Breeding and developing the trotter

Front matter

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Breeding and Developing The Trotter

Preface

Breeders of trotting stock have for a long time felt the need of a reliable work on the proper selection of mares for brood purposes, giving in detail the care and treatment that they should receive in order to put them in the best possible condition to impart vigor to their offspring and also transmit to their foals their own superior qualities in the highest possible degree. They have wanted a work which will also give minute instructions in regard to the feed, exercise and care of stallions at all seasons of the year, particularly just before and during the service season, and in addition to the above, will tell how to care for the foal and its dam from the time the youngster is conceived until he or she is in fit condition to place in the hands of an expert trainer to be conditioned for the rich futurities.

Every one interested in breeding trotting stock, and especially all those just entering upon the business, will admit that such a work, coming from a man who has had years of successful experience in the business and knows every detail of it thoroughly, must be of inestimable value.

Very few men are qualified to furnish the matter for such a work. We have never yet seen a book of that kind, and do not know that one has yet been published that has come from

PREFACE

a man who has been instrumental in breeding extreme speed of the 2.10 and world's recordbreaking sort.

Judging by the successful experience in caring for the sires and dams of 2.10 performers, also in the care and management of the 2.10 performers themselves during the early period of their existence, there is no man living who is so competent to furnish the materials of a work of this kind as Mr. John Bradburn, who was the superintendent of the noted Village Farm establishment from a period long before a 2.15 performer was ever bred there until the dispersal sale of the Village Farm stock.

At the earnest and persistent solicitation of many of his intimate friends, and also of many practical breeders who were not personally acquainted with him, but who knew him through the reputation that he had made as the successful manager of the renowned Village Farm establishment, Mr. Bradburn was finally persuaded to put on paper for the benefit of trotting-horse breeders the knowledge that he has gained in the breeding and care of choice race-winning trotting stock during those many years of experience.

The information contained within these covers will be of great service to all who are breeding and raising or have the care and management of trotting stock or light-harness horses of any kind. It will be worth many times its cost to every one who owns a good brood-mare or stallion, because it is a book of valuable facts.

PREFACE

It may also be read with interest and profit by the proprietors and managers of the most extensive breeding establishments, men who have had years of experience in the business, as well as by those who breed and raise but one or two foals a year. To those who are about to establish farms devoted to the breeding of trotters, or are just starting in the business on a limited scale, it will prove of immense value.

THE PUBLISHERS.

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Pages

Chapter One. Personal 1-20 "Who Is He? "

My First Horse

My First Brood-Mare

Jane Brown

Pelham Tartar Jr.

My First Stallion

A Mare that Hambletonian did not Cover

First Day on a Race-Track

Three- Card Monte

A Full-Fledged Farmer

A Hotel Keeper and Public Trainer

A Liveryman

My First Race

Roading It

Ice Racing

On to Buffalo

" Derricked "

Back to Buffalo

Superintendent at Village Farm

A Betting System

Village Farm Graduates

Ideal Stock Farm

Chapter Two. The Village Farm Theory

of Breeding 21-48

"World's Greatest Trotting Nursery "

Mr. Hamlin's First Mare

Hamlin Patchen

Mr. Hamlin's First Team

Golddust

Woful

Mermaid and Dictator Maid

Weeding Out

Nettie Murphy

Minnequa Maid

Purchasing a Premier

More Purchases

Estabella

Almont Jr. Pages

Mambrino King

" The Handsomest Horse in the World "

Chimes

Golden Gateway

Rex Americus

Athanio

Direct Hal

The First Catalogue

" Mr. Hamlin's Theory of Breeding "

The Brood-Mare's Importance

Beauty and Speed

Developed Sires

A Challenge

Selecting Brood-Mares

A Prediction

" The Passing of Village Farm "

Chapter Three. Founding a Stock Farm 49-64 Location

Soil

Water

Size of Farm

Acres of Land per Head

The Track

Rules for Laying Out Track

The Cinder Track

Paddocks

Fencing

Stables

Main Barn

Water in Paddock

Brood-Mare Shed

The Farm Superintendent

Chapter Four. The Stallion 65-82

Purchasing a Premier Over-Developed Sires Concrete Examples Almont Jr.

