Farm Animals and Principles of Feeding 285 



their horses and they have 



taken pains to breed from 



individuals that excel in 



endurance and speed. The 



weight of the light breeds, 



such as the Arabian, the 



American saddle horse, and 



the Morgan, is about ten 



or twelve hundred pounds 



(Figs. 230 and 231). The 



heavy breeds weigh up to 



two thousand pounds or 



even more. 



The gait most suitable 



to a horse of heavy breed 



is a walk, but carriage and 



saddle horses may travel easily in any one of several 



gaits. In trotting, the right fore foot and the left hind 



foot are moved forward, then the other two. In pacing, 



both right feet move to- 

 gether and both left feet. 

 The single-foot gait (or 

 " rack " or " amble ") is a 

 combination between trot- 

 ting and pacing. A single- 

 footer makes an easy-riding 

 saddle horse. The gallop 



U. S. D. A. 



FIG. 233. The mouth of a four-year- 

 old horse. In each jaw there are four 

 permanent teeth in front called "in- 

 cisors." Three of these are visible in 

 the picture. They are flanked by two 

 milk teeth, one on each side, white 

 and small. The picture shows one of 

 these in either jaw. At five years the 

 last milk teeth have been replaced by 

 permanent teeth, and the horse is said 

 to be "full-mouthed." 



u s 

 FIG. 2 34 . At six years the cups, 



which appeared in all of the incisors 

 at five years, have been worn away in 

 the middle pairs. 



* s a 

 fre 



then 

 232). 



movement f 



feet at once and 



feet (Fig. 



Gaits 



