96 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



CHAPTER YII. 



HISTORY OF PALO ALTO CONTINUED FIRST TRIALS OF THE 



PALO ALTO SYSTEM UNSUCCESSFUL REASONS THERE- 

 FOR SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON TRAINING AND 



TRAINERS OCCIDENT AND ABE EDGINGTON CAMPAIGNS- 



BRIEFLY OUTLINED FROM 1878 TO 1889 THE GREAT 



CAMPAIGN OF 1886 PLANS FOR 1888 FRUSTRATED BY 



FIRE FURTHER SUCCESSES. 



The first horses I worked at Palo Alto were Abe 

 Edgington and the more famous Occident that had 

 made a record of 2:16f some years before. These 

 horses were at Sacramento when I came to Palo Alto, 

 but shortly were brought home. After some little 

 work on the usual plan of training, I drove Edgington 

 a mile in 2:22, and Occident worked in 2:19. 



Then Governor Stanford explained to me his ideas 

 of training, fully outlining a theory, the general prin- 

 ciples of which are those now followed at Palo Alto, 

 and which is properly called "the Palo Alto system." 

 He explained the advantages he saw in the " brush 

 plan" of teaching a horse to trot fast. He did not be- 

 lieve that the best way to teach a horse speed was by 

 incessant jogging or working mile after mile in a drill- 

 ing way. On the other hand, he contended that by 

 sending a horse short distances nearly up to his limit 

 but not far enough to tire him, allowing him to get his 



