Omaha daily bee., 1906-03-18

better than those Of any town in
the country and the streets OF
~ Omaha are perpetual horse
- show" This is the unqualified
statement Of Walter Jardine. head Of the
Omaha Merchants Express company, which
firm has 215 heavy horses, and is also the
buyer for most of the owners of heavy
horses In Omaha. THE stock Of this city
is kept in better condition than any other
place 1 have visited, and / have been all
over and have made a special study OF
these horses wherever l have been. Omaha
has fewer cripples and the stock is better
fed and less abused"
One Of the first sights which Rreets tho
eye of a stranger coming into a city is
the horses he sees, usually around the
depot. on the mail wagons and transfer
wagons, and to the rural stranger the con-
dillon Of the horses would go a long ways
to influence his opinion of the whole city.
First impressions are. often lasting, and
Omaha should be proud of the splendid
showing its draft horses make upon the
streets OF Omaha. The Horse Show has
done considerable during the last two years
TO increase the number Of good driving
and park horses In Omaha, and the d.
rectors made a wise move last fall when
prizes were offered for the best draft
horses. If the owners of heavy haulers
realize that the eyes of the public arc
upon them they win take more care and
pride in their stock.
Omaha has always had a reputation Of
having good horses, the first being brought
here forty-two years ago and were used
by the Omaha Transfer company to haul
the heavy loads across the ferry before the
railroad ran into this town About eighty
Jlendid big horses were used at this work
md ever since Omaha has had a goodly
supply of fine big teams.
Horses of Omaha are not abused as in
some cities where they are overloaded. The
Omaha haulers go on the theory that It is
better to keep a horse in good condition,
so he can work day in and day out. than
to have him all crippled up by overlooking.
A nearsighted horse is the worst man
can own, for he lacks Judgment. and many
horses which are sound otherwise are near
sighted, although some queer actions on
their part may be attributed to some other
cause
Following the advice of Mr.. Jardine, the
heavy haulers of Omaha have all used
horses that weigh in the neighborhood of
1900 pounds. as this horse is found prefer
able 10 the larger one for several reasons
It is hard to get a horse that weighs over
$500 pounds that will last, and besides
there is such a demand for the heavier
horses in the east that they are much more
expensive. Western cities afe supplied with
smaller horses from the south and west,
the ranch horses being sent in large num-
Der. Oregon also sends lots of horses,
which are a trihe larger than the Texas or
Wyoming horses. The horse that weighs
1900 hounds is the most valuable because
he will last much better than the heavier
horse.
Most Of the merchandise OF South Omaha
Is hauled from Omaha by teams, this be-
ing the easiest way of getting groceries
from, the tobblng houses TO the grocery
stores OF South Omaha. When a wagon
is once loaded at one Of the Wholesale
houses it is cheaper to haul the load to
South Omaha than TO take to a depot. un-
load, put In a car and reload at the other
end. For this work some good teams are
used as 1t is long pull from the tobbing
district to the top Of the hill at Sixteenth
and Vinton streets.