The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-01-04
REARING 4LTS.
Why California b bed Horses
Soon Play put.
A Result of the Fordng Process
to Which They ard Treated.

velop such tremendous speed at an early
age, and then retire for the rest of their
lives?"
That is question that has been put
to every horseman of note in the coun-
try, but not one seems able to answer
1t. A gentleman, L horse fancier, and
now and then buyer at the California
sales, being much interested in the phe-
nomenal trotters that come from that
region, went down to Palo Alto to see
the famous Stanford breeding farm.
Talk about princes and princesses Of
effete monarchies being reared in velvet
and fed from gold spoons; the nearest
approach to that in this great republic
is this equine principality at Palo Alto.
As soon as the babies have forgotten
their mothers comes the beginning of
their lile's work. The leading halter
and soft rubber bit kept in the mouth
for half an hour a day is the A BIC.
Then comes the kindergarten track to
discover if any of them have a natural
gait. Half dozen are put into the
sawdust circle at once. A man stands
in the middle with long whip, which
he waves furiously, but no little one is
ever permitted to feel its sting. All
start around the ring, first in coltish
canter, and then some little pupil more
promising than the others will strike
trot. Soon another will do the same.
An apple or lump of sugar is the re-
ward of merit. Usually before the class
has finished all of them will be jogging
about on trot. Then a new batch is
taken, and in a few weeks forty or fifty
tillies and as many colts have goue
through the kindergarten course.
Meantime every little one of either sex
is handled and fondled. The colts and
fillies are relentlessly parted at weaving
time, and never see each other again
except at distance. Co-education of
the sexes is frowned upon at Palo Alto.
The little ones are very tame and fol-
low one around like lot of kittens.
1fyou stop in the paddock they instant
ly surround you like lot OF chattering
school girls, and begin to search your
pockets with their velvety noses for a
bit of fruit or sugar. Not one is ever
scolded or permitted to be frightened
in any way, nor is the whip ever used
except as badge of authority.
When the infant aristocracy is bridle-
trained and thoroughly tractable, say at
uine or ten months, and from that to a
year old, comes the first introd uction to
harness. 1t must be membered that
by this time these youngsters are to the
uon- critical eye almost full grown
horses. Their legs are strong, their
bodies we'll filed out, their necks plump
their eyes bright and intelligent, and
their coats shine like satin. All this is
the result of the forcing process. On
the Stanford farm the two-year- old colt
looks like the we'll matured horse of
five in Illinois. At one and one-half
years old tegins their hard work on the
track. 1t is then that the most prom
Using are selected for a yearling record.
A building is set apart for the "kin-
dergarten, great canopy covering
saw-dust ring an eighth of a mile long.
This is when the little weanlings, six
and eight months old, are brought to
be taught their first PAGES.
The weaving process is quite easy.
The youngsters are put on steamed grain
food at once. In the morning a quart
of steamed barley mixed with bran, in
the evening two quarts of ground bar
ley steamed and moistened with lime
water is about their daily diet. That
is pretty high food for a weanling.
When was boy on the old farm in
Pennsylvania it was pretty lucky colt
or FLY that ever saw anything but hay
or grass until it was two years old. But
at Palo Alto the babies are stuffed with
grain from the start. I was there in
July, and there was no green food to
speak of with the exception of green
corn tops, of which the little ones had
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