HAL POINTER was foaled in 1884, and was bred 

 by Captain Henry Pointer of Spring Hill,Tenn. 

 He was sired by Old Tom Hal and his dam was 

 the grand old mare Sweepstakes, by Knight's Snow 

 Heels, dam of Star Pointer 1.59^. As a two- and three- 

 year-old he was used under saddle, and in 1888 it was 

 claimed he could show a 2.40 gait at the pace under 

 saddle, — a claim he could hardly justify. He is a bay 

 gelding with one white ankle in front and one behind 

 and has a small star. When matured he was a horse 

 of grand conformation, standing about 15^ hands high 

 and weighing about 1,100 pounds in ordinary flesh. His 

 legs were large and well shaped, and when in training 

 his muscles stood out like those of a trained athlete. 

 His beautiful and intelligent head plainly showed his 

 sixty or more per cent, of thoroughbred blood that 

 coursed through his veins. In June, 1888, Mr. Wal- 

 ter Steele of Columbia, Tenn., purchased him and 

 placed him in my stable to be trained. He had then 

 been broken to harness, but it cannot be said that he 

 was very handy at that way of going. He had been 

 used so much under saddle that his gaits were very 

 badly mixed. He would pace a little and single foot 

 a great deal. I experimented some time with him 

 trying to make him go square and finally shod him 

 with a twelve-ounce shoe in front and added a six- 

 ounce toe weight to each front foot ; this seemed to 

 improve him, and he would go square in front ; but 

 still he seemed to lack something, and to not be en- 

 tirely balanced ; finally, I put on long shoes behind, 

 that is, shoes that projected an inch or more beyond 



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