HEAVY HORSES 197 



dale and the Shire horse by the fact that he is a clean-legged animal, 

 and does not possess the extreme amount of feather that is so much 

 sought after by breeders of these varieties. This circumstance may very 

 possibly be accepted as an additional reason for the slowness which has 

 characterized the headway made by the Suffolk amongst agriculturists, 

 for they are great advocates of hair and bone, and a general belief 

 prevails that if hair is absent on a heavy horse's legs, bone is certain 

 to be deficient likewise. This, however, is not generally accepted by 

 the breeders of Suffolks, who support their contentions by measure- 

 ments, and assert that their favourite horse — that is, when his height 

 at shoulder and general bulk are taken into consideration — is fully 

 the equal of his heavier rivals as regards the amount of bone he 

 possesses below the knee. As a case in point, Mr. Hume AVebster refers 

 to Mr. Alfred J. Smith's champion stallion Wedgwood, who at the time 

 he wrote was five years old, and measured 7 feet 11 inches in girth, and 

 lOf inches below the knee — a very considerable measurement when it is 

 remembered that there is no hair included in the dimensions given, as 

 there would be in the case of a Clydesdale or a Shire horse. Wedgwood, 

 it may be stated, was foaled in the year 1886, and was the winner of 

 championship both at the show of the Eoyal Agricultural Society of Eng- 

 land, and many Suffolk county shows. The Suffolk, moreover, is credited 

 with a very enviable reputation for being a good horse so far as the 

 soundness of his feet is concerned, and consequently it is claimed for him 

 that he lasts longer upon the stones of a town than any other variety 

 that is put to the same class of work. In fact, so far as the wear and 

 tear of his legs is concerned, the Suffolk affords a practical illustration 

 of the fact that a great deal of hair upon the legs of a horse is no indication 

 of special durability and soundness, for many a Suffolk will continue 

 working at an age at which other heavy horses become worn out. 

 Longevity, indeed, is one of the chief claims which Suffolk breeders insist 

 upon making for their horses, and if half the stories that are told of aged 

 animals retaining all their juvenile vigour for many years after they 

 should in the usual order of things be long past work, be true — and 

 there is no reason for doubting the numerous instances that are forth- 

 coming on the subject — the Suffolk's term of usefulness is certainly a 

 prolonged one. 



The extreme docility of the breed is another great point in its favour, 

 as it is something for an owner to feel that he is possessed of a strain 

 of horses that rarely, if ever, develop vice, but on the contrary are 

 usually endowed with the sweetest of tempers and generosity. That 

 the Suffolk is a very willing horse is rendered quite apparent by a visit 



