144 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



the eye and the carriage of the ears very often indicate the 

 disposition of the animal. 



Head and neck. The head must be clean cut, well carried ; 

 the profile straight and in good proportion to the size of the 

 body. The eyes and ears should be examined with great care. 

 Back the horse into a dark shed with the head to the light 

 and place the hand over the eyes for about thirty seconds. 

 Then remove the hand and watch the expansion and con- 

 traction of the pupils. The pupils should be of the same 

 color, elliptical in shape, and should respond readily to the 

 light by expanding and contracting. Examine the top of the 

 head for any enlargement such as Poll evil. The ears should 

 be medium in size, carried well forward, and alert. The jaws 

 should be clean, uniform, and straight. 



Fore quarters. The shoulders are especially important in 

 a good draft horse. They should be smoothly muscled, mod- 

 erately sloping, and extending well into the back. The arms 

 should be short and heavily muscled, while the forearm should 

 be longer and, from a side view, wide and well muscled. The 

 knee seen from the front should be wide and straight. The 

 cannons should be straight and short, and the tendons back 

 of them strong and well set back from the bone. The pas- 

 terns should be moderately sloping, showing great strength. 

 The feet should be equal in size and the horn thick and dense 

 and not inclined to be brittle. The toe should be straight, not 

 turned in or out, the soles convex, the bars strong, the frog 

 long and elastic, and the heels wide and well sprung. 



The body. The body includes the withers, chest, ribs, 

 back, and loins. The withers must be broad and muscled to 



