The Orange County stud book, New York
The author of this work, a native, and. for years a resident of Orange County, and one whose avocation has thrown him much into the society of her horsemen, and consequently en- abled him to acquire very valuable information in regard to the breeding of horses in that county, and the history and pedigree of its celebrated animals, in presenting his book to the public, hopes that, in estimating its value, the reliability, novelty, and usefulness of its statements will be taken into consideration by the reader. It is probable that no useful animal is more affected by climate and food than the horse; and while the climate of the County of Orange seems favorable to the production of the horse, and its rich pastures and fine meadows afford the elements for developing the finest form and most enduring constitutions, it is only by a judicious system of breeding that to these two requisites of a good horse, the third, that of speed, can be added.
Our ideas of the system of breeding which should be adopted in order to be successful, and the reasons upon which they are founded, constitute our first article. It contains no idle dogmas or worthless and fantastic theories, calculated to lead the earnest and honest searcher for useful knowledge into gross errors and mistakes, but rather a collection of rules, precepts, and facts deduced from long experience in and close observation of all matters pertaining to the subject.
While it is an undeniable fact that many fast trotters have been bred and raised by persons who had no knowledge of these principles, yet if the pedigree of such could be correctly traced, it would be found that the breeders thereof have almost invariably conformed unintentionally to these established miles, and that, consequently instead of the progeny being simply the result of chance, it -was produced under and in strict accordance with the fixed nile of the law of nature — that "like will produce like."
In proof of the soundness of our theory in regard to breeding, we shall follow the above-mentioned article with the pedigree and history of a few of the most celebrated stock horses which have been produced in Orange County, which, if carefully perused, cannot fail to convince the reader of the infallibility of the law of reproduction. And while our work is designed more particularly for those who, in consequence of their interest therein, may properly be styled "horsemen," yet we trust that it will not be altogether without interest to the general reader, and that he may obtain some useful information in regard to the animal which contributes so much to the comfort and pleasure of mankind, and which represents so largely the wealth of our citizens.
Table of Contents
Introduction 7
Breeding in Orange County
Hambletonian — History of
Sons of Old Hambletonian
American Star
History of the Horse
Varieties of Houses
Conformation of the Horse
Treatment and Management of the Horse
Diseases of Horses
Shoeing
On Soundness
The Trotting Horse
Vices and Dangerous Habits of the Horse
Breaking to Harness
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Before proceeding to the general subject of breeding horses and kindred subjects, we pass to notice the history and results thereof in Orange County, in which county the subject has received great attention, and has been rendered exceedingly profitable to those who have engaged judiciously therein. Indeed, from the time when the attention of the citizens of this comity was first drawn to this subject, the standard of trotting horses throughout the country has been gradually elevated, and their speed so increased, that with the present established record of 2:17, it would seem that it has now reached its lowest second, and that not much greater achievements could reasonably be expected from horseflesh.
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