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t THOROUGHBREDS FOR ARMY PURPOSES. General Wocd Stiongly Advocates Their Use to Pro. duce Ideal Mounts — John E. Maddens Ideas. Considerable discussion i- going on throughout the country of the arm.v remount problem, which hat oine to the front as a live topic as one result of tt alarming depletion of the thoroughbred breeding Hid- of the United States that has followed ■ i consequence of ami racing legislation in rari -ia.es e| Hie Union. There are signs that tin ci in t r.v is beginning to awaken to the seriousness of the Situation. John E. Madden, master of Hamburg Place, who baa come to be regarded a- one of the foremost of American breeding authorities bj reason of tin- success with which be has been conducting hi- stud iu receul years, contributes the following interesting and thoughtful paper i • the subject: "in breeding the bone for the arm remount and artlllerj service, there appears to be a va-t differ ence of opinion in selecting tin bred of nine- most suitable for the purpo-o. Sum- Ol the views are coid m the, r.v. but not practical, In the main, vv , otusl depend on the farmers throughout tie countrv to furnish the numbers that will be required am! the mares available are those now in the possession of the farmers; for in time of war. the demand will be for thousands. The government alone can not supply them, therefore it will be well for the government to be liberal In fixing the price that it would be willing to pay for horses in i rder to make il an hnlu emeu! to the farmer to raise them. "We must -trust to i Judicious selection of the stallions. It was an wise man who once said thai size i- no mere a criterion of strength than haste is of spied. It is through these stallions, placed in the various districts for the use of the farmer, that we intisi hope to accomplish the desired end. Through Ihe good offices "I the New Jfork Jockey Club. Cue State of New York enjoys an advantage iii having had placed among the fanner- the -,i v : • of thoroughbred stallion-, free Of Charge, resulting in the production of man] half-bred mare- which would prove most valuable for the purpose of breeding tin- cla-s of horse required by the arm.v. •■For the army remount, the thoroughbred stallion is undoubtedly the bone to u-e as a sire. This borse should be of medium size and of powerful mould, one who-,- -ize should i„- guaged by Ihe scales rather than by the tape line. This type of stallion, bred to the mares that are available, be they trotters, hackneys. Morgans, saddlers or ha1; tin e,l-. should give good results. "For artillery purposes, nay selection of a stallion would be tie -tan lard bred trotter of powerful con formation— 11 possible, a big horse on short legs. This type of stallion will cross well on mares of various breeds and especially on the many half bred Percheron mares to tie found iu the possession of fait, or- naarl.v everywhere. The owner- of these maic- .no nol likely lo replace them with mares of better blood lines to accommodate tie- government. -o. iu order lo obtain the quantities the army will require in war time. 1 thought it well to include Hie Percheron breed herein, in Stonehengea Dock of the Bone. I have seen it staled that the Iercherm is descended from the Arab and. on a large scab-. resembles him and bears many similar trait-. These mares would prove useful in producing a type I horse well adapted to the artillery service. "In selecting the thoroughbred and standard bred trotting stallions. I have been guided by the fact that rating has given to these lire, ,1s a power of endurance and gameneas unattainable to others that have not been put to the same supreme teat. "In my wide experience- of horses of nearly all breeds. 1 have found the thoroughbred and trotter to be unsurpassed in fearlessness and Intelligence-valuable traits to transmit to progeny intended for -eivice ba battle. John E. Madden." Major General Wood, who is the active head of the United States Army, has issued a circular set timr forth bis views of what constitutes his idea of army requirements in tlrs direction. In it he takes strong ground la favor of thoroughbred blood as the bast- for the ideal type of army horse. The clr cular i- herewith reproduced: Tiie galloping hoi -e. the thoroughbred, has been de vol, !„d by careful breeding and by racing trials over a period of more than 150 years. The result is t,, day a horse of quality and substance, superior in certain reanei Is to any equine animal that has ever existed, lie- Arabs ami other eastern hones are tin- progenitors of the present thoroughbreds, but as tin- latter represent a continual Improvement iu speed and strength on the forme.