New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-05
HORSE BREEDING
IN RUSSIA MAKES
GREAT STRIDES
Orloff Wonderful Type
and Capable of Fast
Time on Track

No foreign country has made greater
strides in the science Of horse breeding
than Russia in the last quarter Of GEN.
fury. She has been a buyer of the fast
est trotting sires we have produced,
while England and France have sup
piled the best representatives Of the
thoroughbred family. {. X. G. Billings
was offered 100000 for The Harvester,
2:0l. when that great horse wore the
stallion crown, and a like sum was
offered W. Z. d. Stokes for Peter the
Great, 2:07h, and two of his sons.
Frank Cation. trainer and driver OF
trotting horses, with an international
reputation, has Just returned from Rus
STA, after an absence of twenty-three
years, eighteen Of which he spent in
the employ Of Count Varnstoff Dash
kofr. Vice-Vizier of the Cossacks, and
for whom he won as much as 266,OOO
rubles in a single season. When the
count died Mr.. Cation returned TO the
United States. He is an encyclopaedia
on conditions connected with horse
breeding and racing in the land Of the
Gar.
In his opinion much of the progress
is due to the fact that 20 per cent OF
all prize money goes TO the breeder OF
the winner, and he is particularly en-
thusiastic over the development of the
standard bred Orlof.
All Types in Army
"They use all types of native horses
in the army" said the veteran re
Gently, at Lexington. KY, from the
stoutly built Cossack, which stands
about 1872 hands and is a marvel oil
his kind, up TO the horse OF pure
blood. The Cossacks are bred in the
mountains and is Injured to hardships'
They are fitting companions for the
men who ride them. They can stop
in twice their own length and drop
at the word of command. No wonder
they are making history in the present
war.
1.-TWO kinds of Orloffs are bred. the
old-fashioned and the modern, which
is a blending of our American and the
Orloff types. Army remounts as rule
come from a union of the mates OF
this family with mares which possess
a lot of thoroughbred blood, but some
experts are crossing English thorough
breds on the native mares, and they
are getting animals of great power,
endurance and courage.
Each family, of course, has its own
following, and the imperial govern.
ment in order to determine which OF
the types would stand up best under
a test had planned a race from Moscow
to Petrograd. The distance is 4O6 miles
and the road is hard macadam. Each
team of six horses was to pull gun
carriage with full equipment, which
included riders for the wheel team.
War Stopped Race
"They were to race all the way, and
it was TO have been my privilege to
have charge Of the Metise or American
Orlofr teams. The other teams. the
pure bred Orloff and the thoroughbreds'
were in competent hands and we were
in hard training when the war broke
out.
I'VE had one test. however" con-
tinued Mr.. Cation, (Which was conclu-
sive and gave the thoroughbred family
great prestige. A horse of that type,
weighing about 1900 pounds, beat
Percheron, Orloff and everything else
in drawing competition. Two ordl-
nary horses couldn't start his load.
After the war no doubt the road test
will be undertaken. as the Russians
are very thorough in what they under
take in the way of experiments.
"The native Orloff is wonderful
type. There are few of them that II
trained our way could not trot in 2:3O.
The evolution of the breed should con
vey a lesson to the United States. IL
has taken since the time of Peter the
Great to bring the type to perfection.
The pure bred ones are black or gray
in color, but when crossed with the
American trotter or thoroughbred bays
are occasionally seen. None of tbs
males is oastrated and they are raced
till twelve years of age, the limit for
30,