St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-27
sPoKANE's NATIVE STATE.
Montana Will Soon Rival Ken.
tuCky in Horse Breeding.

Montana Will Soon Rival Ken
lucky in Horse Breeding.
A close observer of trottlng affairs
once remarked that the great campaign
ers of The future would hail from the
western mountain region of the United
States. Nothing has TRANSFERRED to re-
duce this proposition to certainty, al
though there are indications that point
strongly to that end. From the stand
point of fashionable lines of blood and
speed descent no close comparison can
be drawn between the horse interests of
the East and those of the country west
of the continental divide. The more
thickly-settled portion of the Union has
the great bulk of the leading strains of
trOtting and running blood. and the only
comparison that may now be
drawn between the products of
the above mentioned sections
is that of individual excellence.
Kentucky is conceded to be the banner
horse breeding state of the Union. Her
fields of waving blue grass and streams
of limestone water are household words,
yet the great secret of the rapid devel-
Opment of her young stock is the system
followed of forcing and stimulating the
growth by grain feeding. The same is
true of the Northern breeding states.
In competition with the mountain re-
giOn of the West and the Pacific slope,
the East cannot raise horses as cheaply.
The question of cost of production,
however, does not enter into this sub
ject, as it is conceded that where lands
are fertile ard cheap there horses can
be raised to the best advantage. A
great portion of Montana is not adapted
to horse raising. The most available
portions are the Gallatin. Deer Lodge,
Bitter Root and Prickly Pear valleys,
vast plains of arabic lands inclosed by
FOOTHILLS AND LOFTY MOUNTAINS.
Through these valleys course streams
of the purest water, and one and all
raise crops of rich grasses that rarely
fail. Owing to the cheapneSs of land,
each proprietor occupies large tracts,
over which the stock rove for miles.
This freedom of latitude, together with
the clear. bracing air of the mountain
regions, develops lung power, bone aud
muscle. Much of the best forage is
found on the foothills, necessitating
certain amount of climbing. The soil
on these hills is of a light, gravelly
nature. which keeps the unshod hoofs
hard and healthy. Montana-bred horses
are proverbial for soundness of limbs
and feet. In fact, the diseases Incl
dental TO these members inEastern-bred
horses are almost unknown in the
Rocky Mountain region. The develop
is rara avis. 1t is common thing to
see yearlings that average fifteen
hands, with the substance
of matuTed horses. The ordinary
feed OH the unculIivated ranges is bunch
grass, perennial that cures itself and
is very nutritious. All the most valua-
bic grains and grasses are grown in
these valleys for winter feeding, which
lasts for period of two months. As a
rule horses run out the year round, as,
unlike cattle, they can ''rustle' for
themselves when snow covers the self
cured heritage. Montana has drawn
largely on Kentucky for her breeding
material, and from the parent stock has
developed a physically superior type of
horse. 1t is only within the past four
years Montana has figured as breed
ing and racing state, and in that time
She has developed Ranchero, Fantasia,
MONTANA REGENT AND SPOKANE,
in addition to host of other speedy
trotters and runners. Montana is in her
infancy as a breeding state, and with
the many natural advantages favoring
her will yet hold high rank as a pro-
ducer of great borses. The success of
the Montana circuit of 1889, whose five
members offered large aggregate of
purses for mixed races, has had highly
encouraging effect. At those meetings
many of the noted performers of the far
West competed, and Montana herself
matriculated several ambitious candi-
dates for future honors, whose bone and
Drawn grew from her soil. The Mon
tana circuit may be regarded as fixed
event. In the natural order of progress
still greater results are looked for in
the campaign of 1890, and it is possible
the attention of Eastern breeders and
practical turfmen may be more strongly
directed toward this mountain country.
1t should be remembered that the racing
establishments of Montana are crude as
compared with those of the East, and
what speed has been developed over
her tracks would, under more favorable
conditions, have made faster average
Of time