Horses 303 



and short loins to give strength for carrying the weight of the 

 rider. 



Sub-classes of saddle horses according to action are five- 

 gaited and three-gaited animals. Five-gaited saddlers must 

 possess five gaits walk, trot, canter, singlefoot, or rack, and 

 a slow gait which may be either the running walk, fox-trot, or 

 slow pace. Three-gaited saddlers have the three gaits walk, 

 trot, and canter. 



The canter is a slow gallop. The rack is a rather fast gait 

 in which each foot hits the ground at a different time. It is 

 often called the singlefoot gait. The running walk is a slow 

 singlefoot that is intermediate in speed between the walk and 

 the rack. The fox-trot is a short broken gait in which the 

 front legs go at a trot and the hind legs at a modified pace. 

 The slow pace is a saddle gait in which the horse paces at 

 slow speed, but does not show much side motion. 



Ponies. A pony is any horse, regardless of type of breed, 

 under 14-2 hands in height. At the horse shows, they are 

 usually grouped into three classes: (1) under 46 inches high; 

 (2) 12-2 to 14-2 hands ; (3) polo ponies. 



165. The draft breeds. Percheron, Clydesdale, Shire, 

 Belgian, and Suffolk are the draft breeds of horses found in 

 the United States. A brief description of each breed is given 

 on the next few pages. 



Percheron. The most popular draft horse in the United 

 States is the Percheron (Fig. 119). More horses of this breed 

 are registered as pure-bred animals than of all the other draft 

 breeds combined. The breed derives its name from the dis- 

 trict of La Perche in northwestern France. The exact origin 

 of the breed is somewhat obscure, but according to most 

 authorities it was developed by the crossing of native mares 

 and Arabian stallions that were brought to the district in 

 1820 by the French government. Percherons range in height 

 from 15-3 to 17 hands and in weight from 1600 to 2300 

 pounds. As a rule they show a little less weight than the 



