THE DRAUGHT-HORSE 40! 



THE DRAUGHT-HORSE. 



Much variety of opinion has prevailed respecting 

 horses for the purposes of draught, and consequently 

 these are found to vary throughout the kingdom ; but 

 one principal character now prevails, that of weight, to 

 give them more physical force. For ordinary purposes 

 they should not be above sixteen hands high, with a 

 light, well-shaped head and neck, short pricked ears, 

 and brisk, sparkling eyes ; the nostrils large and wide, 

 to allow freedom in breathing ; their chests should be 

 full and deep, with large, strong, muscular shoulders, 

 but rather lower in front than otherwise ; that is, with 

 a large and round rump, which should be higher than 

 the forehand ; the tail firm, strong, and well furnished 

 with hair ; the back straight and tolerably long, but 

 not too much so, as that is found to impair the general 

 strength of the animal ; the legs should be rather long, 

 flat, and broad ; the fillets large and swelling, the joints 

 closely knit ; they should stand wide on all their legs, 

 the hind-quarters being wider than the fore. 



Large horses are better adapted for waggons, and 

 have frequently been bred seventeen hands high, and 

 even more, with elevated forehands, and deep counters. 

 The great object in the breeding of draught-horses is 

 to increase strength, activity, and power ; to remove 

 weight as much as possible, and procure them of the 

 height of sixteen hands for general utility. Indeed it 

 has been proved that horses of this size have performed 

 feats of strength of greater magnitude than those of 

 elephantine proportions. I remember to have seen a 

 black cart-horse, of sixteen hands, draw thirty-six 

 hundred weight of baggage from Glasgow to Stirling, 

 a distance of twenty-seven miles, in about eleven hours. 

 Instances have been known where a single horse has 



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