HORSES AND MULES 



303 



sound and sloping. A low gait is better 

 than high knee action, for speed witn 

 a light vehicle is the point aimed at. 

 This class of horse is rangy but chest, 

 abdomen and flank are deep. 



The coach horse stands 15.2 to 16.2 

 hands high and weighs 1,100 to 1,250 

 pounds. He must carry his head and 

 tail high, and must possess high knee 

 and hock action. This type is heavier, 

 smoother, rounder, less angular than the 

 roadster, but must be graceful and sty- 

 lish in action. The front feet should 

 describe circles in their motion. Matched 

 teams of this type bring $475 or more, 

 while roadsters are worth $150 per head. 

 The knee action can be induced by train- 

 ing and shoeing, but the right hock ae- 



ward in straight lines. Style and action, 

 however, are the main points. 



The "cob" also belongs to this class. 

 He stands about 15.1 hands high, weighs 

 1,000 to 1,100 pounds, and is used for 

 light coach work, especially as a single 

 driver before a light vehicle. The 

 cob is somewhat smoother and more 

 compact than the coacher, shorter on his 

 legs, but with a higher knee action. 



Since, as already indicated, the price 

 obtained for horses in this class is high — 

 $150 to $750 — it is a profitable business 

 for those who are properly equipped with 

 breeding stock and experience. In rais- 

 ing this class of horses, more failures 

 are made than with draft horses. If the 

 conformation or style is defective, they 





Fig. 21G — THE THREE STANDARD COLORS OF PERCHERONS 



tion comes only by breeding. Not much 

 speed can be expected of a coach horse — 

 about 6 to 10 miles per hour. Carriage 

 horses are intermediate between the road- 

 ster and coacher in size, with the gait 

 of the roadster. 



In this whole class there is little choice 

 of color between blacks, browns, bays, 

 chestnuts or sorrels, but grays are not 

 wanted. The head must be clean, neck 

 gracefully carried, forehead broad, eyes 

 full, nostrils large, shoulders sloping, 

 barrel round, tail set high. "If the fore- 

 arm be too long the result will be a knee- 

 sprung horse, after considerable service; 

 if too short, he will be calf -kneed." The 

 hair is fine and the veins prominent. 

 There must be neither an interfering nor 

 wobbling gait; the legs must move for- 



cannot be sold except at a loss. The 

 market is overloaded with average, or 

 ordinary driving horses, and they must 

 be better than that if they are to bring 

 a remunerative price. The farmer 

 should, therefore, go at the business very 

 cautiously and on a small scale at first. 

 Cab horses constitute an ill defined 

 class, made up largely of culls from the 

 driving class and the bus class. Cab 

 animals are used on cabs and other light 

 vehicles in the public service, as well as 

 for the light delivery work of mercantile 

 houses. The height of the cab horse 

 is 15 to 15.2 hands and his weight 1,050 

 to 1,100 pounds. As just stated, driv- 

 ing horses, defective in speed and bus 

 horses under weight make up the cab 

 horse class. They must be strong and 



