American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-26
Shall We Encourage Walking Horses

1t is hardly possible to'take up a jour
nal during the summer and autumn with
out seeing either items or. extended ac-
counts of what horses have accomplished
in trotting or running. We scarcely
ever see accounts of their endurance in
hauling loads at given pace, or the
number of miles they have accomplished
in given number of hours at a walking
gait and yet this practically is of far
more importance than their endurance at
speed.
Agricultural fair managers, who might
not inaptly be called agricultural horse
trot managers" advertise widely the
large amounts devoted as premiums for
trotting and running, but not word as
to horses exhibiting the greatest endur
ance and speed at walking gait. Why
not? "Oh, it will not draw the crowd"
Very well; if agricultural fairs are SIM
ply intended to draw that class of hui
manity whose end and aim In life is trot-
ting and running horses, and betting
thereon, well and good.
There is, however, now and then an
individual who, while he admires this
noble animal at speed, very well knows
that this eternal pandering to mere speed
is not only vitiating the taste of the pub
lie, but also is tending to breed out other
valuable traits that can ill be spared.
A good walking horse should make, at
that gait, an average of four miles an
hour. How many can do it? Very few.
Why so? The walking gait has ceaseu
to be cultivated.
By the careful training of ambitious
and active horses they may be made to
walk five miles an hour rs easily as the
ordinary horse now walks three. There
is no reason why an average pace of four
miles an hour should not be kept up with
ordinary loads throughout the day.
In the days travel this would make a
gain of ten miles and the trained horse
would have accomplished forty miles as
| against the thirty miles for the unframed
| one, and this just as easily to the horse
of spirit as to the one with the slow er
| gait. If the horse have not the mechan-
ical structure for this gait, of course he
cannot do it. Having it, it may be
brought out just as easily as a trotting
or running gait; and if premiums were
given for this purpose at our agricultural
| fairs, it would be found that individual
| horses would be able to make, not only
| five miles an hour, but some of them six
The naturally fast walker, when trained
| will even do given amount of work, at
| the increased pace, easier than at the slow
pace. This we know from experience
| The energy displayed among all classes
of breeders has been directed constantly
| W ICuuCc anu Tic W dlklnS gait,
and as a consequence we find, each year,
| fewer and fewer fast-walking horses
This spirit has pcrvaded our fair rings
| until now it is difficult to find premium
offered for the fastest walking horse. In
looking over the premium lists already
received by us for 1874, embracing near
ly all the Western States, We find only
two premiums offered for walking horses
one by the Kansas City (Mo.) Industrial
Exposition, and the other by the North
eastern Iowa Agricultural Society. We
| are glad to be able TO chronicle these two
and hope that the number may be yearly
increased until the fast-walking horse
shall at least be regarded on par with
other road and working horses. A great
error has been made in ignoring this most
valuable of all the gaits of the horse
Certainly reform is needed in this direc
tion.-Western Rural