150 THE HORSE 



represent many lifetimes of study, experiment, 

 and research and crown the labors of many bygone 

 horsemen in a field where, perhaps more than in 

 any other, one must, to attain success, be in close 

 touch with Nature and possessed of an intimate 

 knowledge of her laws. To describe their evolu- 

 tion in such manner as to show clearly how it was 

 brought about it is necessary for me not only to 

 refer to the efforts of American horsemen since we 

 first began to breed horses for speed at the trot, 

 but to take a brief glance at the horses of an 

 earlier period. 



In earlier days, as pointed out in the chapter 

 on carriage horses, thoroughbreds were very 

 naturally regarded as the most to be desired of all 

 animals and, whenever a farmer could, he secured 

 the services of a thoroughbred stallion for his 

 brood-mare. Such horses, however, were few in 

 number as compared with those of humbler origin 

 and the majority of farmers had to content them- 

 selves with such stock as was available. Thus 

 the breed of American horses, if it could be called 

 a breed at all, was of an extremely composite 

 character and included not only the blood of 

 nearly every type of English horse then in use, 

 but also that of the little horse of Canada, com- 

 monly called the Kanuck. One distinct breed 

 sprang up, the Narragansett pacers of southern 



