The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-06-10
me IdeaI Roadster.

etc. The man who possesses an il0orn
love Of the horse viii seldom fail 10 know
when he finds one that will serve his
purpose, and an ounce Of practical
knowledge is better than a ton Of advice
and theory. There may be physical de-
fects which require an expert to discover,
so it IS always advisable TO call ia pro-
fessiOnal skill, which can be had readily.
It is no uncommon thing for the best
veterinary surgeons 70 disagree IS to an
ailmen. or blemish. Not lcng ago
wealthy road rider purchased a trotter
with fast record, and the animal was
lame when it reached his stable. Re
consulted a surgeon with a high reputa-
ton, and he pronounced the trouble %
be a SPAWN. Another, with an extensive
practice, confirmed his opinion but sub
seqent developments proved that they
we're quite in error, and the trutter was
cured by a simple treatment that had
nothing % DO with the joint where the
SPAWN forms
Without going into such minute De-
tails a. 10 how long the horses bead
should be, what the shspe of The ess
and how far apart. or as 70 tire width be-
tween the eyes, the sh0riness cf the
body. and at what angle tho taii should
depend from the hips. there are one or
two qualities which may he eisurl Oh
a. specially desirable For in-taace the
7 greatest digAt OF speed i of lti'e vaire
ifthe trotter cannot sustain It Or lf least
. q mile. Lack CT lung power g. a csriaiu
Indication thar the horse VII s0la uf
dis.rcssed II urged t1 his iImit. and ta-s
Is determined hy the simple law uh.cl
holds that in orler o. have sod lungs
there must b. r1om or them. The OBJ
ngue shouiier ami the h-alf chest are
natures proofthat there T. lung capacity. b..
81 that. given q healthy sninre and I'll
clear passlge from the nostr.Ls to alu.t
the air. the horse e pretty sure to -g1
the distance" Mls-ies may -ei weak
and joints sti1cn. h1t that Il largely Il
matter of condition f1r which The owner
alone T. responsible. buf nj amount oi
nourishmeuf and exercise can atone ier.
the absence Of an ample breathing ap-
Tantus.
A % physical conformation, about.
which ~ much has been said and writ
ten. there are a myriad exceptions to.
every rule. II colt with trottiug an-
cestry has pronounced rake, or descent
from hip % withers, he should learn t0l
20 fast, but there have been such that
could not make mile in four minutes.
The failure was not due % this peculiar
ity, however, and any younester with
this downward slope Of body is vel
worth trying by development. The rela-
tive proportions Of the limbs have much
to do with the gait and should therefore
he considered. Since the greatest pro
pelling force comes from the hind parts
they deserve first notice.
Trotters are distinguished from runners /
by having the hooks wen let down, while
with the latter they are elevated. This
is merely a question Of leverage, and if F
is plain that the farther the hook is from
the hip and whirlbone. the greater is the
power to imPel the body with the single .
limb. Conversely, the ability TO use both .
levers, as at the gallop, increases as the f
hooks are removed from the ankles
Therefore the short cannon-boue and tlls
low hook enable the horse TO take the
maximum stride with each leg in turn E
and 10 maintain the trot at his utmos
speed. Imported Messenger, whose blooc !,
is so largely represented in the fast hsr
ness performers OF the present, measured
thirtv-nine inches from hip to hoek
while imported Bellfounder, whose per
feet trotting action made him a valuable
sire for this country, was about an incl :
longer in this respect. Rysdyk's Ham
bletonian. who combined these twf
strains. was forty-one inches betweef
these two Joints, and his get inherits'
! this same physical advantage, which ha .
made them so superior 10 other Amiiie
at the trot. Lady Thorn, the greatest
the immediate descendants Of 1Iamhrin
Chief had tremendous length Of iimt
with the hook forty-two inches from "a
hip. This mare had wonderful stride
with a gait as steady and even as eoui
be desired. while, what was equally
important, she kept her hind legs IN
/ line with her body, and got the full Der
eft of each step with little or no vast
action. It is this gait which breeder
now aim to produce, Sunol, Guy, Axtel
and Nancy Hanks being excellent e1
amples Of this close, straight-line way
going.
Knee action, which certainly adds
the grace Of trotting, cannot well be o
ta;ned without a sacrifice Of speed, an
q verv low gait forward has also IFS dra7
backs. A front leg with a short forear
and a long cannon-bone causes the hor
TO lift the knee high and bend il so muc
= that the stride is shortened, and the io'
pounds hard on the ground. lce rsI
the short cannon-bone and long 1oreari
induce to low step, with the knee stl
The Morgan and Clay strains are no,s
, for high action forward, while trotie
with a strong infusion o. thorough bre
, tend to keep the front feet close % Il
ground. The union Of Hamoletoni
and Mambrino Chief blood has Tesuits
, in happy medium between the two
cesses, and produced more uniform q
, than most Of the old-time trot-ers pol
sessed.
, In choosing g roadster the long forear
is especially to be avoided, as the hor
, / will be more apt 10 break down # be
"calfkneed' than when he has conside
, able action. The short forearm and be-.
knee will cause the leg to bend out,
. stead Of back, as in the other ease, b /
! the horse viii last longer than where q
fore-feet reach far out and come dov
? with a dangerous strain on the iigamen
I C. A. McCully, in HWpsr's Ha.'8.