86 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



year. To all appearances cur farmers are heavily engaged in the pro- 

 duction of horses. What are the real facts concerning the number of 

 horses in Iowa today compared with that of six years ago. According 

 to the most recent statistics published by our Department of Agricul- 

 ture we had in the State of Iowa in the year 190.5 horses of all ages 

 to the number of 1,238,159, while on .Tune 1, 1900, we had 1,392,573, 

 or 154,414 more horses than in 1905. If these figures mean anything it 

 will be some time yet before there will be an over-supply of good horses 

 in this State, it is doubtful if there was ever a time in the last decade 

 when good, high class draft horses were as scarce in this State as 

 they are at the present time. Horse buyers will tell you that it is next 

 to impossible to find a carload of good draft horses of a salable age 

 In any one locality in low-a. Even the men who make it a business to 

 feed out young horses are experiencing no end of difficulty in finding 

 suitable animals for their feed lots. Good people, the time is not near 

 at hand when good draft horses will have to go begging on the market. 



In the production of draft horses, like all ether classes of live stock, 

 the man who fir;:t makes a study of the market demands and then sets 

 out to produce exactly what the market wants will reap the greatest 

 degree of success. There are many things in this world which are 

 difficult to fathom. If a man has decided to go to Chicago, New York 

 or some ether point, about the first thing he does is to consult the local 

 ticket agent or use a railroad guide so that he may ascertain the cheap- 

 est and shortest way of reaching his destination. If he did not do so 

 you would not deem him a good business man. Why, then, are not the 

 same tactics worthy of consideration in the production of good draft 

 horses. In the breeding of draft horses the line of breeding that will 

 produce the desired result in the cheapest and quickest way is the one 

 which should commend itself to any man interested in the business. 



A study of the market demands as they pertain to the draft horse 

 reveals the fact that weight is still as desirable as in past years, so 

 that a draft horse, to sell well, must weigh from 1,C00 pounds upwards 

 and be of the desired draft type. That is, he should be massively built, 

 deep-bodied, short-coupled, heavily muscled, short-legged, a good actor, 

 and possess feet which are properly constructed and out of durable 

 material. Such a horse can be economically raised on any Iowa farm, 

 and owing to the strong demand for him, he finds a ready sale at a price 

 much nearer his real market value than any other class of horse that 

 can be produced. 



Time will not permit of a detailed description of a typical present 

 day draft horse. There are some points which are very essential, and 

 these will be treated in detail. 



The conformation of the fore and hind limbs of a horse have a very 

 marked influence on his value in the market because his utility is very 

 largely determined by the construction of these. The first point to which 

 I wish to draw your attention is the differences that exist in the nature 

 of the material that enters into the structure of these parts. We are 

 accustomed to the use of the terms flat bone and clean limbed, and 

 these are quite expressive in themselves if we understand what they 



