3li TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



write about theories, or to take part here in the con- 

 tention between the different schools of breeding. This 

 work is more practical, and in pursuance thereof we 

 will now suppose that j^ou have selected jour horse and 

 mare, and are about to breed, in the fond hope of get- 

 ting a Sunol or an Axtell. 



Having settled upon the stallion and mare, I would 

 mate them as soon after February 15th as possible. 

 Every day of life is an advantage to the colt that is 

 expected to trot voung, and when the time is counted 

 by weeks and months the advantao:e is increased many- 

 fold. I believe the mare is better if worked some. If 

 possible I would work her moderatelv while carrying 

 the foal, at least in the earlier months of pregnancy. 



We breed mares on the eighth or ninth day after 

 foaling. Some will go out of use the eighth day. 

 After the mare is bred we let her go out of use before 

 breeding again. Whenever she comes in again we 

 breed her, no matter how long or how short has been 

 the interval. The season of 18S8, after Sprite and 

 Dolly were bred, we found that for three months they 

 would take the horse any time they were bred. Dolly 

 proved in foal, while Sprite failed. Some mares will 

 certainly welcome the stallion's embrace after they are 

 in foal, so that the mare's accepting the horse cannot 

 be taken for a certain indication in all cases that she 

 has failed to hold. A couple of seasons since we bred 

 Flower Girl once, and shortly afterward decided to 

 train her, so that orders were given that if she came in 

 again she was not to be put back to the horse. She 

 came in use, and would have stood for the horse any 

 ilav. After we worked her awhile she would occasion- 



