CHAPTER I. 



THE HORSE 



The horse has been recognized as man's most 

 intimate animal friend and notwithstanding 

 that it has not been under domestication so 

 long as some other animals it is at present 

 associated with man by more points of sympathy 

 than any other of our domestic animals. Geolo- 

 gists have shown that the original ancestors of the 

 horse occurred in America in past ages but that 

 these were all exterminated by some climatic 

 or other unknown cause and that our present 

 horses are all descended from old world horses 

 which in turn are derived from the original geolog- 

 ical ancestor of the horse in America. It has 

 recently become fashionable with certain writers 

 to refer to the waning importance of horses and 

 to use such phrases as the "horseless age" and 

 others which indicate that the horse is gradually 

 losing his claim of service upon man. In view 

 of such misinformation it seems desirable to state 

 that the horse was never in greater favor than 

 to-day. The number of horses in the United 

 States is increasing rapidly, more interest is being 

 everywhere manifested regarding their care and 



