Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1846-05-29
For the Free Press.

something more to say respecting The matter OF breed
ing horses. 1t was then my intention 10 offer for
your consideration what l had TO say Immediately
but have been prevented until now. l have already
dwclt at some length upon two of the leading causss
which have operated, and still continue TO operate, to
depress the character of our horses, and have sug-
ges,ed, incidentally the way to obvate the difficulties
50 as TO give, ere long, 10 this County, a style Of
horse that shall look ,celi 60 d stand trork rigorous,
in all spots. I now mention
A lack Of knopiedge amongst us respecting ne
lars of breeding, as another cause why our horses
are so much inferior 10 what they should be, and why
they will continue to be SO, unless something IS done
in n wiser direction.
This lack of knowledge betrays it'elf in sundry
ways. First, in our not being aware OF The We.
ry great importance Of entire soundnsss in both
The sire and dam. 1t is q well settled doc.
trine, that the deformities and ailments Of the pa
rents will he inherited by the progeny. ] canno, do
better here than TO adduce the testimony Of a dis,in-
guished foreign veterinarian. He speaks thus -
"rhere is scarcely a disease by which either of The pa
rents is affected that the foal does not often inherit or
at least show occasionally, q predlsposiion 10. Even
the consequences Of III usag e, or hard w'nk, will de-
scend to The progeny. There has been proof upon
proof that blindness, roaring, broken wind, spsvms,
curbs, ringbones, aud founder, have been bequeaihed
to their offspring both by sire and dam. 1t should
likewise be recollected that, although these blemishes
may not appear in the immediate progeny, they fre-
quently d. in the next, and even more distant geneT.
atoms"
Now, fellow farmers, If these things are really %,
, (and if you will reflect, you will see that they an)
what can we expect, where the laws Of breeding are
, either not understood, or chiefly lost s~ightof?-where
the mare that is halt, blind, crippled, and in all points
. unsound or diseased, is Put 10 breeding? THEREIN
edy in this case is simply soundness in both partnts,
and in their progenitors.
2.-This lack of know ledge respecting tho laws Of
breeding shows itself, in the slight attention tehieh is
paid to adaptcdness Of the sire TO the dam in repsef
e Of size and conformation. The female parent should
: be comparatively the larger. And with regard to build,
a mare that is defective in an important pofnt should
not be taken 10 a sire that is himself defective in the
: very same point. By losing sight Of these simple doc
trincs many a farmer has been painfully disappointed
:. at the results OF his Efforts in breeding. Small ewes
breed m~isshaped lambs from n buck ofhuge size. The
same principle holds good with regard 10 horned cat
tie. so too when the horse is srer large, in compar-
N son with the mare, the progeny, most likely, will be
a "small chested, long legged, large boDed, worthless
animal" Such was the effect of the crop OF On i'm
10 ported Cleveland Bay, IN Nd. And such, too, was the
" effect produced blythe Introduction ofthesams breed OF
horses into Yorkshire, Eng. But when those Eastern
~ horses, the Barbs and Arabians, were introduced INTO
England, and crossed with those large Cleveland
ne mares, q race OF horses was produced oismailer bone,
bat larger masei, oflarger lungs, Of greater com
p1ciness, and more parftct conformation d. strength.
In this way, came the Messenger, the Cbilders, tho
Highlycr, the Eclipse-a race of horses tina. stand
alone, Icing in alvance Of the front rank.
3-Our lack of knowlelge with regard 10 the laws
er Ct breeding, shows itself again in the fact that we do
e. no, undcrStand and appreciate The nature and rdfus
l., Of thorough blood, and the necessity Of It's presencein
w both sire and dam, in order TO be sure Of a superior
Gu progeny.
nd 1t has long been q well settled doctrine, that . foal
,u will not always possess the Gualiiies either OIL 10 siTe
-, or dam but on the contrary will, as hepuent'y %
!. otherwise, take its color, form, action, and general
worth, from an ancestor, either immediate or remote.
Hence, both the sire and dam should posses not only
a good conformation and style ofactioD, and sor vel
PS. together, in respect Of size, points Of build, and move
ment; but, what is Of special importance, they should
IN respectively belong to a variety Of The horse, which
the has pure blood ,rhose blood has nerer been e0ntnmi
ems mated by degrading crosses. El>e the iinciure Of de
grading blood may come on, IN the ioal and cause
; to be uilitte value.
ow, As this matter of blood is of primary importance in
MS the business Of breeding, | would like 10 make tn
doctrines which pertain to it,, as clear ana. foreibls q
they are important. But what is meant by Iheroug
'" Blood?
yer This question may be answered in this way. tn
OR, true Arabian horse Is regarded by The best qualife,
fry Judges, the world over, as superior 10 all others, IL
symmetry Of form, grace, beauty and vigor Of ii
NC movements. In hi. native country, he is cultivate
it'll with the greatest care, and his blood is les,eemed III
ior purest and most thorough Throughout, ali naiions-
NV Under one modification and another, this high aristc
fiji $50 ,nn;ras - ,s hn,sa ~ - u.hai. III.
18th world. A cross of it, especially by those mos, r.
$500. -. a,ar ,au,,. - o.tN 1900 81
,;l Darby and Godolphin Arabian, has given to The Sc,
eral varieties OF the English horse, through The infu
ence of climate and diligent cultivation, his great am
well meriicd celebrity. The Ra;e Horse de.eende
nearly directly from Eastern COursers.
This is the case with the Hunter, the Troiier, ia
, c imprsred Hackney and Roadster in a modified d.
y" gree. Whoever doubts The correctness Of these state
rec ments, viii be convinced Of their general accuracy b
learning the ped igrees. of such horses as Marske, RI
tho gulees, Squirt, Childers, Hi.hAyer, Messenger, E
clipse, Sir Archy (iuslly styled The Godolphm Ar,
We ban OF Amerca) Awful, Edwin Forrest, Rip,on, La
The dy Suffolk, Moscow, and all others Of grea, no,e, n,
,ro. even excepting the Original Morgan.
Fol example, the Messenger blood is as ,horoue
as any known in this country or EnglsDl. And il
vely well known that more t~rotters have been produced il
I'M ,,,, f,,,ly ,hoptn any o,bor Nouh,oo. n1 Aha.u
cnn. son and grandson OF Messenger were "~trotfeys on
nge- the geters of tro.ters." Lady Sagoik was BY Engir
due eer and he by Messenger. Lady Suholk's dsr
f WIZ. was by DonQuixoite, and he again by Msssngtr.
after The uutl. 10 ,la,",he thoro' bred horse enters into e
cry other breed, and ddds,a and often gires 10 i,its on
ably rd!ue. Even the Canadian, or Norman, French hors
Ieers which is compact, when crossed with large, goo
are booded, and well formed mares, gives q good har.s
al horse and sometimes, .~rotters, us deeply imbue
with the blood of the Barb taken from Spain in,
Normandy"
oil 1 4 -.