THE FARMER* S. 83 



The points of shape most essential to be attended to in the choice of a 

 hackney, are — the shoulders and the fore legs and feet : because a horse 

 whose shoulders are properly formed and placed is not liable to fall down ; 

 and because his soundness depends chiefly upon his legs and feet. The 

 shoulders should not be too upright, but should slope backwards from 

 the shoulder point to the withers. It is desirable, if the horse is intended 

 to carry a man of much weight, that the shoulders should be rather thick 

 than thin ; but it is essential that they should not be too large at the points. 

 A horse whose shoulders are good, stands, when in a natural position, with 

 his fore legs in a line perpendicular to the ground ; it is therefore very 

 desirable that the purchaser should see him in the stable, and before he 

 has been moved, for he will then find him in his natural position, in which 

 it may be difficult to place him after he has been once disturbed. Another 

 mode of ascertaining whether the shoulders are properly placed is, by 

 allowing the horse to walk past you, and to observe whether he places his 

 fore foot more forward than the shoulder point when he puts it on the 

 ground. A horse whose shoulders are properly formed will always do 

 so ; one whose shoulders are upright, cannot. The fore quarters of a 

 horse intended to be used as a hackney constitute an essential point : his 

 carcase should be round, and his ribs deep. A horse's fore leg, of the 

 proper form, should be flat, and as large under the knee as it is just above 

 the fetlock. The pastern should be so joined to the leg at the fetlock, that 

 the horse should neither turn his feet out or in; but it is less objectionable 

 that a horse should turn his feet a little outwards, provided it is not so 

 much as to make him hit his fetlocks, than that he should turn them in- 

 wards. 



THE FARMER'S HORSE. 



The Farmer's Horse is an animal of all-work; to be ridden occasion- 

 ally to market or for pleasure, but to be principally employed for draught. 

 He should be higher than the road-horse : about fifteen hands and two 

 inches may be taken as the best standard. A horse with a shoulder thicker, 

 lower, and less slanting than would be chosen in a hackney, will better 

 suit the collar; and collar-work will be chiefly required of him. A stout 

 compact horse should be selected, yet not a heavy cloddy one. Some blood 

 will be desirable, but the half-bred horse will generally best suit the 

 farmer's purpose. He should have weight enough to throw into the 

 collar, and sufficient activity to get over the ground. 



Farmers are now beginning to be aware of the superiority of the 

 moderate-sized, strong, active horse over the bulkier, but slower animal of 

 former days. It is not only in harvest, and when a frosty morning must 

 be seized to cart manure, that this is perceived, but, in the every-day work 

 of the farm, the saving of time, and the saving of provender too, will be 

 very considerable in the course of a year. 



It has often been said, that a horse used much for draught is neither 

 pleasant nor safe for the saddle. The little farmer does not want a shewy, 

 complete hackney. He will be content if he is tolerably well carried; and 

 (if he has taken a little care in the choice of his horse ; has selected one 

 with sound feet, shoulders not too thick, and legs not too much under him; 

 and, if he keeps him in good condition, and does not scandalously over- 

 weight him,) the five days carting or harrow- work will not, to any 

 material degree, unfit him for the saddle ; especiallv if the rider bear in 



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