A Compleat Body of Husbandry - v. 2 Author:Thomas Hale Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. II. Of the choice and management of h-rfes for the farm. THE hufbandman muft proportion the number and kind of horfes to his farm, and he is to confi... more »der the fex. In fome cafes breeding from them may be a thing of great advantage, and under other circumftances, it may not be prudent in him to think of it. A certain proportion mould be kept up between the arable and pafture land of a farm; but this cannot be always done fo exactly as might be wifhed. The excefs in either kind, where it cannot be avoided, will give the hufbandman a proper caution as to the fex of this kind of cattle; as the nature of the employment for which he wants them alfo will. The horfe for plow muft be ftrong, no matter for his fhape: but for cart fome care fhould be had in the choice, and in the fize. Thefe mould be big breafted, large bodied, and ftrong limbed; and they fhould be bought of a moderate fize, that they may match with one another; that others may eafily be got to match with them when any die, or are fold out. The having horfes for flow draught all of a fize, or nearly fo, is a confiderable article: for otherwife the team never work equally, nor at eafe to themfelves. The hufbandman has not the advantage of half their ftrength, though they go through an equal fatigue: the tall horfes hanging up the low, and it being altogether impoffiblc they fhould draw evenly together. It is a benefit in the horfe intended for this fervice to be fluggifh :. the fitteft for it are fuch as require the whip, rather than fuch as arc ready to draw more than needful. The farmer fhould avoid that common fault, the making one'horft; ferve for different ufes. Let him never put a faddle upon his draught horfes, for it alters them in their pace, and renders them aukward and troublefome in their ...« less