The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1912-04-19


hands" a inches) from the summit
of the withers to the ground. A typi-
cal, ideal draft horse stands over Ii
hands Is feet inches) and under IL
hands high. Tall, leggy horses, If de-
ticient in weight, width and quality,
are found affected with St. V1tus'
dance. Exceptionally tall horses lover
17.2 hands, are difficult to match in
pairs and therefore may not meet
with ready sale on the market. Such
horses are chiefly used for single work
or as the middle horses of three horse
teams
A draft horse should weigh 1000
pounds, or more, in ordinary flesh.
Weight in a draft horse Is absolutely
necessary for the hauling of heavy
loads. 1t enables the horse to derive
full benefit from the strength OF his
muscles, adds to the effect of his mo-
tons and gives him a firm grip upon
the ground. Heavy weight is a USE
less burden when not associated with
Gle. 1t should be accompanied by
vigor and energy.
The form of the draft horse should
be broad, deep, massive, evenly pro-
portioned and symmetrical, the entire
makeup suggesting great strength and
weight. The body should be blocky,
and compact, with short, broad, clean,
well set legs showing fine skin, large
joints and prominent tendons.
The entire appearance Of the draft
horse should be indicative OF strength
for heavy hauling A massive body,
set squarely on sturdy legs is re-
quired.
Good quality is shown by fine,
bright, silky hair; soft, pliable skin;
clean, we'll defined tendons; smooth
well developed muscles; strong,
smooth bones. 1t usually is associated
with style, spirit and intelligence in
dicative of "breeding."
A draft horse does most of his hard
work at the walking gait. 1t is there
fore important that he should be able
to walk fast without firing. He should
be able to walk four miles an hour
with a load To do this the action
must be perfectly regular, straight
and level. Joints must be quickly and
fully fexed; feet must be advanced
and set down without deviation from
straight line. Soles of the feet
should turn up and show the shoes
plainly as the horse moves away
from the observer, at both walk and
trot. The feet should be lifted quick
and firmly.
There should be no "paddlin$."
"dishing," or "winging' in or out, cut
ting or interfering. nor should the fore
legs swing out or roll" or the hind
legs be carried too close together or
ton the observer must note the move
ments of each leg and foot the
handling of each joint and the car
riage of the entire body, as the horse
walks and trots. Watch closely for
lameness. The hooks should be car
IL.
Rolling, or waddling in front is due to
too great width Of chest Knee and
hook action should both be free and
comparatively high. Perfection of &C.
ton at the walk is OF highest impor-
lance in the draft horse.
The draft horse shorld show Wig
orous, lively, energetic disposition.
yet be docile, tractable and intelli-
gent He should be neither sluggish,
nor irritable, nor excessively nervous.
Noticeable vices, rs cribbing, wind
sucking, weaving, tail switching, shy
etc., are undesirable. Sluggishness
associated with fat should be avoided,
as 1t induces disease. Stupidity, clum-
siness, meanness or excessive nerv
BUSINESS are Objectionable and should
discount the animal.
The head should be large, proper
donate in size to the body and we'll
formed, clean, free from coarseness
and Irregularities
Strength may be shown in the head
as we'll as the rest of the body. 1t
should be carried we'll up and balanced
properly upon the neck.
The shoulder of a draft horse
should be moderately sloping, smooth
and extending well back. A majority
Of poorly formed draft horses have
shoulders which are too steep. Occa-
sionally the shoulders are too sloping
Either extreme in a draft horse is OBJ
jectionable. Trouble with collars
comes from these causes when the
horse is doing heavy pulling. The cor
rectly laid shoulder should form a
smooth, comfortable bed for the col
lar. Straight or upright shoulders de-
tract from easy, free action Of the
forelegs and generally are found asso-