Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-10-29
AMERICAN HORSE
NEWS DEPARTMENT
VERMONT MORGAN HORSE
Ethan Aliens Victory Over Dexter
Recalled When Our Own PEG
nie Saw Race.

With the movement on foot to form
national club of Morgan horse breed
ers a concerted effort will be made to
promote the interests of the Morgan
strain of horsefesh, says the Brattle-
boro letter in the Springfield Repub-
lican. Some six years ago the late
Senator Proctor of Vermont interested
himself to bring about the rehabiita-
ton of the Morgan horse and secured
an appropriation from the federal gov
eminent for the establishment of a
breeding station at the Vermont agri-
cultural station at Burlington. 1t will
be remembered that at about that time
the government sent a special agent
the late John Gilmer Speed, to Vermont
to buy stations to be sent to the Phil
ippines for breeding with the Native
mares on. the islands. Mr. Speed Sc
cured severalof the finest bred Morgan
colts to be found in Vermont and they
were shipped to Manila. DR.. George c..
Rommel of the bureau of animal in
dustry at Washington was designed by
the department of agriculture to devote
himself largely to the experiment of
breeding a type of the old-fashioned
Morgan horse in Vermont. Soon after
the appropriation was made for the
work in Vermont Col. Joseph Battell Of
Middebury, authority on Morgan
horses. presented the federal govern
nent with his S75, 900 stock farm at
Weybridge. VT, and from that date in
terest has been steadily increasing in
the breeding of Morgans.
The Vermont Morgans have always
held first place in the affections of
breeders of this strain and some of the
purest bred specimens to be found in
this country are Vermont bred or trace
back to famous animals bred in the
Green Mountain State. Despite the
fame of the Kentucky bred saddle
horse in his native state the Morgan
has come to the front and one of the
largest breeders of Morgans lives in
the blue grass country. l.. l.. Dorsey
OF Anchorage, KY, is the owner OF a
string of Morgan horses that have as
their progeutor the famous Golddust,
son of Vermont Morgan. Frank Nc
Gavock of Nashville, Tenn, is another
southern breeder that has pinned his
faith to the Vermont bred Morgan
largely and some of the finest horses
that ever stood in his stables were
sired by Ben Franklin, son of the
world-renowned Daniel Lambert that
died at the Bread Loaf stock farm of
Col. Battell in Ripton, VT, June 20,
1889. G. NJ Larabee of Bellingham,
Wash, formerly of Home Park, Mont,
is one of the millionaire breeders that
have gone into breeding Morgans. Mr..
Larrabee's sires are practically all di-
rect descendants of Vermont animals.
The Morgan horse company of Carpen-
tersville, ILL.,, is an association of breed
ers that is making strenuous efforts to
put the Morgan to the front in that part
of the country. Many of their sires
are Vermont bred animals. Joseph c.
Brunk of Rochester, ILL.,, is probably
one of the most enthusiastic breeders of
Morgans in this country. He has car
load of fancy bred animals at the state
fair at White River Junction. Mr..
Brunk is being mentioned as possible
candidate for the presidency for the
proposed breeders club if such an or
ganization shall be formed.
That stimulus has been given the
Morgan horse breeding industry is evil
dent throughout the country. 1t is
extremely hard to buy well-bred Nor
gan colt or filly for less than 5000 while
sucking colts beside fancy-bred mares
command prices that 10 or IL years ago
would have been considered exorbitant
Unbroken two and three-year-olds have
been sold within the past five years as
high as 5000. While these prices are
not high as compared with the prices
paid for speed-bred animals they are
considered top-noch-fgures by the
farmer breeders in Vermont. Though
Addison County has come to be look ed
on as the home of the Morgans in Yer
mont, it can hardly be claimed to be so
as some of the best specimens of the
old-time type of small, wiry Morgans
are being bred in Caledonia county.
Franklin county is producing specimens
of heavy Morgan while Rutland and
Orange counties have many fancy-bred
specimens. Since the exhibit of Yer
mont Morgans made at the worlds fair
at Chicago in 1893 Vermont has carried
off the honors at all of the great ex-
positions. At st. Louis a year-old
stallion captured the sweepstakes and
was sold. as he was being led back to