Almonarch Natural Speed Blood Lines The Stallion's Sire

The Stallion's Dam Pages

The Stallion's Individuality

My Ideal Stallion

Trotter vs. Pacer

Shall the Stallion be Raced?

The Stud Season

Care of Stallion

Covering the Mare

The Breeding Pen

Trial Sheet and Stud Book

Chapter Five. The Brood-Mare 83-100 Best Way to Purchase Mares

The Ideal Brood-Mare

Pedigree

Care

Preparing for the Foal

Care of Mare and Colt After Foaling

Breeding the Mare

Care of Mare and Colt in the Pasture

Weaning the Colt

Mare on Winter Diet

Age at which to Breed

Developed Mares

Inbreeding

Selecting a Mate

First Impressions

Importance of Natural Speed

Chapter Eleven. Some Ailments and Disorders i35" I 43

Treatment of Barren Mares

Sweat Box

Treatment for Pneumonia

Distemper

When Stallions are Dull

Masturbation

Navel Trouble

Diarrhea.

ILLUSTRATIONS

John Bradburn ...... Frontispiece

The Abbot (2.0334) • • • opposite page 11 Nettie King (2.20H) . . . opposite page 27 y

Prince Ideal opposite page 43 J

Main Barn at Ideal Stock Farm opposite page 75 u

BREEDING AND

DEVELOPING THETROTTER

Chapter One PERSONAL

" Who Is He? " — My First Horse. — My First Brood- Mare. — Jane Brown. — Pelham Tartar Jr. — My First Stallion. — A Mare that Hambletonian did not Cover. — First Day on a Race Track. — Three Card Monte. — A Full Fledged Farmer. — A Hotel Keeper and Public Trainer. — A Liveryman. — My First Race. — Roadinglt. — Ice Racing. — On to Buffalo. — "Der ricked." — Back to Buffalo. — Superintendent at Village Farm. — A Betting System. — Village Farm Graduates. — Ideal Stock Farm.

" WHO IS HE ?"

SOME of my readers will ask the questions, "Who is this man Bradburn? What experience has he had? Does he know what he is talking about?"

These questions are pertinent. It is not enough for me to say that I have had experience, covering the points on which I give advice, — I must explain just what that experience was and how it was obtained. Here goes for some of the dark secrets of my past.

I was born in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, in 1842. My father died when I was six years old and, as it was necessary for me to do something to support myself, I went on the farm of George Oile, and he, after a fashion, adopted me. I was then about nine years old. Mr. Oile's farm was six miles from St. Catherines and twelve miles from Niagara Falls.

MY FIRST HORSE.

I was about thirteen years when I came into possession of my first horse, a gray colt, which Mr. Oile gave me. It did not have a pedigree, in fact, not much attention was paid to pedigrees in those days. The colt was what would now be called a nice general-purpose horse. Like all boys in similar positions I thought the colt was the greatest one in the world. I broke him and drove him till he was four years old and sold him for one hundred and fifty dollars, which was then a lot of money for a colt, especially to a boy.

I was now seventeen years old and about this time I commenced working Mr. Oile's farm on shares. I gave considerable attention to the breeding of thoroughbred short-horn cattle and long-wooled Leicester sheep and this knowledge was afterwards of great service to me in the mating of trotters.

As I have mentioned, little attention was then paid to the pedigrees of trotters, but, as I liked horses, I kept posted on such matters and before long became quite celebrated, locally, as a supposed pedigree expert. Wilkes' Spirit of the Times was the great trotting authority in the old days and all bets went by Wilkes, were he right or wrong. In time I came to be known as "Walking Wilkes," just as some men are now called "a walking encyclopaedia . ' '

MY FIRST BROOD-MARE.

The one hundred and fifty dollars obtained by the sale of my colt went to start a bank account to which I added "chicken money" from time to time. Before very long I saw a gray mare I liked and I bought her for one hundred and twenty-five dollars. She was said to be by Grey Messenger, he reputed to be a grandson of Sherman Morgan. The Messenger horse is known in the Year Book as Hoagland's Grey Messenger 155. He had a record of 2.43 and afterwards went to New Jersey.

