VOL.  LI.  No  2206. 
NEW  YORK,  MAY  7,  1892. 
PRICE,  FIVE  CENTS. 
Sa.oo  PER  YEAR. 
The  New  York  Horse  Market. 
THE  HORSES  THAT  SELL  WELL. 
Good  draft  horses  wanted ;  well-bred  horses  are  long- 
lived  ;  hard  feet  wanted ;  good  demand  for  coachers 
and  Cobs  ;  the  street-car  horse  doomed  ;  baled  manure 
given  away  ;  road  horses  must  be  well  broken  ;  food 
for  car  horses. 
What  horses  to  breed  for  the  New  York  market  is  a 
matter  of  interest  to  all  engaged  in  the  business.  As 
a  general  rule,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  best  of  any 
breed  are  the  most  profitable,  bringing  not  only  bet¬ 
ter  prices,  but  better  in  proportion  to  the  expense  in¬ 
curred  in  their  rearing.  A  representative  of  The  R. 
N.-Y.  recently  interviewed  Van  Tassell  &  Kearney, 
horse-dealers  of  this  city,  owning  probably  the  largest 
establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  Mr.  C.  E. 
Lafetra,  of  the  establish- 
m  e  n’t ,  courteously  an¬ 
swered  queries  about  the 
business. 
“What  have  you  to  say 
about  the  trade  generally 
at  the  present  time  ?  ”  said 
The  Rural. 
“  Tt  is  in  a  very  healthy 
condition,  the  demand  is 
very  good,  especially  for 
desirable  stock.” 
‘ ‘  How  about  the  demand 
for  draft  horses  ?  ” 
“The  market  is  very 
well  supplied,  fully 
enough  to  answer  all  de¬ 
mands.” 
“  What  kinds  sell  best?” 
“  I  do  not  think  there  is 
any  special  difference. 
Norman  Percherons, 
Clydes,  and  Shire  horses 
all  sell  well.” 
“  How  about  grade  draft 
horses  ?  ” 
“  Good  grades  sell  well, 
often  going  as  high  as 
pure  bloods.  Of  course, 
they  must  be  good  speci¬ 
mens  to  do  this.” 
“Where  do  your  best 
draft  horses  come  from  ?  ” 
“Many  of  them  have 
come  from  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio.  Illinois  and 
other  Western  States  have 
furnished  a  good  many, 
but,  as  a  rule,  I  think 
those  reared  East  have  bet¬ 
ter  feet.” 
“What  are  a  good  pair 
of  draft  horses  worth  in  the  market  to-day  ?” 
“  A  well  matched  and_  well  broken  team  will  sell  at 
from  $600  to  $800,  and  grades  do  almost,  if  not  quite  as 
well.  Just  now,  there  is  a  better  demand  for  horses 
of  medium  weight  suitable  for  general  work,  than  for 
the  heavier  kinds.” 
‘  ‘  How  about  coach  horses  ?” 
“  There  is  always  a  good  demand  for  them,  and  to¬ 
day  it  is  better  than  ever.  Of  course,  this  demand  is 
for  fine,  stylish  animals.  It  is  no  use  to  send  coach 
horses  here  that  lack  style,  the  owners  would  do  better 
to  keep  them  on  the  farm.  The  Cob  is  a  great  favorite 
in  the  market  to-day.  They  should  be  from  15.2  to  16 
hands  in  height  and  weigh  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds. 
They  are  high  steppers,  very  stylish  and  sell  very 
readily.  The  demand  for  them,  at  the  present  time, 
far  exceeds  the  supply.  ” 
“  What  sort  of  horses  do  the  street  car  companies 
buy  ?” 
“  Horses  of  medium  weight  and  size.  They  do  not 
desire  draft  horses,  or  even  grades,  unless  they  have 
a  quarter  or  less  draft  horse  blood.  They  complain 
that  their  feet  give  out  in  their  business.” 
“  How  long  will  a  team  of  draft  horses  wear  in  ordi¬ 
nary  dray  work  in  the  city  ?  ” 
“  It  would  be  hard  to  tell.  I  think  it  safe  to  say 
that  with  ordinary  good  care,  they  will  last  for  20 
years.  Indeed,  they  seldom  die  of  old  age,  seeming  to 
work  on  and  on,  until  accident  or  some  acute  disease 
terminates  their  career.” 
“  Will  the  introduction  of  the  cable  car  methods 
interfere  with  the  horse  trade  ?” 
“  Necessarily  it  must.  It  will  not  be  many  months 
before  7,000  horses  now  used  for  surface  roads  will  be 
Shire  Stallion  Rantin  Davy.  6208,  3878.  Owned  by  Powell  Pros.  Fig.  144. 
for  sale,  the  companies  having  no  further  use  for  them. 
