Arizona state miner., 1926-07-03
LIVE STOCK: yI0cK
A' NEWS
HORSE SUPPLY OF
MUCH IMPORTANCE

WlIH SCdClSC1cS pointing TO marked
reduction in the horse and mule pOpu
lation of the country during the next
tive years, the matter of producing
work animals is receiving considerable
thought by foresighted farmers, ac-
cording to G. w. Crawford of the ami
nal husbandry department, college of
agriculture, University of Illinois.
With horses, the breeder must look
farther into the future than with meat
animals, since it takes from four to
ready for hard work. Before taking
this amount of time to produce a
product, the wise breeder takes every
possible precautiOn to insure the pro-
duction of a desirable and profitable
type. This fact becomes more ap-
parent when one considers the large
spread between the choice and in
feriOr types of present-day horses. The
kind most In demand are bringing as
much today as they ever did and in
some classes more, but medium sorts,
horses without a job, and plugs, are
drug on the market.
In the cities the demand is almost
entirely for heavy drafters and wagon
horses. To bring top price draft
horse must have size and weight He
must have large, round feet and cor
rectly set legs with an abundance Of
clean, fiat bone. He should have "a
short back and deep middle He must
be sound and have quality and finish.
He should have plenty of flesh and his
hair must be short and slick. He
should move well. At certain times of
the year there Is fair demand for
the palmer sort of drafter for logging
purposes. Such horses must have
scale, but soundness and quality are
not emphasized so much as in the
cities.
The type of wagon horse wanted is
of the heavier sort, weighing from
1850 to 1000 pounds. There is little
call for the lighter ones which used
to be so popular for delivery wagon
service. The wagon horse is slightly
more outstanding than the heavy
drafter. but he must have a good mid
die and be we'll finished in his cou-
pling. A good set Of feet and legs
with lot of QualitY~fs demanded. He
must move well at both the walk and
trOt.
Horses must be we'll broken to bring
good prices on the market, and they
will sell better If they have harness
marks on them. Colts should be care
fully trained in order that they may
develop into steady, reliable workers.
A good hitching horse will always
bring more than one which gives only
a mediocre account of himself in har-
ness. Usually q horse will sell better
If he will work both single and dou-
BILE. This is especially true of wagon
horses. Matched pairs are worth more
and six-year-olds are the most desir-
able ages.
Although the city demand is impor-
tant, yet most of the countrys horses
and mules, about 81 per cent, are used
on the farm. The coming shortage
Will D0 1SII uCIS dSuICAS
as in the city, since the proportion of
old horses on the farm today is large.
Farmers are keeping pace with city
teamsters in demanding larger horses.
This is due to the use of heavy ma
chinery and more thorough methods
of tillage. The hard road and auto
has supplanted the horse for quick
trips. Horses are wanted for heavy
work mostly. Therefore, the demand
for "general-purpose" horses, chunks
and light drafters, is limited, and
while there is fair demand for heavy
wagon horses, it is doubtful If one
should attempt to produce this type.
Usually there are enough colts Of draft
blood which fail to reach satisfactory
size to take care of the demand for
lighter Sorts Therefore, it would
seem that in the production of work
horses one should aim to produce the
big, heavy, quality kind. The produc-
ton of other sorts is not likely to
show much profit.