THE TEOTTING-UORSE OF AMERICA. 55 



were hard pullers ; but they would have been better horses 

 but for that fact. Still, it is to be remembered, that, when 

 going fast, the colt or horse will often want to get his head 

 down, and feel the bit sensibly. He will not, in nine cases 

 out of ten (or cannot, which comes to the same thing), do 

 his best without it. The object of the driver should then 

 be to support him with as little pull as possible, but still to 

 support him. The horse with a good mouth will always 

 feel the driver's hand j and, when the latter is as skilful as 

 he ought to be for the handling of the first-rate, fast trot- 

 ter, he may play upon the rein with a touch like that of a 

 harper upon the strings, and the horse will answer every 

 touch with the music of the feet and wheels. 



On the other hand, if, when the colt takes hold of the bit, 

 the driver does nothing but hold on like grim death to a 

 dead darkey, it soon becomes a pulling-match between them ; 

 and, before the colt is of age to trot fast and stay a distance, 

 his pulling has become a vice of the most troublesome and 

 mischievous description, his mouth has become so callous 

 that he pulls a wagon and driver along by the reins instead 

 of the traces, and, by the dead drag between him and the 

 man behind him, he loses a great deal of the power that will 

 be wanted to sustain him when the pinch comes. It is not 

 to be forgotten, however, that many trotting-horses must be 

 pulled considerably to get them to trot fast, and keep trot- 

 ting. When this is the case, it is utterly useless to expect 

 to get rid of the pull and preserve the trot by means of sub- 

 stituting a severe bit for the plain snaffle. It will not do at 

 all ; because it is not a certain amount of severity on the 

 mouth that the horse wants, but a sort of stay, upon which 

 he can fling himself in the flying trot, and without which he 

 is either unable or unwilling to put out his best efforts. 



There was a notable instance of this in the trotting-horse 

 Alexander, which was taken to England many years ago, 

 and could not be got to trot a bit by those who had purchased 

 him, expecting great things. Afterwards Bill Whelan went 



