NATURAL TllOTTKUS. 285 



front or behind him when in motion, you clearly see the lines occupied 

 hj the front feet between, and by the hind feet on the outside, with 

 great evenness and regularity. The point at which they widen or 

 spread seems to be at the stifle, and he keeps his hind legs in perpen- 

 -dicular line, rather than in the sprawling manner exhibited by some 

 •that trot with no more width behind. The peculiar gait of the front 

 legs I have described is a Hambletonian type, when the same propor- 

 tions occur, as in the Volunteers; but the vigorous display of power 

 and action b'"' 'nd, is derived evidently from his cross-breeding into 

 •the Pilot and Mambrino Chief elements — a kind of breedinor that can 

 not always be accomplished with such good results. His hindquarter 

 leverage is faulty in the same respect as Thorndale's, and in greater 

 ■degree, as he lias a longer thigh. Were his measurement from hip to 

 hock 39^ or 40 inches, he would show more elasticity of gait — more 

 of the real Abdallah propelling power — and not lift his hocks so high. 

 -He would not be so showy a field trotter, but, to my mind, would dis- 

 play a gait more likely to be relied upon for long-continued wear and 

 tear. As a sire, however, it must be conceded that his surplus of 

 'trotting action is less objectionable than as a trotter for turf purposes 

 — he has the more of this quality to impart to the offspring of mares 

 that are lacking in this respect. 



The Almonts are showy trotters, and seem always ready for a dis- 

 play. They are so constructed that they can trot more easily than do 

 •anything else; hence they are natural trotters; and this is the remark- 

 able characteristic of the family — that the produce of Almont seem ' 

 to trot with a total disregard to the qualities or characteristics of the 



■ mares from which they are bred. The Hambletonian horse is not, as 

 ■a general rule, very successful in engrafting a ready and free trotting 

 gait on the produce of thoroughbred or racing mares, but Almont does 

 it to a degree hardly surpassed, and perhaps not equaled, by any Pilot 



■^r Mambrino Chief stallion we have ever produced. 



An opinion was at one time expressed by myself, and, I believe, 

 •entertained by his owner, that Almont did not so readily succeed with 

 his own kith and kin of the Hambletonian blood. It is now clear that 

 "this was an error, and a recent thorough examination satisfies me that 

 there is no foundation for it. I shall look to mares by the highly bred 

 sons of Hambletonian as those with which Almont will achieve his 

 greatest fame. His success with thoroughbreds and all other classes 



■ of mares can not well be accounted for without our attention being 

 •directed to the three great blood elements which are so successfully 



blended in his own composition. 



