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 Agriculture And Life: Agriculture And Life - Education Aims Seed Selection And Plant Breeding Breeding The Cereals Breeding Corn Potato Breeding Pets And Home Projects Stock And Grain Judging Horse Judging Classification Of Cattle Types And Breeds Of Swine More Articles About Agriculture |
( Originally Published 1915 ) Judging is Selection.—Judging does not necessarily mean the placing of prize animals to the awarding of ribbons in a show ring. Judging means the selection of what one wants for his purpose. It is used when One has to buy animals. There are different kinds of judges, and this fact often causes con-fusion to the farm boy. There are buyers who have a standard in mind, they will buy nothing under their standard, and with that in mind they are able to buy an animal per minute. But these are very apt to be better buyers if they learned when younger to judge one animal at a time and to judge critically. The one who wishes to buy a pair of horses has a very different problem to solve in determining which is best for his purpose than has the man who is buying a carload of horses to sell. Judging is the balancing of one attribute against another and then selecting for the margin of Utilities. It takes experience to know just which to pick of a number of animals offered. But it does not take an extended experience to learn whether an animal is worth considering for the purpose intended. One who has had little experience and who goes over an animal point by point is frequently able to make a better selection than is an older judge who is unable to score an animal. Examining the Horse.—" The most logical system," says Gay is in his excellent chapter on Horse Judging in " Productive Horse Husbandry," Chapter XI, " of examination, begins with the view of the horse from in front, noting the temperament and disposition as indicated by the expression of the countenance, all features of the head, the width and depth of the chest, the station, the direction of the forelegs and feet. Then passing to the side, near side usually, consider the stature and scale, length or compactness, station, depth (especially in the flank), carriage and shape of head and neck, the shortness and levelness of the top line, the length and straightness of the under line, height and shape of the withers, the slope of the shoulders, direction and conformation of the forelegs and feet, the back, rib, loin, flank, coupling, croup, tail, stifle, thigh, direction and conformation of the hind legs and feet. From the rear the symmetry, levelness, width, rotundity of hips, fulness of thighs and quarters, direction and conformation of hind legs and feet." Then we pass to the opposite side and view to confirm the observations on the other side. Classification of Horses.—Horses are classified under two general types as light and heavy. The light are again divided into carriage, coach, riding, racing, pony, etc. These are divided into horses that have been bred for uniformity of shape and color and hence are breeds. As explained elsewhere, the word Thorpoughbred is used for the English race or riding horse. Other horses may be registered or have a pedigree. Among the breeds of light horses are the English Hackney, the German and the French Coach, the Morgan (Fig. 29), Hambletonian, etc. If there is a family particularly interested in any one of these breeds, some of the children should read up on the origin and advantages claimed for that breed. The pupils should score at least one light horse in order to learn the differences between the light and the heavy or draft types of horses. LIGHT HORSE SCORE CARD From "Productive Horse Husbandry."—GAY] General Appearance.—12.
1. Height Forehand.—23
12. Shoulders—long, oblique, smooth Body
21. Withers—well set up, narrow extending well back Hindquarters
27. Hips—broad, round, smooth 38. Legs—direction viewed from) the rear, a perpendicular line dropped from the point of the buttock should divide the leg and foot into lateral halves:, viewed from the side, this same line should touch the point of the hock and meet the ground some little distance back of the heel. A perpendicular line dropped from the hip-joint should meet the ground near the centre of the foot Way of Going:
39. Walk—long, free stride Heavy Horses.—The farmer is apt to be more interested in the draft horses. These are classified into breeds according to their ancestry and the places where they originated. We have the Clydesdale from Scotland, the Shire from England, the Belgian and the Percheron from France. Of these the Percherons seem to be gaining most in the favor of the American farmers. There is a historical reason for this, and this historical account illustrates nicely why we wish to know the historic origin of the breed we select. The French had a heavy draft horse but, like other European horses, it was lacking in movement and staying qualities. In order to get a horse to draw their cannon in war times, the French rulers had the native French horse crossed with a horse from Arabia and from that cross they selected or, rather, bought their war horses. This gives us the most active of the large horses. In America, distances are long, we must travel over territory to fields and markets, hence we like the Percherons on our farms. They are equally good horses for the city express and coal wagons (Fig. 41). This does not mean that there are no other good horses; the Clydesdale and the Shire have their friends who will not admit that the Percherons are the best horses, we should score the horse district, but we should score one how a draft horse differs from alight horse. DRAFT HORSE SCORE CARD [From "Productive noise Husbandry."—GAY] General Appearance.
1. Weight Head and Neck.
7. Head—size and dimensions, in proportion, clear cut features, straight face line, wide angle in lower jaw Forehand.
13. Shoulders—long, sloping, smooth, muscular Body
22. Withers—well defined but muscular Hindquarters
28. Hips—wide, level, muscular Way of Going:
40. Walk—straight, strong, active |
