144 LIFE WITH THE TEOTTEES. 



incident, and afterward related it to the writer as evidence 

 of how strong the bond of affection between these two ani- 

 mals was. 



When I commenced- to drive Earns, I had some trouble 

 in getting a sulky to which I could hook him far enough 

 away so that he would not hit his hocks. While he did 

 not have excessive action, when he was strung out at his 

 best clip he measured a good deal from end to end. After 

 several experiments, T. H. Brown, the sulky builder of 

 Chicago, made him the first sulky that was really a success. 

 It was the first one that I ever saw with an arched axle, 

 which peculiarity of construction enabled the horse to be 

 hooked close and still avoid any contact with the vehicle. 

 What boots Rarus wore I had made of the very lightest 

 material. I used them as a preventive more than from 

 actual need, as his gait was perfection, and I think a man 

 could have driven him for years and never have him hit 

 himself. I drove him with an open bridle, and easy snaffle 

 bit, an over-check and check bit. I used long martingales. 

 Rarus was the most perfectly broken horse and had 

 the best mouth I ever saw. No matter how high the 

 rate of speed or how close the contest, with a sim- 

 ple word of mouth and the least shifting of the bit, 

 a man was sure to attract his attention and meet a 

 response in any way that he wished. A great many horses 

 have to be taken hold of to square them and get them into 

 their stride. Not so with Rarus. No matter how slow you 

 jogged him he went with the same perfect motion he had at 

 a high rate of speed. I never saw him hitch or hobble going 

 either slow or fast. He was a good walker, and a pleasant 

 horse at road gaits, and it seemed to make less difference in 

 his eft'ort whether he was going at a three-minute or 2:15 

 gait than with any other horse I ever saw. If he had got up 

 to 2:40 gait, you could put him to his top speed in a very few 

 revolutions . A great many people imagine that he was not a 

 very fast scorer. That arose from the fact that I knew he could 

 win and always let him go away at a moderate pace. Some- 



