SIXTH AXXUAL Y K AR BOOK — PART YII. 503 



While immensely powerful he is slow in motion and sluggish in dispo- 

 sition. His hair is somewhat coarse and the legs while extra heavy in 

 bone do not present the clean appearance of those of the Clydesdale. 

 The shoulders and pasterns are more upright than those of the Scottish 

 breed and the action is consequently slow and stilted. The strong, 

 broad short back of the Shire should serve as a pattern for other breeds, 

 and the best specimens of the breed, free from gumminess of legs and 

 possessed of aclivity, can be utilized >vith good results if mated with our 

 mares of large frame. The Shire is essentially a "ton horse,"' many 

 specimens even exceeding that weight. 



Utility. — A cross between the Shire and Clyde results in first class 

 horses for heavy draft work but such cross-bred animals should not be 

 utilized in breeding. The so-called "Select Clydesdale" is of this breed- 

 ing but is little heard of now-a-days and the stud book for their regis- 

 tJ'ation is defunct. For heavy, slow draft work Shire horses every- 

 where are valuable and the breed is prepotent in the production of its 

 characteristics. 



THE BELGI.\X DR.\FT HORSE. 



From blending together the blood of the Flemish Brabancon and 

 Ardennais horses a distinct breed of draft horses has been formed in 

 Belgium. The breeding of these horses constitutes one of the principle 

 sources of wealth of the Belgian farmer and the government aids the 

 business by subsidies and supervision. The Belgian Draft Horse Society 

 was founded in Belgium in 1883 and now has a membership of 1,100. 

 Vol. 11 of the Stud Book shows 2.5.260 registrations of stallions and 43- • 

 533 registrations of mares. All stallions standing for public service are 

 examined yearly by expert committees. Imported Belgian horses 



should have pedigree certificates signed by the Secretary of the "Societe 

 Le Cheval de Trait Beige," for. according to the Special Commissioner 

 of Agriculture of Belgium who was in charge of the exhibit of Belgian 

 horses made by the Belgian Draft Horse Society at the St. Louis World's 

 Fair, "The use of false pedigrees is constant, in fact they are the sub- 

 ject of definite commerce. Letters of nobility are given to the plebians 

 and with the aid of false certificates, horses untraced are brought to 

 market as the offspring of champions and prize-winners in our shows." 



Characteristics. — The typical Belgian horse is blocky, wide, heavy, on 

 short, clean legs. His neck often inclines to coarseness and his croup 

 is sloping while his pasterns are apt to be upright and his feet some- 

 what steep. The old-fashioned type was a soft, unattractive, fat horse 

 of little value for mating with our native mares. The newer pattern 

 is a better one. its representatives being fast, free movers and greatly 

 improved in the points just criticised. As a rule these Belgian horses 

 are perhaps more readily and quickly fattened than those of any other 

 breed. This attribut makes the Belgian grade popular with the pro- 

 fessional horse feeder and of recent years many horses of this kind 

 have been sold to advantage in the Chicago market. There seems to be 

 no standard color for the breed. Red and blue roans are most common 

 while bays and browns are also met with. 



