred horse of the same year has been long gone 

 from the turf. I don't know of a single thing in nature 

 that comes to maturity early and lasts long. This system, 

 then, is not calculated for the trotter ; because to be great 

 it is absolutely necessary that he should last long. The 

 case is different as regards the running-horse ; for his career 

 may be brief, and yet very brilliant. It is to be considered, 

 too, that the constitution of the colts is different. The 

 thoroughbred horse is naturally inclined to mature at an 

 earlier period than any other, I think ; and it is certain, 

 that, being of a leaner and more wiry build, he may stand 

 high feeding at an earlier period than the half-bred trotter. 



And besides all this, I have other reasons against giving 

 young colts much grain. The physiologists all agree, that, 

 in order to thrive, the horse, young or old, must not only 

 have his stomach supplied with a sufficient quantity of 

 nutritious food, but also with enough matter not so highly 



