432 



NEW ENGL.4ND F^UllMER. 



Sept. 



For the yew England Farmer, 

 THE HORSE AT AQ'L FAIRS. 



MES.-iRs. EoiTOHS : — I have read with inter- 

 est the portion of the essay of John M. Smith, 

 Esq., of Snnderhind, Mass., copied in your 

 issue of July 18th, upon Horse Racing at 

 Fairs. The subject of the essay, "YVte Man- 

 agement of AfiricvUural Fairs,'''' is a fruitful 

 one, and I hope to meet with the work in due 

 time. 



I also wish to be allowed to express a doubt 

 as to the propriety of acceptintr in full the 

 inference to be drawn from the quotations re- 

 ferred to. That trials of speed are liable, and 

 often do, take too prominent a place in the 

 exhibitions of agricultural societies, admits of 

 no doubt, and their regulation retjuires more 

 judgment and care on the part of the mana- 

 gers of such societies than any other part of 

 the exhibition. Yet I am unwilling to believe 

 that it is best to lay aside these trials because 

 they are sometimes badly managed. 



Let the breeder of horses answer the follow- 

 ing question?; in his own mind. 



Will a fast, well trained horse bring a bet- 

 ter price in the market than one trained and 

 capable of only ordinary speed ? 



What diiference is there in the market value 

 of two finely formed horses of equally good 

 blood and physical qualifications, — one of good 

 fiiir gait, and the other capable of great speed ? 



I think there is no question about the mar- 

 ket value of speed, other qualifications being 

 equal. If the faster trained horse brings the 

 hij^hest price in the market, why is it not for 

 the breeder'' s or trainer's interest to show to 

 the public these characteristics, especially in 

 the representative horses of a breed, just as it is 

 for the interest of the sheep breeder to exhibit 

 his Spanish or French Merino, South Down or 

 Shropshire Down, because the wool or the 

 mutton of these breeds bring more than ill 

 bred sheep ? 



If the public are to be taxed to raise money 

 for a State to expend in the encouragement of 

 agriculture and agricultural shows, why should 

 not all interests be properly protected, — that 

 of the breeder of horses as well as of the 

 breeder of sheep or cattle ? 



Very few of the people who cry against 

 trials of speed at agricultural shows are aware 

 of the amount of money invested in horse 

 stock, which is benefited by good training and 

 the trials named. The trials of speed are just 

 as legitimate to show bottom, style of gait and 

 training, to perform in company, as trials of 

 draft are in respect to oxen or team horses, 

 or of horses at the plough or mowing machine. 



Were horses only wanted to trot on time, 

 and were their market value as great for that 

 purpose, then the suggestions to that end of 

 Mr. Sanford Howard, in the article referred 

 to, might be of weight. 



The same gentleman, (and I have the great- 

 est respect for his opinion,) says: "It must 



be evident that the offering of premiums for 

 mere speed, if it has any influence at all, tends 

 to the production of horses in which the more 

 useful properties are found in an inferior de- 

 gree." I grant that trials of speed tend to the 

 production of speed ; and when breeders are 

 foolish enough to sacrifice the other "useful 

 properties," it may injure such stock for the 

 road, the plough, or general use. But I must 

 differ from Mr. Howard's premises altogether. 

 There is no need of sacrificing any good qual- 

 ity to add speed and confidence in the noble 

 animal, which he takes on, in these trials, as 

 much as the school boy does in a laudable emu- 

 lation to excel in his studies by public awards 

 and exhibitions. I should be sorry to mislead 

 any reader, but twenty-five years' of experi- 

 ence in breeding and observation, in which I 

 have endeavored to produce the best animals 

 possible, — combining all the characterit.tics de- 

 sirable for the gentleman's horses, leaves me 

 confident that speed can safely be added with- 

 out injuring the other valuable qualifications. 

 1 am fully aware that, to a large class, the fine 

 bay, sixteen-hands carriage-horse is the "sine 

 qua non." To the farmer, the horse of all work, 

 — strong and substantial, — is requisite. By the 

 drayman, the horse that approaches the Clydes- 

 dale, Percheron or Norman horse, is chosen. 

 Yet, for all this, high speed, especially if 

 good size and color is added, brings altogether 

 the highest price in market, and suits another 

 class. If, then, speed is demanded, why not 

 train it, show it, encourage it ? 



Again, Mr. Howard writes: "The green 

 horse of the rural districts, unaccustomed to 

 the strange sights and sounds of such occasions, 

 cannot act naturally, and stands no chance 

 with the trained nags of perhaps lower speed." 

 Then why not train them and accustom them 

 to such "sights and sounds" as they will be 

 obliged to meet all their lives about the cities, 

 where they are most likely to be placed ? If 

 a horse is green, let him be placed among his 

 class of green horses, which are of little value 

 uqtil they are trained. 



And this brings me to a point which is just 

 what I desire the reader to consider. Twenty 

 years ago, in the State of Maine, the money 

 to be made in the sale of horses or in rearing 

 them, was small in comparison to what is real- 

 ized at the present time. The reason is obvi- 

 ous. Our best animals, of the incomparable 

 old Messenger stock, went to Boston and New 

 York, where their speed was developed, and 

 where they were sold for five times the amount 

 they brought here. Now, thanks to agricul- 

 tural societies, any farmer has the privilege of 

 showing his horse and causing him to be trained 

 in the company of others, and to get in his 

 own hands an approximate value of his animal, 

 instead of giving it to outsiders, who will train 

 him to speed. 



Again, Mr. Howard writes : "Most persons 

 who have witnessed such contests must have 

 proof that the race is not always to the swift." 



I 



