322 LIFE WITH THE TROTTERS. 



ten or twelve horses in a race, driven by the same number of 

 active young men Avho are all looking for first money, you 

 will find it very necessary to keep your right foot forward 

 at all times. 



In working your horse, be sure and teach him to go on a 

 trot, if that is the kind of horse you are training. At one 

 time there was an idea it was a good thing to teach a horse 

 to be a good breaker. Trotters always go best when they go 

 on a trot. If you see a man working his horse and he is 

 continually breaking in his work, you watch that same horse 

 in a race and you will notice liim doing it there. If on the 

 contrary you see a man v/orking his stable of horses and they 

 are always on a trot you will find him A\ith his horses on a 

 trot in a race. It is a difficidt thing nowadays for a horse to 

 make a break and win a heat. In the first place the judges 

 are very strict, and if there is any doubt about it the horses 

 which go on a trot generally get the benefit of the doubt. 

 I for one believe the time will come when no horse will be 

 entitled to a heat if he makes a break in it, and I would vote 

 for that now. In order to teach your horse to go on a trot 

 at all times be careful and never let him break. If he should 

 leave his feet don't snatch him to one side as if you intended 

 to uncouple his neck, and never whip him under any cir- 

 cumstance. I think a whip in the hands of an ordinary horse 

 trainer is far more dangerous than is a revolver in the hands 

 of a school boy. If a man looks over the list of his acquaint- 

 ances who have been successful as horse drivers, he will 

 find that as a rule they are men who are not much given to 

 whipping their horses. A man who loses his temper and 

 whips his horse in anger will never succeed. If you are not 

 able to control yourself you will not make much headway 

 in controlling your horses. With an intelligent man driving 

 a horse he seldom breaks. A horse may hit himself, step in 

 a hole or some uneven place and thus be made to leave his 

 feet, and to whip him for it will cause him to break all the 

 sooner the next time. After your horse has broken, take a 

 gentle hold of him, attract his attention by speaking to him 



