IMPORTANCE OF GOOD BARREL

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1682, 25 May 1904, Page 67

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD BARREL

_ While it is of all impprtanco that the draught horse should have the best or feet and legs, we must not forget that the body furnishes the muscles of 1/dcjmotion, and should therefore be as perfectly developed as possible, remarks Dr Alexander in the “Live Stock Journal." Starting at the chest, which accommodates the lungs and heart, there should •he ample width and depth, but too'wide a chest is often a positive detriment f o a work horse. Some people brag of the extra width of their horse's chest, but fail to note that, such a chest makes it impossible for the animal to walk or trot briskly. The shoulder points are kept ■practically outside of the body, and the horse consequently waddles in his gait. Tor fast walking and trotting the shoulders must not be impeded in this way, and the chest, while sufficiently ample, must allow the fore" legs to progress without rolling outward. Plenty of spring of rib back of the shoulders is to be highly esteemed, as it means good heart girth and room'for lung action. Where the shoulders are very prominent and the heart girth small the gait is not only awkward,. but the staying powers popr for the lungs are small in keeping with the deficiency of chest room. Low withers are also to be considered objectionable, and especially so in draught stallions, which should have an upstanding appearance in the forequarters, whereas a brood mare is correspondingly heavy behind from characteristic amplitude of the pelvic region. Where a stallion has low withers his saddle is also correspondingly low, and, while he may have two good ends, we cannot overlook a long, washy, weak back and coupling. Such horses are poor keepers, apt to scour when worked or driven hard, and sure to transmit their bad conformation to their progeny. With, this objectionable conformation we find flat ribs and very often a - tendency of the hind legs to stand back iof the body. A horse with well-laid shoulders, round barrel, and effort, thick, well-coupled back, carries his legs so that they will support the body firmly at all tames, and such a back means also great muscularity. Breed for 'the best of feet ancl legs; endeavour to obtain oblique

pasterns and nicely sloping shoulders, but do not neglect strong bodies, such as we have outlined above.