Show FARM HORSE AND DRAFT A distinction that farmer 1 should remember ne member the farm horse needs a p pastern watern of di dit I 1 ferent shape from that of the draft bore horse proper the pastern has an important office to perform the bones serve to throw the tendon of the foot which runa run 3 over them farther from the center of 0 motion and more than this act aa as springs to prevent concussion and absorb motion which with unusually short and straight pasterns pa sterns ia is passed pawed on to the upper por lions of the limbs and shoulders hence the easy springy elastic motion depends mostly upon the length and oblique obliqueness nem of the pastern the dray horse needs little of this sort of motion he is not required to go faster than a walk and short strong pasterns pa sterns are preferred to long springy ones but we must think something of the horses kept on the farms farmers are beginning to study this matter which in the past has been greatly neglected we havo reached it point where we are forced to study it ill for upon pon u the pastern depends to a great extent the wearing qualities of the tanners ers horse for instance the other day I 1 happened to be dravin Z a team of erode grade i 1 I 1 0 I 1 aua ill craft cratt marts to hie tie bagg gy one inara had two crosses of imported draft blood in her veins the other but one As they trotted along it was very easy a to see which had tho the greater amount of draft blood simply by observing the top of the collar the feet of the tho three fourths mare struck the ground with a thud much after the style st ie of a pile driver and her pasterns pa sterns being short and upright the shock was communicated to the entire front quarters causin causing 9 t the he collar to j jolt 01 t ap and down on her neck k with every step the other in are an aunt of the first one trotted along with scarcely a jar and the motion of the collar consisted entirely in accommodating itself to the shifting positions ot of the shoulders there was no up and down motion of the collar whatever this mares pasterns pa sterns were longer and more sloping and performed their du duty ty of relieving the upper limbs and shout ders from the concussion naturally caused bythe by the feet sinking striking the ground the one mare went with a chug ety chug up and down motion the other smoothly easily and horizontally the first mare will pull more and probably ably wear about as well as the other under tho the conditions which surround the dray horse but she would not last at all un der the conditions which obtain on the western farm such a mire mare should never be driven faster than a wa walk lit and the time is not yet when the western farmer can afford to keep work which cannot trot without injuring themselves Henry C Q wallace in breed ers gazette |