APr/JXDLT. 4B7 



colIen;c and a loni^ course of utility to prcm iturc display. 1 

 understand my friend Doctor Ilerr, of Kentucky, to declare that 

 by means of early education and traininc;, colts oui^ht to trot in 

 2m. 30s. at three years old, and in 2m. 20s., at five. All I have 

 to say in that re;i;ard is that the Doctor has now been trainini]; and 

 educating for many years, and has never produced one at either 

 age that could do it. This is not because of any lack of care or 

 ability in him, for he is an attentive and capable man, but be- 

 cause such speed is not normal at those ages among the very best, 

 and is practically unattainable by any method of training. That 

 there has been a three-year old that could trot a mile in 2m. 30s., 

 I fully believe 5 and that there has l)een a five-year old that could 

 trot in 2m. 20s., I am convinced; but these were exceptional cases. 

 If it is attempted to force our horses at an early age, so that they 

 may come to 2m. 30s., at three years old, I fear that we shall 

 not see many such horses as Dexter, Goldsmith Maid and Lady 

 Thorn, when they get to be more than ten years of age. 



We have, on the one hand, in the instances of these horses and 

 in that of Flora Temple, indubitable proof that early training is 

 not a iiecessiti/ for the very fastest and stoutest type of the trot- 

 ting horse. It is no reply to this to say we can show you a lot 

 of three-year olds able to trot down in the thirties. The question 

 is will they be sound and stout and able to trot in 2m. 20s. when 

 they are/our times three years of age ? You may perchance throw 

 away the live-oak qualities which have enabled our horses to im- 

 prove until they are above twelve years old, and to culminate at 

 about fifteen, in your eagerness to have a set of fools tossing up 

 their caps and snouting over the phenomenal doings of three-year 

 old colts. I do not aver that it will be so, but I think there is 

 reason to fear that it ma>/ be so. If we look at the history of 

 the running horse in England, and practically that is hi? 

 history everywhere, we shall find reason for a long pause 

 and careful consideration before we adopt the systematic early 

 training of trotters as a good thing to follow. In thn d;iys ol 



