HEAVY HORSES 199 



The back is very strong, the hind quarters long and heavy, and close- 

 coupled with the loin; the legs standing well under the body. The fore- 

 legs — a very essential point, for however good an animal's top may be, 

 he will be worthless if he has not legs and feet to carry him — must be 

 short, flat, and possessed of plenty of hard bone, big at the knees and free 

 from feather, whilst the pasterns are short and powerful, with little hair 

 on them, the feet being of a good size and truly shaped. In height the 

 Suffolk should stand from 15 hands 3 inches to 16 hands 2 inches at 

 the shoulder, as if he is smaller he will lose power, and if bigger he is 

 likely to be deficient in that symmetry and compactness which are so 

 characteristic of the breed. So much space has already been devoted to 

 the question of colour that it is unnecessary to refer to that question 

 again, beyond remarking that it is imperatively necessary that it should 

 be chestnut of some shade or other, but preferably the deeper ones, 

 and the less white the better. In general appearance the Suffolk 

 Punch is very happily described in the Suffolk Stud - book as being- 

 long, low, and wide, and this summary of his outline cannot possibly 

 be bettered. 



Considerable importance, and very properly too, is attached to the 

 action of their horses by the breeders of Suffolks, who for the most part 

 are united in decrying the presence of a high-flying action in a heavy horse. 

 In the words of the official description of the variety, which cannot possibly 

 be improved upon : " The Suffolk horse is an excellent mover, with a smart, 

 quick step, a true balance all round at the trot, and a capital walker". As 

 may naturally be supposed, an ultra-high flashy action is not desired, and it 

 is naively added that " a horse weighing a ton bending his knee up to his 

 throat latch, and striking the granite with his feet like a sledge-hammer, is 

 not an exhibition that the Suffolk farmer has any delight in". In fact, a 

 Suffolk that is heavy enough for the largest dray is seldom if ever called 

 upon for an exhibition of speed and high action; even if he is only up 

 to ordinary railway delivery -van work he is never likely to be wanted 

 to go more than seven or eight miles an hour, and this class of animal 

 will never scale a ton. As Mr. Hume Webster alleges, there can be no 

 doubt that the old variety of Suffolks were famous not only for their 

 nimbleness of action but for the honesty ot continuance with which they 

 would exert themselves at a dead pull. He also added, with pardonable 

 pride — for in his lifetime he was a most enthusiastic admirer of the 

 Punches — that the Suffolks of his day (1891) did not belie those great 

 qualities of their ancestors. They are good drawers, and will continue 

 to tug again and again at a dead pull without any need of the whip. 

 The pure -bred Suffolk needs no whip, but at a signal from his driver 



