Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-08-06
En.t.MaILinr Mnrae..

Wallace's Monthly gives some good sugges-
tions in the following, which we recommend
to the careful perusal OF our readers
1.-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 ex-
cused from a well developed gait at the walk
The walking gait is the most important for all
other horses, and should be the first gait de-
veloped and perfected by the trainer and
after a rapid clean, strong walk Is acquired,
the speed gaits should be attended TO, though
very carefully. until they are brought to a
good degree Of proficiency. 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 a 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 il it we're not for the pernicious
custom Gas we think Of putting the colts to
the trot as soon as they are in the harness,
aud before they are really bridlewise. 1t may
be q good idea for breeders of racing stock
to put the colts to the trot and run at lead
ing strap even before they are old enough to
harness or saddle, since the popularity of
sales of ''yearlings" is increasing 80 rapidly
Dul lOE lub DT66Q6E Lllb 10 IOlly. we
would get much better prices for the horses
we ship to city buyers for carriage and road
purposes If we cultivated the walk. Every
farmers boy knows that he can do a better
job of work-plowing, narrowing or working
corn-with fast walking team which makes
the dirt fly, than with a slow one. The saw
ing on a farm when the horses walk three
miles an hour, or even when they walk two
miles and half an hour, is 20 per cent. or
in other words, the fast team can rest whole
day in the week and yet do as much work as
the slow team, and do it easier and better.
In times when the work is pressing or the
weather uncertain, the fast team is treasure
While every effort has been made to increase
the speed Of the trotter, the draft horse men
have been working for pounds, with little re.
gard either for muscle or walking speed. II
is a very great mistake to suppose that the
draft horse cannot be trained to walk rapidly
We have been breeding for four years to
PeTcheTon that often walks nine miles in an
hour and 80 minutes over a billy 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 rap.
idly. This rapid movement has been of very
great Importance to us when il was desirable
to get the corn ground in the best possible or
der in the shortest possible time. Life is too
short to spend II in poking along after team
that cannot get their heads up. The lazy
man to whom exertion is q burden actually
works harder than the brisk, rapid worker.
OF course We are not advocating the trotteI
or the roadster as the model farm horse.
They may be too heTy-have too much of the
trotting instinct for farm work. The farm
horse should have the patience and the dogged
persistence developed by ages OF service in
that capacity but he should have also the
tirelessness OF movement that enables him tC
do it with the least expenditure OF effort and
OF his masters time, and do 1t in the besl
manner. We used to handle all kinds Of
teams when a boy, and always found We could
do the best work with a team that had til,
strength to do the work easily at q steady