12 THE 



III 1890 there were, in round numbers, fifteen million 

 horses and two million mules on farms. At least one- 

 half of them were suitable to perform regular agricul- 

 tural labor and were capable of doing work equal to 

 eighty -five million hand laborers. What a vast addi- 

 tion to the productive power is here secured by the 

 intelligent utilization of the horse; and what econ- 

 omy in using brute energy, which is only from one- 

 tenth to one -twentieth as expensive as human muscular 

 energy ! 



If, then, the horse is such an economic factor 

 in American production and progress, it behooves the 

 American farmer to acquaint himself with the history 

 of this useful and pleasure -giving animal, that not 

 only good horses may be propagated, but that such 

 selection of breeding stock may be made and such scien- 

 tific coupling, feeding and training be practiced as 

 will secure not only the best horses but, that which 

 is of quite as much importance, those which shall be 

 best adapted to the work for which they are intended. 

 It is evidently foolish to rear a horse which will increase 

 a man's productive power only five times, when a more 

 intelligent effort might have produced one which would 

 increase it ten times. 



So far, the horse has been spoken of as an animal 

 which may be used to replace and alleviate human toil, 

 to increase the efficiency of human effort and to give 

 pleasure. But many horses in the community are 

 beneficial in various other ways. They have a powerful 

 influence in training the hand, and in developing both 

 intellect and judgment. In ancient times, the ox and 



