CHAPTER VI 

 BREEDS OF HORSES 



Breed is a term applied to a group of animals homoge- 

 neous in blood, possessing certain well-defined characters, 

 which are uniformly transmitted by inheritance ; and 

 whose records are kept by a duly authorized association. 



Type is a term that designates the use to which an 

 animal is adapted. In each class of live stock there are dif- 

 ferent types evolved by the special use made of the animals 

 during the development of the breeds. Thus, under the 

 term " beef type " are included animals especially adapted 

 to the production of beef. To the " dairy type " belong 

 animals suited for the production of milk. 



The breeds of horses are classified according to type or 

 use. There are certain breeds of horses which are better 

 suited for certain purposes than other breeds. The Per- 

 cheron horse is better adapted for pulling heavy loads than 

 the thoroughbred. The latter has been developed for speed, 

 and for this purpose is much better than the Percheron. 



CLASSIFICATION OF HORSES 



According to type, horses are classified as draft horses, 

 coach horses, saddle horses, roadsters, and ponies. Mules 

 and asses are given a separate classification. 



The breeds of draft horses are Percheron, Belgian, Clydes- 

 dale, Shire, and Suffolk Punch. 



79 



