CHOOSING A HORSE 31 



The weight. — Among draft horses, weight is a very impor- 

 tant consideration; in fact, a horse must weigh at least 1500 

 pounds to be classed as a draft animal. Draft horses are 

 divided into three classes according to their weight : light draft, 

 1500 to 1600 pounds; medium draft, 1600 to 1800 pounds; and 

 heavy draft, 1800 pounds and up. This weight must be due 

 to strong bone, heavily muscled, as well as to large proportions, 

 and not the result of excessive fatness. 



The importance of bulk is well illustrated in ,the case of 

 the freight engine, in which the efficiency depends upon the 

 weight to such an extent that engines are graded according to 

 their weight ; thus we have the hundred ton freight engine on a 

 certain section of the road and the hundred and twenty-five 

 ton engine on another section. The engine must have much 

 weight to keep the wheels from slipping on the track. Such is 

 none the less the case among draft horses. This is well illus- 

 trated in the rather common experience of the teamster whose 

 team is stalled, and observing that the animals seem too 

 light to push into the collar, conceives the idea of mounting 

 one of the animals, when to his satisfaction they are able to 

 pull the load. Illustrations of this principle are very common 

 in parts of the country where the heavy cart is used in which 

 the animal carries a part of the load on its back. It frequently 

 happens with vehicles of this kind that when the animal is 

 stalled, if a part of the load is moved forward so that a larger 

 portion rests on the back, it can pull the load with comparative 

 ease. 



The heavy horse is in very great demand for draft work 

 in the cities. In our large cities the busy streets have be- 

 come so crowded that it is necessary for the traffic to move 

 slow. This has led to the use of larger loads and fewer trips, 

 whereas formerly more trips were made and the loads lighter. 

 To draw these heavy loads requires heavy horses; thus 

 within the past few years there has arisen a great demand 



