The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-03-16
Jhe Gimit Of 1Keight
For The Finest Horse.

NJ. Philip Stephen Hunter, 4 practica!
| breeder ana horseran. whose stud of
thoroughbreds is kept near Loretto, Es-
sex county. Va, contributes the follow
ing entertaining and instructive article
concerning "thc limit Of height:
How many men use horses, how few
make any intelligent study of the ele-
nlcnts of quality of the animal?
y man wants a horse, OF course, a good
horse, ard demands the stereotyped list
OF qualifications which will serve to limit
the field of selection and thus diminish
some of the complications involved by q
more extensive choice. First he de-
mands mo horse under 16 hands and this
because he has heard that 50 good big
horse is better than a good little horse
and consequently by demanding q 1G
hands horse he will have a big horse II
he has a good one. Right here the fall
lacy begins There are many lG-hand
horses. animals of high. sharp withers and
| light bodies on long legs which are neith-
er as good. nor as strong. nor as heavy
as horses scarcely over 10 hands, and this
| because of the want of "balance OF pro-
portion" But the trainers Of the stcreo-
typed list of qualifications object. This
is provided for in the demand for good
shape and conformation, well as the
height Of 16 hands. and when all the con-
ditions are fulfilled, the horse will possess
the combined merits of all the proportions
well balanced.
Now. we 10 not say that no horse 16
hands high is a horse of well balanced
proportions, nor do we deny that there
are horses 16 hands high which are very
fine animals but we do say that such &
standard of height does not secure a bet
ter horse than one OF less height, and
that the balance of proportion is much
more apt to be deficient i'll horse of
that height than in one below that stand
ard.
Mr. Hayes in his points of the Horse,
one Of the most practical. and exhaustive
treatises on the subject ever written, says
cit is 10 advantage for a racer, chaser,
hunter. hack or light trappcr. to BE- more
than Is hands 3 inches" He argues that
{. horse Of that height, provided ne POS
scsscs the right balance of proportion,
can accomplish anything which tal.s'
animal can, in the vacations above ennnl.
Grated. And this is not all. The purchaser
who demands this imperative standard OF
1G hands of height, deliberately executes
all opportunity Of obtaining an 1i,lmal
which otherwise might have prove, an
absolute success for the purposes required.
1t may be necessary to have great
height for equipage for display and pa
lades and to this necessity other points
Of conformation must lie sacrificed, but
the choice of a horse for use and du-
rahility. will much more probab bly, be
satisfied among animals under than over
or even up to sixteen hands. This is
especially true for roadsters. I have
frequently been told by commercial trav-
elers that they found horses somewhere
about 1872 to 1873 or even smaller, would
stand long and continued road service
far better than taller horses. Let any
horseman of much experience review the
number of horses he has known or used
and divide them into classes for heights
Of ISL. 49,. 1873 and Is hands and note
in which class the best animals fall Is
pecially let him note the result as to
durability. that is the horses which have
continued servicea BILE for the greatest
number of years. This superiority OF
quality in horses less than Is hands is
not because of any objection to that
height in itself, but because with the in
crease of height in a horse. there must
be a corresponding increase in all the
proportions of his conformation, and this
balance of proportion is much more dill
ficult to obtain in horses as tall as 16
hands than in those of less height.
The anatomy OF the animal is COM
posed Of many parts, each one OF Wh!ch
bears such intimate relations to others
that just in the degree of their mutual
adaptability, is the ease and capacity or
motion Of the animal. It is obvious that
the greater. the inequality between the
proportion of the horse, the, less COM
petent he will be for the fullest exercise
OF the whole machinery of the hody.
and moreover the necessity titus occa-
stoned for more friction and wear OF IFS
mechanism, will decidedly shorten the
animals pcriod ofsusefulness
The substance of the foregoing re-
marks may be summed UP by another
quotation from the work of Mr.. liayss:
I'm all species of animals there anDears
RI ne a limit OF height, which tho re-