HOW TO BUY AND SELL A HORSE. 253 



The fine roadster, the trotting horse and the horse for general utility, 

 may yot be much improved. Within the last ten years the speed of tlie 

 trotting horse has been greatly developed. In 1880, Maud S. made a mile 

 in 2 : lOA, thus beating the record of 2 : 14 made by Goldsmith Maid in 

 1874, and in 1881 we saw her trot -two heats in 2:11 and 2 : llf, the 

 fastest two heats ever made.* We also saw Little Brown Jug pace a mile 

 in 2 : 13. There are now a number of horses that can trot the mile in 

 i : 15, and not a few that can do it inside of 2 : 20. 



Whce the limit of speed for trotters is, or how near they may yet come 

 to the fastest running time, no one, of course, can tell. In buying a 

 horse to breed colts for fast time, great attention must be paid not only 

 to form, but to the pedigree as well. You may breed fast horses from 

 those of good pedigree, though they do not themselves possess extraor- 

 dinary speed. But you cannot breed fast horses from those which have 

 no pedigree, however good their apparent form may be. 

 Vm. Models for Buying. 



For reasons heretofore given, we have insisted that, to judge correctly 

 the merits of a horse, one must have accurate knowledge — knowledge not 

 only of what constitutes general excellence in horses, but minute and 

 familiar knowledge of the qualities which fit them to perform in the besf 

 manner, the various services required. Knowing the great value of object 

 lessons, we have not only presented numerous general forms, showing 

 proportion, muscular development and anatomy, but have also given 

 faithful representations of the more celebrated breeds. If you find aq 

 animal of the particular breed, conforming to the standard, do not fear 

 to buy if you wish one from which to breed. 



rx. The Racing and the Trotting Form. 



As a model for study in racing form, the illustration we give is 

 good. The illustration of the American thoroughbred in Chapter VII, 

 may also be referred to in this connection. In Chapter YIII, some of 

 the best trotting forms are shown, and exijlicit information about trotting 

 horses is there given. The racing horse should be from 15^ to 16 hands 

 high, muscular all over, short-backed, round-])odied, with long hips and 

 deep and oblique shoulders ; the head clean and the neck rangy and well 

 set on. The limbs should be clean-cut, sound and firm in the bone, — 

 not small and slender by any means, — and the eyes especially should be 

 full, bright and clear, but mild, denoting, with the broad forehead, high 

 CO irage and energy, combined with docility of temper. 

 X. The Roadster. 



Roadsters must possess so many valuable qualities, good size, fine 

 action, elegant carriage, high form, docility, and undoubted bottom, that 

 • Maud S. lias since trotted a mile in 2:10>4. 



