OCR Text |
Show The California Horso. In roading tho accounts of early days in California I am struck with tho on-durance on-durance of hardship, exposure, and wounds by the natives nnd tho adventurers, adven-turers, tho ranchcros. horseman, hords-men, hords-men, tho descondnnts of soldlors, and tho Indians, their Insensibility to fatigue, and their agility and strength. This Is ascribod to tho climate; and what is truo of man Is true of tho natlvohorso. Ills only rival in strongth, enduranco, speed, nnd intelligence is tho Arablnn. It was long supposed that this wns racial, and that but for the smallnoBs of tho slzo of tho uativo horso. crossing with It would improvo the breed of tho Eastern and Kentucky racers. But thcro was reluctnnco to cross tho finely proportioned Eastern horso with his dlmlnullvo Western brothor. Tho importation nnd breeding breed-ing of thorough-breds on this const has leu to the discovery that tho desirable qualltios of tho California horso were not racial but climatic. Tho Eastern horse has been found to improvo in slzo.compactnnssof niusclo, in strongth of limb, In wind, with a murkod Increase In-crease In powor of onduranco. The traveller hero ootlccs tho line horses and tholr excellent condition, and tho powor and enduranco of those thnt liavo considerable ago. Tho records mudo nn Enstorn race-coursos by horsos from California brooding farms have already attracted attention. It is also remarked that the eastern horso is usually improved greatly by a sojourn of n season or two on this const, and thu plau of bringing Easlorn racehorses race-horses hero for tho wlutor Is already udopted. Charles Dudley Warner, in harper1 Magatine. |