These  surface  roads  have  used  up  more  horse  flesh 
than  all  others.  A  horse  lasts  only  three  or  four  years 
on  them,  so  you  can  easily  see  what  a  vast  demand 
they  create.  But  horse  power  for  street  cars  is  prac¬ 
tically  doomed  and  will  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past  in 
this  city.” 
“  How  about  ponies — Shetlands,  Welch,  etc.?” 
“  There  is  an  excellent  demand  for  them,  especially 
at  this  season  of  the  year.  Ponies  sell  well.” 
A  stroll  through  this  immense  establishment  will 
repay  any  one  interested  in  horses,  etc.  Five  immense 
stories  are  filled  with  carriages  of  all  kiuds,  both  new 
and  second-hand,  of  all  makes  and  at  all  prices.  The 
horses  are  stabled  mainly  in  the  basement,  the  stalls 
being  commodious,  well  ventilated  and  comfortable. 
From  two  to  three  hundred  horses  are  constantly  on 
hand,  and  there  are  auction  sales  every  Tuesday  and 
Friday. 
“Here  is  something  which  may  interest  you,”  said 
Mr.  Lafetra,  leading  to  a  room  at  the  end  of  the 
stables,  and  directly  under  the  side-walk.  It  was  a 
press,  modelled  after  a  hay  press,  in  which  their  stable 
manure  is  pressed  and  baled.  The  bales  were  about 
the  size  of  a  small  bale  of  hay. 
“  How  much  do  they  weigh  ?  ” 
“  About  400  pounds  each.” 
“  Why  do  you  bale  your  manure  ?” 
“  The  Board  of  Health  insists  on  our  doing  it.” 
“  What  do  you  do  with  it  ?  ” 
“  We  give  it  away,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  it  promptly. 
The  party  who  takes  it  must  remove  it  every  day, 
summer  and  winter — rain  or  shine.  We  make  about 
17  bales  a  day,  and  about  25  on  Saturday. 
At  Tatters  alls. — From 
this  place  The  R.  N.-Y. 
representative  went  to 
“  Tattersalls,”  at  1,120 
Broadway.  To  the  head 
salesman,  he  said,  “What 
horses  are  just  now  in  the 
greatest  demand  ?  ” 
‘  ‘  Cobs  and  carriage 
horses,”  was  the  reply. 
“  The  demand  for  fine  car¬ 
riage  horses  exceeds  the 
supply.  Bay,  brown  and 
chestnut  are  the  most  de- 
sh'able  colors.  In  this  line, 
the  demand  for  Cobs  is 
especially  active.  They 
should  be  from  15.1  to  15.2 
hands  high.  Good  speci¬ 
mens  of  these  sell  at  once 
and  they  bring  corre¬ 
spondingly  better  prices.” 
‘  ‘  How  is  the  trade  in 
draft  horses  ?  ” 
“We  do  not  handle 
them.” 
“  Is  the  demand  for  road 
horses  good  ?” 
“  Very  good.  One  trouble 
with  these  is  the  fact  that 
so  many  are  badly  broken. 
A  lady  wants  a  driving 
horse— one  is  found  whose 
appearance  and  gait  suit 
her,  but  when  she  tries 
him,  she  finds  he  is  badly 
broken  and  the  sale  is  off. 
Horse  growers  should  pay 
more  attention  to  this 
phase  of  their  business. 
There  is  but  a  small  de¬ 
mand  for  saddle  horses — 
a  few  well  broken  ones  only  are  wanted. 
Street  Car  Horses. — On  my  way  back  I  dropped 
into  the  stables  of  the  Fourth  Avenue  line  at  32d 
Street.  From  the  Superintendent,  Mr.  Keep,  I  learned 
that  they  do  not  like  draft  horses  for  their  work — 
they  are  too  flat-footed  and  do  not  wear  well.  On 
their  line  horses  last  four  or  five  years.  Their  feed  is 
a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  corn  and  oats,  of  which 
they  receive  15  pounds  per  day  to  which  are  added  one 
pound  of  middlings  and  10  pounds  of  hay,  the  whole 
being  divided  into  three  feeds.  Wheat  bran  is  used 
only  when  the  horses  are  on  the  sick  list.  The  stables 
are  commodious  and  well  ventilated,  and  the  horses 
receive  the  best  of  care.  The  manure  is  steadily  re¬ 
moved  to  the  loading  point  and  never  allowed  to  accu¬ 
mulate.  Despite  the  wearing  character  of  the  labor 
required  of  them,  the  horses  are  in  good  condition, 
