The Horse | by Isaac Phillips Roberts
The American inherits from his European, and especially his English ancestor, a sincere love for the horse. This love has amounted to adoration in some cases. The family horse, if he outlived his master, inherited under the will a sufficient amount for luxurious support during life and a costly interment and monument at death, the same as the children...
| Title | The Horse |
| Author | Isaac Phillips Roberts |
| Publisher | The Macmillan Company |
| Year | 1906 |
| Copyright | 1905, The Macmillan Company |
| Amazon | The horse |
By Isaac Phillips Roberts, Emeritus Professor of Agriculture, Lute Dean and Director of the College of Agriculture of Cornell University; author of "Fertility of the Land," "The Farmstead," "The Farmer's Business Handbook."
Second Edition
Chapter I. The Horse And His Master- The American inherits from his European, and especially his English ancestor, a sincere love for the horse. This love has amounted to adoration in some cases. The family horse, if he outlived his mast...
- The Horse And His Master. Part 2
- The true draft-horse attracted comparatively little attention in America until permanent settlements had spread over the middle west. When the railways reached the western prairies, these vast fertile...
- The Horse And His Master. Part 3
- Nearly as great economy of human muscle is seen in the large cities, by the substitution of horses for men in the transportation of heavy merchandise, for short distances. By reason of crowded streets...
- The Horse And His Master. Part 4
- By reason of long domestication, intelligent care and training, the horse has become more tractable and intelligent than he was in the time of Job. While neither men nor horses can inherit an educatio...
- Chapter II. Brief History Of The Domesticated Horse
- Without doubt the ass, an inferior member of the equine family, was domesticated long before the horse. It is believed that the horse was unknown to the Israelites until they sojourned in Egypt, and p...
- Introduction Of Improved Horses Into England
- King John ascended the throne in 1199 and paid great attention to the improvement of the farm-horse, importing one hundred heavy stallions from Flanders at one time. In the first quarter of the fourte...
- The Horse In France
- Until quite recently, France has furnished to America only one breed of horses, the heavy Percheron,1 which has been imported very largely during the last third of the nineteenth century. Percherons h...
- Chapter III. Horses Of America
- The horse, as we know it, is not indigenous to North America. All horses that are found in America, except those that have been brought into the country within the last few years, are offspring of imp...
- Horses Of America. Part 2
- In like manner, the pacer, which was probably of Narragansett (Rhode Island) origin, and which seemed likely at one time to develop into a breed, has been lost as a distinct variety. Although there ha...
- Horses Of America. Part 3
- It is difficult to explain why Americans have not produced a dozen breeds or varieties of horses, each as well fitted for its locality and use as the roadster is fitted for the place which he fills so...
- Chapter IV. Breeds, Subbbeeds, Families, Vabieties, Cross-Breeds And Grades
- The term breed, as used by the farmer, signifies a group or class of animals having a number of distinctive qualities and characteristics in common, and the power to transmit those distinctive trait...
- Breeds, Subbbeeds, Families, Vabieties, Cross-Breeds And Grades. Continued
- As a rule, the longer the pedigree of the sire and dam the more closely will the offspring resemble its immediate parents, especially if they have been somewhat inbred. If the pedigree of an animal co...
- Chapter V. The Thoroughbred; The Trotter; The Pacer
- Chapter by Roe Reisinger. The American thoroughbred is descended in all his lines from the English race-horse, and he in turn from Arabian, Turkish and Barb stock. For more than a century and a hal...
- The Thoroughbred; The Trotter; The Pacer. Continued
- Though for nearly a century the best horsemen of England and America have held the thoroughbred horse to be no longer susceptible of improvement by a further infusion of Oriental blood, it must be bor...
- The Trotting Horse
- The trotting gait is natural to nearly all kinds of domestic animals, and also to many wild varieties, as the deer, the elk, the wolf. The wild horses on the plains of South America and on our western...
- The Pacing-Horse
- Regarding the origin and history of the pacer previous to the last thirty years, nothing need be said additional to what is given in the pages devoted to the trotter. Until a comparatively recent peri...
