OUTWARD APPEARANCE OF THE HORSE. HI 



more horse-like and hand 'ome is the head rendered ; while loftj withers 

 give the rider a surer seat, and pioduce a firmer adhesion bet\A een the 

 body and shoulders. 



"A double loin is also softer to sit upon and pleasanter to look upon 

 than if it be single ; and a deep side, rounded toward the belly, renders 

 the horse easier to sit, and stronger and more easy to keep in condition ; 

 and the shorter and l)roader the loin, the more easily will the horse raise 

 his fore-quarters and collect his hind-quarters under him in going. These 

 points, moreover, cause the belly to appear the smaller ; which, if it be 

 large, at once injures the appearance of the animal and renders him 

 weaker and less manageable. The quarters should be broad and fleshy in 

 order to correspond with the sides and chest, and, should the}^ be entirely 

 firm and solid, they would be the lighter in the gallop, and the horse 

 would be the speedier. But if he should have his buttocks separated 

 under the tail by a broad line, with a wider space between them, by so 

 doing he will have a prouder and stronger gait and action, and will, in all 

 respects, be the better on them. A jjroof of which is to be had in men, 

 who, when they desire to raise anything from the ground, attempt it by 

 straddling their legs, not by bringing them close together." 



XIII. What One Need Not Expect. 



We have, in the foregoing chapters and in this, illustrated and explained 

 the several parts of the horse and his excellences so fully that none need 

 go astray in studying the points of an animal. If these illustrations and 

 explanations are borne in mind, a horse may be accurately judged by his 

 actual bone and muscle, whether fat or lean. The intelligence of an 

 animal may also, by the same study, be accurately estimated. A fat 

 horse is generally smooth and round, and many a sorry brute has been 

 fattened for the purpose of palming him off on the unwar3\ 



We need not expect a fat horse to go right to work, and keep fat. 

 The horse for hard work must first be brought into condition, and this 

 means working off the mere fat, and getting down to bone and muscle. 

 We must not expect a horse to be useful because he is big, unless he is 

 wanted for heavy draft. If the draft is heavy it should be slow, and thus 

 the horse may be big and also keep fat. For general work, the medium- 

 sized horse is the best. A pair of horses, each 16 hands high and weigh- 

 ing 1,200 pounds are well suited for city teaming and other ordinary 

 draft, except the hauling of heavy trucks. A fifteen-and-a-half hand, 

 1,100-pound horse is suitable for the road, and if one-half hand less in 

 height and correspondingly light in weight, say 1,000 jjounds, he will do 

 quite as well in single or double harness. Sixteen-hand horses are also 

 suitable for coaches and heavy carriages, while the lighter animals will 



