The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-01-24
THE kAIsER's HORSES.
Picks Thirty From the state Stud Ev.
cry Year as Royal Perquisite.

Emperor William Is proDably the
most magnifcently horsed monarch
in Christendom, says the WashingtOn
Post. This is due to the fact that as
King of Prussia he has right to Sc
lect free of cost each year as his
royal prerequisite thirty of the finest
horses-that is to say, the pick OF the
flock, from the state stud at Trakeh-
men. The latter is a national institu-
tion, of worldwide fame, upon which
the government ever since the days
of Frederick the Great has lavished
enormous sums.
Every year some of the finest horses
on the English, the French and the
American turf are purchased, we'll
nigh regardless of cost and are car
ried off to this huge breeding farm Of
the German cavalry. The stations So
lected have always been those in
which speed and weight carrying ca
pacity are united in the highest pos
sible degree, the result being that
after nearly 200 years the Trakehnen
the world. Every year, In the month
of May, the four-year-olds are distrib-
uted among the auxiliary. or second
ary, stud farms of Prussia, not, how
ever before the emperor's master of
the horse has had his pick of the
finest thirty.
1t Is this constant addition to his
stables, without cost to himself, that
renders 1t necessary for the kaiser TO
sell each spring the surplus stock OF
his own stables in order to make
room for the newcomers. 1t is as well
to explain this, since these clearance
sales of the royal stables at Berlin
have excited good deal of criticism,
some people blaming the emperor for
thus ridding himself of faithful equine
servants entitled to restful old age;
while others have assumed that these
sales indicated that the kaiser was
wore them out Neither of these in
situations is, therefore, Just. The
kaiser has not room for more than
certain number of horses in his sta
bles, is obliged to make room for the
new batch of thirty that arrive from
Trakehnen each May and naturally
gets rid of the inferior material, re-
tanning only the very best. In fact,
there is a perpetual process of seiec-
tion and elimination going on.
A feature of these Trakehnen horses
Of the kaiser is their extraordinary
dociity. That spirit of subordinatlon
to authority which dominates all
things living in Germany operates on
the colt from it's BIRTH You can entc.
field at Trakehnen in which hun
dred three-year-old stations are run
ming free watched by mounted
herder, and although a stranger you
may walk in the midst OF them. pat
them on the nose or flank, and they
will show themselves as gentle as
sheep. To achieve such a result prizes
are offered to those herds whose
horses show the most confding dis
position on the approach of man. In
order to promote this quality it is
made rule that each day the colts
are stroked by the hand, their feet
raised and in other ways so treated as
to make them thoroughly familiar
with their future masters.
Trakehnen is situated in the east
ernmost portion of Prussia and the
proDerty ia about ten miles in one dt-
rection and stretches seven miles In
the other. 1t was the father of Fred
erick the Great who first pitched upon
the place and who converted the
swamp, over which the moose roamed
wild. into the finest pasture land In
Germany. OF course the least favora-
BILE feature about Trakehnen Is its
geographical position with regard to
Russia; and as a matter OF fact 1t has
three times been exposed to capture
by invasion from across the eastern
frontier. but on each occasion the on
cials in charge Of the Trakehnen stud
farm have been able to escape with all
the animals in their charge.
Within a drive from Trakehnen is
Rominten, the favorite hunting re-
treat of the kaiser. forests we'll
stocked with wild deer and boar. and
where, 1t may be remembered, he re-
ceiyed Count Witte on the latter's re-
turn from America on the conclusion
of the Peace of Portsmouth.