184 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[ J UNE, 
DRAUGHT HORSES. — Engraved for the American Agriculturist, 
better for us as farmers if we used heavier 
horses, aud there is in our cities an insatiable 
market for large and powerful animals as dray 
and truck horses, and for Express companies. 
Those possessing style and fine action bring 
enormous prices as gentlemen’s coach horses. 
We present above the portrait of a Draught Stal¬ 
lion from one of Weir’s drawings. It exhibits 
many of those points which the sire of large¬ 
sized horses for heavy draft should possess. We 
do not undervalue blood (that is, the blood of 
the English thorough-bred race-horse,) on the 
side of the sire; but there are many reasons 
why thorough-breds can not be generally used 
for crossing on large mares, and why the cross 
would be undesirable. Horses by blood-sires 
are very apt to inherit their temper, often none 
of the mildest, and a fractious great horse is a 
dangerous and unsafe piece of property. Prob¬ 
ably the best class of sires for heavy stock, that 
would be available in this country, would spring 
from crossing thorough-bred stallions on large 
handsome Norman, or other large-sized mares. 
Such horses would be of large size, and in 
form and style combine the good points of the 
two races, and communicate probably many 
of their own excellences to their progeny. 
In selecting a mare, bear in mind that the 
qualities she chiefly imparts to the foal are size, 
constitution, form of body, and symmetry; 
while spirit and bottom, intelligence and action 
come more from the sire. The aim should be 
to obtain a mare of large size, having a large, 
roomy body, rather short legs, broad and deep 
in the chest, heavy behind, broad across the 
hips, wide in the pelvis, and carrying her hind 
feet well apart. The back should be short, the 
limbs clean and strong, the hoofs pointing 
forward, round, aud solid, rather than long or 
flat. She should have a small head, large nos¬ 
trils, and a full quiet eye, a neck sufficiently long 
to allow her to graze on level ground without 
spreading her forefeet, and more than all, pos¬ 
sess higlr- spirits, and a tractable disposition. 
In selecting mares, every one should be scrupu¬ 
lously rejected that has blemishes, or bad points, 
and especially constitutional defects, for such 
things are almost sure to be transmitted to the 
offspring. These things are to be avoided with 
as much care in the selection of a stallion as a 
mare. A celebrated stallion in Central New 
York, which had several spavins, got excellent 
colts; but before they were four years old, 
most of them were badly spavined ; and some 
of them had spavins on both hind legs. , 
The important points we should seek in a 
stallion for the purpose we are considering, are: 
size, good form, muscle, bottom, vigorous health, 
quicloiess, and spirit. We can not expect to 
raise large horses from undersized stallions. 
Every other good point may be developed in the 
most desirable manner; but if size be wanting, 
he should not be used for raising horses for 
heavy work. The body of the stallion should 
be of as good proportions as the mare’s; his 
back should be short; and his body round as a 
barrel, well ribbed back, and filled out in the 
flank, and not like the body of a greyhound. 
His head should be small and bony; his neck 
strong and of good length; his breast very 
broad from one shoulder point to the other; the 
withers high; the legs short, but very strong, 
having the hocks and knees low, and the 
legs below hard and smooth; the leg bones 
large and flat. Such a horse will not be liable 
to strain himself at a heavy draught; he will 
be an easy traveler, and his hind legs will not 
swing and twist out and in as he moves. The 
stallion should be solid and compact; kindly 
tempered, and plucky; and if possible, choice 
should be made of one which is known to im¬ 
part with great uniformity his good points to 
his colts. It is neither necessary nor desirable 
to use a stallion as large as the mare. 
