312 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



tioneer, a sire with great brain-controlling force, and it 

 may be that had I handled the same number of half- 

 bred horses by some other sire I might have found it 

 different. However, I am not telling what my experi- 

 ences might have been, but what the}^ were. The only 

 "ugly" half-bred one I ever had to deal with was Ger- 

 trude Eussell. She was ill-used and whipped, and after 

 she came into my hands I got her fairly gentle, though 

 she always pulled. As far as breaking is concerned, 

 they made "good breakers." Palo Alto trotted in 

 2:12^^ and 2:12^, with breaks in the mile, and 3^ou can 

 not afford to make a very bad break to finish in 2:1 2^. 

 Ansel trotted a mile in 2:20, with a break in it. Ger- 

 trude Kussell, Whips and Azmoor were good breakers. 

 They would make a clear run and come back to the 

 trot handily. The only bad breaker in the lot was 

 Express, and he has improved. 



The advantages of thoroughbred blood, as they seem 

 to me, are that it gives higher finish, better quality of 

 bone, better joints, and superior wind and lung power. 

 I do not base my claims for thoroughbred blood 6n 

 gameness. M}^ belief is that gameness comes in great 

 part from pure, frictionless action. It is practically a 

 truth that speed ^inakes gameness. 



"There are thoroughbreds and thoroughbreds." 

 Some thoroughbreds have more trotting action than 

 others. In selecting a thoroughbred mare to breed to 

 a trotting stallion we pay great regard to form, action 

 and head. Some thoroughbreds are more brainy and 

 level-headed than others, and from one of these of the 

 right conformation bred to a stallion like Electioneer, 

 of great brain and action-controlling power, the chances 



