THE TROTTIXG-IIORSK OF A ME RIO A. 53 



fur my uncle, an immense deal of walking exercise was 

 thought to be beneficial. I used to ride horses as much as 

 twenty miles a day, at a walk ; and it was deemed needful 

 to do tliis all along during their preparation. I have long 

 seen the fallacy of that, and discontinued it. The old no- 

 tion was, that it improved the horse's bottom ; but I am sat 

 isfied that the usual effect was to make him leg-weary, to 

 dog the heart out of him with this monotonous, tread-mill 

 sort of work, and so take away his speed. He might go a 

 distance then, in the race, because he went comparatively 

 slow. It must always be remembered that a slow horse 

 can keep at his best pace longer than a fast horse can at 

 his, though in condition, bottom, and game they be equal. 

 In training horses now, I usually walk them but once a 

 day, and then only for a comparatively short distance. 



When the colt is broken to the saddle, his work in har- 

 ness is to be commenced. It should be to a skeleton wag- 

 on, not to a sulky ; for the reason that, with the four wheels 

 to the former vehicle, the weight wiU be kept off his back. 

 Many use the sulky, but I am satisfied that the wagon is 

 best. There will be no difficulty in getting the colt to 

 draw if he has been handled rightly up to this time. Our 

 system in this is radically different from that of the Eng- 

 lish, as I am informed. Instead of putting the colt into 

 the shafts of a single vehicle, and coaxing him to go off 

 nicely with it, by which means, when he starts, he feels 

 that he is doing something, and soon becomes satisfied and 

 likes it, the English begin his harness-work by putting him 

 into a double-break wagon, which weighs about half a ton, 

 by the side of an old horse. When the colt is at home be- 

 tween the shafts, begin to drive him moderately. Take 

 him sometimes on the track, and at other times on the road. 

 Don't keep him dogging along at the same rate, but give 

 him lively spurts now and then. By this means he will 

 extend himself without hurting himself, and will improve 

 in speed. As long as he does this, you are doing right, and 



