The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1877-12-11
Points Of q Good Horse.

The committee appointed by the \
Agricultural Society to dec
upon rules for guidance of judges ul
horses has reported in full as folio
and the document will be given to
Society next February:
All horses shall be judged by the
companying scale Of (100) poiuts, m
lied by the following rules: 19
Stations and draft horses shall
judged by the scale Of points, except
that the standard for speed and
shall be fixed by the judges.
The judges may add 30 points,
less number, to any stallion for ex
lence of his produce,
Points of exceiiehce- -size While
mere bulk is comparatively USE
less, a fair amount OF substance is
absolutely necessary! The tall
horse is apt to. be leggy end long
8 in the cannon.bones. Length In
Q the. arm, shoulders, thighs and
{ launches is desirable. Highest
bangufe, ..,.-.,s...y ..,.f-s ...,.f
Color-(It is. an old adage that a
good horse is any color, but there
are exceptions to all rules Bay,
chestnut, black and brown are
good colors, although the bay and
black. especially for matched hor.
.ses, are probably most sought af-
ter and admired. "a,
Symmetry Of body-The withers
should be high and thin !; shoul.
ders oblique and muscular, show
q ing good leverage; chest large,
wide above and deep; back short
and broad ;barrel round and close
ribbed; loins strong and muscu-
lar; body strong underneath; !;
rump moderately dropping and
well muscled.
Head and neck-The head should
be clean and delicate.and as small
as would be in keeping with the
rest OF the body; wide and fat
between the eyes; forehead bold
and prominent; muzzle fine; nos
trils large; mouth deep; lips thin
and firmly compressed: throttle
broad aud deep meek good length,
thin on top, with windpipe we'll
detached -
Eye and Esr-The eye should be
large and prominent; the eye Of
the. horseis an accurate index of
his temper, and experience has
shown il too much white is visi-
BILE be is a dangerous one ;the ear
should be thin, erect and net too
long-quick and lively; the ear
indicates both spirit and breed
ing.
Feet and Limhs--The feet should
be smooth, fine texture and well
shaped, with good ground surface;
heels not too high frog large and
elastic. The arm should be long
and large; kneeiOng and fat SIM,
ews prominent and firm pasterns
strong and properly inclined; sti
fle strong and powerful; quarters
deep, reaching down into long
but smooth hooks; hook large.
long, clean and well proportion.
ed. The leg, from hook down,
should be straight, short and fiat,
with sinews standing well out
from the bone and free from all
defects. The hind pasterns should
be stronger and more oblique
than the pasterns Of the fore leg.
The tail-The tail should be long
and full, muscular, and well eet
upon the rump. carried free, the
tail should not be too large or
coarse. .ts.a sSst
Speed at the trot- The gait should
be an even, regular. honest and
genuine ,trot, without requiring
boots or Welgnts- Inc ability 10
pull weights is a quality of lex-
ceeding value, and, when found in
combination with speed and stout-
ness, we may say that the prime
characteristics aef the harness
horse are obtained.
Speed in waiking-The step should
be bold, firm and elastic.
Style and Action--The high action
and elegant carriage 80 desirable
in theIpark horse is not consider
Geed so necessary in the gentleman's
{ family dand driving classes still,
there should be essy and graceful
oaction, combined with we'll bal
anced harmony of parts, together
with speed, intelligence and fear
lessness, which are indispensable
in this class of horses. The sc-
tion3should be free and clear, dis
pensing with the necessity Of
: boots. or other safeguards on the
limbs of the animal.
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