I 



THE MORGAN AS A BUSINESS HORSE 



Mr. Linsley in Chapter III of "Morgan Horses", which chapter is headed, 

 " Description of the Kind of Horses Most Sought for in the Principal Markets 

 of the Country ", says : 



"We think the horse well adapted to the wants of the merchant and 

 mechanic may be fairly considered a good type of the 'horse of all work', or 

 business horse. 



" Before proceeding to describe what we consider should be the disting- 

 uishing characteristics of such animals, let us fully understand what is meant 

 by the term 'horse of all work' since it has come into very general use, 'and 

 is frequently used by agricultural societies in this country to 'denote a class 

 of horses. By this term we understand that kind of horse which is best 

 adapted to general use to work on a farm, to go to mill, to haul a coach or 

 a buggy, to work in the field or go a journey. This is certainly the natural 

 meaning, and we should not have thought any explanation necessary had it 

 not sometimes been understood to mean such a horse as is best fitted for 

 each of these different kinds of service. 



" To describe fully and correctly all the qualities that should be found in 

 the horse of all work, or business horse, requires that we should enter some- 

 what into details, for he must come up to a given standard in a greater variety 

 of points than the horse for any other service. It is true that many of his 

 good qualities should be found in all really valuable horses, whatever be the 

 service to which they are put. To illustrate our meaning : The good business 

 horse must be a fine roadster ; but a fine roadster may not necessarily be a 

 good business horse, for he may lack that docility of temper, that quietness 

 and perfect tractability that the latter should invariably possess. 



" First of all, the business horse should be compact. Youatt defines com- 

 pactness to be : 'as much goodness and strength as ppssible in a little space'. 

 Without this he cannot have endurance and hardiness of constitution. Next 

 to compactness of form, he should have good limbs a little larger than the 

 hunter's, but the increased size should be in bone and muscle, and not in 

 meat or hair. The limbs should be short, and the fore and hind legs should 

 have a proper adaptation to one another ; that is, he should not have short 

 fore legs and long hind legs, nor should he have short hind legs and long 

 fore legs, as there should be little difference in the height of the hips and the 

 withers, though the withers should be the highest. Horses that are highest 

 on the hips labor much in ascending hills, though on level or descending 



