8 
THE PERCHERON REVIEW 
"A" Represents correct position, otiiers, defects in conforma- 
tion, all of which interfere with straight action and the 
usefulness of the horses. British and American Army 
buyers flatly refused to buy animals showing such defects 
as B, D, E, F and G, and were very apt to reject C. 
The knees should be of good size, broad, deep, 
straight, clean, and well supported from below. Stand- 
ing too open at the knees, knock-kneed, knee-sprung, and 
calf-kneed are terms applied to some of the more impor- 
tant defective deviations in the set of the knees. Such 
defects decrease strength, sure-footedness, and speed. 
Defects of this sort do not improve wth age and length 
of service but grow worse. 
The cannons should be short and flat with the tendons 
well set back. A "tied-in" condition of the tendons 
below the knees is a serious defect. No draft horse ever 
had too much clean, flat quality bone below his knees or 
hocks. Long, slim cannons generally go with a ' ' weed. ' ' 
Weediness has no place in any kind of horse and least 
of all in the draft type. 
Clean, smooth, and well-supported fetlocks of good 
size are desirable. Draft horse pasterns should be of 
moderate length with plenty of slope and good quality. 
Proper length and slope of pasterns go with spring 
and sure-footed action; these qualities act as "shock- 
absorbers" and give the horse good control of his feet. 
The opposite condition means a short, hard stride and a 
short period of usefulness. 
Properly placed feet which are medium in size, 
rather circular in shape, wide and deep at the heels stand 
wear best. Flat feet, i. e., those with wide, flaring hoof 
walls and lacking in depth, are not of long avail in with- 
standing the punishment hard-footing metes out to them. 
Furthermore, to add to the trouble, the horn is generally 
shelly with this type of foot. The high, narrow-heeled 
foot is subject to contraction. Feet toeing either in or 
out cause bad action and hence a waste of energy. Users 
of draft horses on the streets have more trouble with 
horses going wrong in their front feet than in any other 
place. Very frequently forefeet prove the limiting fac- 
tors. The qualities that make feet wear on the streets 
add usefulness to horses worked on farms even though 
the test may not be nearly so severe. 
Propulsion is the chief function of the hind legs, 
which support less weight than the forelegs and also 
suffer less from concussion. It is important that the legs 
be properly set and the joints be strong so tliat the heavy 
muscles of the hind quarters may exert their power to 
best advantage. The diagram R shows a perpendicular 
line dropped from the point of the buttock, dividing 
f 
'H" gives conformation generally accepted as best, others are 
common faults to be avoided. 
back of hock and cannon and foot in lateral halves and 
meeting the ground a short distance back of the heel. 
In practice horses are found to have freer action when 
the points of the hocks are turned in a bit and the toes 
of the hind feet out, thus giving more freedom for move- 
ment at the stifles. Hind legs thus placed insure a horse 
in going with his hocks well together and well under him. 
"Out-bowed" hocks do not permit of proper delivery of 
power. Horses with hocks of this sort have a hard job 
in standing on "slippery" going, and the condition 
becomes worse with service. 
The hock is an exceedingly important center of move- 
ment. Tlie pull of the extensor muscles which propel 
the body are concentrated here. The hocks should com- 
bine good size with clean-cut quality and should be wide, 
deep, point prominent, and have plenty of support below. 
Sickle-hocks, hocks too straight, cow hocks, and hocks 
bowed out are defects which result in bad action and con- 
sequently undue strain and unsoundness. The remarks 
made respecting fore cannons, pasterns, and feet apply 
very much to the hind ones. 
Cocked ankles, or a tendency thereto, will depreciate 
the price of an otherwise good drafter from $75 to $100, 
no other objection being raised. Any tendency to this 
must be avoided in sires, and mares showing an inclina- 
tion to this fault should be bred only to sires that are 
especially good in slope and length of hind pasterns. 
Horses that stand with their hind legs out behind the 
normal position, as in 0, are liable to this, and to other 
unsoundnesses. Sires of this kind should be castrated 
without delay. 
Correct underpinning goes far toward insuring 
soundness. Furthermore, the development of unsound- 
nesses on good limbs is generally of not nearly so serious 
a consequence as when it occurs on the coarse, misshapen 
limbs. Horse breeding at best is slow when compared 
with the meat-producing animals. This makes impera- 
tive the necessity of obtaining good foundation stock. 
There is a compensating factor which must always 
be taken into account and that is the temperament of the 
individual. Some "rattle-brained" horses wear out a 
good set of feet and legs in much shorter time than the 
individuals favored by nature with good brains and only 
moderate underpinning. While we are striving hard to 
breed model conformation, we ought to keep in mind 
that a ' ' good head " is of inestimable value in a horse. 
"M" presents a strong normal conformation, the others, de- 
fects, of which "O" is the worst. All deviations from a 
correct position of the legs, whether front or hind, reduce 
the utility value of the animal and the price obtainable. 
