186 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



ions, for they gain prestige and popularity before the 

 sire of a slow maturing tribe gets a start, and the latter 

 loses more ground at the beginning than he can ever 

 make up. The breeder with a large stud cannot sell 

 his stock at paying prices or cannot attract attention 

 to his horses until the youngsters trot, and so his every 

 interest impels him to breed from blood that trots 

 young, and to train the progeny 3^oung and prove that 

 they are young trotters. The sooner that is done, the 

 sooner the harvest begins. Until it is done money is 

 going out — after it is done money begins to come in. 

 When the brood-mare produces a performer at an 

 early age her mone}^ producing power is much greater 

 than if that honor came late in life when her prolific 

 days were waning. Business wisdom and business 

 necessity point the path to success in breeding from 

 early-trotting blood and in developing it early. 



These facts sufficiently account for the growing ten- 

 dency toward early training and trotting and the pub- 

 lic preference for blood that trots young and trots fast. 

 Some of our great families of the past have been, it is 

 true, the slow-maturing ones; but there are just as good 

 families that we are not compelled to expend time and 

 money in unnecessarilj^ waiting upon. The earliest 

 blood matures none too early; nor can the breeder 

 bring out his colts, if they are good, any too early for 

 the best results. 



But I fancy I hear some one say : '' Yes, we grant 

 that it may pay better to train and trot your horses 

 young, but will you produce horses a« good at maturity 

 in that way as the breeder does who Avaits upon them 

 until they are older, their bones full grown and set, 



