680 THE AMERICAN FARMER 



that are much heavier. This is not always so, but is sometimes the case. A large horse 

 with a good form and well-developed muscles, will be stronger, other conditions being equal, 

 than a small or medium-sized one, with an equally well-developed form and muscles, but the 

 size of the animal will not always prove an index of his strength. We specify thus partic 

 ularly because we wish to be understood that strength does not always depend upon size. 

 Many horses will also be very strong and able to draw heavy loads for a time, but do not 

 possess the power of endurance that others of less strength may have. A horse may be in 

 disposition, free and willing, and perhaps work beyond his strength, and consequently will be 

 liable to be injured by continual severe labor, such as he is obliged to perform at certain 

 busy seasons on the farm. Irregularity in labor and in feeding, which are frequently prac 

 ticed in the busy season on most farms, are very injurious to a horse, and a great strain upon 

 their powers of endurance. A horse, as well as a man, will be able to perform much more 

 labor in the aggregate, with less exhaustion to the physical system, by observing regularity 

 in labor, performing about the same amount day after day, than to do an excessive amount 

 of work for two or three weeks, and then lie idle about the same length of time. Regularity 

 is in accordance with Nature s law, and a violation of this law is very liable to bring evil 

 results. Farm labor, being much more severe at some times than at others, will test the 

 powers of endurance of a horse much more than regular labor of some other kind, and 

 therefore the farmer should have for this purpose a horse possessing great powers of endur 

 ance in connection with the other good qualities previously mentioned. 



Activity. Activity is also a desirable quality in a horse, and a sluggish drone to be 

 avoided. For a carriage-horse this is very essential, and it is also very desirable in a farm- 

 horse, which, with the majority of farmers, is the &quot; general-purpose horse.&quot; A horse with a 

 very nervous temperament, sprightly and active in movement, might prove restive and uneasy 

 under the slow process by which much of the heavy farm work is performed. On the other 

 hand, a sluggish horse, whose activity would not much surpass that of an ox, would prove quite 

 as objectionable. A medium between the two would be an animal possessing a fair amount of 

 activity, yet patient under restraint and admirably suited to all kinds of labor. There is a 

 great difference in animals in this respect, and consequently in the amount of labor they are 

 able to perform in a given time, therefore some horses will prove nearly twice as valuable to 

 the farmer in this respect as others. 



The Farm Horse. As we have previously specified the qualities generally desirable 

 in a horse, which qualities are especially essential in a farm horse, it will only be necessary in 

 this connection to mention some points not referred to in the former, and which have a 

 special application to this subject. On those farms where several horses are required to per 

 form the work, and a special carriage-horse is kept, it is customary in some sections, 

 especially in the Western States, to employ the heavy draft-horse for farm purposes, those 

 showing great compactness of body and muscle, low, broad, and heavy-boned, with short 

 neck, wide breast, and withers so formed as to throw the greatest weight into the collar. 

 Such horses are admirably adapted for heavy work. But where the farmer is unable to keep 

 more than one or two horses and this comprises a large class of farmers it is generally 

 conceded that, for all the practical purposes of the farm, one of medium size is to be pre 

 ferred. Under all circumstances, the animal should be adapted to the kind of work for 

 which he is to be principally used. If for general use on the farm, he should neither be too 

 heavy for the road or light work, or too light for heavy work, therefore a medium sized 

 animal, under such circumstances, will best meet the requirements of the farmer. Hon. 

 Geo. B. Loring, Commissioner of Agriculture, sketches in the following a pen-picture of his 

 ideal of a farm horse: 



&quot; When I commenced farming, I made up my mind that my horses should be as good 



