Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-27

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draft horse should weigh from 1900
upward, the more the better, provided
it is combined with quality and good
feet and legs. The body should be
deep. wide and strongly coupled, as in
dictated by the shortness of back and
the muscleing of the loin. Good action
is essential as indicated by the length
Of Stride uickness of step and straight
away movements.
The Coach Horse Next.
Next in Importance to the draft
horse is the carriage horse. Some men
who are naturally adapted to educat-
ing and training horses can produce
carriage or coach horses much more
profitably than draft horses. Horses
of this class possessing the desired
conformation, style, action and speed
command very high prices and are al
always in good demand. Perhaps at the
present time there is a greater demand
for good horses of this class at high
prices than for any of the other dis
tinct market types. This is due to
two things: "a Prosperous times in
towns and cities have made it possible
for many business men to keep such
horses for pleasure driving, and (2)
very few of them are produced, owing
to the fact that most farmers have
been following wrong methods in try
ing to breed such horses.
The ideal carriage or coach horse
is an animal of high excellence of
form, style, action, speed and educa-
ton. He must be of good size, stand
ing from 1873 to 1862 hands high, and
weighing in the neighborhood of 1900
pounds and upward. He must be en-
dowed with much style, as indicated
by clean cut head, gracefully carried
on lengthy, we'll arched neck, which
must blend nicely with the shoulders
and back so as to present an elegant
contour. The duration in the period
OF usefulness in the carriage or coach
horse will be increased or shortened
by the conformation of the legs and
the size and construction of the
feet. The pastern should be sloping,
SO as to do away with direct concus-
sion, which is SO hard on the inner
parts of the foot The foot should
be large, round, with a well developed
frog and a good width of heel.
INC tNOdUSISTs
Another class of horses in good de-
mand at the present time is the gen
tleman's driving horse, or more COM
monty known as the roadster. A good
and valuable roadster should not be
considered as necessarily a race
horse. Few race horses ever make
satisfactory roadsters. The roadster
should be of fair size, 1916 to 16 hands
high, of good and graceful copforma-
ton, good color, stylish looking, a
free driver, capable of travelling from
twelve to fifteen miles an hour. He
must have good action, not especially
high, but long, straight and
regular. He may either trot or
pace.
The Saddle Horse.
The saddle horse is always in good
demand. He is almost without ex-
ception the progeny of the thorough
bred and his descendant-the Ameri-
can trotting horse. The real high
class thoroughbred possesses more
quality than any other breed of
horse. He is clean cut, impressive,
breezy looking in every respect. On
account of his clean cut appearance a
courser mare can be bred to this horse
than to others. His progeny, except
from extremely coarse mares, are sell
dom lacking in quality and ambition.
Horses of this class are often called
combination animals, being useful
either in the saddle or as a harness
horse.