- Chapter VI. The American Saddler
- Adapted largely from the best modern authorities on The American Saddler, for use in the class-room. The first use made of the horse by man was for riding bareback. Later he was furnished with th...
- The American Saddler. Continued
- So much for the history of the American saddler. Now let us look at the characteristics of this remarkable breed. They are fine and harmonious - all points and stylish - are hardy and very enduring ...
- Chapter VII. The Coach-Horse
- So many horses that do not belong to the true coach-horse type are called coachers and bought and sold as such that it is no wonder the farmer has no clear conception of the true coacher, which al...
- The Trotter As A Sire Of Coachers
- Now and then a large trotting-bred stallion begets stylish coachers when bred to suitable mares. (See chapter on Breeding.) In fact, many coachers up to about 1875 were so produced. Soon after the war...
- The French Coach - Demi-Sang (Half-Blood)
- Some of the European governments find difficulty in securing enough suitable horses for mounting cavalry and for other army uses. Because of this shortage some governments, notably the French, have gi...
- Chapter VIII. The Hackney
- This breed of horses, recently introduced into the United States, has attracted marked attention. The hackney has a peculiarly striking and pleasing appearance difficult to describe. His chief charms ...
- Chapter IX. The Hunter
- Chapter by F. S. Peer. The organization of many new hunt-clubs throughout the eastern states, during the last ten years, has greatly increased the demand for horses suitable for cross-country ridin...
- Breeding Hunters And Saddle-Horses. Selection Of Sire And Dam
- On account of his inborn qualifications for saddle work, the thoroughbred running-horse is the only animal that is worth considering for a sire. Not only his low elastic action, but his general confor...
- Chapter X. Ponies
- The breeds and varieties of ponies and small horses are numerous; even Asia and Africa possess many. Some are covered with hair which approaches bristles in coarseness and stiffness. Corsica had a bre...
- The Shetland Pony
- Until quite recently, the Shetland pony was the only one bred in considerable numbers in the eastern states. The Shetland is the smallest of the pony breeds and has long attracted marked attention, be...
- The Welsh Pony
- The Welsh pony averages nearly one hand higher than the Shetland, is less phlegmatic and hence not quite so easily handled by children as the Shetland. However, he is not vicious but more alert and qu...
- Exmoor, Dartmoor And New Forest Ponies
- In the breeding of Exmoors, as in the breeding of Shetland ponies, distinctive families have been produced. The Exmoor may be considered the parent or foundation stock of the Dartmoor and the New Fore...
- Mustangs
- The pure mustang traces directly back to the Spanish horse, being the offspring of horses escaped from domestication. The horses brought from Spain during the Conquest of Mexico, 1519-22, formed the f...
- The Indian Pony
- The Indian pony is an offshoot of the mustang. As the mustang drifted northward, he found a colder climate and, if not a more exacting, a less intelligent owner. While the pony was ridden by the brave...
- Creoles
- The little Creole pony is prized in some portions of Louisiana. They have been called pocket editions of the thoroughbred race-horse. When crossed with the Shetland, ponies are often produced which ...
- The Polo Pony
- In recent years a demand has sprung up for a pony somewhat different from any yet described. A wiry, active, courageous animal, of good temper and unexcelled endurance. He should be from thirteen and ...
- Chapter XI. Draft-Horses Clydesdale, English Shire, Suffolk Punch
- One of the oldest, if not the oldest breed of British draft-horse, is the Clydesdale. As a variety, they attracted attention as early as 1715; but it was long afterward before they assumed that unifor...
- English Shire
- This breed of horses is so nearly like the Clydesdale that it hardly merits a distinctive name. It would be less misleading if it were called English Clydesdale. Most characteristics are common to bot...
- Suffolk Punch
- The origin of this breed is obscure. Some have supposed that his color indicates that the foundation stock was produced by crossing stallions from France, supposedly gray, and Suffolkshire mares, supp...
