THE MORGAN HORSE. 89 



helter-skelter, pell-mell, winning with a sudden dash, the 

 result, rather of strength, than skill. Now, in all this there is 

 lio exercise of deliberation, or of that self-poise which a thor- 

 oughly good business-horse requires. And yet it is what the 

 English thoroughbred horse has inherited ; in addition, good 

 looks and good color and a good coat, the three prominent 

 points upon which his advocates dwell most eloquently. 



Now, let us examine the horse which we possess in this 

 country. Where did we get him ? Mr. Murray has told you 

 where. That American horse, for instance, known as "Justin 

 Morgan," was the ancestor of one of the finest families of 

 horses ever known in the world. He transmitted his own 

 qualities, which mixed well with the dam's, and created a 

 family of horses, native to the State of Vermont, which was 

 almost unequalled. I do not know as I should like one to- 

 day, as their speed was hardly up to modern requirements. 

 They could travel about eight or nine miles an hour, in a style 

 which cheered the driver and charmed the beholder. There 

 was a good deal of fine finish about this horse, and he was 

 really a good horse ; he had not speed enough ; he was a little 

 tied-up in his gait, had not quite knee action enough, did not 

 send himself as he ought to ; but still he was a good horse, 

 and in all matters of hard work almost unequalled. So 

 remarkable was he in this respect, that, when the proprietors 

 of the great stage route, running from Washington west, were 

 in search of teams of the best horses that could possibly be 

 found, they purchased them in Vermont of the Morgan family, 

 horses standing fifteen hands high, and weighing about a thou- 

 sand pounds apiece ; and those medium-sized Vermont horses 

 wore out more than ten times their number of the ordinary 

 long-legged, sixteen hand Pennsylvania horses that had been 

 used for years on that line. They were solid, compact, wiry, 

 short-legged, hardy little animals, did their work well, were 

 good for the stage-coach, good for all service in those early 

 years when our fathers required endurance, rather than speed. 

 But when you rise into a higher range of horses, and demand 

 more speed and propelling power, then you turn to another 

 family, the Messenger horse, not perfectly distinguished in 

 variety to-day, I grant, but a most untiring, invaluable and 

 swift-moving horse on the road. There has hardly been any 

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