PRESERVE THE BALANCE. 207 



prejudiced against this S3^stem, but I believe I can 

 claim honestly that I have no prejudice against any- 

 thing that experiment has not given me reason to 

 reject. I try to be reasonable and recognize merit 

 wherever it exists. It has always seemed to me that 

 the colt hitched with a runner learns to trot in a sort 

 of unnatural, swinging, sailing way, without actually 

 carrying his own weight, and certainly not balancing 

 himself. They go fast that way no doubt. A boy can 

 take hold of the rear bar of a wagon and follow it on 

 a run just about as fast as a horse can trot. But is he 

 running naturally? Is he balancing himself? He is 

 striding about twice the distance he can naturally 

 stride, and the moment he releases his grip on the bar 

 he tangles his legs and falls headlong, showing that he 

 is not running, but being carried practically through 

 the air. We hear of yearlings trotting quarters in 

 forty seconds hitched to a runner's bridle until we 

 are almost forced to believe that 2:40 is the natural 

 speed of these youngsters. But put them in harness 

 and see how fast tliey can trot a quarter. When we 

 time a youngster a quarter in forty seconds at Palo 

 Alto we are not deceiving ourselves, for he does it 

 exactly in the way he will have to do it when he starts 

 in a race. The colt that is taught to go fast with a 

 runner hitched to him does not learn to pull weight, to 

 balance himself, and to stride out on his own responsi- 

 bility. AYhen he is taken away from the runner and 

 harnessed to a sulky he is green and out of his element. 

 He misses the tow-line. Does it not seem very rational 

 to bring the colt up literally in the way he should go 

 rather than waste his time and yours in teaching him 



