~y^^^^L 



CHAPTER VI 

 THE BREEDS OF HORSES 



A BREED is a group of individuals possessing distinctive char- 

 acteristics not common to other members of the same species, 

 these characteristics being sufficiently well fixed to be uniformly 

 transmitted. It is these distinctive features which give to each 

 breed its greater or less e<x)nomic importance. Curiously enough, 

 there is scarcely a breed which does not possess at least one dis- 

 tinctive characteristic, in respect to which it surpasses all other 

 breeds. 



In arriving at a fair conclusion of what constitutes " the 

 best breed/' it is necessary that conditions to be met and char- 

 acters required be specified, as the same breed may not be " best " 

 for each sjiecific case. Too much importance should not be 

 attached to the partisan favor in which difi^erent breeds are held. 

 The average buyer of market horses has very little consideration 

 for the particular breeds which may l)e represented in his pur- 

 chases, vet striking imifomiitv of breed character anions the 

 lot which he selects may be manifested. This is due to the fact 

 that the characters represented in the buyer's standard or ideal 

 happen to be more typical of one breed than another. 



It has been noted recently that the accepted types of the 

 draft breeds, for instance, are approaching more closely a 

 common standard, as shown by show ring awards, but the desir- 

 ability of such being tlie case is questionable. It is not well to 

 lay too much stress on the minor features of breed type which 

 have no utility value, but inasmuch as each breed has distinctive 

 characteristics, rendering representatives of that breed espe- 

 cially well adapted to particular requirements, their distinctive- 

 ness should be retained. For instance, the Percheron breed has, 

 from its inception, been characterized by features which could 

 not be duplicated in any of the other breeds, and these features 

 should not be sacrificed in favor of others which are character- 

 istic of other breeds, 

 70 



