THE HORSES— HORSES PROPER. 



411 



fast trotters. As may be expected, the Horses de- 

 scending from all these mentioned half-bloods vary 

 widely in appearance and capacity of performance. 

 They may be light, medium or heavy, and serve as 

 excellent saddle, carriage or strong working Horses; 

 some are distinguished by their immense draught- 

 power. 



Tho a „„,,n , Although allied by ties of close relationship 



lotting HoZe 1° < he % lish thoroughbred, the American 

 the Best trotting Horse has been developed upon 



lines so peculiarly its own as to be entitled 

 to classification as a national variety. It has been shown by 

 several writers that fast trotting is not natural to the Horse 

 family. If the Horse wishes to go quickly it runs or gallops, 

 and only trots when inclined to leisure. 



In an early day in New England there was a prejudice 

 against Horse racing, and Horses were encouraged to trot. 



The Shetland Horses of the largest breeds often 

 Pony the Smallest attain a height of seventy-two inches 



of the Horses. anc j over a t_ the withers; the antitypes 

 of them are the ponies, which are often but half this 

 size. The smallest Horse, the Shetland Pony, has a 

 full, long, shaggy mane and a bushy tail, and is fre- 

 quently only thirty-six inches high, and sometimes 

 only thirty-four or even thirty-three inches in height, 

 and having no greater physical proportions than 

 those of a large Dog. 



Distribution of Nowadays the tame Horse is distrib- 



the Domestic uted nearly all over the globe. It is 



Horse. absent in only the coldest regions 



and on several islands, where as yet, by reason of 



lack of use, it has not been introduced. It is bred in 



THE AMEBIC AN TROTTING HORSE. This is a portrait of " George Wilkes " the famous American trotter. He was foaled in 1856 and died 



in 1882 and was regarded as a typical representative of the American Trotting Horse, having himselt a record of a mile in two minutes, twenty-two seconds, 

 and being the sire of a numerous progeny of celebrated trotters and pacers. 



Later it was a matter of neighborhood pride to own the 

 fastest trotter in the vicinity, and trotting became the favorite 

 gait for Horses. Finally some imported thoroughbreds and 

 their progeny were trained to trot in harness, and in 1818 a 

 Horse named Boston Blue was matched to trot a mile in three 

 minutes — a feat then deemed impossible, but which he accom- 

 plished. This was the beginning of the contests against time, 

 which have since reduced the trotting record second by second 

 down to the last record made by the mare Alix, who trotted a 

 mile in 2:035^ at Galesburg, 111., September 19, 1894. 



In no other country have trotting races become so popular as 

 in the United States, and with the exception of Russia, no dis- 

 tinctively fast-trotting variety of Horses has been developed 

 outside of those of the United States. 



Of the third group, comprising the sluggish, slow- 

 paced draught breeds, we will mention here only the 

 following heavy ones : the English Clydesdale and 

 Dray Horse, the Pcrcheron, the Ardenner, the Pinz- 

 gauer, the Jutlander and the Russian Bitjug. 



wild, half-wild and tame studs. In the wild studs of 

 Russia the herds are left to their own devices all the 

 year round. The Horses born under these condi- 

 tions are very hardy, vigorous and frugal, but never 

 attain the beauty of those which are born and bred 

 under the supervision of Man. Half-wild studs are 

 those in which the herds of Horses roam over exten- 

 sive grazing ranges from spring to autumn under 

 supervision; in tame studs the breeding is conducted 

 under the strictest supervision of Man. 



Reproduc- The mare usually gives birth to a 



tion of the single colt, which has its eyes open, 



Horse. [ s f u lly covered with hair, and in a few 



minutes is able to stand and walk. It is allowed to 



suckle, play and romp for about five months, after 



which it is usually weaned. In the first year its coat 



