The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-11
MOST USEFUL OF ANIMALS
Many Interesting Facts Regarding Horse
Development in This Country.
More Good Horses and More Tyres in America
than Elsewhere in the WOrld-The Adyant-
ages Derived from Careful Breeding.

To the current Issue of the North Amer
lean Review Col. Theodore A. Dodge. u. s.
A., contributes q paper entitled 1.-The
Horse in America" which contains O great
deal of information regarding the animal
which In all ages has been one of mans
most useful servants. He begins with q
statement that the horse is not a native of
America, but was brought hither by Eu-
ropeans. The first horses were brought
here by the Spaniards, and the wild horses
of the plains are the successors of those
which escaped. The warm climates OF
Central America ami Mexico brought forth
large herds In q short space. and the Indian.
discovering his usefulness. brought him
to the Western plains. There had been no
attempt to improve the herd, but In the
warmer climates the Wild horse of to-day
retains the essential features of his long
ago ancestor. the Moorish horse. Cold
climates have stunted the wild horse. and
his life has made the pony a distinct race.
The long distance he has been forced to
travel to obtain nutritious grass has made
him q slayer, hIs frequent calls to escape
from wolves has given him speed. while
his exposure has made him hardy.
Colonel Dodge devotes no further atten-
ton to the wild horse. but takes ND the
American horse generally. The horse OF q
section is adapted to the use to which he Is
put. The horse OF the Eastern States exc
hibits no peculiar trace or race. This is
to blood. A good all around" horse has
been the result. The common horse of the
North has substance. In the South. how
ever, the good horse shows more marks OF
blood. while the common horse Is q weed.
The draught horse OF the south
have come from the same sections as the
populations of the several Western States.
Upon those which have been brought this
side tho Atleghenies there has been more or
less impress made by imported thorough
blood.
The trotting horse of the North. though
great speed was originally due to the thor
ouRhbred Messenger, has dra WI more
largely on common strains than the racer
of the South. The form and caUability or
the horse always follows the demand. In
the North the demand has been for q road
ster, and in the South for q saddle-horse.
but in each section the horse has responded
to the call for the qualities suited to the
duties.
More and better horses are owned in
America per thousand of population than
in any other country IN the world; the
farmer and Rroceryman in the North and
West can and does afford to keep as good q
roadster, and even o better one, than q city
nabob. While the average American horse
lacks the distinctive characteristics OF
race, he has exceptionally good qualities.
He is sure-footed. There are more broken
kneed nags In the cab and lIvery-stables
in England. four-fold: than here. The
American horses are Of even disposition.
"One rarely sees q biting, striking. kick
ing devil in America" They are easily
broken. Herbert said long ago that the
American horse 10 superior, not in beauty
or btOod.. but in hsrdihood to do and en-
docility. u In good temper to any other
race of horses in the known world"
VS.. ENGLIsH HoRsES.
Except in the matter of t~rotting the main
difference between the English and Ameri-
can horse has been in the matter of breed
ing. In England the breeds have been
kept separate. due to the fact that land
owners and capitalists have taken an in
terest in breeding. and farmers have prof
tied by it. In that country, until In recent
years. the breeding of all but thorough
breds was, with few exceptions, a random
affair. The farmer owning q stock mare
saw good qualities in this or that stallion.
and never thought of race. The result has
been NAM good horsed suited to the serv-
ice required and an m, many onassc script e.,
years one Of the most favored breeds of
horses, Colonel Dodge thinks that Its ex-
cellence lies in the fact that the original.
if not of thorough, was of excellent English
stock, and this gave the special qualities to
q race of horses which held its own for q
couple of generations.
The trotter is the SPECIAL product Of
American horse sense. In his DEVELOPMENT
America has distanced the world. TO our
dirt roads is partly due the speed
Dodge. because the European turn
pixies speedily use up e fast nag's legs
and feet. Dirt roads are likely to continue
in this county. be goes on to say. which
of. OK does not expect much from the road
reform movement. The American roadster
has no eQual.o declares the writer with true
American spirit, and as IL is partly due TO
our dirt roads, the road reformer should
not baDish them. and the owners of fast
city naRs should not exercise them on the
smooth asphalt and brick pavements.
Colonel Dodge presents some interesting
facts regarding the Development of the
%trotter. Seventy years ago intelligent men
laid their money against Boston Blue. who
was matched to trot n mile inside of three
minutes. Now there are many scores of
horses with q record below 2:20, and the
best trotting. time is within half q min
uto OI tuo oosb Iuuuibs epceu. Dut
the development of this marvellous in
crease of speed has transformed the origi-
nal trotter into q thoroughbred creature.
he has. in fact. been bred too fine. He has
lost his wei~ght-pulling capacity. While
the running thoroughbred has gained three
inches In height. IL not q full hand, the
trotting horse, in about forty years, has
lost In size half as much. This decrease in
size. says the writer. Is to be regretted. and
10. to judge from the racer. by no means a
necessary consequence OF rrotting speed.
In America We are going in the direction
which speed always points out. and train
ing and racing mere colts. The tempta-
tion to realize at an early age Is, of course.
great with breeders; but TO see yearlings
running and trotting in public races calls
mp q serious question. Two-year-olds
and even yearlings have trotted
at q speed which. forty years
ago. was deemed impossible at any
age. Yearlings have trotted quarters in
thlrty-eiRht seconds. 1t is claimed by
breeders that this Is natural speed: that
the colts are not unduly trained or pushed,
and that these trials are necessary TO as
certain what colts have in them. and thus
an extra year. But TO produce q twenty
iceable at twenty years. one would scarcely
90 to Work after this fashion.
MODEL REEDI STABLES.
There Is. perhaps. no establishment more
typlcslly American than Governor Leland
Stanford's breeding farm for trotters al
Pelo Alto. Cal. 1t has no equal any where.
The entire ranch covers some eighty-fve