28 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
from gumminess or swelling even in his old age. It is 
hardly necessary to add that his tail was set low and 
carried low, for there was nothing ornamental about 
Rysdyck’s Hambletonian. His hind quarters were 
very powerful, and he had great length from hip to 
hock. The rump was rather round than sloping. 
Altogether he presented the appearance of a service- 
able, practical beast, fit, when well warmed up, to trot 
for a man’s life, as the phrase is, but neither beautiful 
nor lively. In color he took after the Bellfounder 
strain, being a rich, deep bay with black points, and 
this color was transmitted to his descendants with 
singular uniformity.! 
The Hambletonians, indeed, have a marked family 
resemblance. They are almost always big bay horses, 
with large ears, drooping tails, a long, wide gait, and 
a sleepy disposition. Thus it appears that they are 
ill adapted for roadster purposes, whether in form, in 
action, or in character; and the predominance of the 
family is, on the whole, to be regretted. It has in- 
creased the speed, but lessened the beauty and dulled 
the spirit of our average harness horse. Hambleto- 
nian himself had no record, but he was undoubtedly 
fast. His chief points of excellence were his long 
trotting gait, his muscular development, the fine qual- 
ity of his bones and sinews. It is estimated that he 
sired about 1,340 foals, and of these only forty made 
records of 2.30 or better. Hambletonian’s reputation is 
1 The following measurements of Hambletonian may interest 
certain of my readers. He stood 15.1 at the withers, and 15.3 at 
the rump. His knee was 13} inches in circumference, his hock 174 
inches. From the centre of the hip-joint to the point of the hock 
he measured 41 inches ; from the point of the stifle to the point of 
the hock, the length of his thigh was 24 inches. 
