The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-02-19
Fair Association Calls Meeting
of HorSemen

The Burlington County Fair Asso
citation extends an invitation. to al
owners and trainers of race horses il
burlington county to be present at
meeting of the directors of the AsSo
citation to be held Saturday, February
%, at one O'Clock, in the office of thu
Association, III Main street, Noun
Holly.
At that time a program of stake:
and races for the Mount Holly Fail
will be arranged, and the Association
would like to have the suggestions
that the horsemen should be able tc
give for the mutual benefit of both
parties. 1t is felt that something
should be done to stimulate the breed
ing of horses and to give the small
breeders and the local horse owners
an opportunity to race their horses at
the county fair without competing
with the professional drivers and own,
ers from other states.
There are many colts on the farms
that have never been trained, that
could trot or pace miles in 2.30 with
very short preparation, but are not
trained or given an opportunity be-
cause classes are not made for them.
1t is proposed to offer a purse for
horses of this type with all profession
al or seasoned horses excluded.
At the present time the horses elig-
lble to the 2.30 class step better than
2.2O in almost every race and the small
breeder does not feel that he can af-
ford to spend money on a green colt
when he knows that he must be very
fast to win any money at the Fair.
The Association would like to offer
a class for horses that have never been
trained and exclude all horses that
have ever been mile better than 2.30.
In that way the colt should have a
chance. Many of these colts would
show enough speed in these races to
warrant their sale or more extensive
preparation the following season, and
the owner would be given some en-
enlargement to raise one or more colts
each year.
The shortage of horses is becoming
a very serious question in this coun-
try and if the war continues for any
length of time the country will be
drained of all surplus horses and it
will take several years to replace
them.
The Government will need many
horses for the army and the trotter or
the trotting-horse cross seems to be
the most suitable type for army use;
in fact, they are the only breed of
horses that are suitable and can be
found in large enough quantity to be
used by the Government.
Very few people realize how vital
the horse is to the success of the army.
At the present time there are 100000
horses being used by our Allies. Of
this number England has furnished
about 100000 and the United States
100000.
The last census of horses shows
that there are less than 22000,000
horses of all kinds in the United
States. Many of these are not of a
suitable type or not fit for army use,
and when it is considered that the
average life of a horse on the war
front is about five days it is very easy
to figure just how long our supply will
last.
The Allies realize this shortage and
are building immense hospitals to care
for the wounded horses. When these
structures are completed they will be
able to care for 12,500 horses at one
time. Many Of these horses are only
slightly injured and with proper care
are able to return to their work at the
front. Over $4,000 of these cases
have been treated by the Red Star
Society, which, although not as well
known, is doing the same work for the
horses that the Red Cross Society is
doing for the men.
The Fair Association wants to do
all that it can to assist the Govern
ment in these trying times and one of
the things that horsemen should be
able to do is to increase the breeding
of horses by the farmer and the small
breeder.