32 JUDGING HEAVY HORSES 



Feet, medium, even size; straight; horn dense, frog large, 

 elastic; bars strong; sole concave; heel wide, high 4 



Legs, viewed from behind, a perpendicular line from the 

 point of the buttock should fall upon the center of the 

 hock, cannon, pastern and foot. From the side, a per- 

 pendicular line from the hip joint should fall upon the 

 center of the foot and divide the gaskin in the middle; 

 and a perpendicular line from the point of the buttock 



should run paraHel with the line of the cannon 4 



ACTION: 



Walk, elastic, quick, balanced 5 



Trot, rapid, straight, regular, high 15 



Total 100 



III. JUDGING HEAVY HORSES. 



53. Consideration of Condition. In examining draft 

 horses it is vi^ell to remember that defects that are often 

 apparent to the eye in the instance of light horses, require 

 more careful observation to detect them in heavy horses. 

 The defects are usually harder to see owing to the degree to 

 which the horses may be pampered. Draft horses may be 

 fed to such a high condition and in this way so " veneered " 

 that it becomes a very hard matter to detect the structural 

 defects. A horse in lean serviceable condition will often 

 show many defects especially in the body that a thick cover- 

 ing of fat would hide. In judging draft horses it is neces- 

 sary to observe the greatest precaution so as not to mistake 

 such padding with fat for development of muscle. 



/. General Examination. 

 As in the light horse the most important matters to notice 

 in the general examination are the form, quality and action 

 of the horse under inspection. 



54. Form — Massive, Broad, Deep. In form the draft 

 horse should be broad, square, close to the ground and well 

 proportioned. It is necessary to remember that power rather 

 than speed should be the outcome of the effort of a draft 

 horse. It is evident that the size of the muscles has more to 

 do with power, while the length of the muscle is indicative 

 principally of speed. There is a combination of power and 



