JUDGING THE HORSE 



171 



hour in a free, easy manner. Many heavy horses tend to carry 

 the feet to one side somewhat when in motion. This is in 

 a measure due to the straight, open-topped shoulder. When 

 watching the horse in action, look for a strong, only moder- 

 ately high knee and hock movement, but do not look for 

 much speed. The heavy horse, however, inclines to drag 

 his feet, and this should 

 be watched for. As one 

 stands behind, he should 

 easily see the glisten of 

 the shoe as each foot is 

 raised. There are just 

 as wide extremes in ac- 

 tion among draft horses 

 as among carriage horses, 

 but not so much should 

 be expected from the 

 former as the latter. 



Opportunities to study 

 horses are frequent, eith- 

 er in the country or in 

 town. If one is observ- 

 ant of the horses that 

 are constantly passing, 

 much information of val- 

 ue will reward the effort. 



Comparisons may be 

 repeatedly made, for 



two-horse teams always provide such an opportunity, while 

 in many public places two or more horses are frequently 

 standing side by side, interesting subjects for comparison. 



Fig. 96. Powerful draft horse confor- 

 mation from behind. The camera being nea- 

 rer the hind legs than the front ones, the for- 

 mer appear much too long and out of propor- 

 tion. Photograph by courtesy The Farmer. 



