THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 121 



Trotters that have during the past twenty-five years ridden 

 away from us by the side of the pale horseman, down into the 

 valley and through the shadow into the light beyond,, memory 

 records so many that I will not attempt to individualize them 

 here. 



Nearly 100 years of breeding for speed at the trot, guided 

 by close observation of actual performances, coupled with an 

 intelligent course of breeding from animals possessing speed at 

 that gait, has resulted in evolving an animal high in intelli- 

 gence, quick in action, and beautiful to look upon. 



We still have much to do before we can justly claim to have 

 established a breed of universal trotting horses, and the closer 

 we confine ourselves to the judicious selections from such fam- 

 ilies as trot and produce trotters, the sooner we shall accom- 

 plish our object. 



The American Trotter is an American production made up 

 of several breeds, but receiving his best blood from the Arab 

 and the thoroughbred, and through them we have the founda- 

 tion, by careful selection and breeding to the " fittest," of per- 

 fecting a breed that will soon become famous over the whole 

 civilized world, and that will give us a national reputation as 

 well. 



But the time is upon us when the breeder who introduces a 

 single out-cross from an inherent trotting gait, not only adds 

 his possibilities of failure, but postpones the day when we shall 

 be able to breed fast trotters with a degree of certainty. 



The American trotting horse has grown out of the selections 

 made by breeders of the animals that could trot fast, and that 

 had intelligence, when taughtj to stick to that gait. Such 

 as were, to use a horse expression, " level headed." 



Chance trotters may occasionally be produced in the future 

 as in the past, but the careful breeder of trotters will select for 

 his harem mares not only of those possessing good trotting ac- 

 tion themselves, but of families where the trotting gait has 

 been successfully cultivated by selection and use until inherit- 



