Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-11-16
From the Rider and Driver
THE MORGAN AS A ROADS TER
JOSEPH BATTELL,


Before interest in the important discus
sion of road horses, to which you have
so fairly opened your pages, is passed,
and IN order to place all possible infor-
nation before that public which wishes
to be Informed, can | venture to repeat
the story of my experience with driving
stock? For twenty-five years | have
bred and owned and driven and worked
horses in Vermont. They have served
me on the pillow, on the logging chain,
on livery teams over mountain roads in
connection with the Bread Loaf Inn for
tens of thousands of miles, aud for my
own very extensive private driving. l
have seldom had less than twenty-five
animals at any one time, and have fire.
uuentlv had two or three times that
number. | was born TO the traditions of
Morgan stock. early turned to it to
supply my imperative need for endur-
ing animals, save for occasional trials of
thoroughbred blood. | have used it
without intermssiUn, and | now pro-
pose to review as concisely as | can the
characteristics of some stock of mine
that still live or might still be living in
so far as age goes. whose virtues are
Morgan, and every animal eligible to the
Morgan Register.
White Rider, a roam bay, full 10 hands
and weighing some 100 pounds. she
was bv a grandson of Black Hawk, and
her dam a descendant of Woodbury.
Morgan. She would travel easily,
double or single, for any reasonable
distance, at the rate of ten miles an hour
She raised several handsome colts by
Morgan sires. For one ! got 1920 at
auction.
Julius Caesar, - hands, $50 pounds,
today with spirit untouched at twenty
six years of age. legs and feet of the
very best, strength in all his makeup,
and an intelligent, fairly placed head.
He is by a son of Lambert, his dam by a
son of Black Hawk. This is the most
extraordinary horse have ever owned.
have driven him, single and double,
for years. He wore out mate after
mate, although paid AS high as 500 to
match him. do not remember that |
was ever passed on the road when using
him, and can recall but one team that
came in sight that did not oyertake. |
finally secured one of his own daugh-
tiers to 90 with HIM Che sired Il few colts
before he was gelded). She proved her
sire's equal as ii roadster until killed by
the cars. drove them much together
on light and heavy rigs, often with SIX
to nine people. habitually drove ten
miles an hour, and not intrequenty
fifteen miles an hour. The dam of this
mare was the dam of Lady FoXie. , :2l |,
and was by Breed Horse, son of Black
Hawk.
A Golddust mare now on one of my
stock farms will readily travel twelve
; miles an hour over hlly and mountain
Gus roads, and have yet to learn her
limit of endurance; but she carries much
thoroughbred blood.
am now using two animals of great
merit. both raised by myself. The stall
lion Rocky Mountain, sire of Dandy,
2}0, and the mare Louise, both by
Motion, , :29, son of Lambert
Rocky Mountain, now thirteen years
old, has done yeOman service through
life on the farm, in livery aud in four-in-
hand. He has great strength, great en-
durance and great speed, weighs l,lOC
pounds, l54 hands.
Louise is about $50, more highly fin
ished and probably more speedy. She
is typical Morgan mare in all but
color, which is gray. She is a tireless
roadster. Her half-brother and travel
ing mate, Squirrel, made record OF
, :3l4 as four-year-old on a half-mile
track. He is longer gated and not
likely 20 last as long as Louise.
After the "Cream Hill Stock Farm
was established at Shoreham, VT, where
Daniel Lambert stood as chief stallion
the effect of his blood became marked In
Addison county. Other stations got
choice road horses, but there was an
elegance of movement and feetness in
the Lamberts which others had not tc
such degree, and | soon found that il
had superior road quality. | bought
some seventeen of his get for roadsters
among them the still lamented Motion,
1929, and finally bought Lambert him
self.
Some of these horses lacked substance
hut the hest of them those hred from
Morgan mares, were supremacy elegant
of large endurance and very fast. Much
of the best of our Vermont Morgan
stock carries his blood, although the get
Of HOlabrds Ethan Allen and of Den
ming Allen are notable for substance
and speed Denning Allen is now on
my farm. Besides Lord Clinton, ? ;0Si,
he has very speedy stock. The sum OF
nv axnarianpa is that MorOan GfOpk al