Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1904-03-03
BREEDING AND
CARE ef HORSES

1nc morse, the most useful OF oil ami
mails, Is the one marked for the most
of mems i'll treatment. For the most
part housed in Il. lighted, ill ventilated
and i'll smelling quarters, worked to its
full capacity, cared for only to the de-
gree that selfish interest prompts, the
animal is delivered over as the unpro-
tected object of the unrestraincd pas
sfons of man. The average man fails
apparently to understand that animals
have nervous system, among them
In marked degree the horse, and that
were he to govern his own temper he
could, with little patience, get con-
troll of the horses nervous system and
make out Of it servant vastly more
efficient than it is under the system in
which he beats and jerks and drives
1t to distraction.
A short walk in any city will dis
cover any number of blind horses.
Why? There are no blind cows com.
paratively. And yet the sight of the
one naturally is as good as that of the
other. The difference is simply that
the horse from the beginning has been
abused, ill housed, overworked and
worked under conditions that have
driven him blind. His eyes are shut
IN by the binders at each side, for
Which there is no use but to satisfy the
caprice or fashion of man. So his
vision interfered with and deprived of
air, the wonder is that, with the other
treatment he gets he is not blind often
er. Besides this, in other cases his
neck is almost pulled out of joint by
overhead checkreins, that raise his face
TO the air and turn his eyeballs to
the glare of the sun unprotected, or,
on the other hand, deprived of IL check
rein, he is bitted with a curb that pulls
his jaws to his breast and fortunes
him in this fashion. And then, accord
ing to the spreading fashion of the day,
he is subjected to that most cruel Of all
practices, docking, which not merely
fortunes in practice, but leaves him to
the torment of flies for the rest of his
life. 1t is the merciful man who is
merciful to his beast, and if it is the
merciful who obtain mercy we have,
as people, some way to come before
we get that blessing. - indianapolis
News.
Marketable Horses
In an address before the Minnesota
Agricultural society by the Hon. H. A.
Briggs of Wisconsin OH the subject Of
horse breeding he referred to the lack
of knowledge OH the part of western
farmers and the difficulty they expert
enced in breeding to particular type
so as to produce marketable horses and
said:
"Let us look at the demands of the
market before we start in to breed and
grow this farmers horse, for I take it
that all farmers are breeding for the
profit more than any other one thing,
and now is a good time to breed
horses, for there is shortage all over
the country, or, in other words. the
supply is not equal to the demand. AS
we learn from the government census
of 1900, there were at that time 1,479,-
$50 colts between one and two years
old. That looks like a good many, but
not when we realize that it takes 30O,-
600 to supply our cities and 100000
for all other work, which makes 1,5O0,-
600 horses each year to supply the
United States, to say nothing Of the
foreign demand that we can supply If
we have what they want, for Lon
don requires 125,OOO to keep it's bust
ness moving each year. For the year
just closed our export trade amounted
to about 100000 for horses alone.
A Good Draft Horse.
A draft horse without good feet is
worthless on any market; hence good
feet are the very first essential. The
hoofs should be large, round and wide
at the heel. They should have width,
but not be too deep or shallow. The
horn should be Of good quality, rs in
dicated by it's density. The wall must
be strong and not inclined to be fat.
The legs should be we'll set under the
body and possess plenty of substance,
as indicated by the quality and amount
of bone and the development OF the
muscles OH the forearms and gaskins.
Weight is very essential point. A
draft horse should weigh from 1900
pounds upward, the more the better,
provided it is combined with quality
and good feet and legs. The body
should be deep, wide and strongly cou-
pied. as indicated by shortness OF back
and the muscling of the loin. Good ac-
ton is essential, as indicated by the
length Of stride, quickness of step and
straightaway movements.
Care of Unshod Hoofs.
The colt should have abundant exer-
else on dry ground. The hoofs will
then wear gradually, and it will only
be necessary from time to time to reg
ulate any uneven wear with the rasp
and to round of the sharp edge about
the toe in order to prevent breaking
away of the wall.
Colts in the stable cannot wear down
their lnoofs, so that every four to six
weeks they should be rasped down
and the lower edge Of the wall well
rounded to prevent chipping. The soless
and clefts of the frog should be picked
out every few days and the entire hoof
. ~ HkNanN