1962-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1962 May Voice | Page 29

27
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
Murray Farm Sale
Sets Record; New
Stalls To Be Built
Soon after the auctioneers’ chants
ended to finalize the record-breaking
42nd annual Murray Farm Auction
Sale of Tennessee Walking Horses
April 13—Harold Wise announced to
one and all “we are accepting entries
from now on for ihe fall sale in early
October."
In that manner the Wise 8c Warren
Stables are off and running again to
keep rolling the greatest Tennessee
Walking Horse auction market in the
world—located at Lewisburg where the
laLe Jimmy Joe Murray helped bring
the breed to its present high pedestal
among horseflesh for show and pleas­
ure.
“The first day crowd set an all-time
record for this sale—numbering at
least 3,000 persons with some 25 states
represented,” Wise declared.
“Our top auction price was $6,000,
and several horses brought from
$2,500 upward. Prices were main­
tained at a satisfactory level through­
out the sale. Some 250 horses were
sold, and a number of others went
through the line with bids not ac­
cepted.
“We appreciate the patronage of
all bidders and all who consigned
horses to the sale,” Wise continued.
“We used three tents with stalls in
them for this sale—but now that we
own the Murray Farm property we
plan permanent stalls for the future
sales. Our plans call for permanent
stalls to house 250 horses.”
Wise purchased all the Murray
Farm acreage and buildings early this
year. He and Jack Warren are asso­
ciated with Wise & Warren Stables in
operation of the auction sale.
Auctioneers for the big day-and-
night operation were: Eddie Bryant,
Lewisburg; Pete Yokeley, Pulaski;
Tom Yokeley, Jackson. Term.; Dave
Williams, Hickory Hill, Pa.; Walter
Clark, Franklin; Mayfield Ledbetter,
Lewisburg; and Billy Mitchell. Bow­
ling Green, Ky.
Question: Is it true that horses
must be destroyed in case of a broken
leg?
A lot depends upon the type of
break. Many times they are placed in
a cast or splint and have been known
to recover and be as good as new.
Engineer Tells Exactly How The
'Running Walk' Is Performed
(Note—The most definitive statement we
have ever read describing the running walk
gait of the Tennessee Walking Horse was
made by V. E. McMullen of Columbus, Ind.,
now residing in the Methodist Home at
Franklin, Ind. He rides almost daily at age
81 and his picture appeared in the April
Voice. Ilis statment was made in a letter
written Nov .29, 1948 to Gilbert M. Orr, now
deceased—a great writer about the breed. The
letter is reproduced herewith. BAG.)
*
*
*
Dear Sir:
With great interest I have read your
articles about the Tennessee Walking
Horse in the saddle horse magazines.
In these articles, I have not found a
satisfactory description of exactly
what the Tennessee Walking Horse
does with his feet and legs when he
performs. I should like to ask your
opinion of my answer to this question.
I was interested in this proposition
because I see so many good Walking
Horses spoiled because their riders do
not understand the gait and let their
horses do all kinds of deviations from
the true running walk.
Question: “Exactly how is the run­
ning walk performed?”
Answers: To perform die running
walk, the horse is urged out of die
flat-foot walk into a faster walk called
the running walk. He must be very
carefully held back, so that he does
not dog-trot, pace or fox-trot.
As he swings into the running walk,
he increases the stride of his hind legs,
in addition lo quickening his step.
The hind foot oversteps the front
foot ground print many inches,
depending on the ability of the horse.
The front legs, being shorter than
the hind legs, cannot take as long a
stride. So, in order to make up for this
lack of front leg stride, the horse has
FOR SALE
21-Stall Barn
Many Horses Of All
Ages and Sex
—Mares In Foal-
Come to SEE ME or
PHONE AT NIGHT
CY 4-2750—Unionville, Tenn.
r .
c.
BOYCE
Barn on Highway 41A Four
Miles North of Shelbyville, Tenn.
to make a little leap with his front
legs each step he takes. The amount
of this leap depends on the stride and
overstep of the hind legs.
This leap delays the arrival of the
front foot on the ground and lets the
hind fool stride the ground a little
ahead of the front foot. This accounts
for the characteristic running walk
hoof beat which the rider hears when
riding along on hard ground. It also
accounts for the smoothness of the
ride, because the motion of the horse
is broken up and smoothed out.
To help perform this little leap in
front, the horse swings his head up
and down quite violently, in time
with his step. The accounts for the
“nod” of the Walking Horse.
From the above description, it can
be seen that the horse appears to
walk with his hind legs and run or
trot with his front legs. This accounts
for the name of the gait, namely:
"Running Walk.”
Watch for
the show debut
of the
Tennessee Walking Horse
from New Jersey
SHINING SUN, JR."
Sire:
"Midnight Shining Sun"
Dam:
"Black Mist"
recently purchased from
Hy-Tyre Farms, Gibsonia, Pa.
by
Paul J. Brienza
Morristown, New Jersey
"Shining Sun, Jr." was bred and
trained by Billy Liles, Trainer and
Manager for Dr. and Mrs. H.
Fishkin, owners of Hy-Tyre.
In appearance and gaits, many
claim "Jr.", a 3-year-old stallion,
is the image of his famous sire,
who was the American Horse
Show Association's high point
walking horse champion in 1958
and 1959.
"Jr." will continue his training
under Dick Sweigart of Norman-
dale Farms, Palmyra, Pa. Swei­
gart formerly was with Liles at
Hy-Tyre.