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SHOULD BREED BETTER COW HORSES Thoroughbred Siro of the Right Type Makes the Best Top Cross H II Williams Animal Husbandman Arizona Agricultural Experiment Stsition writes in The Rider sind Driver regsirding the type of horse best suited for csivsilry and cattle work workThe The Southwest the horsiest district in the Inion For many ycsirs horses hsive been the chief means of trsinsportsitioii At the present time the desirable cow mount is probsibly the toughest horse ¬ flesh thsit csin be found anywhere For right down dogged determination and endurance over rough going the small cow pony in the Southwest has any horse in the world beaten These animals are of the bronco type short of leg big and deep of bar ¬ rel with wide round body and lean bony makeup in general They excel in toughness and ability to endure hardships under adverse conditions The cow pony is small but they can endure hardships sind tsike care of themselves living on the country where large animals would not survive They are the illdsiy sind sillnight sort when put to it itIn In the Southwest the going is bad Hocks and moving boulders sind tricky yielding shale are plentiful Trails or roads sire seldom used and the animals must go across country through ssind to the fetlock and climb hills sind mountains that would seem impossible The rider does not hesitate to force his fearless animal where he wsints him to go sind at the pace desired even over tresicheroiis ground undermined with prairie dogs burrows burrowsThe The western cow mounts may not sippear to lie a desirable type it lirst glance but they hsive stood the test They will travel fifty miles a day for many days sind compete with the jackrsibbits for the sparse native forage sind drink perhaps only once si day sind silkali water at that thatThe The native cow mount is the result of centuries of breeding neglect sind si survival of the best Man deserves little credit for his making The Spaniards in the early dsiys introduced horses of Arabian blood sind no doubt the foundation stock wsis rich in this breeding In the last fifty ycsirs these animals hsive been crossed with sill kinds sind descriptions of horses horsesTHOROUGHBRED THOROUGHBRED SIRE WOULD IMPROVE IMPROVEThe The prevailing opinion at the present time is thsit there is no breed suitable for crossing on native mares to produce mounts In several breeds however may be found individuals which are pre ¬ eminently suitable for crossing on native mares to get the right kind of mounts No other breed compares with the thoroughbred or those built up on this blood for producing ssuldle horses Students of breeding claim that thoroughbreds have been improved sind built up from Arabian foundation The breeds of horses which hsive been improved chiefly front thoroughbred blood are the American trotting horse American saddle horse Irish hunter and the French coach In siuy of the above breeds may be found strains or families well suited for raising mounts by crossing with native mares It must be admitted however that the great majority of stallions of these breeds sire not available for this purpose purposeWhether Whether thoroughbreds or some other animals are used does not matter sis long as the right type of an animal is selected Some of the desirable characteristics sire gentle disposition intelligence full round bodies short backs strong loins long rumps short flat wellset legs with good feet and smooth action They must be hesit resistant strong hsive considerable speed sind nimblencss and sibove all they must have good wind hardiness and endurance This Is a peculiar combination of characteristics fognd in only a few individuals either within or without the breeds On account of the gresitcr uniformity and prepotency of reg ¬ istered animals it is important thsit stallions bo selected of the desired types but with pedigrees pedigreesTypicsil Typicsil stsillions should stand about fifteen and onelialf hands and weigh 1100 to 120 pounds They should have rather small refined heads Ions slim necks strong withers sloping shoulders short broad backs well muscled loins long straight rumps full barrels long underlines heavy muscles well placed legs flat strong Iwme obliipie pasterns of medium length sind round hard feet If nothing else except this type of horse are used to cross with sclecteil range mares the best horse in the world can be produced for cow ponies and csivsilry pnrHises pnrHisesSIZE SIZE NOT A VITAL REQUISITE REQUISITESize Size is not a prime consideration in saddle horses The animal must be able to carry si msiii aud saddle weighing 200 pounds The ability tit do this is not as much governed by size as breeding temperament action conformation and symmetry The best mounts sire seldom over fifteen and one half hands high or heavier than 1100 pounds Their ability to work under the saddle is the first welll consideration This means that they must be well l l 1 and of the hardy shortlegged flathoned flathonedbigbarreled bigbarreled type Small horses nre better than the large ones in si rough mountainous country or among brush They have better control if their legs sind do not strike them against rocks or get tangled up among the brush They will survive drought sind short range better sis the large animals must use more time to gather feed and should have the addition of some grain grainThe The first requisite f csivsilry mounts is that they must bo able to stand up under work of the most severe nature and without extrsi care Hav ¬ ing been raised on the range is highlv important for under range conditions there is no tendency for the animal to grow larger than nafural anil he is better able to maintain himself on account of his small size and experience on the range Hange life makes him as tough as leather stud 1 it is ready almost sill the time to he put to work The addition of a little grain to what he can gather fortifies him into accomplishing unheard of feats In endurance His feet muscles and bones sire of the hardest in horseflesh and his training and inheritance inures him to hardship hardshipCONFORMATION CONFORMATION OF COW HORSE HORSEflood flood cow mounts have a wellrecognized con ¬ formation They sire refined in head medium length in neck short sind broad in back long and full in barrel being stout in make and inilicatiii toughness Their legs sire built for use belli rather short in cannons well placed with flat bone the tendons standing well back and with flinty loiin 1 feet feetArizona Arizona can produce the best cow horses or cavalry mounts in the world The combination of climate physical conditions feed and native blood in this district is unusually favorable The native niiires have descended from Spanish and American stock now blended and tested by generations of culling and eliminating thv unfit Those that have survived are hardy and full of action Their breed ¬ ing anil life make tlm ready for any amount of hardship that horseflesh can endure They combine the requirements of all saddle horses such as sure ness of foot ease of carriage to the rider ease of control ambition intelligence sind endurance Thev msiy not be the spectacular flashy sort demanded in the Kast sind for parade They are business horses evolved in the country to fill a distinct demand If there is siny more specialized horse in the world I would like to know where he is
