100 MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



the case, and no man can afford to breed horses for this excep- 

 tional case. 



It is a serious but common error in breeding horses to suppose 

 that the bad points in one animal can be fully offset or overcome 

 by the good points in the mate. The statement that the stalhon 

 controls the outward characters and the mare the internal 

 characters has led many breeders to think that the offspring 

 would resemble the paternal parent irrespective of the mother. 

 Such is not the case. The foundation of successful horse-breed- 

 ing is to mate two animals each of which is as nearly perfect as 

 possible. 



The breed and type. — Choose the breed which best suits the 

 conditions, the markets, and the tastes of the breeders. There 

 is no best breed or type for all conditions. Light horses naturally 

 belong on land devoted to grass, to dairy industry, and to market- 

 gardening, where but little plowing and other heavy horse work 

 is required, and the necessity of reaching the market, the station, 

 or the creamery requires quick-moving horses. 



On farms devoted to fruit-growing and the like, where the 

 horse work is somewhat heavier than on the dairy farm, the 

 coach horse may be used. Coach horses are well adapted to 

 fruit farms with one exception — they are rather too tall to be 

 used to best advantage in tilling under trees in the orchards. 



On grain farms, where there is much plowing and the work to 

 be done is hard, heavy horses are needed. On general farms 

 the draft horse finds his .true place. Draft horses can be reared 

 with less risk than the lighter and more active types, such as 

 the roadster and the coachers. They do not require so much 

 training, and can be put to light work younger. The draft horse 

 is in great demand for city traffic. Again, the roadster and the 

 coacher require much training before they can be marketed, if 

 good values are to be secured. This training requires skill, 

 time, and money, which should be taken into account. A well- 

 bred and well-trained coach or driving team will bring a good 



