St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-27
BREEDING HORSES.
Skill and Judgment NeedfuI, Says
the Live Stock journal,

When a good judge of horses makes
trip through almost any section OF the
country, and looks at the horses on the
farms of that section, he can see that
comparatively few farmers have studied
the subject of rearing horses sufficiently
to enable the m to understand what
course they should take in breeding
them to insure the best results. A man
makes up his mind whether he will
breed heavy or light horses, and having
decided as to that, the expense
is, in many cases, the main con-
sideration. He does not appear to I'M
derstand that the services of superior
horse are worth more than those of one
that has neither good breeding nor in
dividual merit TO recommend him. The
difference in the fees charged may be
only few dollars. and yet he considers
he is practicing economy by saving that
small sum. His selection Is made with
out regard to whether the horse is
suited to the mares, and because defect
i've where they are also deficient, the
choice may be the worse that could be
made. The owner does not realize this,
however, and perhaps is much surprised
when the colts do not prove to be equal
to what he expected. If he had in
formed himself by reading, or had con-
suited some skillful breeder of horses,
he would have known that such breed
ing would result unsatisfactory.
Another, perhaps. makes convenience
the main consideration and chooses the
horse that is so located that he can be
patroniZed with the least loss of time.
In this way he believes he has effected
some saving, while the factmay be thatit
would have been far more profitable for
him had he gone ten times as far. The
time and expense required to grow the
colt to a saleable age is the same, OF
nearly so, whether it makes horse
worth $50 or, one that will bring double
that, and the difference in the selling
price pays handsomely for extra time
and trouble, should these be required at
the outset.
Too many breed in haphazard way.
with no clearly defined purpose in view,
as is shown by the vast number of very
inferior horses put on the market each
year and sold at prices that must leave
little or no profit for the breeder. More
skill and good Judgment are required
probably in breeding the lighter class
of horses than of raising colts OF the
draft breeds, for in the case of heavy
work horses weight and SOundnesS are
the most important considerations,
while in the case of driving horses the
value is largely dependent upon form,
style and speed. While the value of a
draft horse is increased by good, prompt
action and well-shaped body, still with
out these he will find buyer, if he has
weight and sound, more readily than the
driving horse that is deficient in the
qualities named. The increasing use
for heavy horses in large cities has
made a demand for them that has
prompted many farmers to turn their
attention TO breeding them instead of
the lighter class of horses. Skillful
breeders claim that they can make
more money in raising the latter, but
concede that the heavier breeds are
more profitable for the man who lacks
either the taste or the judgment to
raise something better than the inferior
stock found on so many farms, espec-
tally through the West. There is room
for vast improvement in this diree-
ton, with the result of adding mate
rally to the income of the farmer-a
point that he has ample reason to con-
slider in these days of low prices for so
many products of the farm.