The Bossier banner., 1881-06-09
How Kentucky Horses are Trained.

One after another beautiful saddle
horses were ridden out over the track,
moving along at gentle, easy gait,
lying at q rapid canter, racking OF
breaking into a trot, as the rider willed.
All these horses, l believe, were thor.
ough- bred and their prices ranged from
$500 to $1,000. So well were they
gated and trained that the rider had
but to touch the name in a given place
or make certain signal to have them
take rack, canter, trot, run or lope.
Any one can learn to manage these
galts in very short time, as found
from experience. But the method by
which these horses are so perfectly
trained could not learn. Either the
trainers do not know exactly how to i'm
part this information, or they are deter
mined to keep it to themselves. Some
answered my questions by saying, sit is
easy enough. You can make horse do
anything you want to. Only let him
know what you want him to do. You
had better wear spurs in riding, give
him his head freely, and if he takes one
gait when you spur him on the right
side, just spur him again there when
you want the same gait" Here horse
passed on a rack, and as the rider
touched him with the tip of his finger
on the head, he struck out on a SQUARE
trot. "Now," said l, .'how was that
horse trained so as to strike trot bv
that signal?' "Why," answered the
hentuckian, "our saddle horses all
learn that from the time they are colts"
L asked Mr.. Lindepberoer- I" What
is the secret of the superi-
otrity OF Kentucky horses. "There
IS a combination of causes
he answered. "The great majority
OF the horses here have some
good blood in them, and you will find it
crossed somewhere back in their pedi-
grees. The best strains of running and
trotting blood have been taken from
here to other States, and they there fail
to produce the desired results. There
Is something in the blue grass, the
water, the atmosphere and the general
climatic influence, and then, as MIR.
ireacy told you this morning, there
Is everything in judicious breeding and
training. We force our horses to Gait
when they are one year old, and at three
years old they are pretty well developed.
The Northern men, however, always
improve Them "How long have Ken
lucky horses held their high place?'' ]
queried. mo one hereabout can tell.
l know men who have lived here eighty
hve years and they state that from their
earliest childhood they have heard of
the superiority of our horses. Their
fathers before them had the same story
to tell. The fact is, that somewhere in
the past there was brought into this
State pure strain of thorough blood.
derived from the best stock of the
mother world, and it has transmitted
It's qualities from sire to son to the pres
ent time. 1t is lamentable fact that
we have not the exact data upon which
TO base history of the Kentucky horse.''
The fastest horses in the world have
been bred and trained in this neighbor-
lood: Maud Stone, better known as
Maud s., record, 2:10f; Wedgewood,
zig; Woodford Mambrino, 2:24; Trim
zet, 2:l94; Dick Moore, 2:22; John Nor
gan, 2:24; Indianapolis, 2:2l; Voltaire,
.:2O, are but few of the race horses
nat have been sent out of Kentucky.
while the number of her carriage, sad
lie and trotting horses that have been
odd here, and are now scattered
throughout our large cities, could no
more be calculated than one could
count the trees of the forest. .-Lerington
jOr. Cleveland Leader.