The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1885-10-24
TO TEACH HORSES TO TRoT.
An Old Trainer Gives Some Experiences
and Advice-He Thinks That the Time
Is Not Far Distant When a Horse
Will Be Able to Trot Mile in
Two Minutes.
Baltimore Herald, Sept. Is.

Baltimore Herald, Sept. is.
A veteran driver, who has driven many tight
races and trained several famous flyers, was
lounging in front of one of the stables at Hal
stead's new trotting park yesterday, relating his
experiences to a number of well-known sports
about town.
at makes me weary" he said, "to hear betting
men and persons who profess to be up in the turf
talk about this and that horse as being too little
for trotter. The size of an animal amt got
twig to do with her speed. It's the way she's
brought up and the blood she's got in her. Why,
the first great ever run in this country, which
took place down at an obscure village in Tennes-
see, was run by q tiny mare that didn't look as
though she could get around the track in less
than four minutes. / remember that race as well
as though it were yesterday. 1t was between
Polly Needy and Indian Queen. At the tap of
the bell smart little Polly took the lead, and,
leaving q blue streak behind her, was never hear
ed in the race. And she made wonderful time for
those days. cute little gal who was up in the
grand stand said to General jackson, who was
present: Horses, general, are like people, the
smallest are the smartest.' That was kinder hard
on the generals wasn't it, though Now there's
Jay-Eye-See; he's little horse, but he can wipe
the wind out of Phallas and Phyllis every day in
the week. Most of the fastest flyers during the
last 20 years have been small horses. Dexter and
Goldsmith Maid were not above the medium size,
and Maud s., is little along side of st. Julian,
Rarus or Scotland"
The conversation drifted and the old driver
began to impart practical information. "Careless
and ignorant handling" he continued" kills more
animals than ever die from hard driving. l re-
member, a good while ago, when the freezing
process was all the go. A horse that had been
smothered in blankets during the summer was
stripped naked in the fall and turned into an
ordinary stable. There he ran all winter, his
hair becoming as long as that of sheep. The
trainers thought that after the trotting season
was horse could take care of himself The
right way to keep trotter is to keep him moving
on the road during the entire winter. The things
important in the stable are comfort, cleanliness,
pure air, plenty of light, well cured hay, bright
heavy oats, good deep, dry bed of straw in a
roomy box, free from draught. Let the horse
have exercise in the paddock during the daytime
if the weather is pleasant.
''The young colts in training, as well as the old
campaigners, need the greatest care in the winter.
They want to let up. 1t kills them to keep the
nerves and muscles strung up to the highest ten
sion the year around Racing is awful hard on
a horse. This week he may have a walk-over
but next week he may have his powers taxed to
the utmost. A bruising race now and then may
not seem to leave a mark on your horse, but many
of them will break him down. Any born trainer,
in love with his profession, can achieve wonder
full results by patience. tell you, gentleman, it
takes a wonderful sight of patience to become a
successful driver. You have got to become al
most part of your horse, know him like book,
and accommodate your tactics altogether to him.
Old Dan Mace was once asked whether be would
send Maud s., half in 1.04 for fast mile.
THAT depends he replied. Sometimes 1 would
and sometimes I wouldn't Those are my senti-
ments: Some horses you have got to send right
along as fast as they can go, and if you hold
them back they will choke or sulk, and you can't
tell what they will do. If they tire out on the
finish you will have to stand it. There is no rule
about the matter. Vow can't say hold in at first
and then gradually let out, for that might lose
you many race, aud you can't depend on letting
out at first like flash, because, that may drag
you winded into the home-stretch, with the whip
no good for squirt"
"Patience made great trotter out of Maud S."
he went on, while the sports took notes or what
he was saying. "In her three-year-old form she
showed nothing but a broken single foot rack,
until one day dog ran out and frightened her
into open trot that was like streak of revela-
ton to Baer, her trainer. First she showed 800,
then $40, then minutes, and she has kept get
ting lower ever since, and the Lord knows where
she will end. When working she was allowed to
run at night in grass paddock. In this way
she developed into four-year-old wonder, and
Vanderbilt was glad to buy her for S21, OOO."
"Do you think the record can ever be brought
down to two minutes? 2" asked of the listeners.
II really think so," replied the veteran. "In
fact, do not see why the trotting record should
not be fetched down below that. The great trou-
BILE with trotting an animal is that you are put
ting her into naturally forced gait. The ami
NAL must be taught to acquire the perfect habit,
just as men learn to drink beer and porter and
eat cheese. No baby will eat cheese and no colt
can trot. If you could once get horse to thor
oughly understand the trotting gait and to main
tain it without breaking, you can lower the rec
ord good bit, at least to two minutes. The
trouble with the training of trotting horses is
that it has not been brought down to a sufficiently
fine point. do not believe that there has
lived a trainer who has been entirely satisfied
that his horse was actually developing every whit
of speed in her. Of course some horses are much
faster than others, but let Us take as an example
an animal that has shown a speed of 2.20. Go
to her trainer. He will tell you that if he could
only teach her not to break and not to do this
and that the nag would come down ever so many
seconds. I hang to the idea, although many
trainers laugh at it, that it is possible to reduce
the trotting record almost to that of the running
record. There ought not to be over five seconds
difference.