VOL. LII. No. 2292. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 30. 1893. 
PRICE, THREE CENTS 
Si .00 PER YEAR. 
THE IDEAL HARNESS HORSE. 
IT’S A CROSS OF HACKNEY AND TROTTING MARE. 
The Home of Some Virginia Hackneys. 
Lying in the midst of the celebrated Bine grass 
county of Loudoun, Virginia, under the shadow of 
Sugar Loaf Mountain, rising 1,300 feet above the level 
of the sea, on a prominent knoll on the Leesburg 
“ pike,” stands the stately home of Henry Fairfax, 
who has one of the most successful studs of pure-bred 
and half-bred Hackneys in the United States. When 
Mr. Fairfax repurchased bis old homestead in 1885, he 
determined upon breeding horses; but, convinced that 
for the practical farmer there was little money in 
raising thoroughbreds, as had been done by his fore¬ 
fathers, he began to study the different breeds of 
horses that could be profitably raised, as well as the 
needs of the city markets. It was the work of many 
months to travel over this country and England in¬ 
specting the d.flferent breeds, as well as studying the 
market in the United States. He became convinced 
that the greatest demand now and for the future 
would be for first-class harness ani-|i 
mals, and equally convinced that! 
the Hackney, the old English utility 
horse, was the horse of all others to 
cross upon the native American 
mares to secure the ideal animal 
sought. 
The Hackney in England has been 
bred 200 or more years to be the all¬ 
round, useful horse of the farmer. 
He is the horse that would be used 
in the plow or harrow during the 
morning, and then, hitched up to the 
English gig or market wagon, able 
to go to town at a clinking good 
pace ; a horse that knows no such 
word as tire; can road 10 to 14 
miles an hour in all sorts of weather 
and over any sort of highway. In 
other words, the Hackney has been 
used as the work horse where the 
hunter and thoroughbred have been 
tended and cared for as too valuable 
for such work. The English farmer 
has a liking for a speedy bit of horse 
flesh as well as a beautiful bit. 
While the Englishman likes speed, 
he prefers a horse that can go all 
day and return the same distance 
the next day, rather than one who 
can go a few miles at a 2:20 gait. 
The levelheadedness and kindness of the Hackney 
have won an enviable position for him all over the 
world to-day. 
Oak Hill, as the home of Mr. Fairfax is called, from 
the magnificent oaks in the beautiful lawn in the 
velvety Blue grass turf surrounding the house, was 
built by President Monroe, and is an ideal Southern 
home. The barns have been, many of them, turned 
from cow barns into box stalls for the use of the 
brood mares and colts. There are, to-day, over 200 
head of horses on the farm, and they are as carefully 
cared for as any crop that a farmer can raise. Mr. 
Fairfax is a practical farmer, ^nd one who carefully 
watches every detail of the business. Nothing is done 
without his sanction, and his hand is seen all over 
the farm. 
Why Do the Hackneys Excel ? 
When Mr. Fairfax had determined upon the Hackney 
as the proper animal to get harness horses, he re¬ 
peated his trip to England, and after many months of 
study with the aid of experts he chose Matchless of 
Londesboro, 18 (1517) by the great Danegelt, who was 
recently purchased by Sir Walter Gilbey for $25,000. 
Matchless is a chestnut horse, foa’ed in 1884, 15 3 
hands high, and out of 403 Lady Lyons, by Lord Lyons, 
419. 463 Lady Lyons is the premier brood mare of the 
celebrated Brookfield stud. Every colt she has ever 
foaled has been a wonder, and she stands to-day as 
the Hackney dam par excellence. The Hackney action 
is somewhat different from that to which the ordinary 
farmers in this country have been accustomed. There 
is an easy, frictionless, springy motion in the picking 
up and putting down of the feet Many have con¬ 
demned this action as wearing, but it does not merit 
the least condemnation. The short coupling and per¬ 
fect balance of the Hackney horse enables him to 
keep his feet under him at all times ; in other words, 
if he slips with one of his forefeet, the hock has been 
placed so far forward that the centre of gravity is 
maintained, and where any ordinary, loose-jointed 
animal would be liable to a bad sprain, the Hackney 
picks himself up and goes on without the slightest 
hindrance to his even action. 