- Chapter XII. French, Belgian And Flemish Draft-Horses
- France, like Great Britain, has several breeds of draft-horses. Standing out prominently, as superior to all others, is the ancient Percheron. He has a most interesting history, which is too volumi...
- French, Belgian And Flemish Draft-Horses. Continued
- All this is unfortunate, since these books, as well as the French Stud-Book, record but one breed of horses. Then, too, these various registers have different standards for admissions to registration....
- French Draft
- There is not only an American Stud-Book for recording the Percherons, but one for the French draft and one for Norman horses as well. We have, then, three distinct Stud-Books for recording what is vir...
- Boulonnais
- This variety of draft-horses is somewhat larger and not so active as are the Percherons. Their appearance leads to the conclusion that they have more of the blood of the heavy draft or Flemish, and le...
- Belgian Draft - Horse
- The Belgian horse has not been so popular in the United States as the Clyde and the Percheron. The reason why these two breeds have been imported and bred in far greater numbers than the other draft-b...
- The Flemish Horse
- The modern Flemish and Belgian horses are the giants of their race. Springing from a common ancestry, bred under similar conditions, put to common uses, it is no wonder that the two breeds are very si...
- Chapter XIII. Principles Of Breeding
- The breeding of horses is usually carried on, first, in order to procure directly or indirectly the necessaries of life, and, second, to secure a profit. Occasionally they are bred simply for pleasure...
- Inheritance
- Lo! what am I? A patch of things, Mere odds and ends of lives flung by From age-long, rag-bag gatherings, Pieced up by Fate full thriftily: Somebody's worn-out will and wit, Somebody's habits and his ...
- Food
- Food, next to inheritance, is the most potent factor in the improvement of the horse. As a man thinketh, so is he; as a horse eateth, so is he. This statement may be too sweeping, but, when taken in...
- Climate
- Climate does not play so important a part in the United States in modifying animals and in producing variations as formerly, when stables were inferior and when it was sometimes the practice to allow ...
- Habit And Use
- When one or several limbs or organs of an animal are called upon to do extra work, Nature immediately tries to strengthen such members by providing extra nourishment. This extra work must not be carri...
- Selection
- It is self-evident that variation is constantly taking place, - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and that changes sometimes appear which do not affect intrinsic value. Most of the ca...
- Relative Influence Of Sire And Dam
- Much has been written as to the relative influence on the offspring of sire and dam. When both parents have characteristics in common, there appears in the offspring little to indicate that one parent...
- The Governing Of Sex
- The facts observed by many reputable breeders of domestic animals lead to the following conclusion, - that the most vigorous, the most prepotent parent at the time of conception is more likely to gove...
- Atavism
- Atavism is the recurrence, or tendency to recur, to an ancestral type, peculiarity, or disease after its disappearance for one or more generations. It is intermittent heredity; reversion; dating back...
- Chapter XIV. Plan Of Breeding
- A general plan should be carefully thought out before the farmer makes the attempt to breed few or many horses. As the work of breeding progresses, many questions of detail will arise which can be mos...
- Fall Versus Spring Colts
- In the fruit and dairy districts the pressing work ceases in September; in the grain-raising sections it is October before the farm-horse gets relief. If fall or winter colts are to be raised, it is e...
- Plan For Rearing Winter Colts
- Let it be supposed that a farm requires the labor of four horses. It may also be assumed that the usual number kept is seldom sufficient for performing the work promptly and satisfactorily in the spri...
- Feeding The Brood-Mare And Foal
- When the mare is at severe work during the summer months, the ration should be wide, - one to seven or one to eight.1 As the work lightens and time of parturition approaches, the ration may be narrowe...
- Period Of Gestation And Parturition
- The normal period of gestation may be placed at three hundred and forty days, though it varies in horses as it does in all other species of mammals. Veterinary writers usually place the minimum period...
- Suggestions For The Beginner
- A clearly defined plan of what is desired to accomplish should first be made. To do this, a good knowledge of the horse and horse-breeding should be secured from all available sources. Breeding establ...
