- f^o^ fU-o' 'fj.o' .j-"-^ r""- . \'^f°- . -. <l ». «!(• ^« O.V "^ - O.V -^ »>: o<C> <{.> >^ iiy ^ ^» fe ^51 i -al^ ^ . « » -A -0.1 c3 ^^ ^-e^ .r, itiips t^ U::'^#_^ ^^ ^ /^ .* ^ ^' .V<^ './o v-' \^ "> ^ ^ \-^ 93. V <l,' ' \%^ \%. A^ X.^^ ^Y^"*^- V;^i#.-_,^^^'' '^ ^.^i^^'^^^.r.^^ -:,0^ "^ ,v ^ F '" . -^y^W^ ^^ . ^^>d^^^^r ^^^ % ^\^ «^'^ ^ ,.^^ ^ -p '^^ ^ t • , "^ •- <% _^^^ ^ r^^'^ ^ ^-: ^ ^ ^ -^ * 9. ^ o , X .V^ ^ ^ • ^ A^ \> ^ V, cv .\ . -^ -^ O^ .^ ^ ' "%. P^C J HOUSE OTAMEFiC*- THE TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA: now TO TRAIN AND DRIVE IIIM. WITH REMINISCENCES OF THE TROTTING TURF. / BY HIRAM WOODRUFF. \< EDITED BY CHARLES J. FOSTER. INCLUDINO AN INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY GEORGE WILKES, AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY THE EDITOR. EIGHTEENTH EDITION. REVISKD AND ENLARGED, WtTH A NEW APPENDIX, TABI.K.S OK PERFORMANCES, AND A COPIOUS INDEX. PHILADELPHIA: PORTER & C A T E S. 18 74. SF Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by POUTER & COATES, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Entero'l nccordlng to Act of Congress, in the year 1868. hv J. B. FOKl) AND COMI'AXY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. IIenhy R. Asiimead, Printer. IN CONFORMITY WITH THE INTENTION AND DIRECTION OF THE AUTHOR, AND MUCH TO THE GRiVTIFICATION OF THE EDITOR, THIS WORK. IS, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO ROBERT BONNER, ESQ, BY WHOM ITS COMPOSITION WAS FIRST SUGGESTED. EDITOR'S PREFACE. THE composition of this work was first suggested by Mr. Robert Bonner, who fully appreciated the original views and vast experience of Hiram Woodruff in all matters pertaining to the art of training and driving the trotting-horse. At the earnest solicitation of Mr. George Wilkes (the editor of " The Spirit of the Times "), and of some other of his fri ends, Hiram agreed to undertake it. They believed, and their arguments induced him to believe, that such a work from him would be a public benefit to the owners of horses, and a service to the horse himself. From the nature of the avocations to which he had devoted himself with unparalleled success for forty years, Hiram Woodruff was not a ready penman ; and therefore it was not until the writer of this introduc- tory preface had promised to act as his amanuensis, and to edit the work, that he consented to go on with it. Its reception, when some chapters had been pub- lished, was such as to establish its value; and all those who had been long acquainted with the author clearly VI EDITOR'S PREFACE. recognized his strong, original turn of thought, and painstaking anxiety to make it eminently practical and usefuh During its composition, there were some de- lays caused by the great application necessary on the part of the author to his business as trainer and driver of horses. He had sometimes as many as twenty in his charge ; and he felt that at such periods he could not, with justice to the work itself and to them, continue its composition. To suggestions that the public was eager for the book, and wanted it completed early, he commonly replied that he wanted it completed well. There was, he said, no more reason for hurrying out this, his only work, than there would be in his hurrying on the edu- cation of a horse that he deemed certain to make a trotter. He was no believer in the " forcing " pro- cess, and always contended that the book would be all the better for the extra time he had resolved to devote to it. Nothing could exceed his anxiety to avoid any thing that by misapplication might be mis- chievous. He was eminently a man of clear, strong views, and of few, terse words. Many of the most valuable and well-tried conclusions of his genius and experience will be found set down in his literal words in a very few lines. I have never met with a man who was so quick and direct in coming at the kernel of a question, and who threw away the husk and shell so promptly as utterly worthless. Just before his last illness, the materials for the com EDITOR'S PREFACE. VU pletion of the book were all arranged, and I received his directions to that end. During the progress of the work, I had some hundreds of interviews with him, during which he dictated the matter now presented to the reader in this volume. It was his custom to read carefully every chapter as it appeared in " The Spirit of the Times," and he gave a few directions for emendations. These have been strictly followed. His memory was marvellous, not only of events, but of the little details connected with them; and he had such a graphic way of describing matters and things, that his hearers and his readers were carried to the scene and time, and virtually made spectators of the things themselves. He was utterly intolerant of quackery in any shape ; and his readers may