THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 91 



or a wagon, upon a frozen road. He is therefore liable at 

 such times to wrench and strain the muscles and ligaments; 

 and, though no mischief may be apparent, the wear and tear 

 is by no means as moderate as it is supposed to be, even 

 though he is driven slow. 



Care must also be taken that he is not fattened up. 

 Some horses make flesh very fast when their work is 

 small and irregular, and load the intestines and heart to 

 such a degree, that the trainer has no end of trouble and 

 anxiety to get it off. It is not only useless, but positively 

 mischievous ; and hence the grain is to be reduced in win- 

 ter to a little more than half the quantity he was accus- 

 tomed to consume when in training. With this he may 

 have a few carrots now and then, and a bran-mash occasion- 

 ally. The hay he has should be good, clean, and sweet. 

 Sufficient attention to this matter will well repay the 

 little extra expense and trouble which may be called for to 

 secure it. 



Should it be found, at the end of the season, that the 

 trotter is stale, that his constitutional health and vigor are 

 somewhat impaired, and his legs the worse for wear, it will 

 not be wise to drive him during the winter. Instead of 

 that, he may have a complete let-up, with a loose box, and 

 a small outside lot to run in. The good rest is Nature's 

 great restorative, when the constitutional powers have been 

 heavily taxed by a long course of training, and severe 

 work upon the course in the engagements the trotter may 

 have been called upon to fulfil. To prepare him for his 

 wintering, you should begin by gradually removing the 

 clothes in which he has been accustomed to stand in the 

 stable ; for during the time he runs out he is to have no 

 artificial protection against the weather but that which the 

 shelter of his box will afford when he seeks it. His own 

 coat is to be his only clothing. His shoes should be pulled 

 off; and his feet may be pared down, so as to remove the 

 bruised and broken edges of the crust and prepare for the 



