Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-12-11

Place for Vermont Horses.
The horse individually does not count
for much as domesticated animals GO yet
IN the aggregate this faithful servant Of
mankind plays u prominent part. From
the time that a kingdom was offered for
an equine quadrured down to the great
struggle so recently terminated in South
Africa. the horse has figured prominently
in great military conflicts But it is in
peaceful pursuits that the horse has con-
tributed in the greatest degree 10 the SER
vice OF mis- human, If not always humane,
Keeper
If the former sweet singer of our states
praises, the poet SAKE. were alive to-day.
his love of the Green Mountain, if not
his vivid ina eination might tempt him to
include horses in the list of things for
which Vermont is celebrated; hut fact
would demand that the past tense be used
in that correction. Our State was cale-
brated for its horsefesh once upon a time.
but who now distinguishes a Vermont
horse from any other equine specimen.
either in market or on the turf. or even
town?
1t is not so many years since the Morgan
and ore or two other families of horses
were y source Of large revenue to the
! farmers Of this region as we'll AS of fame
for Our little State. but a combination OF
influences has brought about deCadcncc
of our horsebreedng interests. There
" he given away in this State for not
only does the supply occasionally exceed
the demand, but styles in fancy horses
also change as much as do fashions in
womens dress and eentlcmens dogs. For
4 time we became quite English. YOU
know" and American bred horses took
back stall, while the imported ANNA!
pranced proudly before the handsomest
| equpages
In the meantime the docadencc of the
strains of horsof1csh which had held the
lead in popular favor enabled other fan.il-
les to come to the front so that now IN
stead Of few characteristics inbred ami
mails We have multiplicity of families.
no one Of which is identified with any par
ticular locality or section OF the country.
! Under these conditions our breeding in
tcrcsts IN Vermont have suffered mark
ed decline, ard it is not rare for residents
Of this State to send elsewhere. even into
Canada, for handsome specimens of gem
tlemens drivers as well as heavy drausht
| horses,
We directed attention on the part of
Vermont farmers some time since to the
prospect of a brighter future for
horsehrceding interests, and urged them
to revive this industry in order to take
adv antaEe Of the higher market prices
that were sure to come Tho Scientific
American has been complaining because
We have not enough horses in this coun-
try and IIarper's Weekly has taken ur
the subject 1t shows that after the Civil
War we found ourselves short OF horses
of the bigger types, and began import
ing them for breeding purposes, We i'm
ported them TO good purpose and in very
largo numbers, and greatly improved The
quality of our stock. When electricity
began TO haul street cars the market fol
the commoner kinds of horses Eel off, ant
farmers didn't breed 50 many. When tn,
automobiles began to appear and were
heralded ns machines that must suppressed
the usc of carriages horses, the breeder.
of the better class of horses took fright
For years after 90, too, thousands OF peo
pie who wanted horses could not aftorC
to have them But with the return o
prosperity the demand for good horse
began to grow again, and breeders bre,
more of them. BIT it takes about lv
, years to raise a horse that Is fit for tn
} market, ard the breeders got behind. Th
demand has outrun the supply. the pric
OF good horses has Increased very greatly
and imported stations are said to b
worth nearly ten times what they wer
, ten years ago.
, We have quoted from these journal
which have Il wide circulation In tn
1 United States to show the farmers of Yer
I mont that the conditions to which we hay
1 referred are not merely local but nation
al. Indeed we might say that tho lack @
good horses is international for Europe
also complaining. Not for years to com
I will this situation be changed and Vel
mont's fame for nne horses is not so dea
but that it can be speedy revived ir GU
I farmers will only start In on an enlarge
scale to produce only the best animal
!, for market.
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