The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-07-03

Size and Speed.
1t is matter of great interest to
those who are breeding for speed to
know what has generally been the size
OF the horses which have been distin-
gulshed as sires in this respect. Too
little attention is paid to this matter.
1t is trick of the ordinary horse regis
ter to state the color of the animal only
as If that were of supreme import
ance and then pass directly to pedi-
gree, leaving the reader to speculate in
the dark as to whether the subject of
the sketch were pismv or giant
and even with celebrated horses height
| alone is too often given, in so-called
full descriptions, leaving us to guess
about the weight. The result is, that
the average breeder who does not 90
deep into these questions has very in
correct notions as to what manner of
animals the great sires" are or have
been.
This same word "ereat' has had its
misleading effect, and it has frequently
been remarked with what start of
| surprise the curious visitor has had for
the first time the little George Wilkes
or Ethan Allen pointed ont to him as
the ''great" sire and "mighty" trotter.
The rule appears to be that the high
| est excellence is found in individuals
that do not vary far from the normal
size and type. 1t is beyond question
that the normal height of the Morgan
horse is considerably less than that of
the Messenger-but tie typical Nor
gan is of more rugged and substantial
build that the normal weight would
he far more nearly equal to shat of the
typical Messenger. Morgan Eagle, sire
of Lady sutton Cone of the first if not
the first animal to trot in 2:30), was
only IA l-2 hands high, yet his weight
was 100 pounds, about the same as
that OF RYsdyk's lIambletonan, which
stood full hand higher. The trotter,
Lady Sutton herself, was but If hands
high.
Justin Morgan was II hands high
and weighed $50 pounds. His best
son, Sherman Morgan, was Is 81 hands
high and weighed 92j pounds. Ver-
mont Black Hawk, beyond comparison
the most famous son of Sherman, stood
little under II hands and weighed less
than 1000 pounds. The game and beau
tiful Ethan Allen, the most noted trot-
ting stallion of his day. and the most
successful sire of trotters among the
sons of Black Hawk, was scant Is
hands high and never weighed as high
as thousand pounds; while Daniel
Lambert, the best son of Ethan Allen.
stands 10 hands, and weighs 1000
pounds.
No one will dispute that the above
is the best line of the Morgan blood and
it is apparent that in it there has been
no departure whatever from the nor
nal size and type, allowing as we must
that the normal height has been some
what increased. Moreover, if we take
the second best living Black Hawk,
Gen. Knox (son of Vermont Hero, by
Sherman Black Hawk, by Vermont
Black Hawk, founder of one of the
most valuable trotting and roadster
families that ever lived, and second
only to Lambert among living horses
for the number of his get with records
of 2:4O or better, we find him black
Morgan-buit horse a little over ID
hands high and weighing 1000 pounds.
Nor will the objection avail that all
Morgans are under size. Ii has always
been, and yet is, the general practice to
select for stations the large and rangy
colts, and the man who has dared to
keep colt of no more than IL hands
entire has been derided as the keeper
of "scrub" stallion. Now statistics
show that large majority of the entire |
sons of Sherman Morgan We're larger
than Black Hawk. A majority of the
stallion sons of Black Hawk were from
10 l'2 to Ii hand horses, and very few
were as small as Ethan Allen, and very
few sons of Ethan Allen have done
stud service that were not larger horses
than Daniel Lambert.
But it will be said that this line of
speed-producing sires of 10 hands and
under is confined to the Morgan fami-
ly. Such is not the case. Blue Bull,