CHAPTER XI 



JUDGING HORSES 



Purpose. — Judging is selection ; the means by wliicli the 

 breeder niohls forms by mating the approved and culling out 

 the undesirable individuals. It should not be understood to mean 

 the placing of awards in the show ring only, although that is a 

 most important function of the judge, imposing upon him the 

 responsibility of establishing ideals and standards which are to 

 lead or mislead the rank and file of breeders. The successful 

 buyer or breeder must be a competent judge, whether he has 

 ever placed a ribbon in a show ring or not. 



What Judging Involves. — Judging is more than measuring 

 to a standard or the analysis of the individuals imder considera- 

 tion ; the element of comparison must figure in the observations, 

 from w'hich definite conclusions can be drawn. It is the balanc- 

 ing of the sum total of merit and deficiency of one individual 

 against that of another, after the same fashion that a judge on 

 the bench weighs all the evidence before returning a verdict. 

 There are capable buyers of market horses, who, in car load after 

 car load, will not have a poor one, yet they would not essay the 

 task of designating the first, second, third, and fourth choice in 

 any one car lot. They have a definite standard in mind by which 

 they can accept or reject, with unerring accuracy, but when it 

 l>ecomes necessary to arraign an especially good head and neck 

 but rather defective hocks of one against a good back but poor 

 feet of another, they fail. Yet selection in breeding and buying 

 most frequently involves the choice of one from among several, 

 as does the ranking of show entries. 



Accuracy and Rapidity. — The dispatch with which decisions 

 are arrived at is second only to the accuracy of the decisions 

 themselves. The man who stands at the sales ring side and buys 

 at the rate of a horse a minute must have rapid, accurate decision ; 

 so must he who picks his short leet and ultimate winners from a 

 class of half a hundred stallions. The expert is able to place an 



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