My mare was carrying a foal by Grantham Chief 685 1, a son of Royal George 9. She dropped a gray filly which developed into a very handsome mare, but as a three-year-old she jumped into a hay rack. I was a pretty sick chap when I went into her stall and found pieces of wood sticking into her side. Of course she had to be killed.

JANE BROWN.

After the mare produced the Grantham Chief foal I bred her to Prince of Wales, a son of Royal George, owned by Alvah Ditrich of St. Catherines. I paid fifteen dollars service fee and the country people called me crazy. Farm mares were usually sent to five-dollar stallions. I always liked to breed to the best stallion I could afford. There was considerable rivalry between Prince of Wales and Grantham Chief, which resulted in several match races, but the former was considered the best in the country. My mare foaled a black filly by Prince of Wales. She is known in the books as Jane Brown. As a three-year-old I sold her to James Haney of St. Johns, Ontario, for three hundred and fifty dollars. I had trained her to step around a 3.10 clip. The second or third time Haney took her to a track she trotted a mile in three minutes. Haney sold her to William H. Saunders, one of the famous old-time horsemen, and father of George Saunders, a well-known driver of to-day. Saunders trained Jane Brown some, but she went wrong and he bred her to George Wilkes (2.22). The produce was Young Wilkes (2.28^), the sire of thirty-two in 2.30.

PELHAM TARTAR JR.

After foaling Jane Brown I bred my mare to Pelham Tartar, a seal-brown stallion, by Toronto Chief, owned by James Cairns and John Fralick, livery stable keepers of St. Catherines. Pelham Tartar's service fee was twenty dollars and when I paid that the neighbors gave up all hopes for my sanity. My good opinion of the horse was verified when Chandler J. Wells bought him for five thousand dollars. His purchase was the sensation of that part of the country. My mare foaled a gray colt, which I called Pelham Tartar Jr. I trained him on " the straight road " which ran past the farm and as a three-year-old showed him at the fairs at Pelham and Grantham, in the classes for style and speed, best three-year-olds to harness. I won both. After this I matched him against a three-year-old owned by Elias Paterson and Thomas Calbert for one hundred dollars, so you see my sporting blood cropped out young. The match was trotted over the St. Catherines track, best three in five, pay or play. As my opponents were all older men I secured " Pete " Curran, a famous local driver, to drive my colt. Later, when I took to the sulky myself, I often drove races for him. Pelham Tartar Jr. won the match in three straight heats, best time 3.03. After the race I sold my colt to James Haney, who had purchased Jane Brown, for fifteen hundred dollars, and, of course, I thought I had more money than any young man in the world.

MY FIRST STALLION.

After my mare had produced Pelham Tartar Jr. I bred her to Tom Kimball, a chestnut stallion, the sire of Lady Hill (2.35), and got a dark irongray colt, which I called Tom Kimball Jr. I afterwards purchased his sire for four hundred dollars and made two seasons with him in Pelham township. Tom Kimball Jr. made a nice colt. I did not have time to train him, and as no other trainer would do I gelded him as a four-year-old and sold him to John Scott of Gait, Ontario, for four hundred dollars.

The next season or two my mare missed but afterwards produced a gray filly and a gray colt by Tom Kimball. The latter I sold, for a road horse, to William Hamlin.

A MARE THAT HAMBLETONIAN DID NOT COVER.

To show that I always believed in breeding mares to the best stallion I could afford I might mention that after selling Pelham Tartar Jr. for fifteen hundred dollars, at which time I had about twenty-two hundred dollars in the bank, I decided to breed my mare to Rysdyk's Hambletonian, standing at five hundred dollars. I found that the freight and keep of mare would cost an additional one hundred and fifty dollars. This was a lot of money for a youngster to put into a foal, but Hambletonian at that time was on top, and I wanted some of his blood. No sooner had I made known my intention of breeding my mare to Rysdyk's Hambletonian than George Oile and the neighbors raised a terrible howl, pronouncing me " horse foolish," and some of them went so far as to call me insane, — a monomaniac would be the term nowadays. Public sentiment was so strong against me that I did not send the mare. I consider this one of the mistakes of my life.

