Morning journal and courier., 1894-04-03
A Model H Horse-Paslure,

From Emperor Williams stud-Farm and Bunting Forest,'' by Pouitney Bixelow, in
 Harper's NagaEine for Aprll
 The secret of Trakehnsn's fame as a horse breeding place, according to our host, Is the fact that it is irrigated In eve ry direction in such a manner that the grass Is rich aud sweet to an extraordinary extent. The soil, too, is mos. favorable deep and spongy. When it was originally selected for this purpose 1t was nothing better than a vast swamp over which the moose roamed wild. ss he still roams In c oircumscribsd section of the Baltic shores near the mouth of the Memsl river. The father of Frederick the Great was 6 capi- tai farmer and had good eye for horses as we'll. He converted this swamp into the richest pasturelsnd Of Germany, where even to-day one cannot dig two feet with out striking water In winter the mead ows are flooded, and only the most careful irrigation preserves them in good condi- ton for the balance of the year. There are no fences anywhere upon the estste, which stretches about nine miles In one direction and three or four In the other: and were the horses less docile than they are 1t would seem an easy thing for them to get lost many times in the year.
 Major won FrankenburR (the superin- tendenO has an enormous admiration for this particular horse; and ss he goes to England every year for the purpose of se. lectins thoroughbreds, and has visited the stud farms of nearly every country in the world, 1t is fair to conclude that his feel. ings are not the result of bias.
 hRnt eafd ha saT fnafef an ona indis pensabls condition-our horse must not be used until he is six years old. He must be allowed to get his growth and season. l ing before nsing. We made c great mis take in 1870 in permitting many young horses, as young as four years of age, to come into the army. They nearly all broke down, and in the long run were [ l souree of great loss to us-far beyond their cost. With proper food and treat. msnt, however, will back him sgsins, any horse know"
 The maj jor gave us many illustrations oi what the Trskehner has done in his expe rienoe; not such rides ss Austrian and | German officers performed in October oi | 1899, but work of practical value. Fol instance, in the campaign against Francs of 1870 and 1871, he led his regiment oi \ husssrs throughout the months of Janus ", February and March, over g country covered with ice and snow, at the rate o
 thirty-five English miles day.
 At the same time the major was careful
 to point out what United States cavalr. officers can appreciate more than those o
 any other army, that theee are not horsei
 that can be turned out to take care O l themselves, like the Indians mustang O
 the rough Cossact pony of the stsppes.
 All the young horsss are csrefull,
 rubbed clean and inspected every day, thu
 brush and curry comb being used In clean
 ing. During this process the young colt
 are tied, but when three or four years olt
 they stand quietly enough and enjoy it
 In order to insure doeility on the part O
 these animals 1t is made e rule that sacl
 day the colts are to be stroked with tn
 hand, their feet raised-fn other words
 treated in such way as to make them fs
 milisr with their future masters.
 It would seem as though the rich succu
 lent grass produced by the pastures woul
 be enough food for these young animals
 but the major said that they did bette
 when they received two portions of oats
 day, once iu the morning and again [
 noon, but never at night.