The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-28
The Coast Belt for Horses.

,bsIstter or article, not necessarily for pub
Hcation, but as an evidence of good faith
The Coast Belt for Horses.
Il may not have occurred to many, says
tbe Mobile Register, that the coast belt
c,nutry might be utilized in a successful
and profitable production Of horses on a
large scale, for market, but such is undoubt-
sdly the fact. The most widely popular
horse at the present time, particularly in
the southern states, is the pony, in some of
ne breeds. The pony is the horse of hard
ships, and one that has sprung from some
moor country where he has ever been purely
the child of neglect, he and all the predeces-
sors of his race. In rich country, like the
horse regions of Kentucky, for instance,
his pony characteristics would invariably
rim cut in the course of few generations.
He is not a distinct strain, as many wsuld
seem to suppose. He DOUBTLESS sprang
originally from as good strain of horses as
the world knew OF at the time, and his
present reduced sizs and characteristic
toughuess has resulted, unquestionably,
from local circumstances.
The celebrated pony of the Pampas, in
South America, raises itself on arid plains
that would scarcely sustain race of goats; ;
the Mexican mustang pony lives among tue
mountains, where the wonder Is that it can
find enough to keep life in it at all; the
Texas pony lit is not a true pony knows
nothing of care and attention at the hands
of man, and the Indian pony has had as
little to show for the services it performs as
any other living creature could possibly
have. Just so it is with all the ponies;
they have all been bred without outlay, and
have passed through life from generation to
generation without cost, and yet just now
everybody wants ponies, and we cannot get
enough of them to near supply the, de-
inands of the market.
With all these lights before US, does it not
seem that our gulf coast country might be
doing something for itself, and toward sup
plying the demand, by the establishment of
pony farms! These farms. if farms should
be considered the right name for them,
could be located in the thinly settled
districts where the stock could have the
benefit of unobstructed wild range. The
start could be made with a good breed of
regular ponies, aud the wild range would
supply them with all the food they would
need, or. at least, very nearly ALL The sup
ply would be fully up to that secured by the
ponies of either South America or Mexico
it Wouli be all they need, and the very
kind needed to keep them in ponies. All our
ponies of commerce come from a warm
climate-tbat we have here to as great a
degree as could at all be necessary. Indeed,
we have everything the pony producing
industry could call for, with the exception
of men to drive it.
ANY person who would make trip across
the southern portion of Baldwin county,
Ala, could find ample proof TO settle him in
the opinion that pony-raising might be
made grand success in the gulf coast pine
belt. Here he would meet with small back
woods farmers who raise all their own
horses, and some to sell, entirely off the
wild range. The horses look we'll and seem
to have everything they need, and though
they are not ponies, strictly speaking, many
Of them that have been reproduced there
through goodly number of generations,
are taking upon themselves prominent
characteristics of the regular pony both as
to size and toughness. In time, if there
was no crossing or grading up, they would
be ponies in every sense of the word II an
effort was made to multiply them on a
large scale, and they could be kept isolated
from all other strains of horses, somewhere
within the next century there would be
upon the market pony not now heard Of
the ''pine-land pony from the Gulf of
Mexico" And we have every reason for
believing that he would be good one.
But we are not advising the pony-raiser to
wait on the slow workings of nature for
start in his industry. His course would be
to import a good stock from some other
country and at once begin propagating
them here on a large scale. They would be
much less trouble to raise than cattle, and
they could always be depended upon for
bringing q much better price, with nothing
whatever to risk in the way of glutted
market.
A widespread opinion is now we'll estab-
lished that the little, hardy pony comes
nearer filing the long-felt want of a
neral-purpose horse than any other kind
of animal. He responds well to good treat
ment, and under it, though not large. be-
comes as pretty as the prettiest of them;
and when it comes to getting square down
to business he will lay the best of them in
the shade every time. The race horse can
get over the ground for a short distance
much faster than the pony can, but put a
man on the back of each, and start them
on days or a weeks journey, fraught with
hardships. and you'll find the pony getting
there first, and not feeling the trip half so
keenly as does the other. To buy the race
horse would require very much more money
than to buy the pony, but when it comes to
the matter of everyday utility in general
purposes the pony is actually worth the
most to his owner in the end.
In these days of grading-up stock the
hrst thing that most persons would be apt to
think of in connection with pony-raising
would be an Improvement by crossing with
liner stock. This, in our opinion. would not
not pay SO we'll as breeding the pony pure to
Dc put upon the market simply as pony.
IN that shape there would be a better de-
mand for him than in any other shape, and
a L =