LIFE WITH THE TROTTEES. 431 



not an old horse. Get the colt into a small cart or sulky as 

 soon as safe to do so and do not let nj) on his work until he 

 drives perfectly kind and gentle. 



The colt is now about a year old ; has been well raised 

 and well broken; was entered in the ''Maturity Stakes," 

 "Grand National," and the ''State -Breeders'," and must 

 start in August, to maintain the reputation and prestige oi 

 the farm, as well as to get back the money laid out for 

 development and entrance. Besides all this there is a great 

 deal of pride at stake. There have been many arguments 

 pro and con about the various strains of blood, the differ- 

 ent methods of handling, and the races of 'years past have 

 been brought up and discussed, in which one colt's grand- 

 dam had beaten the other, and the talk has finally wound 

 up with the invincible argument, " Blood will tell." The 

 stimidation of the argument is beginning to act, and as the 

 colt has had a nice run at grass through AjDril, he must be 

 taken up and conmienced with. He showed splendidly in 

 leading, acted well when broken, but no one has held the 

 watch on him yet, andv as he has been running out the last 

 month, those fast starts and sudden rushes he would make 

 to beat, the pony while leading, are sort of forgotten. And 

 then perhaps he wont like the track as well as the leading- 

 shed, Mud possibly he may get lame. All these things will 

 begin to arise and here is where tlie trouble comes. If you 

 are not careful you will get in too big a hurry. Keep quiet, 

 go slow, take the colt up, put on his light shoes, drive him 

 around some before hitching him up, then hitch to the 

 break-cart first, go around the ti-ack slowly and carefully ; 

 it will look differently to him now the leaves are out. 



Get the colt accustomed to the changes and to having 

 horses meet and pass him ; jog him slowly for a few days, 

 and you will be ready to let him go along some. Be sure 

 yon have the proper boots on, such as scalpei-s and quarter 

 boots, and the girth well back so as not to chafe him where 

 the forward legs work back and forth. L(!t him spurt in 

 places, about forty rods at a time, turning him around 



