76 THE HORSE IN AMERICA 



general utility horse that this country has had 

 and probably as good as any type in the world. 

 The renascence of the Morgan horse is due to 

 the horse shows, which have become deservedly 

 popular in many parts of the United States. There 

 are those who speak of the horse shows rather 

 contemptuously as society fads in which the 

 horses exhibited are of secondary importance and 

 interest. To many, who care nothing about 

 horses and know less, it is doubtless true that the 

 social side of horse shows is the important, if not 

 the only side. This attitude, even if it be the atti- 

 tude of the majority of those who attend the ex- 

 hibitions, does not detract from the value of the 

 shows so long as the work in the ring be of the 

 right sort, and high standards be established and 

 maintained as to the various classes of horses that 

 are produced in this country. Indeed, it is a good 

 thing for the shows that people with no fondness 

 for or taste in horses should still patronize them, 

 for their money helps pay expenses and makes it 

 possible to offer the handsome prizes which go 

 along with the awards. If the horse shows had 

 done nothing else than stimulate the renewed 



