Rural School Leaflet. 



1073 



A FIRST LESSON ON THE HORSE 



M. W. Harper 



" Round-hoofed, short -jointed , fetlocks shag and long, 

 Broad breast, full eyes, small head and nostril wide, 

 High crest, short ears, straight legs, and passing strong, 



Thin mane, thick tail, broad buttocks, tender hide; ^ 



Look, what a horse should have, he doth not lack; 

 Save a proud rider on so proud a back." — Shakespeare 



Object of the lesson. — To direct the pupil's attention to the study of 

 domestic animals and to give him an initial lesson in judging them. 



Materials. — In all lessons in nature-study and agriculture, the pupil 

 should study things first-hand. For this lesson on the horse it is important 

 that he should have an opportunity to observe a horse. It may be 

 that the class can be taken to a farm near by, or, if in a village or city, 

 to a stable. Possibly some boy in the class owns a horse which may 

 be brought into the schoolyard for the lesson. 



Fig. 23. — Instrument for measuring horses. Four feet long, 

 ei"hteen inches zvide 



Since some of the good points of the horse are judged by proportion, the 

 children may make an instrument for taking measurements, as follows: 

 Secure a piece of soft white pine two inches wide, one-half inch thick, and 

 four feet long; to one end of this, and at right angles to it, tack securely a 

 similar piece of pine 18 inches long; to the other end strap loosely an 

 ordinary carpenter's square so that it may slide back and forth. Now 

 mark off the long piece in inch and half-inch lengths, beginning at the 

 inside of the stationary bar. A yard stick may be used for making the 

 measurements, but to have them accurate the instrument should be 

 made. 



Every farm boy, and every girl, too, for that matter, should know what 

 characters constitute a good horse, — what makes a horse wanting in form, 



