LOU DILLON
SIDNEY DILLON
SIDNEY
SANTA CLAUS
STRATHMORE
HAMBLETONIAN
As to the training and education of the trotter, that is a science which would require a book in and of itself. Of the training of the trotting-bred road-horse, no two men probably pursue exactly the same methods, and no two horses require exactly the same treatment, hence no hard and fast rules can be laid down for every man or for every horse. Each man can only give the fruit of his own practical experience, judiciously mixed with the experience of others.
The first lesson cannot be given too soon. The day the foal is born it should be handled, and made to feel, even at that tender age, that man is its friend and master. This should be repeated every day for several weeks, or even longer, until the foal is perfectly gentle and friendly toward its attendant, allowing itself to be stroked and patted, and each leg in turn to be lifted so that the hoof may be examined and attended to, a small halter put on and taken off, and by degrees the foal gradually accustomed to lead and stand to halter. With a little patience and judgment, all this can be accomplished by the time the foal is a month old, simply through kindness and coaxing.
Most breeders leave all this undone, letting the foals run wild until they are weaned, when they are roughly and partially broken by sheer force and awkwardness combined. Sometimes this is not done till they are yearlings, or even older. The educating methods when they are young give the best results. These first lessons are never forgotten, and the foal is practically born in an atmosphere of docility and obedience. He gains confidence in his master or attendant, and never really learns to fight back at the end of a halter strap, and is much more willing to accept passively what may follow later on.
Instead of being in a state of terrorized obedience and fearful of being hurt every time he is approached by man with a strap or a piece of harness in his hands, he comes to look upon his training as agreeable play.
Before the foal is weaned he should be tied up by the halter rope to a small manger in the stall with his dam, long enough to finish a small feed of crushed oats, and this should be continued as part of his daily routine. He will fret much less after being weaned when this is done.
PLATE XXVII.—HAMBLETONIAN