PEACE AND ACTION IN THE AGRICULTURAL HORSE. BY REV. W. HOLT DEEVER.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1443, 1 October 1881, Page 4

PEACE AND ACTION IN THE AGRICULTURAL HORSE. BY REV. W. HOLT DEEVER.

With a view to tho embodiment ot a faw idj.u /ou t tliusrimporfcahr subject, I ventured to circulate widely a few enquiries. So kindly prompt and sufficiently uuaai!motia weto the replies 'received; that I think it fairest to present them 'to the reader strung in their individual entirety, \ r 'i-.L 1 thin submit them to the po-sible iujustioe of a summary. V The first to hand comes fr,om an erai- ' nent veterinary practitioner, who is further largely employed in buying for the uses of a lcadiug railway. He writes :—: — '• In reply to the first of the queries in your letter, ' whether steepness of shoulder is conduoivo to easier draught,' an answer in the affirmative must bo given, as a collar fits on an upright shoulder in a position most favourable to the animal's exerting his full force. " The difficulty, which really is all that is over urged in favour of tho stoop shoulder, could surely be met by padding or framework of the collar. Still, it is an opinion to be weighed woll, seeing that it was held by that celebrated breeder and judge, tho late Mr N. S. Barthropp. In a lecture which lies beside me, and was delivered by him to a local assem - blago of Snffock cognobccnti in horseflesh, ho writes iv regard to the right shape and style of the weight-carrying hunter ;—; — " I know not what more to say about it further than that one should above all things secure good obliquo shoulders, strong thighs and hocks. Nice straight fore-legs are doubtless desirable, but I ■would rather put up with arched fore-legs, and that was a little crossed-ancled, provided his shoulders and hind-legs were good, than have the best-formed fore-leg-> ever seen with upright short shoulders It id not; every hor.-ie with high whithers that is desirable, but the shoulders should be long and well laid into the back." Immediately after this emphatic doclaration as to the hunter's conformation, ho adds — calling attention to the fact that his " name had been for several yeais associated with the Suffolk cart-horse :" — " What hab been said as to the shape of the hunter and the riding horse applies equally to the cart-horse, with the exception of the shoulders, for whilst you cannot well have the shoulders of a nding horse too oblique, those of the cait-hoise ought to be more or less upright, so as to allow him to >thiow his weight into the collar." I cannot, I muat say, the many timss I have studied his grand stud in his company, remember an instance of short shouldei.s. And on one occasion I remember his bhowing me a plainish mare on winch ho l'«d store, having bought her for her fine trotting action, and which he thought to cultivate. She unfoitunately camo to an untimely end, and disappointed his intention. Now, it is porfectly impossible for a steep-shouldered hor^c to step out, as tho round end of tho lower bone locks tighter into cup afc the end of the shoulder blado the more straightened their connection, and .so utteily prevents a high litt or outthrow of the fore leg. On this occasion, then, Homer must havo slept, if indeed, as I suspect, he weie not writing m liia lecture a remark he had heard, but could not find it in his heart to practice. To return, however, to the answers vouchsafed me, I read that, " With ic■ference to the second part of tho query, ' whether stcepnc&s of fchouMer ib compatible with fiee front action :' If thoie is a good widtli and depth of chest, and the muscles of the shoulders, chest, and arms are well developed, a moderately (?) upright shoulder is compatible with free front action ; otherwise it is not. Speaking generally, a moderate obliquity of shoulder with a good width of chest is desirable in all horses intended for di aught purposes. High witheis are objectionable." Such is the practical opinion of an eminent cart-horse judge, and has the additional weight of his being daily employed in the selection and piucha&c of draught- horses on a large .scale foi establishments where speedy note would be taken of comparative supoiionty. Next an eminent bi ecdur of dray and cart-horses writes: — "I have always maintained that steep or upright shouUlei s in an agiicultuial horse aio conductive to easier di aught, and arc us essential as they aie in a dray horse, as the collar keeps it in its proper place so much better. The best woikmg hoises wo have on the faim havo npnght sbouldois, and they go as good a pace as those who have more slanting ones, which lcquiic a breast-gnth to keep their tollai down in its place, but as far as appeaiancc goes, the latter peihaps walks in the best style. Not long smco I was talking to one of our carters about shouldcis, and r-:ud to him, 'That marc has a shouldoi like a hunter;' when he said, 'Yes; but give me a hoi.se with straight .shouldeis foi a dead jnill, or for plough or liari owing.' ' To this opinion, commanding great consideration, I append the statements of two al.io well known amongst hoi semen, and who have actually bought ot him several prize animals. The one says — "Ihavo bought from a number of wiuneis, and all with tho most lovely oblique shouldcis. The other says* — "My opinion about action in cart-horses is that the better thny move the strong si* they are, and the more eabily they do their woik. Personally, I like my hoxse's shoulders to be sloping like a hunter's, though, of course, it is not such a sine qua non in a draught-horse as in a riding-horse. The better the shonlders the moie activity, is my idea, and though I should not reject a horho for stiaigrht shoulders, I should prefer the opposite. I expect you will get a variety of opinions, as some people think a collar fits a straight shoulder bpst. I think that is "bosh."' Youatt has been quoted as maintaining the expediency of a straight shoulder in the draught horse, but without sufficient reason, I think. In his work (" The Horse," p. 327), lie teaches that " the obliquity or slanting direction of the Bhoulders effects other very useful purposes. That the stride iv the gallop or the pace passed over in the trot may be extensive, it is necessary that the forepart of the animal should bo considerably elevated. The shouldor, by means of the muscles which extend from it to the interior part of the limb, is the grand agent in effecting this. Had the bones of the Bhoulder been placed more upright than we see them, they could not have been of the length which they now are — their connection with the chest could not have been so secure — and their movements upon each other would havo been comparatively restricted. The slightest inspection of the diagram will show that just in proportion as the point of the shoulder is brought forward and elevated will bo tho forward action and elevation of the limb, or the space passed over at every effort." Then he shows that in the straight shoulder " the real action and power of the muscle are most strangely diminished. The oblique shoulder not only gives extensive action, but facility of action. Tho power of the muscles is more than doubled. Then the legs are exposed to leas concussion. The horse is bo much safer, and rides more pleasantly. Then, ought every horse to havo an oblique shoulder? $0. When extensive and rapid action is required an oblique shoulr der is indispensable ; but in the case of thosfl who are seldom ridden, whose pace is slow, and who havo nothing to do but to throw as much weight aa possible into

tho collar, the. upright position- of the shoulder, with it accumulated tnusole, gives them additional weight to throw int-i the collar, which tho power of their hiud quarters is fully sufficient to accomplish, and because tbe upright position; of the shoulder gives that direction to the collar which enables the hniso to act upon eVery p.irt of it, uud that inclination of the tr.uiea which will enable his weight or power to be most advantageously em- • ployed.