FIRST DAY ON A RACE TRACK.

One of the memorable events of my youth was my first day on a race track, which was also the first time I ever saw a horse trot faster than 2.30. It was the day Flora Temple trotted a match against Ike Cook over the St. Catherines track. By referring to Chester I find the date to be November 5, 1859, — I was then seventeen years old. If I remember rightly I should have been in school that day. It was a glad day for me, but a sad one for Joshua Birch, a friend of mine. He had come to town with a load of wheat for his father, had sold the wheat, and was on the point of starting for home when I saw him. He naturally asked me where I was going.

"I'm going to see the great trotter, Flora Temple, " I said. " Come along/'

11 Can't do it," he said. " I've got to get home." 11 Come along," I insisted. " I'll pay your way and pay to have your horses put up."

THREE CARD MONTE.

I had a few dollars in my pocket and felt rich. With a little persuasion, Joshua was induced to accompany me. After eating dinner we went out to the race track. A few hundred feet from the gate was a ring of people. We went up and found a three card monte game in operation. It was the first one we had ever seen. Joshua kept his eyes on the card several minutes and then turned to me.

"I'm going to bet him I can spot the card," he whispered.

II Better not," I replied. " I've read about such tricks. They're crooked. Those fellows wouldn't do it for the fun of the thing, you know."

I could not restrain him. He pulled out the money he had received for his father's wheat and before he stopped he had lost ten dollars, and felt pretty sore.

Before reaching the entrance to the race track we sighted another game. Here Joshua decided to try to get even but lost twenty dollars more. He was a pretty sick chap now, and almost on the verge of tears.

We walked about the grounds a while. After taking in the sights I suggested to Joshua that we walk to the stables to see them hitching Flora Temple. He said he did not care to, but told me to go on and promised to meet me later.

It was some time before I had seen enough of Flora Temple, and when I returned to meet Joshua I found him very much " down in the mouth.' ' He had tackled the card game once more and had lost all his father's wheat money, about sixty-five dollars in all. He wanted me to go home with him, but my fun was just commencing, so I stayed. His afternoon's pleasure was spoiled and he left. His father was not hard on him, knowing that the experience had taught Joshua a lesson that can be taken to heart by all young men. Flora Temple beat Ike Cook in 2-35> 2.29, 2.27.

A FULL-FLEDGED FARMER.

As stated before, it was about this time I took Mr. Oile's farm to work on shares. He gave me a third of all stock and crops and the keep of my mare and her produce. I did pretty well on the farm and dabbled with horses once in a while. One deal in particular I recall. I bought a green colt by Prince of Wales, a dark bay, with strip in face, for sixty dollars. His dam was by a runner called Grantham. I trained the colt on the straight road and sold him after three months to John Fralick for four hundred and fifty dollars. This established for me a local reputation as a great colt trainer and one of those " hurrah boys."

A HOTEL KEEPER AND PUBLIC TRAINER.

In 1870 I tired of farming and, as I had eight thousand dollars in the bank, I purchased a hotel in Welland, Ontario. Shortly afterwards I entered the state of matrimony and married Miss Sarah Davis.

In addition to running the hotel I trained a public stable of horses.

Pelham Tartar Jr. had not been going well for James Haney and, as I thought I could get him straightened out, I bought him back for six hundred dollars. The horse had been overtrained and was low in flesh. I built him up within six or eight weeks and started training him over. In a work-out shortly afterwards Pelham Tartar Jr. trotted a mile for me in 2.40 and I sold him once more to Mr. Haney for twelve hundred dollars. He did not improve as he should and as he was a goodsized horse and well liked locally Mr. Haney placed him in the stud.

A LIVERYMAN.

In 1872 I sold out my hotel and purchased a brick block in which were a store, billiard room and livery stable. This business kept me busy for the next three years when I sold out and moved to St. Catherines. In the spring of 1875 I ran a billiard room of eight tables, but I did not like the business. It was too confining.

