340 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



a drafter as well as a coacher, or of a busser, as well as a cob, roadster 

 or saddler. 



AGE. 



Mature and well-broken borses are always tbe best sellers. A year 

 or two spent in waiting for a borse to develop and educating bim means 

 an expenditure of time and money on the part of tbe purchaser which 

 is, as a rule, undesirable, unless the horse is bought specifically for the 

 purpose of fitting him for the finished market. The ideal age is five 

 years, buyers usually purchasing animals ranging from five to eight. 

 The classes vary somewhat in this respect. A horse intended for draft 

 purposes may be marketed somewhat sooner than a harness horse or 

 saddler. 



BREEDING AND SEX. 



The breed to which a horse belongs has very little influence on his 

 selling price. All that is required is that he be a good individual of his 

 class. A good horse always sells. Geldings are preferred somewhat 

 generally to mares. 



COLOR. 



Color does not figure so strongly as many would lead us to believe. 

 Almost any color with excellence to back it will sell well, except white, 

 flea-bitten gray, "mealy" bay or any other color that might be termed 

 "washed out." Among drafters, no special color seems to have a pref- 

 erence; with harness horses and saddlers, bays, browns and chestnuts 

 have first preference, but grays and blacks sell readily if "good."' Well- 

 matched teams, both in harness and draft classes, usually bring higher 

 prices than if sold singly. 



CONDITION. 



Condition is very often overlooked. It is absolutely essential that a 

 horse be in good condition (well fed) to bring what* he is really worth. 

 This is particularly true of animals of the draft type. Whether it in- 

 creases tbe animal's real value as a worker is not necessary to consider. 

 Tbe market demands high condition and pays those men well who cater 

 to it. The great lack of condition is shown by the the fact that many 

 horses are sent in for sale only to be reshipped to the country for further 

 feeding. Condition is almost as essential as fat on a steer, and its ab- 

 sence cuts from 25 to 50 per cent from the selling price of a horse. The 

 requirements of the market in this line are well worthy of notice. 



DISPOSITION AND INTELLIGENCE. 



Every class calls for an animal of intelligence and good disposition, 

 willing to pull at a good rate or set a fast pace on the driveway, and capa- 

 ble and cool-headed in an emergency. The use of horses on crowded 

 streets, often among large numbers of pedestrians, makes the latter par- 

 ticularly essential. The need of these qualifications is more important in 

 some classes than in others. 



