ANIMAL INDUSTRIES 241 



one and left his jaded nag as a fair exchange. This 

 condition speedily disappeared when Americans 

 thronged in, but still what was seen of it by the 

 early comers and heard for years following, had an 

 influence in shaping attitudes and suggesting points 

 of view to the pioneers. The freedom of the horse 

 and his rider on the open unfenced landscape 

 undoubtedly suggested breadth and freedom in 

 thought and action which has been characterized as 

 "western/ 7 Horses gone wild were also abundant; 

 it was perhaps first in California that wild horses 

 were shot to rid the range of them. If it had not 

 been for the prejudice against it, probably horse 

 meat would have served a good purpose when the 

 throngs of gold-seekers had eaten the State short 

 of cattle and sheep. 



Although horses and the handling of them were 

 the chief gifts of the Spanish regime to American 

 agriculture in California, except in horsemanship 

 which they admired and adopted, the American pio- 

 neers were not satisfied with what they inherited. 

 The best of what came to be called American horses, 

 to distinguish them from Mexican, crossed the plains 

 by hundreds or thousands with their riders and 

 drivers and established a new ideal of the agricul- 

 tural horse. The horses which came to California 

 across the continent were of excellent quality. They 

 were selected for their youth and promise of endur- 

 ance of weeks and even months of hard hauling on 

 the trails, all errors in selection being left on the 

 plains en route. Selected stallions came also, paying 



