The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-06-05
The Best Horses.

If were called upon to name the two
tequis ties most necessary for a farmer
to possess, in addition to a good farm, |
should say good wife and good team;
and when young farmer becomes pos
sessed of these he has made a good start
on the road to success. While no indus
try of the farm pays better than raising
good horses, none is more Improbable
than tnat of raising interior ones. 1t
costs but little more to raise a horse
which when six years old, will command
a ready sale at S40O or $500, than one
which can with difficulty be disposed of
for 500; or than it does to raise heifer
or a steer which at maturity, is worth
$50 or $50. The best team for the
farmer is the one which will best an
swer all the purposes of the farm
blowing, hauling, taking the farmer and
his family to town, OF his boys and
their sweethearts for a lively sleigh
ride; and, in addition to all this, VIII
give him n pair of colts every year,
which viii earn their keep from the
time they are two years old until they
are sold for $500 or $1,000 at five or
six. The team to do this is a pair of
handsome bay mares sixteen hands
high, weighing 1000 to 1880 pounds
each with small, bOny heads, large
nostrils broad forehead large bright
eyes, small, tapering ears; long nccks
nicely arched, deep as they spring
from the shoulders and small at the
throat-latch; long, Oblique shoulder
blades; moderately high withcrs; short
backs, and deep but not over-broad
chests, because a horse with a very wide
breast, although usually of good cOnsti-
tuition and great strength, is seldom a
L
''paddling'' gait, and if used for road
work will generally give out in the fore
legs from the ztra strain put upon them
by the weight Of the broad chest. Our
team must also have long, muscular
thighs, large knees and other Joints
short cannon (shin) bones; legs broad
below the knees. and hooks with the
sinews clearly defined; fctlocks free
from long hair; long, moderately OBJ
lique pasterns; rather small, though not
contracted feet; broad lOins; wide,
smooth hips, and long, fun tails. They
must have plenty of nervous energy
and good knee action; must be prompt,
free drivers, capable of trOtting n mile
in four minutes; be fast walkers, and
good, hearty eaters; must not Inter
Iere,' and must carry their heads well
up without checks when on the road.
1t will readily be seen that these
mares are neither ClydesdaIcs, Nor
mans, Canadians, Arabians, thorough
bred., nor trottcrs; but they are a team
which viii pun the pillow through two
acres of land in n day, will pull ton,
yes. two, if the roads are good, of prod
uce to the village four miles off in less
than an hour, and trOt back with the
empty wagon in half tLat time without
distressing themselves or their driver.
Should the farmer have a trip Of twenty
m les to make on business or pleasure,
he can hitch them to his spring wagon,
takes his wife and children with him,
and they need not be away from home
more than three hours, or should he
choose to 90 on horseback, he can
mount one of the mares and enjoy ride
on very fair saddle-horse. team Of
CIydcsdales may pull heavier load at
a dead drag. Canadians will stand more
exposure and poorer fare; Arabians are
better saddle horses; thOrOughbreds can
outrun them: trotters, when hitched to
a linht buggy, can pass them on the
road: but neither of these breeds com
bincs ANYTHING like the desirable quail
ties for farmer that the team which /
described possesses; and when it be
comes desirable to dispose Of their
produce the colts of such mares viii
find a reader sale than those Of any Of
the others, being exactly suited to the
wants of the rich city gentleman for his
family carriage, for which he must
have a strong, handsome, snowy team;
and, as such teams are always scarce,
he must pay good price for them.
Large dray horses usually bring re-
munerativc prices but few men viii
paw as much for a team to haul their
bales of cotton or barrels Of -four as
they viii for a team TO draw their fami-
lies in Central or Lincoln Park in win
ter, and at Newport and Long Branch
in the summer, where each millionaire
strives to Guido the others in the beau
~ and style of his carriage hOrses.
1t will be useless for the farmer TO
try and get such horses as these for
very low price but when he has found
them never mind the price. An extra
hundred dollars or 50 invested in such
span will pay better interest than in
the savings bank. When the farmer
has obtained his team of mares let him
look for a stallion of rs nearly the same
type as he can find. He must be fully
sixteen hands high, of good disposition,
and have the bold, high knee action
which characteriZcs a fine carriage
horse, for which rich buyers are willing
to pay literally. If this horse can trot
in three minutes instead of four 50
much the better. J.. SardH IN