I might say right here that by this time I had " gone broke." When the Canadian Southern Railroad came through and spoiled my livery trade I foolishly hung on till I had sunk a great deal of money in the business. Four horses were doing my work while formerly I needed twenty. To cap it all I went on a bond for several thousand dollars and had to make good.

MY FIRST RACE.

I might previously have described the first race in which I ever drove. This was a match race between a three-year-old by Grantham Chief, which I had purchased for one hundred dollars, and another local horse of the same age. The match was for seventy-five dollars a side. I won in one — two — three order, time about 3.15, 3.20, 3.25. The same party asked for a return match in two weeks, for fifty dollars a side, and this I also won in three straight heats.

ROADING IT.

One of my first campaigns was with Pelham Tartar Jr. and a little running horse called Charles

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Stewart. I traveled over the road from town to town, as we all did in those days, racing at Hamilton, Gait, Mitchell and Toronto. I had no success : the horses took sick, the weather was hot, and the runner lost his speed, so we came home, making a very sorry-looking spectacle.

In 1876 I had fair success with my public stable. In my string were Lady Hill, Dominion Boy, Brown Dick, Douglas, Quaker Boy and Lady H.

One of the noted races of those days in which I drove was trotted on September 15, 1876, at Woodbine Track, Toronto, Ontario. It was one of the greatest betting races ever seen on any race track in Ontario, before or since. There was in the neighborhood of forty or fifty thousand dollars in the box. St. Patrick and Lady Hill were about equally well liked, the selling on them switching from one hundred — eighty to ninety — one hundred. The field — Gray Eddy, William W. and Stayer — brought little. I won the first heat with Lady Hill, the time hung out being 2.35. In reality it was 2.29 3^. St. Patrick won the next heat in 2.35 M, really 2.29^, and the third heat in 2.35, really 2.30. After this he tired and I won the fourth heat in 2.40 (2.31). On account of darkness the race was postponed. It commenced raining that night and rained all the next day. The following day was Sunday. On Monday we trotted the race off. St. Patrick won in the announced time of 2.35, which was 2.29^ to the best of my recollection.

After this race I roaded my horses to Oshawa, Ontario, twenty-three or twenty-four miles north of Toronto. It was the first meeting over a new track. I won the 3.00 and 2.50 trots with Douglas, and the 2.34 and free-for-all trots with Lady Hill, which cleaned up the card with the exception of the county race.

ICE RACING.

In the winter of 1876, Mr. Eli Gregory gave me the bay gelding Alexander, by Bett's St. Lawrence, dam by Pelham Tartar, to get ready for the ice races. I also had the gray gelding Monk Boy. My first start on the ice was at Dunville, Ontario, the last week in December. I also raced at Brantford, St. Catherines, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, shipping home about April 15. Monk Boy won every race in which he started ; Alexander, every race but one, winning fourteen out of fifteen starts. He started twice at Dunville, Brantford and St. Catherines and three times at Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. He won two heats and second money in his losing race. It was a very successful season. Alexander was afterwards sold to John Reardon of St. Catherines for one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five dollars. He was a very peculiar horse, in that he would always take the colic if fed a bran mash.

ON TO BUFFALO.

In the spring of 1877 I moved to the Buffalo (N. Y.) Driving Park and opened a public training stable. It was in this year I first met Mr. C. J. Hamlin, in whose employ I was afterwards destined to be for some twenty-five years. He was a regular visitor to the track. During 1877 I campaigned Monk Boy, Jim Ash, Black Bear, Gray Salem, etc.

In 1878 I campaigned Alexander and two others through Canada, Michigan and Northern New York.

" DERRICKED."

