ON THE MANAGEMENT OF FARM HORSES. 
39 
perienced ; and on the other hand, if more are kept than the sowing 
season demands, a heavy expenditure is uselessly incurred. 
We take it therefore as our starting-point, that the number of 
horses to be kept on a farm must be regulated by the requirements 
of the sowing seasons. On this must hinge our whole subject, and 
to it must be directed its different divisions as laid down by the 
Council. It is a drawback upon horse as compared with steam 
power, and more particularly as relates to farming operations, that 
whereas a steam-engine when not in work consumes no fuel and 
does not waste from wear and tear, a horse must be fed whether he 
is at work or idle ; and thus throughout the winter months, when 
there is but little work to do, he must be kept in condition in order 
to perform properly the labours of the spring. It is therefore of 
imperative importance to keep such horses on a farm as are capable 
of performing properly a horse’s work ; for if weak, under-sized, 
infirm animals are kept, each of which is only capable of doing 
one-half or three-fourths of a day’s work, not only is there the loss 
of this one-fourth of the day in the busy periods of the year, but 
an additional number of horses must be kept all the year round. 
It is only begging the question to say that this infirm horse does by 
hook or by crook contrive to get through his day’s work in the busy 
periods ; for if he is able to do this, then an able-bodied horse is 
capable of doing, with no extra fatigue, one-fourth more work at 
least, and it is the fault of the owner if this is not accomplished. 
With these preliminary observations we proceed to consider our 
subject according to the divisions proposed by the Council : — 
1. The various breeds. 
2. Breeding and rearing. 
3. Keeping, whether in stables or the open air. 
4. Feeding in different seasons. 
1 . The various Breeds of Cart-horses. 
The conformation of the cart-horse differs from the thorough-bred 
and other light horses principally in the construction of the skeleton: 
not only are the bones actually larger, but there is a greater amount 
of bone in proportion to the muscular system than in other horses ; 
and there is in the heavier breeds such a disposition to form 
or secrete bone in the system, that even before the animal is five 
years old many of the cartilaginous structures, as, for instance, 
the cartilages of the foot, become changed into bone ; that is, the 
earthy part of bone, which is principally phosphate of lime, be- 
comes deposited where cartilage only ought to exist. This pre- 
disposition to deposit the earth of bone, so peculiar to the heavy 
breeds, is greatly accelerated by concussion, or any thing, indeed, 
