DEVELOPING AN AMERICAN UTILITY 



HORSE. 



J. O. Williams, 

 Animal Husbandry Division. 



CONTENTS. 



Page, i Page. 



Development of American light horses 3 ] Stallions available for public service 7 



History and object of the horse-breeding ex- 

 periments 



Type of horse sought to be fixed 



Estabhshment of the United States-Wyo- 

 nung horse-breeding station 



Breeding records of foundation mares 14 



Breeding records of mares bred in the experi- 

 mental work ' 20 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN LIGHT HORSES. 



THE development of a breed of horses for utility purposes from 

 native bloodlines is a problem which has engaged the attention 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture since 1904, when the 

 cooperative horse-breeding experiment was inaugurated with the 

 Colorado Experiment Station at Fort Collins, Colo. Until this work 

 was begun no defmite effort had been made bv the Government, State 

 experiment stations, or individual breeders to incorporate in a specific 

 breed the splendid qualities of the native light horse, which included 

 uniformity of type, size, and action, that was so frequently found in 

 individual specimens. Many such horses were produced, it is true, 

 but the production of such truly great animals as Xala, Lord Bril- 

 liant, Carmon, Glorious Red Cloud, Eckersall, Glorious Bonnie, Lady 

 de Jarnette, Tattersall, and numerous other outstanding specimens, 

 was really by chance. 



America has been notable for the production of light horses of 

 exceptional merit, and the history of the American turf and show 

 ring glistens with the dazzling performances of the product of the 

 American breeder. Three distinct breeds have been evolved through 

 selection and adaptation to American ideals, namely, the Morgan, 

 the Standardbred, and the American Saddle Horse. In the develop- 

 ment of these breeds, however, the work of the breeder has become 

 more and more highly specialized, and the splendid t3'pe found in 



3 



