CHAPTER VII 



THE COACH -HORSE 



So many horses that do not belong to the true coach- 

 horse type are called " coachers " and bought and sold 

 as such that it is no wonder the farmer has no clear 

 conception of the true "coacher," which always finds 

 a ready market at long prices. If a horse is 16% hands 

 high or more, long of neck and leg and rather slim 

 in the body, he is at once pronounced a "coacher," 

 although he may be nothing but an overgrown weedy 

 carriage -horse. The coacher should indeed be above the 

 average height and should have longish neck and legs, 

 but there are many other qualities and characteristics 

 which must be possessed if the animal meets all the 

 demands of the intelligent purchaser. 



Perhaps a clearer mental photograph of the real 

 coacher may be secured if the work which he is called on 

 to do in the city is considered. It should be remembered, 

 first of all, that coachers are designed for drawing 

 coaches, not light carriages or road -wagons. The coach 

 may weigh from ten to fourteen hundred pounds and 

 the load, six to eight persons, may increase the weigjat 

 by eight to twelve hundred pounds. The total weight of 

 eighteen to twenty -six hundred pounds is carried on 

 relatively small, rigid wheels which tend to greatly 

 increase draft if the roadway is roughly paved. It is 



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