2O2 The American Thoroughbred 



current opinions of several other military gentlemen with whom I have conversed upon 

 this subject but who had not given it so much study as Major Kennedy has done. He 

 believes that the desert (reclaimed by irrigation, of course) is the proper place for gov- 

 ernment breeding farms, because the horses grown there have harder legs and feet, 

 as well as greater lung power, superinduced by the dry climate of the plains. There is 

 everything to be said in favor of the proposition and nothing to be said against it. 

 Moreover, many soldiers who have been mustered out of the service by the age limit, 

 might afterwards find good and worthy employment at these government farms as 

 grooms and hostlers. And now having stated the proposition on its merits, let us 

 take a glance across the Atlantic and see what they are doing in the land of the Czar 

 as well as in the empire of Hapsburg. For what follows here I am indebted to two 

 contributions to Mr. Allison's work on the "British Thoroughbred." One of these is 

 from the pen of Count Lehndorff, acknowledged to be the greatest authority on horse- 

 breeding in all Continental Europe ; and the other was written by Prince Dimitri Kon- 

 stantinovitch, who is now chairman of a Russian Board created for the express pur- 

 pose of breeding horses. 



Let us first look at Austro-Hungary. They had no great amount of racing in that 

 country until 1860, but they have been using thoroughbred stallions for breeding their 

 cavalry horses since 1785; and have reinforced their farms with English-bred sires 

 from time to time until every cavalry horse in the Austrian army contains from 50 to 70 

 per cent of thoroughbred blood. The Austrian government has thirty-seven stud farms 

 and over 1400 sire depots or "stations" as they are sometimes called. In these stud 

 farms they had, in 1899, 2199 stallions, of which ninety-six were thoroughbreds duly 

 registered and bred mostly in England and France. Carnage by Nordenfelt out of 

 Mersey (Carbine's dam) by Knowsley, was bred in Australia; and Fordham, by Fal- 

 setto out of Semper Vive, was foaled in America, these being the only two bred out- 

 side of Europe. In the past four years some thirty odd thoroughbred stallions have 

 been imported from France, while some of the older ones have died. 



The Hungarian government gives about $50,000 annually to the encouragement of 

 breeding, in the shape of racing prizes, about two-thirds of which amount is run for at 

 Budapest, while the rest is distributed at provincial meetings. Some of these meetings 

 are run near Lippiza, in the mountains of Karst; and the Lippizan horse is of a type 

 that is small, but hardy, and not to be surpassed for endurance. 



In 1900, according to Count Lehndorff, the Hungarian government had 2948 stal- 

 lions, of which 317 were registered thoroughbreds. These stallions covered 128,676 

 mares, for which the government had an income of 507,175 florins, equal to about 

 $250,000 of American money. The number of stations where stallions can be leased 

 by breeders on the stipulation that they shall not serve more than fifty mares in any one 

 season, had increased from 58 in 1863 to 177 in 1900. 



Breeding in Russia was done in a very half-hearted way till about 1857, when Count 

 Dashkoff was made president of the Imperial Horse-Breeding Board. His memory is 

 revered in his native land as that of the man who placed horse-breeding on a firm and 

 sound foundation. After his death the Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovitch was 

 appointed to succeed him, he being an uncle to the Czar. He realized that a first-class 

 thoroughbred stallion must be had at once, regardless of price; and with that end in 

 view he authorized Mr. Allison of the International Horse Exchange to purchase 

 Galtee More, the big Irish colt that won the "Triple Crown" of 1897, for 20,000 guineas, 

 equal to $100,000 of American money. Since then the Russian government has pur- 

 chased the French Derby winner, Clover ; and the English horses, Carlton, Magus. En- 

 duronce, Marshal Saxe, Bendigo and Shaddock, the latter being about the best-bred 

 one of the lot. 