In 1878 occurred the first and only time I was taken out of the sulky. On September 12, I was racing Jim White (2.31) at Elmira, N. Y. In the same race were Nell Parks, Monk Boy, Helen R., Lady Wonder and Elliot. Elliot won the first heat. Lady Wonder won the next heat and distanced Elliot. I had given the owner of Jim White some of my money to play on the horse, so after the second heat I went to him and said : 1 ' I think we stand a chance to win. " ' ' All right, ' ' he replied, " your money is down." The next heat I won and Lady Wonder was distanced. I won the fourth heat also. Then the owner came to me and told me not to win another heat till instructed. I was between the devil and deep sea. My financial condition was such that I could not afford to antagonize the owner. I had no religious compunction against dropping a heat now and then, if it would help my horse to win, but in this instance the field had narrowed down. My horse outclassed everything, and could win easily. I asked the owner why it was necessary to drop the heat. He then confessed that he had played against his gelding all the time and had played my money also. I informed him that it was a nice time to tell me about it and advised him to play off as much of our money as he could and let me win. He would not consent to this so I dropped the next heat. It was won by Nelly Parks. The race was then postponed and only two of us were left to finish. That evening I was called to the telephone. It was about the first time I had used one.

A friend down town informed me that it was reported I would be taken out of the sulky the next day. It did not surprise me any, — in fact was just what I expected. I now figured out that if I wished to protect myself and not stand liable to expulsion I would have to see to it that the gelding lost. I sat up almost all night whittling a pair of wooden toe-weights, which I colored to resemble the metal ones. These weighed one and one half ounces, whereas the horse had been using six-ounce weights. Sure enough the next day, when Jim White and Nelly Parks came out to trot off the race, the judges took me down and put up Jimmy Goldsmith. Jim White was, of course, unsteady and they scored seventeen times. I was called to the stand. The judges told me to stay near and added that if the horses did not get the word on the next score I would be put back, as they thought I might make a better showing. I had previously promised to try to win if they would let me drive. In the next score Goldsmith took the gelding way back. Jim White stayed on his feet but was far in the rear. Goldsmith nodded for the word and it was given. The horse made a double break on the first turn and I gave a sigh of relief. When he got settled at the quarter pole, Nelly Parks was entering the head of the stretch the first time round. Jim White set sail and trotted so much faster than she that he easily won in 2.37 3^, which was five seconds faster than any heat in the race. He trotted the last half in 1. 10 3^. The judges awarded Goldsmith fifty dollars of the winnings for driving and mercifully let me off with a lecture. No judge ever had occasion thereafter to take me out of the sulky. I had had enough of that sort of business.

This is one instance which upholds a theory of mine that more drivers are made to do crooked things by their employers than do so on their own account. And just here, one word of advice to all young trainers : Win by all means if you can.

BACK TO BUFFALO.

In 1879 I returned to Buffalo and opened a public stable. I had sixteen horses, including Monk Boy, Gray Salem and Lady Upton. That fall Mr. C. J. Hamlin placed in my stable Rockey, Almont Jr. and Knox. In February, 1880, I engaged to go to East Aurora, N. Y., to take charge of Mr. Hamlin's horses.

At this point mention might be made of a race which did more to bring me close to Mr. Hamlin than any one thing. This was the race of August 7, 1879, in which were entered Kate Hall, Daciana Gloster, Lady Upton, Argonaut, Nigger Baby and Lady B. I was second the first and second heats with Lady Upton and thought I stood a chance to win, but the owner did not want me to so I asked him to drive. After the fifth heat my mare was ruled out and the race postponed on account of darkness. The judges had not been satisfied with the way McLaughlin had driven Kate Hall, which had two heats to her credit. They took the mare away from him and placed her in charge of the police, and brought her to my stable where she remained under police protection all night. The judges asked me to drive her the next day. After I had jogged Kate Hall in the morning the judges, C. J. Hamlin, Chandler J. Wells and Myron P. Bush, visited me and looked over the mare. They asked about her condition and I told them the mare seemed to be all right and had taken her jog work nicely. They cautioned me against having any of her harness changed and told me to be sure to drive to win, adding that if I did not the heat would be called no heat and another driver put up. I told them I would drive according to instructions. I remember Mr. Hamlin's remark : " Bradburn will win if he can; I know he will." After it became noised about that I would drive Kate Hall I was offered fifteen hundred dollars to pull the mare and lose the race. Of course I refused, although I needed the money. Another party offered me two thousand dollars to turn the same trick. I had no difficulty in winning, much to the satisfaction of Mr. Hamlin and the other judges and the owner, Mr. Hamilton. I was awarded one hundred dollars for driving.