The La Jara chronicle., 1907-05-31
Horses in Colorado.

ity of all classes of useful horses.
Buyers and dealers are securing
the country in all directions Car
loads of work horses are constantly
being shipped from Colorado to
California at prices that are al
most fabulous. The immediate
future for the horse-producing
interest of the west appears very
bright, but word of caution at
this time to those engaged in the
production of these very success
full animals, should be timely.
A recent investigating trip to
horse-producing centers of Wis
consin, Illinois and Kentucky, dis
closes the most surprising revival
in the production of horses. On
all sides young colts are seen, and
in nearly every pasture there are
yearlings and two-year-old colts.
The financial outlook for the next
few years is not the most promis-
ing. One of the very first indus
tries affected at times of financial
depression, is the horse-producing
industry. This. with the unpre-
cedented production that there
is now, would indicate that GER
tain classes of horses will be a
drug on the market again within
the next few years. | would sug-
gest at this time to the breeders of
Colorado that they discard any
brood mares that are not Of a very
high grade i'll their particular
class. By the time the foals that
are now being bred are ready to 90
on the market, there is every prob
ability that the prices will have
dropped from % to so per cent.
especially for the more common
classes. If draft stock is being
produced, land this is the stock
which the majority of farmers
are engaged in producing just
now, see to it that only the very
best brood mares are bred and that
they are bred only to the very
best stations. Size, weight, quail
ity and soundness, combined with
style and action, are the points
that should receive great attention
insthe selection of both mares and
stations in the breeding of draft
horses for the immediate future
Mares that do not weigh over
400 pounds should not be used
for the production of draft horses
for the future markets. If these
underS lied mares are of good con-
formation, they can be utilized to
good advantage in the breeding
of mules that will probably for
some time to come be very
profitable enterprise. With good
draft mares, however, weighing
from 400 to LOO pounds, and a
good sire weighing from l,650 to
1000 pounds, there is good pros
p4ct of remunerative prices for
many years to come.
The farmers and breeders who
, have the taste and the facilities
for the production of the lighter
classes of horses, the highest class
of carriage horses should be the
type selected. The tremendous
improvement and the reduction in
cost prevailing in the manufacture
of automobiles and the consequent
decrease in price has made these
machines of transportation very
serious menace to the production
of light harness and driving horses.
The high class carriage or heavy
harness horse has not been affect
ed nearly so much by the increase
in the automobiles. A great ma
jority of wealthy people will dis
card their machines when they
have become common and the
trend has already set in towards
the horse again by these people.
The demand for high class or heavy
b,rpnoSc b,rcas will tanl to incraac co