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Sulky Is Very Important In Harness Racing Sport Weighs 30 Pounds, Costs 50; Adjusting It to Horse an Art There are many sides to a harness horse trainers stock in trade. He must know how to fit shoes to get the most out of his charges. He necessarily has to spend a great amount of time adjusting and trying various gadgets in the horses harness wardrobe, such as boots, bells, hobbles and sundry items of their own invention, all aimed at getting the best performance possible out of the trotter or pacer. In addition to all these tricks, he must know his sulky. This cart, buggy, or bike, as it is called, presents a problem in its own right. The lightweight conveyance which averages 30 pounds is a tricky piece of apparatus to the average fan, who is uninitiated in the intricacies of the sport. All sulkies look alike, but are far from it. The most popular bike measures 48 inches from the center of hubs. The smallest in common use is 46 inches, and the largest 54 inches. The length of the shafts are in ratio to the width. The shaft of a 48-inch sulky generally measures 96 inches. Adjusting the sulky to a horse is an art in itself. The angle of the shafts in the .hitching procedure is highly important. The sulky must be made to balance according to the size of the horse and weight of the driver. When fitted properly, the sulky and the added weight of the driver are a definite advantage in that the momentum of a sulky, once it is in motion, is a propelling force to the horse, and vice versa, if not balanced properly. Fans repeatedly ask, "Does the color of a drivers sulky mean anything?" Generally, it does not. In some cases, owners of sizable stables adopt a color as their own and use it, but, in most cases, the color combination is entirely up to the trainer, who will average approximately 15 horses in his stable, owned by perhaps as many as eight different owners. Harness horse trainers are in comparison a counterpart of other men engaged in the sport field. They may take a fancy to a color or a sulky in this case and stick with it. They claim "it feels right" when they get a sulky that has that certain undefin-able something, the same as a ball player attaches himself to a glove or favorite bat. or when a golfer finally finds the clubs that are "just right." A sulky today costs in the neighborhood of 50, quite a bit more than juniors bike. It is made of ash and hickory, although of late years all-steel sulkies have come into prominence. The wood constructed variety, however, still remains the choice of the majority of whip wielders.
