44 EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 



on her in front, and at times a pound toe weight — with that 

 she could not go any ; if I attempted to force her along she 

 would hitch and hobble, and it seemed hard work to go, and 

 still she was trying to go on a trot ; she had plenty of life, in 

 fact, was high strung, but was very gentle and clever to drive 

 and seemingly tried to trot. 



The following summer I used her as my road horse for 

 myself and family. My wife used to drive her and people 

 would chafe me about letting my wife drive such a lumoux 

 of a horse. She did improve a little that summer, she could 

 perhaps go a four-minute gait. I would occasionally hitch 

 her to a sulky and go out on the track and try to drive her a 

 little, providing there was no one around to laugh at me, but 

 it always seemed like time thrown away. My friends often 

 said to me : " Jack, you better breed her ; she will never learn 

 to go. But she is well bred and Avill make a good brood 

 mare.'' I would say, " No, I am like the boy digging for the 

 woodchuck, I must have him, and I must have speed." I 

 had as high as a two pound shoe on her in front and 

 sometimes a pound behind. She would hit her coronet be- 

 hind so as to make them sore, and I used toe boots on her for 

 ordinary road work. I worked along with this mare until she 

 was seven years old, shod her in every imaginable way, used 

 different harness, checks and bits, and hitched to every kind 

 of a vehicle, but without any improvement to' speak of. Of 

 course a Clydesdale or Norman would improve a little with 

 this treatment. She was a very hearty mare and a great 

 feeder; would fill herself so full that she had no use of herself. 

 I found from giving her a long drive she would get emptied 

 out and show quite a bit more step than with ordinary work. 

 Still she was not gaited, had no knee action, could not get her 

 front feet out of the way of her hind ones, and was inclined 

 to carry her near hind foot between her front ones and conse- 

 quently would hitch and hobble. Finally I put on an eigh- 

 teen and a half ounce shoe on the near front foot and a pound 

 on the off one, with the weight all in the heel that I could 



