three years old. His growth is incomplete, his body slender, he is soft, and he ought not to be worked. He approaches his full height, puts on muscle, and becomes capable of moderate work only when he is rising four, or is four off ; and we then find him in the hands of the dealer, fat, glossy, and ready for the purchaser who is in no hurry and who does not want much from him. The same remarks may be made about the commercial horse, who differs from the fashionable one only as regards price.

The three-year-old remount is of no value. He is generally fat, at from three to four years old, when he is shown to the purchasing officer. A few feeds of oats at the last moment, the whip, and ginger, give him an appearance of strength ; but in reality his muscles are weak, and he has neither good paces nor staying power. Left to himself he gives way, goes on his shoulders, and is not fit for any kind of work.

Such are the horses which are nearly of the same breed. Some are fully furnished at three years of age, and can stand training and racing, which are the hardest kind of work. Others at four-and-a-half years old are hardly ready for even very moderate work. It is therefore necessary to take great care of them, to let them acquire strength, and to give them the muscular development of which they are deficient.

Whence comes this difference ? Does Nature make some more precocious than others, all being of the same origin ? Is a horse's muscular development in inverse proportion to his good looks and speed ? In no way ! This great difference results solely from the method employed in feeding and educating different classes of horses. If a uniform system were used, all would have similar precocity, development, and power. Horses differ in shape, action, and usefulness, but if they were all treated properly up to the age of three years, they would all be sufficiently hardy for any kind of work. The half-bred trotter which is trained and run at three years