-, il would nol now lie wise to consider the eastern horse as suitable sires for tin- class ,,f horses required by the army. Dew people recognise the fact that the avet i_ cavali.v horse mu-l be up lo carrying 267 pounds, assuming thai ihe man alone weighs 1" * pounds. AM tie light weight horses, such as standard brads. -a,l Iii bred-. Morgans, ami even coach horses, owe much of their superiority to ihe thoroughbred Id -id Of their ancestors. The lies! type of ihe thorbu i In ,| . would make superior cavalry horses, hut to Been re such in large quantities i- not possible. For example, tltlmus, properly of the late J. It. Keene. is 1.V-, hand- high and weighs 1,940 pounds. He i-wonderfully muscled ami is in all respects admirably adapted fir weight carryii g over rough ground ir considerable distances at fast pace. Among the ,-olt- ai Castleton Stud, Lexington. Ky., were some thai .weighed 1,000 pounds al sixteen months of age I these superbly bred colt- weighed 1,040 pounds at that age. Thomas Hitchcock has two thoroughbred colts which ai three years of age weighed L07o pound*-and hunted the stiff Meadowbrook country, carryii . Considerable weight over the high f-nces of that see t i-m. These same colts made an excellent showing al Madison Square Garden in the Im Tool iuinpii ; classes. They have line loins, quarters and shotli dor-, also large bones and Hat l"s. and are ex tremelj 1 v,l headed. Tins,- cases are cited lo show that Ihe good tie oughbreds t t lie weeds have all the qualifications required for cavalry purposes weight-carrying c pacity, speed and endurance. The prepotency ••! that blood above thai of all other ami the peculiar tilmss of ihe breed for army end-, make such animals highly desirable for sire purposes. Mated with good -i/.ed farm mare-, the results should be fair t good cavalry remounts, mated with ihe heaviest farm mares the results should be fair to g I artill eiy remounts. It i.- not Intended to suggest that only by such mans can we get desired result-. buWI i- believed thai there i- no other way thai wornd give -in ii quick and consistent result-. Good cavalry hor-•-should have at least one half of their blood strains from galloping stock thoroughbreds. That fundamental. For horse artillery the same require tnents would be wise. The following letter, recently written by Mai. Gen. Leonard W I, chlef-of-staff, lerselj sets forth his views regarding this subject: "Replying to your communication regarding the me-; suitable borne foe cavalrj purposes and th-best way of breeding such animals. I beg to state that the primary consideration in the cavalry borse is the capacity to carry considerable weight over rough eountrj for a long period and oftentimes at a rapid pace. "The firs! condition eliminates a m-vy light horse; Ihe -e,,,nil am! third require activity and endurance. and ihe fourth necessitates some speed. It is clear that certain types must be wholly eliminated ami thai suitable animals are to be found now in largi numbers iu 1,-w localities in our country. Thi- fact causes this department to tike the keenest inter -i in tin- subject of in-ceding service horses. Tempera incut -t these animals i- hardly i---s important than eilla-r o| ihe essential attributes suggested above. •■Tin principally recognised breeds of this conn try standard, Morgan, Hackney, saddle as i- well known, arc l.irgel.v indebted to the thoroughbred an ce-trv for some of their most noteworthy traits. This fad helps to confirm tl pinion thai good, big graded mares, almost regardless of predominating -trains, when crossed with selected thoroughbred stallions, spouhl produce fairly good cavalry lmr-s. Probably the highest type of a charger would resiiil from pressing a large thoroughbred marc, of exec" bit temperament and of big I ■ and muscle, with a stallion oi dmllai qualifications. The government cannot expect t secure such progen it thai would assure in sufficient numbers. The type of -ire. bow cvei crossed with u | praded mar,-, should give satisfactory mount-, ami iu general horses of mu It farm usefulness. If thai nolle.i of breeding were adopted by the farmer- in the course of a few years i in- government would be able to secure pnon_ri young horses of ;, proper type to satisfy its p a ■ requirements. "l"he following ive- v,,ii a notion • what i- mw demanded of the service borse ow I l,. officers. "Suitable mount I charger I as published iu tie,, e ,1 Orders No. 11.",. War Department. 1908. Is Intet i d :• mean i borse with a minimum height of fifteen hands, two Inches, and with a minimnui weight ■■! 1 .000 pound-. The borse should be of good appearance an I of su li breeding and suh -lame i- will enable bint • i carrj hi- owner oi , blimps . f ,.-:,-., nab!. -: iffnes including hurdle ■ dftehes, leu, - :,i„| other iibstaeb-s simulating those which ordlnarilv would be met in going cross e, .iiu try. "Thanking you for your patriotic Interest la Ira proving the borse ,,f the pountry. 1 am. * * * •• In general, the Ideal hunter, when properlv-RChoolcd fir military purposes, should make a super lor charger. Such i hors.- would full* satisfy alt pnrelv military reqnirements and would be good in th- shoa ring, in the hnntng field at stcepleYhnsing 111,1 pe--.il.lN :i| |t.,| ,:,. ,,,.- |,, , ,,.„ WOnls. til I ii,,- cbargei mold Is ..f hunter lype imi less than half thoroughbred. 