192 JUDGING FARM AXIMALS 



to be long and high at the heel, with the frog set in a rather 

 high cup. Large size of hoof is emphasized, but even then 

 a draft mule will have a small foot compared with a draft 

 horse, being longer and narrower. The hoof should 

 be smooth and very dense. Oftentimes the hoofs are con- 

 tracted, resulting in defective feet. Large, roomy feet are 

 naturally free of this defect. 



The action of the mule is not usually emphasized in the 

 market, so long as no lameness is present. However, it is 

 very important that not only the walk should be active 

 and of the sort that gets over the ground quickly, but the 

 trot also should be straight, free, regular and rapid. There 

 is just as much argument in behalf of such action with a 

 work mule as a work horse. Judges should give careful 

 attention to the action, and note that the legs are used to 

 give the very best results. In the North, where the mule is 

 driven almost exclusively at the walk, this gait would na- 

 turally receive special attention, but in the South, where 

 the mules are commonly used under the saddle or hitched 

 to a carriage, the trot is of equal importance with the 

 walk, and should be so considered. Knee action is not so 

 pronounced with the mule as the horse, and much emphasis 

 should not be attached to it. 



The market classes of mules vary slightly, according to 

 local conditions. St. Louis is the greatest mule market, 

 though large numbers are handled in Chicago, Kansas City, 

 Louisville, and New Orleans. Mr. R. C. Obrecht has given 

 one classification,^ comprising the following groups: min- 

 ing, cotton, sugar, farm and draft. Mr. John Grant of 

 the Kansas City yards, states^ that "the principal classes 

 of mules known to the market are : cotton, lumber, railroad, 

 sugar, farm, levee, city and miners'." The author has 

 arranged the following classification, which will have a 

 fairly general application. The mules in each class are 

 graded with some elasticity from choice to inferior. 



2 Market Classes and Grades of Horses and Mules. Bull. 122, 111. Ag. Exp. 

 station, 1908. 



^ National Stockman and Farmer, Oct. 12, 1905. 



