She must be from the maternal family of Dairy Maid

It’s hard to believe this now, but there was a time when horse owners felt entitled to register their stock as Standardbreds even if they couldn’t prove their lineage. In many cases, the owner simply didn’t know the pedigree of their horses, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

I unearthed one anecdote about a breeder who emphasized that his mare had merits even if she didn’t have a proven pedigree.

“Old Nelly is a good mother,” he wrote. “Her weanlings look like yearlings and her yearlings look like 2-year-olds. She gives milk like a Holstein cow.”

What an udderly delightful mare to own.