438 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



ness, and in the daily oversight of their operations. Not only does 

 he fulfill this task, but when needs be he fills the collar as well as 

 does a mule or any other horse, and because of his courage, stamina 

 and intelligence, he has ever proven himself satisfactory in these 

 capacities. 



The production of the saddle horse has often been called a 

 specialized business, and in. some few cases has been named "a 

 rich man's game." To this allegation a most emphatic denial can 

 be made. A close scrutiny of the production of five-gaited horses 

 in America will bring to light the fact that by far the greater num- 

 ber of saddle horses produced are born and raised on. small farms 

 where one or two or perhaps five saddle mares are kept. These 

 mares perform some of the work of the farm and serve as riding 

 horses for owners and their families. On these farms they are 

 in every sense a business proposition, but over and above that fact, 

 they are still a source of pleasure. If the facts were brought to 

 light, many a good old saddle mare might be found who had helped 

 to lift a mortgage or to pay off a debt by the yearly production of 

 a high class foal. True, some have failed, but many fail in all 



Forest King 1462, by Squirrel King 973; dam, Stella French by Montrose 106. 

 P.red by Millard Turner, Hallsville, Mo. Owned by Forest King Horse Co., John 

 Hicklin, manager. Sweet Spring.s, Mo. 



kinds of business. So it is no more than right to say, as a farmer's 

 horse, the five-gaited saddle horse has filled the bill from a profit- 

 producing standpoint. 



But the saddle horse has come to fill a different place than 

 that which he did originally. This new function has been made 

 possible by the development in this country of the custom and 

 practice of horse-back riding as exercise and enjoyment. Notwith- 



