The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-06
WESTERN RANGE HORSES.
VALUE IN CASES OF ENDUR
AMcE FULLY TESTED.
Experiments, the Result Of Which
Will Be Watched With Interest,
Especially By Those Who Are
Engaged In the Stock Industry In
the West.


Chicago, Sept. 6--..No horses in the
world excel the range horses of our
western states for military purposes,
and think the trip just finished by
my cowboy friends here proves my as
sertiou"
The foregoing remark was made by
DR.. William A. Bruett, special commits
sioner of the bureau of animal indus
try Of the department of agriculture.
He was at his home in this city and
with him were two staIwart, sun
Drowned young men, William and Bert
Gabriel
These young men," continued Mr..
Bruett, have just demonstrated that
the bronchos and range horses CT our
plains can cover a distance Of 2,400
miles in SO days, and subsist on grass
and water along the route, without
grain, and. more important still, from
military point of view, Without beng
shod. I can say without fear of con-
tradlction chat 40 oJher hlrses in the
world could ade the trip under
those circumstances. S3gSgJ
The 1ors- ling at Sheridan
Wyo.. aud ardi K at Galena, this state
covered all kinds OF country, turf, sand,
iuoh. Gay and mud. When they en-
ney, the horses We're in as good con-
dition, in every way, as when they
started from Wyoming, but from Du-
buque to Waterloo, Ia the road along
the Mississippi river was either over
jagged rocks or through deep mud.
The heels and frogs of the horses
feet were so badly bruised that al
though they could have completed the
distance to Chicago, / telegraphed the
men to let the noble little anirnols stop
at Galena. Had the horses been snod
at Sioux City. Ia, as L telegraphed,
knowing the roads over which they
would have to travel to Chicago, the
horses would have reached here in
first class copdition Saturday. The
telegram failed to reach the men and
they brought the horses through under
my original instructions.
What we're the Instructions 2"
ITO begin with, the department of
agriculture, GONE time ago, determined
/ to create, If possible. a foreign demand
for our native western horses. To do
THIS it was first necessary to prove the
merit of these horses, particularly foI
| cavalry and military uses. as nearly adj
! foreign. countries are buying large NUM-
beGs OF horses for military purposes. II
was urged against the native American
| horSes tllls1 they We're Hacking in size
and endurance for the work. To answer
that objection, it. was decided to have
| horses of the two types known as the
! brcuolloS and rangers make a grip II
| company from Wyoming territory tt
Chfca goa distance OF 500 miles.
- To ride fhss,e horses we hApSene6
O nave just the right omen in the loca
bureau at 4g1e stock yards of the de,
| partment of agriculture, two brothers
named William and Albert Gabriel
| They had been cowboys for years. an
were thoroughly familiar with the en-
tire western country. They were willing
| TO accept the task, realizing fully its
f1ardship6, and on June 5 they STARTED
for Chicago.
Their instruction from the depart
nent OF agriculture we're ito proceed
| to Sheridan, Wye, select from G, Ranch
/ two horses which had never beer
! bridled or saddled, and bring them tx
Chicago without feeding them ann
grain SO long as ii was possible for tbs
horses to find grazing making the triI
as quickly as possible without inJurine
the horses"
Are you satisfied with the test p
| Mr.. BruetE was asked.
Not entirely, because 1 wanted then
to finish az Chicago" he replied. Blu
that is my only regret As a test of the
endurance of the western range horse
I l am sure the depau,ment of agrtcul
cure Will be more than satisfied witt
the result. as 1t demonstrates the ami
mai is all that has been claimed.
CAS- | said before. no other horses il
tina world could have made such "a tril
under the conditions I believe that 1
win change the opinions of the agent
of foreign governments. who have fea
thar. our range horses were too light 70
! MILITARY purposes. I intend TO tax
some of the buyers of horses for expor
down to Galena aCll let them see tn
horses just as they are after their un
paTqileled iourne-r.
ct is a fact not known as it shout
be that the western range horse has i
his veins the blood of thoroughbred
and standard bred Percherons, Clydes
dales, Ham bletonians and other famou
strains. Stations of these classes hav
been sent to the ranches and the re
suit is an increase in the size an
quality of the horse. The range horses
as they are called in distinction fro1
bronohos range in weight from $50
l,l50 pounds. The bronchos. which al
of Spanish origin, and have no i'm
proved blood in them weigh from 75
to 500 pounds The trip just mad,
however, shows that the broncho
equal in endurance to the larger hors
and is a wonderful weight carrier, bI
is not as pretty as the range hors
The demand abroad for our wester
horses is growing and l believe it wi
rapidly increase
One of the important feature
possessed by the range horse is small
hard hoofs, which viii stand the wee
of paved streets, or rough country. II
range horse is more intelligent, an
bilious. tractable and enduring tina
those grown by breeders and farmel
in the middle and eastern states.
1898 only 500 horses were sold in Oh
cago for export. This number will e.
5 coed $1,000 or 80 per cent of the tot
I number disposed of in this market. TT
French army has taken a great man
/, We believe the performance of the tY
, | horses which just came from Wyomir
will influence the French and Germa
i army agents and exporters for d.
i nestle purposes to try our westel
/ horses.
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