Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1913-01-09
X + 4
Effect Of Soil on
Horses.
BY DR.. L. VAN Es, Veterina.
rian, North Dakota Agricui-
turaI College.
+++f-+5 j. f.

upon stock breeding Op-
erations is not always considered by
the average man, though it's effect is
we'll known. The Northwest is cap
able of growing the best of horses,
as Its averge soil and climate are ia
yorable. The following, by an Eng
lish horseman, will be found worthy
OF reading and consideration:
There is no point which is of more
vital Importance to success in breed
Ing horses than that the land on
which they are reared should be of
q suitable character for the purpose.
This, in fact, constitutes the chief
fundamental requirement in horse
breeding, as all experienced breeders
will agree. The nature of the soil
plays a great part in molding the type
OF horses, their size, the development
OF their bone, and their general con-
formation are all very largely inlu-
enced by this factor. And not only
does it have a bearing on their out
ward type, but their whole inward
Quality-their constitution, the quail
tty of texture of bone, toughness or
otherwise of sinews, etc.-are also af-
fected by it to a material extent.
"The requirements of horses as re-
CARDS the nature of the soil vary &C.
cording to their breed. A soil which
is suitable for one class of horse may
be quite unsuitable for another. When
the conditions of soil are not congen-
1a1 to its particular nature, a breed
cannot flourish, and sooner or later
loses its type or actually degenerates.
For this reason, horse breeds do not
bear being Unfortunately trans
planted from one kind of soil to an
other. Yet the mistake is commonly
made of attempting to breed a partic-
ular class of horses on land totally
unsuited to it's character.
For instance, heavy and massive
Shire horses a be raised only on
rich and fertile land of a heavy char
acter where the grazing is of the best,
as we'll as very abundant. Such
horses cannot be bred on lightish
soils, because the grazing on these
lacks the elements which are .neces-
sary for the production of this type.
Transplanted onto light land, Shire
stock quickly deteriorate in size and
weight, and the true type, with its
massive proportions and powerful
build, is gradually lost. Cart horses
bred on this kind of soil are always
on the small side and of a lightish
stamp. Their weight and size in fact
bear a direct and close relationship
to the richness and fertility of the
soil. The richer the latter is, the
more does it promote the develop
ment of these characteristics. The
heaviest and biggest Shire draft
horses are bred in the low lying
marshy and rich lands of the Fen
country in Lincolnshire and Cam
b~ridgeshire, which kind Of soil favors
the production of extreme weight and
a huge framework to a greater extent
than any other kind.
Really tough, hard wearing and
stoutly constitutional light horses
with strong legs, steely tendons and
good feet, can be bred only on up
lying pasture lands.
"In no other direction does the ma
ture of the soil exert a greater de-
gree of influence on the horse bred
on 1t than it does in regard to the
size and quality of the bone, and also
the quality of the structure intimately
connected with the bone-namely,
tendons, sinews and ligaments. The
principal ingredients which go to
build up the bones are lime and phos-
pilates; hence, where the soil is de-
ficient in these important constituents
the feed it produces does not contain
material to assure a full develop
ment of the bones in young horses,
and under these unfavorable condi-
tons they naturally remain light
boned and weedy. 1t is impossible to
breed big boned horse stock on such
land.
1.-THE quality of the bone also varies
on different kinds of soil. Some soils
tend to produce dense, tough and
finely textured bone, more or less
ivorylike in it's substance; while on
| others the tendency is for the bone
to be of an inferior character, porous,
soft and of a coarse texture, although
it may at the same time be abund-
antly developed. Quantity and quail
ity of bone, in fact, by no means al
ways go hand in hand. The quality
of the tendons and ligaments is in all
cases most closely associated with
that of the bone. When the latter is
finty, fiat, and ivorylike, the former
structures are of an equally good
quality, and possess %toughness and
strength, so that they are found to
wear we'll. And, similarly, when the
bone is poor in quality, coarse, and
with a tendency t %roundness, instead
of being nice and fiat, the sinews are
also inferior, and do not stand wear
we'll, being neither strong nor tough.
"Of the various kinds Of soils, no
other is SO favorable to the develop
ment of big bone-and that of the
very best quality-as a good lime
stone soil. This is admittedly the
most suitable for the breeding Of good
horses, and especially of light horse
stock Of a tough and hard wearing
sort. Our stoutest and best horses
are bred on land of limestone forma.