Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 461 



Kentucky blue-grass region reported that "the horse, 'noble and gener- 

 ous' is the favorite animal of the Kentuckian, by whom he is pampered 

 with unceasing attention. Every person of wealth has from ten to 

 thirty, of good size and condition, upon which he lavishes his corn with 

 a wasteful profusion." Besides Kentucky and Missouri, the states of 

 Virginia and Tennessee have been intimately connected with saddle 

 horse development in America. These four states produce many 

 excellent saddle animals annually. 



Today, saddle horses are used in a business way by the cavalry of 

 the United States Army and National Guard, by the mounted police 

 of the larger cities, by cattle drovers in rural districts, by cattle buyers 

 and salesmen at the large live-stock markets, by ranchers in the West, 

 and by overseers and managers of large plantations and farms in the 

 South, East, and Central West. However, the high prices for saddle 

 horses are paid by people to whom the saddler is a pleasure horse. In 

 city parks and on country roads are to be seen many excellent saddle 

 horses used strictly for pleasure and recreation. 



All good saddle horses possess a general type which we may call 

 "saddle type," but the uses made of saddle horses are so varied that 

 several varieties or sub-types of the saddle horse exist, each possessing 

 a distinct type of its own. The most important of these sub-types are 

 (1) the five-gaited saddler, (2) the three-gaited horse, (3) the hunter, 

 and (4) the polo pony. All of these are pleasure horses. The running 

 horse or race horse, the cavalry horse, and the western cow pony are 

 other sub-types adapted to certain special uses, but the following dis- 

 cussion is confined to the four first mentioned. A brief description of 

 the cavalry horse will be found in the chapter dealing with market 

 classes of horses. 



The Five-Gaited Saddle Horse 



The five-gaited saddle horse is also known as the American Saddle 

 Horse, this being the name of the breed which supplies practically all 

 horses of the gaited class. To classify as a five-gaited horse, the 

 saddler must have at least five gaits, four of which must be the walk, 

 trot, canter, and rack. In addition to i'.iese four, the horse must have 

 one or more of three slow gaits — the running walk, fox trot, and slow 

 pace. The gaited saddler is the horse that has made Kentucky and 

 Missouri famous. There ho is looked upon with great admiration, and 

 bred and trained with great care. 



General appearance. — The gaited horse wears a natural mane and 

 tail, in contrast to the other types of saddle horses. The breeders of 

 this type lay stress upon loftiness of carriage, airiness of movement, 

 refinement, intelligence, docility with high spirit and courage, — withal. 