- Suggestions For The Beginner. Continued
- The desire was to secure a quick-moving, pleasure-giving, saddle- and road-horse. In New England, the Morgan horse came to supply a long-felt want of bright farm boys. But the fitness of the horse of ...
- Chapter XV. Judging Horses
- The purchaser should know something of the ancestors of the animal under consideration, as a horse may have inherited characteristics and specialized qualities which cannot be discovered until the ani...
- Judging Horses. Part 2
- The size of the horse is sometimes an important factor in determining price, or rather the amount which can be realized for him. Large horses, other things being equal, usually command a higher price ...
- Judging Horses. Part 3
- A disproportionately large head is always objectionable, and especially so when found on horses designed for speed or for uses where beauty counts for much. The head, as seen from the front, should lo...
- The Horse's Teeth
- So far nothing has been said about determining the age of horses. A discussion of this subject has been purposely deferred until the limbs, and particularly the feet, have been examined. If these indi...
- The Horse's Teeth. Part 2
- It may be said that they are much deeper in the corner teeth when the colt is but a little past two years than they are when the colt approaches three years of age. When the colt reaches the age of...
- The Horse's Teeth. Part 3
- When the horse reaches seven years of age, the cups have not only disappeared from the central nippers, although small, darkish spots may be seen, but they have nearly or quite disappeared from the la...
- The Horse's Teeth. Part 4
- Figs. 76 and 77 graphically illustrate the appearance of the teeth of an old horse. The incisor teeth have become nearly triangular and they show long wear The tusks are large, blunt and round; the no...
- Chapter XVI. Breeding Horses
- The breeders of horses may be divided roughly into two classes - the professional and wealthy amateur, and the commoner. The former usually has means sufficient to secure as foundation stock expensive...
- Breeding Horses. Continued
- I have suggested that raising one or more colts yearly would be practicable; since horses must be maintained to do the work of the farm, and since men and teams, in many cases, spend four to five mont...
- Chapter XVII. Education And Care Of Roadsters And Other Light Horses
- Nearly all the ailments of horses are due not so much to bad breeding as to faulty training, ignorant, brutal driving, overwork, carelessness in feeding and watering, and thoughtlessness and ignorance...
- Feeding
- Driving-horses, especially those used at fast work, should be fed with great care. They should have relatively a greater proportion of concentrates and a less proportion of roughage than those used fo...
- Harness
- Care should be taken to fit and adjust the harness to the horse. This is particularly true of the young horse when he is first put at work. His shoulders and mouth, the places likely to first show abr...
- Driving
- The art of driving a horse or a locomotive must be learned largely by practice, as both are complex machines. The former differs from the latter in that he is a highly organized living thing and there...
- Watering
- Horses that are used for driving and for light work are usually in higher physical condition, not necessarily fatter, than farm- and draft-horses. Since their hours of labor are usually not so many no...
- Grooming
- The grooming of the horse, under certain circumstances, becomes an important factor in efficiency of performance. Those called on for rapid work for short periods can hardly be groomed too much. Relat...
- Chapter XVIII. "Hands" In Driving
- By F. S. Peer Attention has already been called to the necessity of preserving the sensitiveness of a colt's mouth, when educating him, by the use of a bit covered with leather; when he is having h...
- Chapter XIX. Care Of Draft-Horses And Farm-Horses
- Draft-horses, in this connection, include all horses used for slow or comparatively slow and exhausting work, especially farm-horses used for tilling the land. Horses in a wild state graze largely at ...
- Care Of Draft-Horses And Farm-Horses. Continued
- Neither green sheaf oats, nor threshed oats which have not been seasoned for three months or more, should be fed, - especially to fast drivers and hard-worked draft-animals. So far, the feeding of ...
- Blankets
- What has been said in regard to the use of blankets, in Chapter XVII (Education And Care Of Roadsters And Other Light Horses), is true with slight modification when applied to their use on draft- and ...
- Size And Weight Of Horses
- We make no plea for the light horse or for the heavy horse. What we do emphasize is the wisdom of breeding the horse which can perform the services required most effectively and economically under any...
