CARRIAGE HORSES. 125 



than any pure bred stamp. The representatives of these 

 types are so uneven that it is difficult to set any value which 

 would be at all comprehensive. All that can be said is that 

 its inferior members can be picked up very cheap, while 

 those that are well formed and have good manners command 

 a very tidy figure. The hackney was at one time con- 

 sidered the carriage horse par excellence, but he is unable 

 to compete successfully with other types in the show ring, and 

 the high price these horses once commanded has diminished, 

 and now a half bred hackney is fully as much in demand. 



The large family coach horse, with flowing mane and 

 tail, so popular fifty years ago, is again finding favor with 

 the owners of large carriages of a semi-state character. 

 When driven as a pair they produce a fine effect and are 

 very useful for heavy work. When driven single or to a 

 light wagon it is at once apparent that they are out of their 

 element. They should be strong but of quick, light action. 

 As such horses are generally only employed by persons 

 keeping large stables, they command the fancy price of luxu- 

 ries, and their value is based rather on what a buyer is able 

 and likely to pay than upon any commercial estimate of 

 their worth. 



In the large cities the inferior types of carriage horse 

 are represented by an animal that is a cross-bred beast, 

 heavy in head, neck and chest, the disproportionate develop- 

 ment of which part has resulted in the lack of a correspond- 

 ing strength in the other half of the body. This coarseness 

 truthfully indicates the presence of cart horse blood. Such 

 an animal lacks natural speed, action or animation, for which 

 reasons he is only fit for slow draft work. A "screw" of 

 this stamp is deficient in intelligence and stamina, and is 



