THE SIRE. 119 



at our fairs up and down before the judges' stand to the 

 halter; for they literally make a great spread, attract the 

 popular eye, and enable every fool to see that they 

 have got trotting-action. But these colts that trot so 

 wide, that they could trot with a flour-barrel between 

 their legs, do not trot so well, I notice, at the end of the 

 heat as they do at the beginning, and are generally 

 found at the wrong side of the distance-posts at the 

 conclusion in a well-contested race of the fourth or 

 fifth heat. 



I have a stallion in mind, as I write, that trots a three- 

 minute clip — so perfect is his knee-action, and quick is 

 his gather — without "opening up" at all, but that can 

 " open up " enough to show his heels to many wider- 

 gaited horses, when it is necessary to get his nose to the 

 judges' wire quicker than 30 sec. And, what he can do 

 the first heat, he can keep on doing the fifth, sixth, or 

 seventh heat, or all day, for that matter: and the reason 

 is, because he does not waste any force by side-a,ction^ but 

 delivers his strokes in a straight line ; and every inch of 

 movement brings him an inch nearer home. And this is 

 the style of horse that will invariably win when the con- 

 testants are many, the race a close one, and endurance 

 every thing. Now, the colts of this horse resemble their 

 sire in this their style of going. When led to the halter, 

 they do not "open out" at all, or very little, because the 

 groom cannot make the pace fast enough for them to feel 

 the need of effort ; and I doubt if many judges at the 

 New-England fairs would ever regard them as worthy to 



