226 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



When, for this purpose, we digressed, Ave had just 

 been giving the youngster his first few days of work 

 for speed in harness. It is now time to shoe him. 

 Our two-year-olds at Palo Alto carry, as a rule, from 

 eight to ten ounce shoes forward, and four to five 

 ounces behind. At another place I will discuss shoeing^ 

 and its kindred subject weighting, but will here remark 

 that the least possible weight with which you can 

 balance the colt is what you should carry. I mean 

 weight in the shoe — not toe-weights. My experience 

 has taught me to almost wholly banish toe-weights 

 from my stable, and I certainly advise the reader if he 

 be starting out to train young trotters to have none of 

 them. I could cite many cases to show the demoraliza- 

 tion they work, but will content myself with reference 

 to one striking instance. That was the case of Chimes, 

 the brother of Bell Boy, Hinda Eose and St. Bel. I 

 Avorked him as a two-year-old with ten-ounce shoes 

 forward. With that balancing he trotted for me a 

 quarter in 0:35, and three-quarters at a 2:24 gait. 

 After Mr. Hamlin got him he put toe-weights on him, 

 and he seemed to at once lose his speed, and he has, as 

 far as the public know, never recovered it. He failed 

 to trot for Mr. Hamlin faster than 2:30J as a three- 

 year-old. He showed me ability to trot in 2:25 as a 

 tw^o-year-old, to make a very safe and conservative 

 estimate. His is only one of man}^ cases I could cite 

 w^here toe-weights worked incalculable harm. 



But putting superfluous weight on the toe is not the 

 only way in which we sometimes go in exactly the 

 wrong direction in trying to strike the happy medium 

 in balancing trotters. The mare Hinda Kose, whose 



