The subject of “How the Trotting Horse is Bred,” is a most interesting one because it is entirely new in animal economy and is distinctively American. The initial thought that opened the door to the practical and scientific consideration of the subject was the happy conception, in the spring of 1872, of the little phrase, “Trotting Instinct.” Following this with the definition of the word “instinct” as being “the sum of inherited habits,” the term expressed in two words and the definition of it in five words, put the whole subject in a form that was easily comprehensible and flashed upon the mind as thoroughly practical. This little phrase, with its definition, when once comprehended, is a very complete epitome of all that has been taught and all that has been learned of the art of breeding the trotter. It not only embraces, but requires, the trotting inheritance as the only starting point, which must be strengthened and the instinct intensified by the development of the speed of succeeding generations. It stood some years at the parting of the ways between intelligence and ignorance, between enlightened judgment and stupid prejudice, between honesty and dishonesty, but now it is accepted, in practice, as the universal law from one end of the land to the other. Thus, we have not only added millions to the wealth of the country, but without any outside assistance or instruction we have produced a horse that by way of pre-eminence, throughout the world, is justly entitled to be designated, “The Horse of America.”
No indications that the horse was originally wild—The steppes of High Asia and Arabia not tenable as his original home—Color not sufficient evidence —Impossibility of horses existing in Arabia in a wild state—No horses in Arabia until 356 A.D.—Large forces of Armenian, Median, and Cappadocian cavalry employed more than one thousand seven hundred years B.C.—A breed of white race horses—Special adaptability of the Armenian country to the horse—Armenia a horse-exporting country before the Prophet Ezekiel—Devotion of the Armenian people to agricultural and pastoral pursuits through a period of four thousand years—All the evidences point to ancient Armenia as the center from which the horse was distributed.