FARM ANIMALS 13 



istic gray color but black is now coming into fashion 

 and bays and roans are common with an occasional 

 brown or chestnut. The head of the Percheron is 

 small compared with the size of the body, the neck 

 is well arched, the hind quarters broad and muscu- 

 lar, and the legs short with very little "feather." 

 The action of the Percheron is good but the stride 

 is not so showy nor quite so active as that of the 

 Clydesdale. Occasionally there is a tendency in 

 Percherons to develop a chest so wide that the 

 stride becomes a rolling or waddling gait. Per- 

 cherons are used very extensively on farms, espe- 

 cially in the Middle West for producing grade draft 

 horses from native mares. At present there are 

 more than 30,000 registered Percheron horses in 

 the United States. 



Clydesdale. This draft horse originated in Scot- 

 land by improvement from the old black horse of 

 Europe, the foundation stock being imported into 

 Scotland early in the 18th century. At present the 

 prevailing colors of the Clydesdale are brown, bay, 

 or black, with white markings on the face and legs. 

 The Clydesdale stands from 16 to 17 hands high 

 and weighs from 1600 to 2200 pounds. The head 

 of the Clydesdale is long, usually with a straight 

 but sometimes with a Roman nose. The back is 

 sometimes a little too long but the hindquarters are 

 splendidly covered with muscle and the feet and 

 legs are perhaps as well formed as in any breed of 

 draft animals. The legs are clean with a slight 

 feather which springs from the back tendons and 

 not from the sides of the leg as in the Shire horse. 

 In some cases the leg bones are somewhat too light 

 but the defects in the breed are being corrected by 

 special attention given to these points. The 

 characteristic feature of the Clydesdale is his long 