The farmers in Loudoun County, who had been used 
for years to thoroughbred blo^d, at first refused to 
use Matchless, as they claimed he was “ string-halt in 
all four legs.” I am ashamed to say that in the South, 
especially, some of the farmers are not only pig¬ 
headed, but it is absolutely impossible to change their 
opinions when once formed upon the dictum of some 
one man to whom they look up to. Mr. Fairfax re¬ 
alized that in order to show the merit, which he 
claimed for Matchless, he must produce the ideal colts 
talked about and in order to do this he began crossing 
him upon the native mares, and the result of one such 
cross, that is by Matchless out of a Harold Mambrino 
mare, is Lord Loudoun, the subject of our illustration 
(Fig. 275). Lord Loudoun is considered by every horse¬ 
man who has ever seen him, to be, with the exception 
of his size, an ideal harness animal. His action is per¬ 
fect. He has beautiful style, dark chestnut color, and 
carries himself in that brave, frank way so noted in 
the Hackney horse, and so pleasant to those handling 
the reins. He lacks about one-half a hand of coming 
up to the required standard, being only 15.1 now that 
he is two years old, but that was the fault of an 
undersized dam. 
Mr. Fairfax brought with him to the recent Horse 
Show in New York five half-breds, two two-year-olds, 
one of which was Lord Loudoun, and three three- 
year-olds He captured blue ribbons in all of the 
classes in which he exhibited. One of the mares, 
Atlanta, a three-year-old, 10 hands, dark chestnut, 
went in the high-stepping road class, took the blue 
ribbon over 14 animals, the pick of the single drivers 
in New York and vicinity. Her action and manner in 
getting over the ground were a revelation to those 
who drive as well as to those who breed. One and all 
united in praising her and congratulating Mr. Fairfax 
upon at last securing a horse that was ideally fitted 
for harness purposes. 
A Talk About Breeding Hackneys. 
During a recent visit to Oak Hill, I asked Mr. Fair¬ 
fax his methods of breeding and raising horses. “ You 
can see,” said Mr. Fairfax, ,4 by looking over the farm, 
that my idea is, in the first place, to secure a good sire, 
Hackney blood, of course, and then to choose well- 
formed, large mares. I always feed my mares during 
the time they are carrying the foal. They are each 
given a large box stall, and while 
they are out at pasture all day in 
the spring, winter and fall, are 
taken in every night. I have a man 
who tends to the barn in which the 
brood mares are stabled and who 
has nothing else to do. He is not 
particularly expert in his line ; he 
is simply a farmer who has raised 
one or two colts every year, and 
brings to his work a love of the ani¬ 
mals that he is called upon to care 
for. 
“ It is impossible to secure a good 
foal unless you feed the mare. From 
the time of the birth of the foal 
until it is weaned, the mare not only 
has the best of pasture, but she also 
has crushed oats and bran. This is 
the most critical point of the foal’s 
life, and once stunted it is impossible 
afterwards to make it up no matter 
how much you feed. After the foal 
is weaned, it is turned out into the 
pasture lot with the other wean¬ 
lings, and they not only have Blue 
grass pasture and pure water, which 
I believe to be two of the greatest 
requisites toward making a fine 
horse, but they are also fed with 
oats and bran, so that they may have 
something from which to make their bone. I want all 
the colts on this place to have a fine quality of bone, 
and there is no better way than giving them plenty of 
bran and oats with Blue grass pasture. 
“A great many farmers have said to me, ‘Mr. 
Fairfax, you can get a much better price for a colt 
than I can.’ Now in a certain sense this is true, but 
it comes from advertising in the first place, for I thor¬ 
oughly believe in letting the people know what you 
have by exhibiting at shows where those who like 
horses congregate, as well as through newspaper ad¬ 
vertising. It also comes from raising good individual 
animals, and this can be done only by the greatest of 
care and attention. 
“ A colt must not only be fed, but he must be cur¬ 
ried, his feet cared for, his teeth looked after and 
properly bitted and trained. It is too much the cus¬ 
tom of the farmer of to-day, when he has a colt to 
break to get four or five fellow farmers around him. 
There are shouting and yelling at the terrified colt, 
who for the first time has the harness put on him and 
the cart run up on his back. Struggle ? Of course he 
struggles l He doesn’t know what to make of it, and 
