390 LIFE WITH THE TROTTEES. 



tect Ms money at the pool-box in a way wMcli has kept his 

 bank account in good order. 



Driving trotters on the snow has come to be a great 

 amusement with gentlemen, and a horse that can go well in 

 that manner will command a larger price as a gentleman's 

 road horse than one that can not. I find a great difference 

 in horses about going in the snow. Some very fast horses 

 from their gait, etc., seem entirely helpless when hitched to 

 a sleigh, while others take to it very kindly. One of the 

 best snow horses I ever saw, perhaps, was Ethan Allen. He 

 was my ideal of a gentleman's road horse. I think I have 

 seen Mr. Simmons drive him and his son Honest Allen on 

 the road to a sleigh faster than ever I saw a team go that 

 way hitched. For a perfect sleigh horse you want one that 

 does not pull, that is square gaited and will go without 

 boots. If he is obliged to wear boots in the snow and they 

 become wet they will be heavy, and I also find that the 

 water seeping through the boots often poisons the horse's 

 legs and in that way you are liable to have a great deal of 

 trouble. Boots often chafe a horse in the snow from being 

 wet, etc. , while they would not at any other time. Speak- 

 ing of a horse chafing, I find that a great many are 

 troubled that way even in summer. If a horse pulls in har- 

 ness, he is almost sure to chafe under the breeching, and 

 there are some that chafe under the breast collar. If I have 

 a horse that chafes from the breast collar, I always use an 

 old-fashioned coUar and hames on him. He will trot just 

 as well, although it may not be quite as handy or look as 

 well. The best remedy I ever tried for chafing is a solution 

 of white-oak bark. Any druggist can make it for you. 

 This recipe was given to me by an army ofiicer,who told me 

 that he learned it from a groom in the army and he consid- 

 ered it one of the most valuable remedies he ever met. 



In selecting the double team for a gentleman' s use, if 

 you expect to drive them at a high rate of speed with ease 

 and comfort, there is a great deal to be thought of. First 

 and foremost, you must have two horses the same disposi- 



