NECESSITY OF EAKLY DEVELOPMENT. 185 



was almost wholly a matter of teaching — an accom- 

 plishment which it took years of practice to acquire; 

 but now it is a natural quality of the breed, a capacity 

 born in the horse, not wholly acquired and hence it 

 develops in its fullness earlier. 



That the prejudice against early training in the past 

 has hindered to some extent the progress in breeding 

 the trotter I do not doubt. One effect was undeniably 

 the diverting from the trotter of the attention of men 

 who would breed if it were not that they believed it 

 necessar\^ to wait many years for any return from 

 their capital, labor and care. Thev saw that they 

 could breed race-horses and begin reapmg the harvest 

 of their success in three years at furthest, whereas the 

 prevailing sentiment would have it that the trotter at 

 three years was too young to even begin to educate. 

 But this prejudice is to a great extent passing away. 

 The business of breeding has now reached a point 

 Avhere few breeders have the inclination, even if they 

 were financially able or believed it beneficial, to wait 

 six or seven years for the get of their stallions and the 

 produce of their mares to show what their blood is 

 worth. The buyer who selects a few youngsters — a 

 stallion, perhaps, to head a future stud, or a filly or 

 two for the harem — does not want to wait for years to 

 find out whether they are worth keeping and breeding 

 from or not. Hence he buys the blood that trots 

 young. The small breeder who wishes to stint his 

 favorite mare feels that at the very best he must wait 

 a weary time ; therefore he selects the stallion whose 

 colts develop early speed. Again, and for these same 

 reasons, the cream of the patronage goes to such stall- 