1.1m pounds or more in weight dvoui sixteen hand; high for officer of average height i ami. above all. level beaded. I nder ihe new system ol remount depot- in charge m -killed officers win h».ve time to carefully setoCt young horses, the nxi re i- getting better mounts than al any time within recent years, but the hor-e-are -nil far from what they should be. If most of Americas valuable -mil- lie -hipped abroad it is clear lhat instead of an improvement there will be a retrogression during the coining year-. That ii a phase of the hoi -e question which specially causes anxiety to the war department. The War Department ,- keenly Interest d in Ihe proposition of the Agricultural Department to lure Congress enacl a law wherein superior -ires may be plac-d throughout the country in suitable districts, ifv thi- mean- farmers and breed,!- will be able to secure the services of high grade animals .me-i reasonable rates, and there will be producodftovcr tli intr.v young horses valuable for remounts. This policy i.- simpl.v carrying out what ha- been recognised in pra ticallj all old countries a- a business measure and a necessity. Circulars lis and IHi; Of the Department of Agriculture -et forth the pro nosed plan. These circular- are respectlveU hj A D. Meivin ami Ceo. i. Rommel, of the Bureau of Animal Industry, ami contain information most valuable to all who are interested in this subject. D i- hardly worth while here to contrast the relative efficiency of t.wo mounted commands of equal personnel but of unequal mount-. Other things being equal or nearly so. the cavalry that has the superior mounts at the same time the conveyance and principal weapon I will easily win out. II careful sole, lions are made of both sires and dams of thoroughbred animals as regards substance. sine, blood lines and temperament, leaving whollv aside the racing question, it i- believed that within a reasonably few genera tons a horse highly useful for practically all cavalry ends would result. It would also he an animal for general utility purpose Thi. do.-, nit ignore the fact that the actual superiority of the thoroughbred has been effected by racing and consequently by eliminating those specimens lhat were weak from anv whatever cause, internal or external. It is an unfortunate fact lhat ihe estimate ,r the thoroughbred by many of our officers has he,.,, made from He- off-casts of the race track, the weeds thai often had neither goal con forma I ion nor sufficient substance, ami possibly were too nervous to support training. Cavalry work of the future will more than ever require long, hard service, and at times fast going. Cold-blooded horses are not up to tin latter. What is said of the cavalry horse, in a large measure, applies lo lhat of the artillery. there is a mistaken idea prevalent among ouVers of cavalry lhat the big tine hunter types ill Ihe hiinl Ing In 1,1 and in the show ring were primirilv e pensive animals. This as a rule i- not the case. If officers will purchase big, well formed, young horses, nol ie-s than half bred, tiny have within their capacity the making of ¥l .r,oii hunters and if they lo -pec, ally well trained at Ihe pimps, they will have precisely such horses a- now seem Impossible to uianv of them. It will Ih- extremely unfortunate lor Ihe service if the officer seta a- | standard for hi- charger Hie limitations of the average horse ol tie- command be is leading or serving with. Following the principle embodied in that idea, the standard for officers uniforms, equip ments ami mental preparation should be radically ohanged. An officer may. mh; will often be re quired lo do some specially difficult and arduous piece -i riding that would probably never be confided in enlisted men. Above all. an officers iiosinon and rank demand thai his mount he larger and more sightly than that of an enlisted man. Thai accords with all other elements of his surroundings. The following statement has been pubHcly ex pressed bj the Chief of the StalT. who was voicing the views of the Secretary of War: ■•Drol. ably the highest type of a war hor-e would rcsuh from crossing a large thoroughbred of in berited excellent temperament and of big bone and muscle with a stallion of similar qualifications. Ol course that is the idea! -the standard thai would be set. but which, iinfort umilel.v . can probably rardv be reached. The crossing of the thoroughbred either way just de-.rihed with any of the breeds just enumerated would also glee us tine mounts far in advance of what we BOW secure." In Hie service test for chargers at and near Den niug, Ma.v is. l i]j. the hor-c- that won first See end and third place were each carrying more than 200 pounds and each about sixteen hand-, one inch hih and weighing between I, IK and 1.200 pounds. The borne lhat came out first is practical fy a thoroughbred, the second horse is out of a saddle bred mare sired by a thoroughbred, and the third hor-e is about three-quarters thoroughbred. In speaking of this test, the Secretary of War. who was one of the patrol judges, slated: "A- a test, the ride was invaluable, and a notable success. As a race, it furnished good sport. The te-t brought out the bent in horses ami men. it was something of an experiment. Sorh a te-t has never been Inhl here before. Every hot-- was in Condi Hon to do belter ai the finish. The te-t developed Iha big, strong, and well-bred animals ;u_in. horses best suited lor army !;»•.-• m Tin- above represents the views and policy o Ihe Air Department. By order of the Secretary of War. LEONARD WOOD. Major Central, Chief of Staff
