THE FAMILY HORSE 



CHAPTER I. 

 SELECTING THE HORSE. 



The horse is the friend and servant of man, ministering to the 

 pleasure of the opulent and well-to-do, and sharing the labors of the 

 less fortunate. It may be the jaunty road-horse, able to spin along 

 thronged avenues at a gait which leaves rivals behind ; the quiet, 

 steady old favorite of the women and children ; or the faithful, 

 patient drudge which draws a delivery wagon during business hours, 

 and jogs off with the entire family on Sundays or holidays. 



In selecting a family horse the first requisite obviously is to keep 

 in view the special use for which it is wanted. The next is to obtain 

 a good horse of its kind. Reliable statisticians estimate the number 

 of horses in the United States at thirteen millions, embracing a 

 wider range of variety than can be found in any other part of the 

 world. Among these the trotter is peculiarly the American horse. 

 It has been brought up to its present high standing by generations 

 of careful breeding and skillful training. But a large proportion of 

 horses from trotting sires are never fitted for the turf, and even 

 with the best training would fail to win success. For a man who 

 loves to indulge in moderate speed, such a horse is admirably weU 

 adapted. If it cannot be driven in the magic circle of two-thirty, 

 it can take a road wagon along at an exhilarating gait, and pos- 

 sesses spirit and intelligence which render it a pleasure to drive one. 



The Morgans, so popular a few years ago, were the very ideal of 

 a family horse. They were small, though heavy for their height, 

 averaging from fourteen to fifteen hands high, and weighing from 

 nine hundred to a thousand pounds. They were not fast trotters 

 for a mile, but had immense endurance, and would go a long way 



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