The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-11-13
GEte @armer.
Fast Walking Horses.
From Wallace's MONTHLY.

From Wallace's Monthly.
The attention of breeders will bear being
called frequently to the neglect of teaching
colts and young horses to walk. The horse
used exclusively for racing purposes is the
only member of the family entitled to be
excused from well-developed gait at the
walk The walking gait is the most i'm
portant for all other horses, and should be
the first gait developed and perfected by
the trainer, and after rapid, clean, strong
walk is acquired, the speed-gaits should be
attended to, though very carefully, until
they are brought to good degree of pro-
fciency. Horses may be made to attain
almost incredible speed at this way of
going if due care is observed. We have
known numerous road-bred horses that
would walk from four and half to five
miles an hour without urging, and many,
in fact most well-bred road horses, could be
taught to cover greater distances than this
in the same time if it were not for the per-
nicious custom Gas we think of putting the
colts to the trot as soon as they are in har-
ness and before they are really bridle-wise.
1t may be a good idea for breeders of racing
stock to put the colts to the trot and run
at the leading strap even before they are
old enough to harness or saddle, since the
popularity of sales of ''yearlings" is increas-
ing so rapidly, but for the common breeder
this is folly.
We would get much better prices for the
horses we ship for the city buyers for car
rage and road purposes if we cultivate the
walk Every farmers boy knows that he
can do better job of work-plowing
narrowing or working corn-with fast
walking team, which makes the dirt fly,
than with slow one. The saving on a
farm when the horses walk three miles
an hour, or even when they walk two miles
and half, is 20 per cent, or, in other
words, the fast team can rest a whole day
in the week and yet do as much work as
the}slow team-do it easier and do it bet
-tef. In times, when the work is pressing
or the weather uncertain, the fast team is
treasure.
While every effort has been made to in
crease the speed of the trotter, the draft
horse men have been working for pounds,
with little regard either for muscle or walk
ing speed. 1t is a very great mistake to
suppose that the draft horse cannot be
trained to walk rapidly. We have been
breeding to Percheron for four years that
often walks nine miles in one hour and fifty
minutes, over hilly road, and his colts are
all rapid walkers. They are not as large
as some, but they are large enough to do
any kind of farm work easily and rapidly.
This rapid movement has been OF very great
Importance to us in the last ten day, when
it was desirable to get the corn ground in
the best possible order in the shortest pos
sible time. Life is too short to spend 1t In
pokipe along after team that can not get
their heads up. The lazy man to whom
exertion is burden actually works harder
than the brisk, rapid worker OF course
we are not advocating the trotter or the
roadster as the model farm horse. They
NAV be too fiery-have too much OF the
trotting instinct for farm work. The farm
horse should have the patience and the
logged persistence developed by ages OF
service in that capacity, but he should have
also the tirelessness of movement that en-
ables him to do it with the least expendi-
ture of effort and of his masters time, and
to do it in the best manner. We used to
handle all kinds of teams when boy, and
always found we could do the best work
with a team that had the strength to do
the work easily at steady, lively gait.
They turned better furrow, broke more
clods with the harrow, and did a great deal
better Job of work in the cornfeld as well
as on the road.