Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-03-20
SADDLE HORSES.
Morgan,
From the Horseman.l


In your issue of .Januar" II last | no.
ticed an article relating to Judging the
saddle horse at fairs, also that the best
saddle horses were nearly, or quite, thor
oughbred, says James IIalpenny, IA stu
dent of the subject. in the Michigan Far
mer. Now, Mr.. Editor, if you will
kindly give me small amount of space
in your valuable paper will try and tell
class saddle horse, and at the same time
prove conclusively that the best saddle
horses are not ''nearly or quite thorough
bred" or anything of the kind. In near
ly every instance the words "nearly or
quite thoroughbred do not mean any
thing, and are used for the purpose of
covering up an unknown pedigree. All
first-class sadders are in the beginning
PAGERS, that is, they are all natural born
PAGERS before being broke to the saddle.
1t is also well known fact that no thor
oughbred horse ever paced Il step in his
life. And the very fact that the thor
oughbred could not be made to pace, and
consequently could never become first
class saddler, led to the foundation of
the famous breed Of Kentucky saddle
horses of the present day. In the early
part of the present century the thorough
bred horse was the most plentiful horse
in all the South. and to about that time
dates the foundation of the Southern
saddler. If the thoroughbred embodied
all the elements that 90 to make up Il
first-class saddle animal, then the South
ern of that time would hayc had just what
he wanted, and the importation of for
eign blood other than thoroughbred
would haye been downright foolshness.
But that the Southern breeders did i'm
port other blood, is well known and a
matter of history. They imported the
PAGER from Canada at first, then
afterwards the Morgan from Vermont
and other New England States. AT
first pacing stations were bred to the
thoroughbred mares of this country
(there being nothing else to breed to-,
the produce then inter-bred on the PAGER
again (and in many instances incestuous-
ly), and afterward when the Morgans
became plentiful in the North, they were
taken South in large numbers and used
for the sole purpose of getting saddlers
and general-purpose horses.
The Copperbottoms, the Pilots, the
Denmarks, the Tom Halls, the Corbeaus
the Hiatogas, the Columbuses, the Dren.
mons, the Faros, and many other famous
saddle families were all PAGERS and OF
Canadian origin. Many of our fastest
trotters of the present day are descended
from the foregoing families, but mostly
in the maternal line, also many fast pac-
ers that are now called trotting-bred
PAGERS trace to the same source. For in
stance, Detractor, pacing record 2:263
standard number 230l in Wallace's Trot
ting Register, took first premium wher
four years old lin 1881 at North Carroll
ma State fair in saddle class, agains
twenty-three competitors, three of then
imported English thoroughbreds. Wher
| got him in the spring of 1888 he was
the most perfect saddle horse ever saw
He could go six different and distinct
gaits in travelling fifteen rods. His pro
duce that paced are all natural saddl,
horses. There is no thoroughbred in hi
pedigree for several generations back
The Morgans were many of them famous
saddlers. Probably no horse that eve
lived could beat Hale's Green Mountain
! Morgan rugged that way. Clifford Nor
gan, Woodbury. Morgan, Barnard Nor
gan, Billy Root, Hills Black Hawk
Mountain Eagle, Flying Morgan anC
many others of the tribe were famous
under the saddle in their day. While M
thoroughbred horse has ever succeeded
in string good saddle animal out of t
thoroughbred mare, they sometimes
manage to sire Il fair specimen of thu