Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-06-20

Aah ~ psfun " uAieh y dsessnins
|tatesa1 Ssa1so1e. II b - hing - -
fhsns. ~ 60 snsfhss = ri H. sHins i
~ een11gns - H. Isqui1smsnfs- = y
snse1g y nses de fssQusos - mp0 -
vTitsEs - shs ssbjees 70 deAns vhss 4r.
nunsy calls ssshs perfect hssse.7 and oss
easnes haIp eenpasine ihsis e9osts q -
Hgh1M meAt vuh fh6ss Of IL syealfsu1
psep1e vhe eop01y ihs Uefid viii III
Ha1ssksspeP's 0uI1p, 1hs CsnpIets Let
ltaf-vri1ss, apd The Hand back Of E6qSsets.
The mn vhc possesses an inboFn love Of
the h5fss viii seldom fail b mev vhsn BE
ands ons Inst viii serys HE purpose, sid a
eancs 81 pesesicsl knssisdgs y hsesss tban
. ton IL sdvice ard sheosy. There nay b.
discover. 70 y h alvays sdvisabIs 70 cali
readily. II 10 no uncommon thing for The
best veterinary ssfgssas to disagree - to
n ailnsns Or hlsoish- hot long go .
wealthy road rider pnrchAsed trctasf With
. fast record. ard the snimsl va lane
when il reached his Stable. he consulted
. sufseonw ith high reputation, and be
pfonounced ne trouble to be . SPAWN.
Another, with an extensive practice, con-
Afmed his opision but subssquens Develop
msnts proved that they we're quite in error
aud the trottef vas cured by simple treat
ment that had nothing to do with The joint
where the SPAWN forms.
Without going into auch minute detsils
- 70 how long the horse's head should be,
what the shape Of the ears and how far
spsrf, or - 10 the width between the eyes,
the shortness Of the body and at what angie
the ,ah should depend from the hips, there
are one or two qualities which may be
referred to - specially desirable. For
Instance the greatest flight Of speed 10 Of
little value il the tsoster cannot sustain Is
for at least . mile. Lack OF lung power
il csrtsin indication that the horse will
soon gst distressed il urged 10 his limit,
sId this 10 determined by the simple Law
which holds that in order to have gsod
lungs there mus be room for them. The
oil que shoulder ard the broad chest
are natures proof that there 10 lung
capacity. so that, given q healthy wind
pipe and . clear passage from the nostfils
to admit the sir, the horse 10 pretty sure to
Ego the distance Muscles may get weak
and joints stihen. but that 10 largely . quss
uon Of condition for which the owner is re-
sponsible, but no amount of nourishment
and exercise will atone for the absence Of
al ample breathing apparatus.
As 10 physical conformation, about which
so much has been said and written, there
are = myriad exceptions to every rule. II
colt with trotting ancestry has pre-.
nounced rake, or descent from hip to
vithers, he should learn to 70 fast, but
there have been such that could not make .
mile 10 four minutes. The failure was not
due to this popularity, however, and
any youngstef with this downward
slope Of body IL we'll worth Try
ing by development. The relative proper
tions Of the limbs have much to do with
the gait, and should therefore be consider
ed. Since fhs creates ct propelling force
fitst notice. Trotters are distinguished
from runners BY having the hooks we'll lie.
down, while With the latter they are ele-
waited. This 10 merely question Of lever
age, and it 10 plain that the farther the
hook il from. the hip and whirlbone, the
greater 10 the power to imoel the body with
the single limb. Conversely, the ability to
use both levers, % ut the gallop, increases
~ the hooks are rem sved from the ankles.
Therefore the short cannon bone and the
low hook enable the horse to tske the maxi.
mum stride with each leg in turn, and to
maintain the trot at his utmost speed. I'M
ported Messenger, whose blood 10 SO
largely represented in the fast harness
performers of the present, meas-
ured thirty-nine inches from hip
to hook, while imported Bellfounder, whose
perfect trotting action made him valuable
sire for his country, was about an inch
longer in this respect. Rysdyk's HANDLE
toniau. who combined these two strains,
was forty-one inches between these two
joints. and his get inherited this same phys
zeal advantage which has made them so
superior to other families at the trot. Lady
Thorne, the grestess Of the immediate des-
pendants Of Mambrino Chief. had . ire
mendous length Of limb, with the hook
forty-two. inches, from the hip. This mare
had . wonderful stride, with gait 10 steady
and even ~ could be desired, while what
was equally important, she kept her hind
legs in line with her body, and got the
full benefit Of each step with little or no
waste action. 1t is this gal. which breed
ers now aim to produce, Sunol, Guy, Ak
tell, and Nancy Hanks being excellent ex-
smples Of this straight-line way Of going.
Knee action, which certainly adds to the
grace Of trotting, cannot well be obtained
without sacrifice Of speed, and q very low
gait forward has also ito drawbacks. A
front leg with short forearm and long
csunon-bone causes the horse to lift the
knee high and bend it 90 much that the
stride is shortened, and the foot pounds
hard on the ground. Vice versa, me short
cannon-bone and long forearm induce to
low step, with the knee stiff. The Morgan
and Clay strains are noted for high action
forward, while trottefs with . strong
Infusion Of thoroughbred tend to
keep the front feet close to the
ground. The union Of Hambletonian
xad Mambrino Chief blood has resulted in
happy medium between the two excuses,
and produceda more uniform gait than most
Of the old-time trotters possessed. In
choosing = roadster the long forearm lie
especially to be avoided. as the horse will
be more apt to break down IL he is "calf-
kueed" than when he has considerable
action. The short forearm and high knee
will cause the leg to bend out, instead Of
back, rs in the other case, but the horse
will last longer than where the forefeet
reach far out. aud come down with Q dan
gefous strain on the ligaments.