346 TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



unless he understands its construction, the importance of its 

 various parts, their strength or weakness, and their relation to 

 one another. No man can learn the construction of a motor 

 by studying its exterior only; he must take it apart and study 

 the various parts, and then put them together again. Then 

 he must put it in motion and study the action of the various 

 levers, pulleys, and springs, in order that he may know the 

 location of weaknesses and at what points the most wear comes. 

 Knowing these things, he can manufacture a motor of high 

 efficiency, or, operating one, he can obtain from it the greatest 

 amount of work with least danger of injuring the machine. 

 Hence we see how important is a knowledge of the anatomy of 

 the horse as a basis for the study of types of horses and the re- 

 quirements and capabilities of each type. 



It is not possible to develop a good judge of any kind of 

 live stock by teaching simply what to look for in an animal. 

 A mere description of parts or points is not sufficient. The 

 student wants to know why certain things are desirable in an 

 animal, and why certain other things are undesirable. He 

 must know the ''why" of each point if he is to value each point 

 properly and put emphasis where it belongs. This is especially 

 true in learning to judge horses. No matter how carefully the 

 points to be looked for in feet and legs are described, the student 

 cannot recognize the importance of these parts and know what 

 constitutes a first-class foot and leg, unless he has a fairly good 

 idea of their anatomy and physiology. In the pages which 

 follow, the writer has, therefore, given considerable attention 

 to some of the essential features of horse anatomy before enter- 

 ing upon a description of the various types and market classes 

 of horses. 



Definition of Horse Terms. 



Stallion. Breeding male. 



Mare. The female. 



Colt. A young stallion. 



Filly. A young mare. 



Foal. Colt or filly under one year old. 



Weanling. A weaned foal. 



Gelding. Unsexed male, castrated under two years old. 

 The best age to castrate colts is at one year old after they have 

 been on pasture a few weeks but before fly-time. In the corn- 

 belt the best time to castrate is the latter part of May. 



