540 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



they do not mind three or four days at the fair without feed or 

 care. This reduces his exhibition expenses to the minimum so 

 that he pockets a cash profit. The rules of most fairs afford a 

 remedy, but too few superintendents have the nerve to instruct 

 a judge that he must not award premiums to animals that are 

 clearly not deserving. The foregoing can be considered only 

 as an example of how not to exhibit and so is not needed here. 

 It is well to remember, however, that an exhibit of this sort 

 hurts any breed to which it pretends to belong, and it is worth 

 while to incur a few hard feelings if necessary by insisting that 

 rules governing such cases be observed. No one man ought to 

 have to do this. It is disgusting enough to incite a riot. 



Of all kinds of draft horse exhibits the colt show is the 

 livest proposition known, and its influence has brought im- 

 provements in the country, state and national shows. There is 

 still plenty of room to improve, and the opportunities to make 

 colt shows more interesting and instructive are almost without 

 limit. Following and combining the examples which some pri- 

 vate colt shows have set, a county fair association could profit- 

 ably organize its draft horse division to cover something like 

 the following: 



It should first carefully canvass its territory and see what 

 classes were necessary to provide for the pure-bred breeding 

 animals, giving each breed a classification, say for three ages, 

 but allowing neither ribbons nor money to be awarded except 

 for merit. Two classes for teams in harness (mares or geldings 

 only) could then be made, the lighter one open to grades only 

 and the heavier open to grades and pure breds. These could 

 be for horses under, say 1,600 pounds and horses of that weight 

 and over. Three grade classes each could be made for colts and 

 yearlings sired by draft stallions, say for colts from mares under 

 1,200, from mares 1,200 and up to 1,450, and from mares 1,450 

 or more. The draft horse men of the county should see to it 

 that the prizes for colts out of the 1,450-pound mares should be 

 slightly more than for colts out of mares under 1,450. Mares 

 above that weight are the ones that begin to give draft horse 

 reputation to a neighborhood, and it pays to recognize them. A 

 championship class can also be provided to which the only first 

 prize winning colt from each of the other classes should be eli- 

 gible, and in this class only one ribbon should be given. An- 

 other mighty interesting class is for brood mare and two or more 

 colts, and in such a class it might be well to require that at least 



