Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-01-20
OUR PACING FAMILIES.

OUR PACING FAMILIES.
Beautifully carved in relief on the
walls of ancient Greek temples, the PAGER
isl found in action with his smooth,
frictionless motion, his grace and beauty,
which goes to prove that he was not
enough distinction for the sculptor to
revel with his beauty and to idealize HIM
for generations unborn to remember and
admire. Hence we may safely say that
in those days the PAGER was not only an
existence in the equine kingdom, but
he was also a distinct type, loved and
admired by the aesthetic Greek. With
these facts before us, it is safe to say
that the PAGER was prehistoric. If the
PAGER as Il type was prehistoric, then
the crossing of the PAGER with the run
ner of those days must have done, as it
does now, broken up running action and
produced mixed herds of trotting and pac-
ing instinct, so that alongside ofthe pac-
ing families of that age no doubt there
ed or not. There is every probability that
the OrlOff family is the outcross of the
Barb and the Eastern PAGER, and we
surely know that the American trOtter,
in his highest mental and physical
organization, is a mixture of pace, trot
and thoroughbred, with instinct edged
to its keenest possibilities by long train
ing from generation to generation.
When we cross trotting and pacing in
stinct we take the chances of pacing
&C conformation, but we also change the
motion and add two essentials to extreme
speed; rapid motion and low, skating
action; just as the pacing instinct
battles and destroys the action of the
thoroughbred,s so does the trotting instinct
control and modify the PAGER; and no
pacing family so far has been able to re-
tain its individuality crossed to the trot-
ter; while no thoroughbred family has
been able TO carry forward the running
instinct in an Outcross with we'll
defined pacing family. True pacing
blood mingled with trotting blood does
crop out constantly in our trotting
families, and so 1t will and so it should,
there being no surer insignia of extreme
flights of speed in trotting family,
of staying powers and determination
than this form of sporting of nature.
Time has been when certain trotting
families were great because their brood
mares were to the touch of a more
powerful instinct (Clay) to mould and
fashion speed; but time will be when
sire must sire speed, extreme speed, and
when his daughters must to favorable
outcrosses produce like himself The
evolution of the trotter has not vet
brought us to the threshold Of that
period, but we are rapidly reaching
that goal. The field of breeding is
narrowing. Some of the horse families
now in fair repute must pass off the stage
of action and into desuetude. Many
of these will fall into the hands of the
farmer breeder. Properly chosen and
properly mated, they will combine speed
at the walk, good, smooth road action,
size, pluck, endurance and an occasional
fast horse will crop out to make the
farmers sons feel sowing, hoeing and
reaping burden, thus adding to the
breeders ranks fresh blood and hard
headed, honest industry. So surely as
the needle points to the pole, just so
surely has the relentless finger of
destiny placed its weighty forces on the
fact that but three or at most four of the
leading families of trotters will play
any important part in far-seeing
breeders raddocks ten years hence.
We are not now breeding for fun; we
want no hereditary diseases in our stock
no roarers-we want race horses,
sound race horses, bread winners, with
speed and stamina. We live in fast
age, in fact we live on mental wheels
with the belts loosened at night to ease
the nocturnal motion. Life Is too short
for any breeder to fool with equine
back numbers; and the man who does
it is sacrificing capital ana labor in the
pursuit of a mental mirage. Tin-cuppers
will do for gentlemen's roadsters on the