Management and Feeding of Heavy Horses 87 



hardihood, and constitution of the ox, with the high courage, greater 

 activity, heavier weight, and superior anatomy of the horse, in 

 breeding an animal for the purposes of heavy draught? Is not 

 the heavy horse of the present day the result of the efforts of those 

 early breeders, followed by the persistent efforts of generations of 

 agriculturists who have all tried in their time to produce some 

 slight improvement in this our grandest and most popular farm 

 animal? And if we mean to carry on this work of improving our 

 heavy horses, can we do better than follow, to some extent, on 

 the same lines as our skilful predecessors, who have done so much 

 in the evolution of our fine breeds of heavy horses? 



The horse has now proved himself to be the most suitable 

 animal for heavy work, either on the farm or on the road, and 

 has almost entirely displaced all other animals in use for that 

 purpose. There is therefore quite a steady demand for horses of 

 this type, and the breeding and rearing of such has become quite 

 a profitable branch of British agriculture. It is also a branch that 

 is likely to continue profitable, as no mechanical substitute has yet 

 been invented that is likely to displace the horse on the farm or 

 on the road. 



When railways were first introduced many croaking prophets 

 foretold that horses would not be required afterwards. How far 

 that prophecy has proved incorrect may be judged by the keen 

 demand experienced, and the higher prices prevailing, since the 

 country has been opened up by railways; and never have sound 

 working horses of the heavy class been more eagerly sought after 

 than at the present time, when we read of record prices being paid 

 for geldings as well as for stud animals. True, the cab horse and 

 the bus horse have been displaced by mechanical contrivances, and 

 great efforts are being made by inventors to bring out a rival for 

 the heavy horse, but so far with only partial success. For the 

 work of the farm, for moving goods on the streets of our large 

 cities, for shunting at railway stations, and for hauling timber from 

 the woods, no other power can yet rival the heavy horse. It is 

 therefore highly desirable to bestow increased attention upon the 

 breeding and rearing of this branch of farm stock. 



The heavy horses of Britain have practically developed into 

 three distinct types or breeds: the Suffolk Punch, chiefly bred and 

 reared in the county of Suffolk; the Clydesdale, the prevailing 

 breed in Scotland and the north of England ; and the Shire breed, 

 now generally bred all over England and Wales, and the source 

 of supply for the street work of all our large towns and railway 

 stations. Each breed has its distinctive features and characteristics, 



