THE HORSE ON NEW YORK STATE FARMS 



Dr. ]\I. Hamilton, Delhi, jST. Y. 



Veterinarian and Farmers' Institute Lecturer- 



^^gB^^ Since the clearing of the forests by our 



^^^mL> forefathers the horse has held a unique 



If '^'^k position on the farms of jSTew York State. 



The pioneer settler, often living long- 

 distances from markets, was obliged to 

 haul the products of the farm over long, 

 tedious journeys to exchange them for the 

 necessities of life. To him the horse held 

 second place only to the family circle. 

 The horse removed the stumps, tilled the 

 first acres of virgin soil, carried his children to school, his family 

 to church. ISTaturally the farm boy of today inherits a love and 

 admiration for the horse. His ambition to rear, feed, and intelli- 

 gently train one or more colts is a laudable one, developing self- 

 reliance, self-control and an interest in farm life. 



The requirements of the horse in the earlier days, when rail- 

 roads were few and the motorcycle, trolley and auto were unheard 

 of, were quite different from those of today. The horse in those 

 days offered about the only means of conveyance for the jSTew 

 York State farmer. Consequently, a horse of medium size, not so 

 large as to interfere seriously with his road work, yet large 

 enough to perform the ordinary farm labor, was considered the 

 ideal or general-purpose horse. The Morgan horse filled this 

 place admirably. 



STANDAEDBRED AND ROAD HORSES 



After the Civil "War, farmers of this state became very en- 

 thusiastic over the Standardbred trotting horse. Practically, just 

 one requirement was necessary to make a Standardbred stallion 

 idolized by a whole community, and that was speed. Xo matter 

 how inferior in size and conformation, no matter how sulky and 

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