13 



somewhat misleading term of "heavy-harness horses." This does 

 not mean a draft horse, as many think, but may be roughly defined 

 as a horse which wears the heavy harness used in drawing a gig, 

 phaeton, victoria, or similar vehicle, as distinguished from the light 

 harness with breast strap collar used in drawing a road wagon. The 

 type is a horse of stylish carriage, good length of neck, sloping 

 shoulders, high withers, short, close-coupled back, full hips and 

 quarters, high set, smartly carried tail, and round, compact con- 

 formation, with an abundance of quality and finish and as much 

 natural action, endurance, and speed as possible; the action at the 

 walk should be rapid, straight, and true, and nothing but pure 

 trotting action should be tolerated, without the least tendency to 

 pace. The Morgan should not under any circumstances be made a 

 race horse; that experiment was tried once, and should now be con- 

 sidered an almost disastrous failure and the incident closed ; but the 

 endurance of the Morgan and his ability to stand driving for long 

 distances at a smart pace are highly desirable qualities and should 

 be preserved. It is doubtful if the Morgan will ever be a producer of 

 brougham horses, except by crossing. 



BREEDING METHODS. 



The methods of breeding used to bring about the regeneration of 

 the Morgan type will need to be very carefully followed with regard 

 to an increase of size. In the Department's work at the Morgan 

 Horse Farm, Middlebury, Vt., the brood mares average 15.0J hands 

 in height and 1,050 pounds in weight. General Gates, the leading 

 stallion, stands 14. 2 a hands and weighs 1,000 pounds in breeding 

 condition; his 4-year-old son, Red Oak, out of a large mare of excellent 

 Morgan breeding, stands 15.0} hands and weighs 1,000 pounds. 



At this time it would appear safest to advise the selection of 

 horses of Morgan breeding which show the closest conformity to the 

 type, and to rely on selection to increase the size. The Department 

 has tried the experiment of crossing General Gates on mares of Ken- 

 tucky breeding whose dams were strong in Morgan blood. Thus far 

 the results have been highly satisfactory, but the experiment has not 

 progressed far enough to enable us to advise breeders to make such 

 crosses. As a rule, the average breeder can not afford to experiment 

 with out-crosses. 



Blood lines must mean type-producing lines. The safest standard 

 for a breeder to adopt is to confine his operations as far as possible 

 to Morgan blood lines, rigidly eliminating every animal which is 

 not of Morgan type, or which is unsound, or shows the slurhtrst 



a Erroneously reported as 15 hands in Twenty-fourth Annual Report, Bureau of 

 Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 [Cir. 1C3] 



