342 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ate length, with a rather small ear, much breadth and fullness of fore- 

 head, a large, clear, full, intelligent eye, and a wide-open nostril, showing 

 good lung power and consequent stamina. The mouth should be of good 

 size, with sound teeth, and firm lips of medium thickness. 



Over all these must be an abundance of muscle laid on smoothly and 

 nicely rounded. Quality is highly essential, and the mistake of growing 

 size without it will be found expensive. A close connection between qual- 

 ity and stamina is very clearly recognized by horsemen. 



HORSES FOB DRAFT. 



Any horse the purpose of which is to draw large loads, whether at the 

 walk or trot may be spoken of as a "horse for draft." Common usage 

 has fixed the term "draft" on horses of specified weight and size, but there 

 are other classes on the market whose conformation is what has come 

 to be known as the "draft form," but which differ from the drafter in the 

 matter of size and weight and the manner of performing their work. The 

 drafter proper works always at a walk, while other classes of horses of 

 draft type do their work mainly at the trot. As we go along, the close 

 relationship between the different classes of this group should be noticed, 

 for it is one of the most interesting and instructive features of the market. 



THE DRAFT HORSE. 



Size and weight. — The weight that will characterize a horse as a 

 drafter will be that above which he cannot work at the trot without 

 waste of effort and horseflesh and below which he can work more econom- 

 ically by hauling smaller loads at increased speed. This weight is pretty 

 generally conceded to be 1,600 pounds in fair flesh. The height of a 

 drafter will vary from 15.3 hands for the smaller sorts to 17.2 hands for 

 horses of great weights. 



The importance of weight in a drafter must not be overlooked. His 

 purpose is solely that of heavy work, pulling great loads at the walk, and 

 to fulfill this requirement most perfectly the first essential.is weight with ; 

 of course, proportional size. Without weight the immense loads that are 

 to be hauled over our city .streets could not be moved, and careful obser- 

 vation of the average prices has shown that, other things being equal, 

 draft horseflesh is worth about $25 for every additional hundred pounds it 

 can show over 1,600 pounds.* It is also essential that as much as possible 

 of this weight be bone and muscle. Though many buyers unquestionably 

 demand fat, and the truth is that a horse cannot sell for a creditable price 

 unless fat, the effective value of a horse as a worker should not be lost 

 sight of. 



Conformation. — 'His conformation should enable the animal to make 

 his weight as effective as possible, and, at the same time, assure a rea- 

 sonably long period of usefulness. For this purpose, he must have a 

 rather short, heavy neck and a shoulder sloping enough to take the collar 

 well, but not so straight as to cause a "post leg" and bring about prema- 

 ture unsoundness. The back should be short, well muscled, and strongly 



* Craig. Judging Live Stock, p. 34. 



