376 TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



400 pounds, hence the necessity for a big, strong horse. The 

 native English horse was small, and in order to increase the 

 size and strength, Flemish stallions were imported from Nor- 

 mandy, and for nearly 500 years English breeders centered 

 their attention on the matter of size. With the appearance of 

 gunpowder and firearms in warfare, armor was made useless 

 and the heavy war horse gave way to much lighter animals 

 with more speed. 



Origin of draft type. When displaced in warfare, the 

 ponderous war horse did not become extinct, but was put to 

 work at tilling the soil. Prior to this, field labor had been per- 

 formed solely by oxen, and the ox continued in use as a draft 

 animal even after horses were introduced for farm work. The 

 war horse thus became an agricultural horse and in time was 

 utilized as the foundation of the British draft breeds the Shire 

 and Clydesdale just as the Percheron breed was built up from 

 the heavy diligence horses used in France in the early days 

 when roads were deep in mud. The railroad later displaced 

 the diligence horse and he found a place on the farm. When a 

 demand arose from cities for a horse suited to moving heavy 

 freight through the streets, these agricultural horses in Eng- 

 land, Scotland, France, and Belgium were bred larger, heavier, 

 and better to meet the new demand, and thus originated the 

 draft breeds as we know them today Shire, Clydesdale, Perch- 

 eron, and Belgian. This occurred in the first part of the 

 nineteenth century. 



The hunter. Fox hunting in England dates back to early 

 times, and there has long existed a demand for a type of horse 

 specially adapted to this sport. Strange to say, no breed of 

 hunters has ever been developed, the demand being supplied 

 by Thoroughbreds and grade Thoroughbreds showing the hunter 

 type. 



The carriage horse. The modern type of carriage horse 

 originated less than fifty years ago. Prior to this, there was 

 a succession of types dating from the time the most primitive 

 carriages came into use centuries ago. Hence the term car- 

 riage horse may be used in a restricted sense or in a broad general 

 sense, and the carriage horse may be said to be an ancient type 

 or a modern one, according as the term is used. The primitive 

 carriage horse was a semi-wild pony, and he was harnessed to 

 a couple of long poles, fixed at one end to the pony's neck, the 

 other end dragging on the ground beneath the load. Next in 



