THE HORSE 



CHAPTER I 



THE HORSE AND HIS MASTER 



THE American inherits from his European, and 

 especially his English ancestor, a sincere love for the 

 horse. This love has amounted to adoration in some 

 cases. The family horse, if he outlived his master, 

 inherited under the will a sufficient amount for lux- 

 urious support during life and a costly interment and 

 monument at death, the same as the children. Although 

 oxen were used by the pioneers for the most laborious 

 work, fine horses were imported and bred in consider- 

 able numbers in the United States before 1776. Mary- 

 laud, Virginia and South Carolina had established race- 

 courses prior to that time. As the forests disappeared 

 before the woodman's axe and the stumps slowly 

 decayed, horses were gradually substituted for oxen 

 as ''work stock." As soon as settlements were made 

 in the interior of the New England and middle states 

 away from the natural water -courses, vast amounts of 

 goods had to be "wagoned" from towns along the 

 water-courses to the inland settlements. The rapid 

 settlement of the middle states created a large demand 



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