100 iOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
take longer to bring about results than we would like, and longer tban we 
anticipate, the result is bound to be, regardless of the government experi- 
ments, that we are going to develop in America American breeds and 
American types for the American market and the American demand. 
Question : Do we understand you to declare that the American 
standard-bred horse of 1100 or 1150 pounds weight is America's 
typical heavy harness horse ? Is not a little more weight desirable ? 
Prof. Curtiss: No, I don't think so. As a rule, the demand 
does not call for a horse weighing over 1150 to 1200 pounds. Occa- 
sionally there will be a demand for a pair of horses a little larger 
than that — up to 16% hands and weighing 1250 or possibly 1300; 
but that is very rare indeed. But there is one feature about the 
kind of horse that I have shown here, 15-3 hands high and weighing 
1150 pounds : he looks big when in action. The horse that develops 
speed must be built along different lines. He will go on a low, 
straight line, in accordance with the maxim that the shortest dis- 
tance between two points is a straight line. This horse is not 
developed for speed; if he had been he would not have gone that 
way at all. Probably he never would have gone fast enough in 
a speed ring to bring much money, but he went high enough in 
show form to win a great deal of money. So the purposes are 
essentially different, and yet they may be combined to a considerable 
degree. This horse was trained to go high, and that is the kind of 
action you want in a heavy harness horse. It is not required that 
a horse of that kind shall go extremely fast, and yet they ought to 
be able to strike at least a four-minute gait, and it is better if they 
can strike a three-minute gait. I have driven that horse a great 
deal this summer, and he will go out without any rein on and look 
just that way. 
Question: We occasionally see the light harness horse: what 
should that be? 
Prop. Curtiss : A light harness horse is one of two things: a 
trotter or a roadster. A roadster is a horse of the speed type, but 
of nicer finish than the horse that is fitted for the speed ring. It is 
seen in our trotting-bred animals that are not developed for extreme 
speed, or posibly haven't it. They are driven to a lighter buggy 
and with a light harness. The heavy harness horse must necessarily 
be thicker and blockier. The blood lines may be the same, although 
they will select for a roadster a horse that has a better sprung rib 
and a broad hip and quarter. This type comes from the English 
type of Hackney. The Hackney has largely fixed the type for this 
