The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-03-16
THE GENERAL PURPOSE HORSE.

The thought of a general purpose
animai is one very firmly fixed in the
minds of the average farmer who has
not settled down as specialist. We
often hear the specialist say their is
no such thing, the general purpose
idea is humbug. We are ready to
admit that people often hold to this
idea when a special purpose idea
would bring them a greater measure
Of success.
The general purpose farm horse is
one that can be well utilized in ordi-
nary farm work of all kinds and can
also do the limited amount of road
work needed in connection with the
working of the medium sized or small
farm. A horse called ''chunk" in
market, standing fifteen to sixteen
hands high, weighing from eleven to
fourteen hundred pounds, compactly
baiit, with good feet and legs, tract
able, lively disposition, good, clean,
rapid way of going at walk or trot is
in brief the kind of horse that /
would cal general purpose horse.
This kind of horse has place on
the farms o. the northwest and we
may say in toe most valuable class so
far as farm work is concerned. AS
described above yon will note that he
partakes of the qualities of both the
draft and coach or heavy roadster
types in both his conformation and
his disposition.
This being true the question at
once arises how can he be bred with
any certainty, and this is question
I must admit is hard one to answer.
I have had this class produced in
three different ways: 1st, by trim,
active Percheron sire of fifteen to
seventeen hundred pounds in weight
bred to grade roadster farm
mares of ten to twelve hundred
pounds; end, by using a compactly
built roadster sire with grade draft
mares of thirteen to fifteen hundred
pounds ; sd, by use of the most COM
pactly built coachers and Hackneys
of twelve to thirteen hundred pounds.
In my observation and experience
these three ways have produced some
very good specimens and some very
poor excuses. I have also seen some
very good general purpose horses of
the heavier class produced by breed
ing up in draft lines where the sires
were of the heavier ty pes of the breed.
with good nerve and action.
We must admit that no breed has
yet been produced that fairly repre-
sents the true general purpose type.
The true Percheron of thirty to forty
years ago came the nearest to it, but
breeding for more weight has made
him draft horse instead of gener'
al purpose animal. A breed of gen.
eral purpose horses can be produced
by careful selection and combina-
ton of different blood lines and a
continuous breeding to type for two
or three centuries, but it seems the
shortness of mems lives and small
prize to I've gained have thus far work
ed against the development Of such
breed.
Very many of our farmers get the
idea that all they have to do is to
breed their nondescript mares to the
leggy, coarse type of socalled coach
horses being peddled through the
country, to get this useful farm horse.
I have seen hundreds of colts from
this kind of breeding and must say
that not S per cent. of them are even
fair specimens of the general purpose
horse, while so per cent. or more are
failures from every point of view. I
have seen much better results where
the coach stallion has been finer
and more compactly built one or
where Hackney or American trot-
ter of compact, smooth, muscular
type has been the sire.
These observations have led me to
the conclusion that this latter plan is
the surest one to bring some measure
of success in producing the general
purpose farm orse.-Blooded Stock.