| Show horse 0 government runs unique breeding farm ip vermont by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator washington D C some time ago the world was startled to learn from pravda the official communist party newspaper in moscow that it was a russian who discovered wireless as radio was called in its youth and as if that elou enough gh it was announced later by the same authority that the electric light which poor thomas edison certainly thought he had something to do with was likewise a russian invention if I 1 ever read as some day I 1 fear I 1 shall that ice cream sodas and hot dogs were first discovered on a pleasant afternoon by some mysterious muscovite as he sat dreaming on his back steppes I 1 shall announce that and vodka are american products and that the volga boatmen were simply a prodigal local of the CIO maritime union meanwhile however I 1 am re 0 minded by the department of agn culture that one thing which is as american amen can as Ai america and which no for eigner had bet ter try to ampro as a home grown product sis ls the morgan horse justin morgan Is immortalized in bronze and you can see him today standing baukhage Bauh hage on his pedestal before the main stable of the united states morgan horse farm which covers about 1000 1 acres of rolling roiling wooded coun try two miles north of middlebury vt the original farm of acres was presented to the united states department of agrical ture by joseph battell colonel battell had long been an ad and breeder of morgan horses and had founded the american morgan register the farm was established in 1907 the area was increased by an additional gift of about 35 acres by colonel battell in 1908 and by purchase of about acres from middlebury college in 1917 1117 the land underlain with limestone is well adapted to the production of horses in the selection of foundation breeding stock and in planning subsequent emphasis was placed upon size and quality and ability to perform the three gaits walk trot and canter these points kal morgan brood mares with their foals run in one of the pastures of the department of agriculture s 9 U S morgan horse farm near middlebury vt continue to be emphasized also every effort has been made to pre serve adequate muscling and depth of body and to preserve and en hance desirable temperament the stocky stallion original of the postmortem post mortem effigy was named tor for its owner a singing schoolman scho ter was foaled in 1793 and died in 1821 he 1 I mean the stallion not the schoolmaster had a romantic career and he is the progenitor of the breed which as the department of agriculture says is one of the few breeds of horses developed in n the united states justin was a small active animal of great power and endurance with the rep of being able to outrun and any other horse in vermont and the neighboring states he had the power to transmit these qualities says the depart ment to his three known sons and the united states government is doing its share to perpetuate the characteristics for which his ilk is known beauty easy keeping soundness endurance and spirit coupled with gentleness the first time I 1 ever went to ver mont I 1 was attracted to these plucky little horses later I 1 learned more about the morgan horse he weighs less than 1000 1 pounds he is not over 14 hands high round bar relied with powerful chest and leg muscles a proud head and a stout heart he has done a lot to develop the state of vermont and his ad ventures have carried him tar far afield in a but remark ably accurate story of justin I 1 marguerite henry tells how the boy joel joel who gentled justin as a colt later lost track of him and finally found him again and how joel in his cavalry uniform with a sprig of evergreen in his helmet sat proudly on his diminutive mount when president monroe re viewed the green mountain boys when they came back from the war of 1812 the author has joel say about justin afterward he lie was just a little work horse that cleared the fields and helped vermont grow up come to think of it he s 9 like us he ile a american that s what he Is american the morgan horse helped other states and territories grow up too for their equine brotherhood went west with the emigrating farmers and more than one american sol dier was proudly mounted on a morgan as he went into battle gen eral custer rode off on a morgan horse when he went out to fight the indians a whole regiment of caa airy alry had morgan mounts in the civil war breeding program Is guncler way now the morgan horse breed ers dr mcfee of the animal bus bandry division of the department of agriculture told me have given more attention to the traits desir deir able in a riding horse forty de of justin became famous as trotters some of you remember such names as ethan alien allen black hawk and dan patch at the morgan farm today usually about forty five horses are under test according to the official description the breeding program there calls for the measurement of each young youngster stair at one year of age at two years and at three years all ali are trained under saddle and in harness and are put through con trolled performance and endurance trials when about three years old the data thus obtained form the permanent records of the bals they are used also in studies of sire and dam inheritance and as criteria tor for formulation the sta eions alon s breeding program for the tests of three year olds the depart ments horse specialists have de specific trials to measure the walking and trotting gaits and the horses endurance in harness and under the saddle always versatile the morgan was as chipper when he went to the meeting bouse house on sunday pulling the surrey with the fringe on the top as it was weekdays when it could drag a log to the sawmill which often took a team of its big brothers to budge and where buggies are still used you 11 often find a morgan between the shafts he ile is used on the trail too for his forte these days seems to be under the saddle the morgan horses have found homes far from the shadow of their native green mountains and today the stock probably is increasing more rapidly in california than anywhere in the east I 1 reg regret ret to say that on my last trip to ver mont this summer though mighty mount mansfield looked up at the heavens with the same stern profile thai that it did when I 1 first panted pack laden to its top the maple sugar tasted as good though it cost too much the mist still held the peak of Kil killington lingon as gently as ever in its graceful fingers but I 1 missed the quick tattoo of those small strong hooves on the hard high ways and the silhouette of an arched neck against the sky above a mountain pasture I 1 in glad that uncle sam is doing his part in the shadow of justin s statue to perpetuate the breed that is just like us as joel said american |
