LIFE WITH THE TROTTEES. 149 



which is a good deal of flesh for a horse to put on in that 

 sj)ace of time. Besides looking to his feet and exercise 

 through the winter I studied Jolmston in other ways, and 

 tried to learn his disposition, temperament, etc. I noticed 

 that he was a good deal inclined to be nervous and fretful, 

 and very much afraid of strangers, and, if you i)ut him in a 

 stall where anyone was working round he acted a good deal 

 like a wild animal. If he was feeding, and a stranger stepped 

 into his stall he would walk away from his feed and j)er- 

 haps not go near it again. The result of this observation, 

 together with some experience I had in training Rarus to go 

 fast miles, was my determining on the following plan: The 

 first of March I took Johnston up and had him clipped. 

 There is a great difference of opinion in regard to clii)ping 

 horses. My experience, after having tried it for years, is 

 that in training a horse in a cold climate in the spring of 

 the year clipping is a very im^Dortant thing to do. Before 

 the horse sheds his coat, if you exercise him enough to warm 

 him, he will be sure to reduce himself in flesh more than 

 you want him to. With a horse like Johnston, that is 

 inclined to be soft, before you could get his legs in order, 

 the flesh would be all off him, and I would advise that in 

 the majority of cases it is best to clip a trotter when he is 

 in training, when the spring begins. 



I had Johnston shod with about fourteen-ounce shoes in 

 front, and seven-ounce ones behind, and started in myself to 

 jog him and superintend everything about him. I lived within 

 about sixty yards of his stable, so that I think there was not 

 much done that I did not see. I gave him, through the 

 month of March, from six to eight miles a day, when the 

 weather would permit, in the way of moderate work on the 

 road, to a cart that weighed about 200 j)ounds. He had at this 

 time about eight quarts of oats a day, with plenty of hay. 

 He appeared to do well all the while. The flesh hardened 

 on him and he seemed in the best of spirits. By the first of 

 April the track was in good order and I commenced to give 

 Johnston less jogging on the road, and moderate work on 



