228 THE HORSE 



are offered. The wonder is that the horses are as good 

 as they are. The native ability of the American boy, 

 the abundance of suitable food and a propitious climate 

 have done much to arrest deterioration of the horse 

 when in the hands of careless owners. 



In some localities, the combined influences of food, 

 climate and skill of the breeder, have improved the 

 horses, without the aid of a liberal admixture of 

 imported animals of acknowledged superior qualities. 

 Under the best conditions, many superior horses have 

 been bred from animals of mixed blood, that is, from 

 those whose ancestry may be traced to several breeds 

 or to no breed. While this careless mating of animals 

 of quite different characteristics is not to be recom- 

 mended, yet it must be said that many fine horses have 

 been produced by this effort to breed a general -purpose 

 horse. In older countries, the various breeds of horses 

 are soon adjusted to the localities and conditions best 

 suited to their specialized qualities. In a new country, 

 like America, too often the heavy horse is found in the 

 rough dairy districts and the light one on the tenacious, 

 heavy-clay grain farms. In time, horses will be bred 

 not only for special purposes but to suit the climate, 

 soil and local conditions. True, no hard-and-fast lines 

 can be drawn, but the time will come when the light 

 roadster will find no place on the heavy grain lands, nor 

 will the draft animals be used for carriage and road 

 work. 



During the last twenty -five years, the increasing 

 heavy traffic of our numerous cities and villages has 

 demanded more and heavier horses than were formerly 



