Breed Standards

Standards

J.A. COUTURE, V.S.
General Stock Breeders, Association of the Province of Quebec.

ANNUAL REPORT
for 1907 Léger, Brousseau Printer
Quebec

SCALE OF POINTS for CANADIAN HORSE

The scale of points for Canadian horses is divided into eight parts or groups, seven of which correspond to the horse’s chief anatomical regions : the head ; the neck and shoulders; the body; the fore-quarter, the hind-quarter; the lower parts of the legs (with the exception of the foot); the foot. The eighth group consists of what is more specially considered by horsemen as the exterior: -the skin, weight, action, height. Finally the nervous system and general appearance are noted.

As so arranged, the scale can be easily understood and remembered by every horseman.

The greatest number of points (20) is alloted to the body. The body (chest, back loins, belly) is by far the most important region of the horse. It contains the chief organs of the circulation of the blood, those of respiration, digestion, nutrition, etc. If those organs have plenty of room, if they are well supported, they work perfectly and this condition is accompanied, by health, strength, vigor and endurance. Moreover the other parts will be in harmony with the body both as regards their development and their fitness. On the contrary, if the body is defective the remainder of the animal will be more or less so.

The quarters occupy the second place from the standpoint of the importance of the regions. We have alloted them 13 and 14 points respectively.

The fore-foot comes thirdly.”No foot, No horse,” says Youatt. Nothing can be truer. We have allotted 10 points for this.

Then comes the lower part of the legs and the hind foot to each of which 5 points are alloted. The other portions of the body are comparatively accessory.

The practical application of the scale is made easy by the fact that the points alloted to a region are distributed among the various parts constituting such regions. The only exception is in the case of the head.

J.A. COUTURE, D.V.S.