rely upon it that the only way to develop the gifts and capabilities of the trotting-horse is to employ those elements which Hiram Woodruff brought to the composition of this work, — judgment, conscientious painstaking to be right, and much perseverance. CONTENTS. Editor's Preface ...v Hiram Woodruff • > . zvli BlOGRAFHICAI. SKETCH OF THE ACTHOR ZXiil I. Reason for writing the Book. — Necessity for Practical Experience in Train- ing. — Ttie Author's Experience. — Improvement in Tracks and Vehicles. — Causes of Improvement in Time. — Originality of the American Sys- tem. — Its great Superiority to the English System. — Rules as to Break- ing from the Trot 37 II. Handling of the Colt. — The Trot a Natural Gait. — Great Speed the Result of Long Handling. — Method for the Colt. — Moderation best in Feeding. — Early Maturity followed by Early Decay. — The Trotter should last Many Years. — Feeding of Weanlings. — No Physic unless the Colt is Sick. — Feeding of the Yearling. — The Starving System worse than High Feeding 44 III. Feeding of the Two-Year-Old. — Mouthing and Bitting. — Lounging. — Tem- per. — Leading on the Road. — Much Walking to be avoided. — When harnessed, a Wagon better than a Sulky. — Amount of Work to depend on Constitution and Condition. — Remedy for Broken Gait. — Pulling to be avoided. — Increase of Feed 51 IV. Effects of Early Development. — Colts often overworked. — Fast Three-Year- Olds and Four-Year-Olds. — Risk of hurting Stamina. — Earlier Maturity of Running-Horses. — Evils of overtraining Colts 59 V. Actual Training of the Three-Tear-Old. — No Physic and no Sweat at first. — Danger of " Overmarking." — Strong Feed of Oata and Hay. — Bran- —- X CONTENTS. Mashes. — Rubbing the Logs. — Full Supply of Water. — Management before and ia the liace. — Strains likely to stand Early Training. — The Abdallahs ft? VI. Characteristics of the Stars. — Of the Bashaws. — The Clays. — The Trus- tees. — Natural Trotters iu England. — Of Trotters that paced. — To make Pacers trot 76 VII. Horses that pace and trot too. — Not to be trusted on the Course. — Trotters that amble off in a Pace when first out of the Stable. — Speed, and Us Relation to Stoutness. — The Gray Mare Peerless. — Styles of Going. Gait of Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. — Bush Messenger's Get. — Ver- mont Hambletonian's Get. — Influence of Messenger. — Hobbling in Jogging 82 VIII. Treatment the Winter before Training. — Frozen and Slippery Roads Bad. — Fattening up, an Evil. — The Feed in Winter. — Treatment in com- plete Let-up. — Clothing. — The Feet. — "Freezing out," Mischievous. Horses that need Blistering. — Food and Treatment. — Stabling all Win- ter. — Treatment and Exercise. — Constitution to be kept in View. Bhedding-Time. — Walking Exercise. — Jogging. — No Fast Work at First. — No Physic commonly required 00 IX. Feed while Jogging. — Brushing In the Work. — Length of the Brush. Advance of Condition to be noted.— The Feed.— The First Trial. — Of the Sweats. — Feed and Clothing afterwards. — Tight Bandaging bad. 99 X. Work after the Sweat. — Trial after the Sweat. — Preparation for the Trial. — Amount of Work. — No Arbitrary Rule possible. — The Mile-Trial. Of Condition, Game, and Bottom. — Work after the First Race. — Prep- aration for Three-mile Heats. — Much Slow Work reduces Speed. Time of Three-mile Preparation.— Of tlie Trials. — Work after the Final Trial lOe XI. Stout Horses stand a strong Preparation. — State of the Legs to he watched. — IJlewild and Lady I'almer. — No Device a Substitute for Work. Ten-mile I'ri'paration. — A Steady Rating Capacity wanted. — The Prep- aration to be Lon;;. — The Feed to be Strong. — Effects of the Work to be watched. — The Trials. — M.inagement of the liace. — The Races of Kentucky Prince and Hero the Pacer 113 ——— CONTENTS. a XII. Early Reminiscences. — My First Race. — My Second. — Lady Kate against Time. — Paul Pry against Time. — The Riders of Thirty Tears ago. Eequiflites of a Good Rider. — Drilling Horses. — Lady Sefton. ,121 XIII. Messenger's Son, Topgallant. — BQs "Wonderful Endurance. — My Uncle, George Woodruff. — Topgallant's Race when Twenty-two Tears Old. His Race when Twenty-four Tears Old. — Three-mile Heats. — His Race of Three-mile Heats the next "Week 128 XIV. The Indian Horse Lylee. — Runjeet Singh's Passion for Horses — The Bat- tles fought for Lylee. — Description of him. — Lady Blanche. — Awful. His Race with Screwdriver. — Blanche, Snowdrop, and Beppo. — Death of Blanche. — Ajax and Oneida Chief. — Their Road-Race to Sleighs. Brown Rattler 135 XV. The Trotter Dutchman. — Description of him. — Pedigree doubtful. — Dutch- man and Locomotive. — Dutchman and Tankee Doodle. — Dutchman, Fanny Pullen, and Confidence. — Dutchman and Lady Slipper. — Dutch- man, Lady "Warrenton, Teamboat, and Norman Leslie.