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inch may be gained or lost by different systems of 

 measurement, by the method of shoeing, and by the 

 spirited or languid condition of horses. Exhibitors 

 who are anxious to reduce the size of their horses 

 so as to render them eligible to compete in certain 

 classes can train them to stretch out, and vice versdy 

 to increase their size. This can be done so scien- 

 tifically by showyard professionals that experts in 

 measuring horses are absolutely baffled. At the same 

 time no two experts probably measure a horse 

 identically. 



The difference in the thickness of shoes may easily 

 account for an inch either way, therefore it obvi- 

 ously follows that horses must be measured with their 

 shoes off in order to obtain authentic standards. 

 This would be impossible in the showyard, and the 

 alternative would be for owners of competing horses 

 to be furnished with a local veterinary surgeon's 

 certificate of height previous to being exhibited. No 

 veterinary surgeon would make an unfair declaration 

 in the interests of a client. If he did, his practice 

 might suffer, and he would bring discredit on the 

 dignified profession to which he belongs. 



Although spirited and languid -tempered horses 

 may record the same height in the stable, the former 

 will gain an inch on the latter in the open. Thus 

 all measurements, to arrive at fair conclusions, should 

 be conducted in the stable. It is doubtful if the 

 general system of measuring horses at the withers is 

 the correct one, because, whilst horses may be an 



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