14 ELEMENTS OF HIPFOLOaY. 



"It will be readily seen that when the attempt is made to 

 launch a breed and establish a record of genealogy, or pedigree, 

 for the various animals selected for such record, the first pedi- 

 grees must be based on unpublished records. Not infrequently 

 some of the foundation stock is recorded simply by name, and 

 nothing is said of ancestors, because nothing is known of them."* 



From the above definition, the term "breed" can hardly be 

 applied to the trotter, because the search has been more for 

 speedy individuals than for a class of horses possessing special 

 qualities. Until recently, pedigrees have been very loosely kept. 

 The Kentucky saddle-horse, although his breeding has been con- 

 temporary with that of the trotter, forms now a distinct breed, 

 whose individuals possess the power of transmitting their dis- 

 tinctive traits with reasonable certainty. 



The Morgan family of horses is, in this sense, not a breed. 

 It includes the descendants of Justin Morgan, a horse foaled in 

 1789, three-quarters thoroughbred, and of such remarkable vir- 

 ility that his descendants to this day still bear unmistakably 

 many of the qualities that made their great progenitor famous. 



The rules of admission to the Morgan Horse and Register 

 are these: 



" 1. Any meritorious stallion, mare, or gelding that traces in 

 direct line to Justin Morgan and has at least one-sixty-fourth of his 

 blood; provided the sire, and dam were bred in approved speed or 

 roadster lines. 



" 2. Any meritorious stallion, mare, or gelding having one- 

 thirty-seoond or more of the blood of Justin Morgan; provided the 

 sire and dam were bred in approved speed or roadster jines. 



"3. The produce of a sire and dam both registered in the 

 Morgan Registry." 



As a business-horse — a horse of all work — the Morgan horse 

 stands preeminent. No other stallion in the history of Western 

 horses possessed the power of perpetuating good qualities to the 

 the extent possessed by Justin Morgan. The distinguishing 



*From Chapter IV., "The Horse," Roberts (The Macmillan Compa- 

 ny), a most excellent and practical book, treating of the horse in his 

 every -day aspect. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



