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¬ ¬ ADVANTAGES OF THE THOROUGHBRED Retired Clergyman Refutes Statements of an East ¬ ern Critic with FirstHand Experience In answer to a recentlypublished criticism by Frank M Ware of the thoroughbred tis a sire cal ¬ culated to improve the breed of horses George Sam ¬ uel Baggett has written the following lit The Coun CounEds Eds Country Gentleman Beware of the Thor ¬ oughbred Such was the startling heading of an article on page a5 evidently written by one Who bad partaken of a Welsh rarebit the previous night and whose sleep was haunted by dreams of the curby Imcks long weak pasterns light tone ringbone spavin etc of the thoroughbred For the past year or so just prior to the breeding season you have published letters somewhat similar similarBeing Being the keeper of the thoroughbred AA atercolor since Julv 107 I have been loth to enter the arena of discussion leaving that for a more trenchant pen than mine because it might be thought that I had nn axe to grind I wish however to stay that I have no axe to grind neither am I the spokesman of the breeding bureau Being an ordained clergy ¬ man retired from the active ministry since 1HIG iKcause of a nervous breakdown I am not in the pay or employ of any gambling element and as Mr Ware calls for witnesses I enter the discussion in defense of the thoroughbred stallion from the stiind l olnt of experience Though not seeing the light of day until 1S70 I have had some experience with the subject under discussion having served my time in one of the largest hunting stables in England in fmy lM yhoo r davs and during my twentytwo years residence In the United States 1 have owned at least 150 horses of different breed I admit that then are poor and indifferent horses of nil breeds but when a writer condemns one particular breed alto ¬ gether without citing facts it shows either prejudice or lack of knowledge of what he is writing alx ut notwithstanding fortytwo years of active experience in the horse business businessWe We all take our hats off to the American trotter a great breed of a great people It is hardly fiiir however to mention faults of the thoroughbred hnd not mention like faults in the trotter How many or what per cent of trottinghred horses have good conformation and freedom from the socalled blem ¬ ishes of the thoroughbred Unless a trottinghred horse has either speed or conformation how much more willit bring than the thoroughbred Allow me lo speak from the treasury of my owiv expeCUmcc as a breed where can you find more spavins ring bones nirby hocks ungainly gaits fclabsides and sloping rumps than among the trottingbred In my own breeding experience covering a period5 of sixteen years I have used the registered trotting stallion frequently and have often been grievously disappointed nt the results Right here we Ifcive evidence enough unless the man is blind to corrV vince the most skeptical that some trotting stallions do not make good sires and even trotters impart to the offspring all the vices and imperfections of their ancestors as well as their own A registered trot ¬ ting stallion that lias raced all over New York Stajc now dead has more curbyhocked spavined ririg1 Itonod mean uglydisposltloned colts than any thor ¬ oughbred I ever knew The meauestdlspositoned horse I ever owned was standardbred and had ctirbs and spavilis too like the sire t Why does the writer condemn the movement of the breeding bureau of the Jockey Club and refer the reader of his article lo the Jockey Club for thead dress of the breeder of halfbreds who has been mar ketlng tin progeny of these thoroughbred stallions when he knows that none of the offspring of these stallions is of marketable age Be fair nt least and give us time to show to the public what thesw stal lions have l een doing and even the writer of the suv tide will sit up and take notice that something ba been done to enhance the value of horse breeding in the Empire State If Mr Ware will come to Sunset Lodge Farm located just west of Syracuse I will show hiiii a comparison between colts from a standardBred stallion and colts from a thoroughbred from the same mares where everything size bone confor ¬ mation clean limbs feet and cait is in favor of the thoroughbred I have a standardbred pacing mare that has a sixyearold son bv a standard horse She lias a colt coming two years by AVa letcolor another a weanling The twoyearold lias never paced a step has hock and knee action that would do credit to the hackney goes straight as an awny and has the speed of a deer Her younger sister has even better action and speed than she has and never a blemish on either By the time they are five years old liarring accidents even Mr Ware will acknowledge that they are going some Only two weeks ago I was offered a draft team in ex change and they were good ones for the twoyear old and refused the offer with thanks I have used AVatercolor on heavy farm marcs and instead of a disappointment I have had a pleasant surprise the offspring being an improve4 inont on the dam every time Here at the farm is a standardbred mare that drowned a foal lasf month by Watercolor in a stall close by a four yearold daughter of the same mare that was sired by a standardbred horse AVhen this mare came I wrote to her owner about her feet as she has narrow contracted feet in front and looked as If she had lnoii foundered I quote this reply Her feet were like that when born they are exactly like her sires and he was trottiugbred Come and compare the fouryearold with the foal by AVatercolor and the halfbred takes the blue ribbon by marginMuch a wide margin Much has been written about the thoroughbred being untamable and not willing to work in harness which is all nonsense As far as I know AAuter color had never been harnessed and driven previous to coming to me I harnessed him and the fourth time he was harnessed I drove him to a road cart I have ridden after many good road horses but not one that can road with this thoroughbred stallion I have driven him thirty miles in a little over two hours and lie can do that for more hours than any horse I ever knew I am confident I could hitch him to the plow drag or farm wagon and have him move off like the royal fellow he is I can turn him out of his box stall into the field loose and have him circle around me stop at word of com ¬ mand and circle in the opposite direction stop and follow me anywhere My experience with this bar ticular thoroughbred is that he breeds large straight and blglMined colts and imnarts his wonderful dis ¬ position to his offspring From the standpoint of my experience I can only speak in the highest terius of the halfbreds and I believe flic coming years wiJI show the wisdom of tlie breeding bureau move ¬ ment and give an impetus to the breeding industry of the state that has not come so Tar from the trotting stallion
