HORSES AND MULES 



291 



The Morgan horse is essentially a trot- 

 ter of small size, but active and speedy. 

 Fifty years ago they were much more in 

 favor than at present, and were widely 

 known from Maine to Iowa. About 

 8,000 Morgans have been registered, of 

 which 6,000 are still living. The original 

 blood has been somewhat displaced by 

 Hambletonian stock. 



The Hackney originated in northeast- 

 ern England more than 100 years ago 

 by the careful selection of carriage mares 

 and the use of Thoroughbred sires. The 

 breed was first called Norfolk trotters or 

 cobs. The action of the Hackney is 

 very high and showy, the leg and feet 



New York, to satisfy a fad among fash- 

 ionable society. 



Even in the special field of the Hack- 

 ney, however, this horse has been beaten 

 by American Trotters, which had been 

 trained in the artificial gait of the 

 Hackney. Notwithstanding the defects 

 of the typical Hackney, stallions of this 

 breed have been used with some success 

 in producing a general purpose farm 

 horse, by crossing with native mares. 

 In Wyoming and elsewhere in the range 

 country, Hackney stallions are bred to 

 range mares for the production of saddle 

 and driving horses. About 2,300 Hack- 

 neys have been registered in the United 



Fig. 203 TOM NODDY, IMPORTED HACKNEY GELDING 



somewhat larger than trotters, the gen- 

 eral form rounder and less angular, back 

 short and stout, height 14.2 to 15.3 

 hands, hindquarters rounded, shoulders 

 sloping, color chestnut or brown or bay. 

 The knee action is very high and the 

 hind legs are always kept under the 

 body. Bellfounder, imported from Eng- 

 land to Boston in 1822, and a Hackney, 

 was the sire of the Charles Kent mare 

 which was the dam of Rysdyks' Hamble- 

 tonian. The Hackney is essentially a 

 heavy harness horse. He is too small for 

 the farmer and too slow for racing. His 

 endurance is also not great. He is 

 merely a park horse and high stepper. 

 Hackneys are bred extensively in Can- 

 ada and in recent years many have been 

 imported into this country, especially in 



States and of this number, 2,000 are 

 living. (For secretary, see appendix.) 



The French coach horse was at first 

 called Demi-Sang on account of the fact 

 that it was originated by crossing the 

 English Thoroughbred on native French 

 mares, the latter carrying considerable 

 oriental blood. Toward the end of the 

 eighteenth century the French govern- 

 ment undertook this work in order to ob- 

 tain better cavalry remounts. After the 

 type was fairly well established, breed- 

 ing was continued in the government 

 studs and by farmers, under government 

 supervision. Thoroughbred stallions are 

 still used occasionally, so that some 

 French coachers may be half-breeds. The 

 French government began this work in 



