64 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



French Coach Horse Society of America, organized in 

 1888, with the present secretary at Oak Park, Illinois. 

 This society published the first volume of its stud-book 

 in 1906. 



GERMAN COACH HORSE. Fig. 11. 

 By M . W. Harper 



65. The title indicates that this is a breed of coach 

 horses, taking its n&me from Germany, where it was 

 developed. Horse-breeding in Germany is influenced 

 greatly by military requirements, and few of the draft 

 types are found there. Although Germany has several 

 types or breeds of horses that are suitable for commercial 

 and military purposes, she still imports many English 

 horses. 



66. History in Germany. Formerly the German 

 Empire was comprised of a number of states or princi- 

 palities each with its own form of government. Since 

 there was no interchange of ideas, a number of strains of 

 horses developed, varying widely in weight, conformation 

 and action. Such was the condition of horse-breeding 

 at the time of the formation of the German Empire. 

 While several of these strains retain their identity at the 

 present time, many others have been absorbed. This no 

 doubt accounts for much of the obscurity in the early 

 history of the German horse. 



The northwestern parts of Germany, particularly the 

 lowlands drained by the rivers Elbe, Weser and Ems, 

 which flow into the North sea, have long been noted as the 

 horse-breeding section of the Empire. Early records of 

 horse-breeding in Germany go back nearly five centuries. 

 As early as 1500, important annual fairs were held in 



