158 



BOARD OF ACxRICULTURE. 



THE EOADSTER. 



The perfect roadster should be from fourteen and a half to 

 fifteen and a half hands in height, the hand being four inches, 

 and the measure taken at the withers. When horses, as often 

 happens, arc considerably higher at the hips than at the withers, 

 it is proper to take the mean of the measures at these two points 

 as the lieight of the animal. Some horses rise so rapidly 

 from the witliers to the neck, that if the measure be taken 

 in the usual way, a portion of the neck will be included in the 

 height, whicli sliould be avoided by causing such horses to hold 

 their heads to tlie ground at the time of measurement. 



Horses less than fourteen and a half hands liigh are commonly 

 pony-l)iiilt and too small for general use. They are not often 

 possessed of great speed from the shortness of their stride, 

 although some exceptions have occurred especially among the 

 ISIorgan horses. 



