332 



FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 



bined with ease of movement, there has been evolved 

 the present breed of saddle horse which is beautiful to 

 look at and a pleasure to ride. As Kentucky has been 

 most prominent in the development of this type of 

 horse we often hear the name " Kentucky Saddle 

 Horse." A plain gaited saddle horse walks, trots 

 and canters, while a gaited saddle horse must go five 

 gaits, namely: walk, trot, canter, rack (sometimes 

 called single foot), and either the running walk, slow 

 pace or fox trot. 



Shetland Ponies. The Shetland Islands north of 

 England are the home of the Shetland Pony. The 

 scant vegetation and cold climate of these islands are 

 responsible for the small size of the ponies raised there. 



Some of these native 

 ponies are not more than 

 nine hands high. In 

 America, where food is 

 plentiful and the climate 

 not so severe, they grow 

 larger from generation to 

 generation. The colors 

 are bay, black, chestnut, 

 gray, brown, roan and 

 spotted. The Shetland 

 Pony has a gentle dispo- 

 sition, and is, therefore, 

 popular as a children's 

 pet. 



Mules. The mule is 

 the offspring of a jackass, 

 called a jack, and a mare. 

 In other words, the mule 

 is a hybrid. Mules do not 



TYPICAL VIRGINIA MULES. ., ^, . i 



sterile. 1 his animal is a 



hardy, easy keeping, steady beast of burden. It is pre- 

 ferred to the horse for draft purposes in some sections 

 of the country, especially in the South. 



