CHAPTER XXX. 

 DRAFT TYPE. 



The first question which presents itself is What is a draft 

 horse? A draft horse is a horse adapted to the work of pulling 

 heavy loads at a walk. The farmer who produces draft geld- 

 ings for sale looks to the city for a purchaser, for in the cities 

 the greatest demand is found, and the big, heavy drafter there 

 finds ready sale at a good figure. The conditions of street 

 traffic in large cities demand the hauling of the largest possible 

 loads. Distances are great and delays waste much time. At 

 street crossings, bridges, and at railway crossings, minutes are 

 lost that in a day count up to hours. At sidings and warehouses, 

 it is a lucky chance if a team can get up to its door or car with- 

 out waiting for one or more wagons to be loaded or unloaded 

 ahead of it. There is thus a natural tendency for teamsters 

 to haul big loads in order to move the freight, and this makes 

 big horses necessary. Furthermore, big wagons, big loads, and 

 big horses enable merchants to move the goods with less equip- 

 ment and fewer drivers, and lessen expenditures for shoeing, 

 feed, stabling, harness, and repairs. There is thus a tendency 

 toward big horses and big loads in all cases where quick delivery 

 is not imperative, and where loading and unloading are done 

 at one or a few points. The heavy loading of wagons has gone 

 so far that many cities have placed restrictions upon the size 

 of loads, in order to protect draft animals from abuse. In 

 Chicago, the maximum load for a single horse or mule is 3,500 

 pounds, and when two or more horses are hitched together, 

 the maximum is 4,000 pounds per animal. 



We must bear in mind that the drafter is not only adapted 

 to pulling heavy loads at a slow gait, but that this work is done 

 on hard pavements in the city. The draft horse not only does 

 the hardest kind of work required of horses, but he works under 

 conditions which put his feet and legs to a severe test. The 

 drafter may be said to be the real business horse, whereas the 

 carriage horse, roadster, and saddle horse are largely used for 

 pleasure purposes. 



In order to do the work required of him, the draft horse 

 must possess the following qualifications (1) weight, (2) 



384 



