1964-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1964 January Voice | Page 6

TENNESSEE WALKING H0RSE previous sire had been able to attain. His bloodlines, a combina­ tion of Standardbred and Morgan, proved to be able to “nick” ex­ tremely well with the Walking Horse mares already developed in Middle Tennessee; and from this new union of bloodlines came horses finer than either of the lines that produced them. The romantic story of ALLAN’S rejection by owner after owner during the first seventeen years of his life and of his discovery in 1903 by Mr. James R. Brantley of Coffee County, Tennessee, is too well known to repeat in this sketch; however, it is important to observe that so far as the history of the Walking Horse is concerned the “life” of ALLAN began when Mr. Brantley drove him to his farm and bred him to his mares to begin the production of Tennessee Walk­ ing Horses as we have known them. What kind of individual was this ALLAN F-l? Mr. W. J. McGill, the late studious historian of ALLAN and his progeny, expressed the opinion that the herein reproduced picture of ALLAN (dated May 15, 1905, when he was nineteen years old) shows him to be “a very fine horse.” McGill continued: “We challenge anyone to fault ALLAN in this picture, and admit that he was fifteen hands, or a little over. He had smart ears, perfect head, wonderful eyes, full and well-set, a long rangy neck, beautiful mane and foretop, a decided sloping shoulder and a breast that belongs to an outstanding Tennessee Walk­ ing Horse. His fine body lines, short back, long belly, well coupled smooth hips and rump, natural set long heavy tail, with the abundant style he shows in head and neck, smooth limbs, cordy muscles, good foot and bone, his superb gaits, his easy, graceful way of going into the fast running walk, justifies our statement that he was as fine as they make them, even now.” Per­ haps the best possible recommenda­ tion of ALLAN F-l, however, is the fact that in him such know­ ledgeable horsemen as J. R. Brant­ ley and Albert M. Dement found (Continued on Page 12) JANUARY J j R av Green) LEN F-38> from a photograph made May 23, 1912(7), when 6(?) years °f age’ (pholoeraph by courtesy of Ben A. ALLAN F-l ROAN ALLEN F-38 WILSON’S ALLEN out of BIRDIE MESSICK F-86, who was by ALLAN F-l MIDNIGHT SUN MERRY BOY out of MERRY LEGS F-4, who was by ALLAN F-l MERRY GO BOY