- Chapter XX. The Horse's Feet - Shoeing
- Much has been written on shoeing horses, but it is seldom that any two authorities agree. The mechanic who does the shoeing has his notions; usually, they are nothing but notions, since he has no know...
- The Horse's Feet - Shoeing. Part 2
- The foot may be but slightly affected, in which case a spirited horse will not limp when driven. It is not an uncommon thing for horsemen to dispose of their horses before the unsoundness can be detec...
- The Horse's Feet - Shoeing. Part 3
- Some horses overreach because of faultv form. The front quarters of such horses may have something of the draft conformation, while the hind quarters approach the trotting-horse build. In other words,...
- The Horse's Feet - Shoeing. Part 4. Shoeing, To Improve Action
- In shoeing horses with a view to improving their action, the shoes for the fore feet are made especially heavy, and the toes are rounded off from the under side with the intention of enabling the hors...
- Chapter XXI. Stables, Sanitation And Paddocks
- Each horse should be provided in the stable with at least two cubic feet of air-space for each pound of live weight. Cattle require about one-half as much air-space per unit of live weight. This diffe...
- Ventilation
- Horse stables should be kept cooler in winter than cow stables. The modern stable, like the modern house, is usually kept much too warm in winter. It is easier to ventilate horse stables than cow stab...
- Manures
- A good and convenient arrangement, though not by any means the best, is to provide a covered yard beneath the stable, into which the excrements may be thrown for temporary storage. In such an arrangem...
- Floors, Stalls And Mangers
- Sometimes horses may be placed on the second floor above a covered yard, or above other animals. In any case, the stable floor should be water-tight. Wooden floors, all things considered, are usually ...
- Chapter XXII. Line Of Draft, Weight Of Horses And Wagon Tires
- It is not enough to have good horses well nourished; their powers should be directed along most efficient lines. Figure 92 illustrates how one span may lift and roll out of its resting place a stone s...
- Appendix I. The Breeding In Canada Of Horses For Army Use
- By the kindness of J. G. Rutherford, Chief Veterinary Inspector While the supply of horses suitable for military use has always, even in times of peace, been a serious question, the experience of o...
- The Artillery-Horse
- The artillery-horse asked for by the army buyers is really a smart, active van- or express-horse on short legs, with plenty of bone and substance and enough quality to ensure staying power in fairly f...
- The Cavalry-Horse
- The cavalry-horse is of a somewhat different type, and one at present too rare in Canada, owing to the preference shown by many light horse breeders for the American trotting sire, an animal possessin...
- The Mounted Infantry-Horse
- The mounted infantry-horse, for which such an unprecedented demand has recently arisen, and which is likely to be even more sought after if present war conditions continue to prevail, is a smaller and...
- General Requirements. Advice To Breeders
- In time of peace no horses are bought at less than four nor more than seven years old. As regards color, bays, browns, chestnuts and blacks are preferred; a few grays are required for special corps...
- Appendix II. Computing Rations For Farm Animals
- Prepared by John L. Stone, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. For more than a third of a century, the subject of feeding to farm animals a balanced ration, or one ...
- Composition Of Food Materials
- The same four groups of substances found in animal bodies, viz.: water, ash, fat and protein, are also found in the food they consume and, in addition, the food of herbivorous animals contains a class...
- Compounding Of Rations. Nutritive Ratio
- Since the protein on the one hand and the carbohydrates and fat on the other, serve, in the main, different purposes in the animal economy, it becomes evident that the relative amounts of these nutrie...
- Appendix III. Live-Stock Registry Associations, With The Names Of The Secretaries Or Editors
- Horses American Thoroughbred Stud Book, James E. Wheeler, 173 Fifth Ave., New York. American Hackney Stud Book, A. H. Godfrey, Astor Court Bldg., West 34th St., New York Dominion of Canada Ha...
- Appendix IV. Number And Value Of Horses
- From Report of the Twelfth United States Census. Horses were reported on 4,532,018 farms and ranges, June 1, 1900, and in 1,373,661 barns and other inclosures not on farms or ranges. The number on ...
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