140 THE HORSE, ASS, AND MULE 



Half-bred, or grade, Clydesdales are not uncommon in some sec- 

 tions of the country. Pure-bred stallions on native mares of draft 

 character produce excellent horses for farm or city work. They 

 are usually of medium draft weight, are active on foot, and are 

 quiet and docile of temperament. They frequently lack weight 

 for the heaviest work, which emphasizes the necessity of using 

 only such stallions for sires as have plenty of middle, as well as 

 quality and bone. Clydesdales and Shires in the past have been 

 crossed a great deal, resulting in a more drafty sort than the 

 Clyde and a better actor than the Shire. However, very few 

 half-breds, or grades, find their way into the horse markets of the 

 United States. i 



Criticisms of the Clydesdale are not uncommon among horse- 

 men. The hairy legs are objected to by farmers, who have to 

 use them on dirt roads or under conditions in which mud or damp- 

 ness are prevalent in the cooler months of the year. The Scotch- 

 man argues that the hair protects the skin of the leg and is an 

 evidence of superior bone. In spite of this assertion the average 

 buyer prefers a horse with a leg free from superfluous hair. On 

 a city pavement or on the hard macadamized roads of Europe 

 the hair is not so objectionable. Mr. Galbraith offers the follow- 

 ing comments in friendly criticism 1 of the Clydesdale: 



Many present-day prize winners have, in my opinion, too short ribs and not 

 enough depth of body. This kind are not always good breeders nor good 

 shippers. They are apt to be somewhat nervous, restless and too ambitious. 

 A good many Clydes are undersized, and quite a number are rather too fine in 

 bone, too narrow in chest, and too light in arms and thighs. The narrow 

 chests are the result of an urgent demand for absolutely straight action. This 

 shortness of rib, with a tendency to ranginess of body, has counted against the 

 breed in the past. A short coupling and broad, deep body must be a part 

 of the best draft type, to give the necessary weight for hauling heavy loads. 

 However, many of the more recent show horses are distinctly deeper of rib 

 and are meeting with a more favorable reception by horsemen generally. 



Important Clydesdale sires, other than the Flemish stallion of 

 Paterson, date back to early in the nineteenth century. The first 

 of distinction was Glancer (335), alias Thompson's Black Horse. 

 The Scotch studbook states that he was foaled about 1810, but 



1 " Seventy-five Years of the Clydes," The American Breeder, January 5, 1912. 



