INTRODUCTORY NOTE 



A FTER directly helping on the progress of 

 the world and the development of civilisa- 

 tion almost from the time when, according to 

 Nehring's interesting studies, the wild and primi- 

 tive horses of the great Drift began to exhibit 

 distinct differences in make, shape and individual 

 characteristics, the horse has reached the limit 

 of its tether. 



For with the dawn of the twentieth century, 

 and the sudden innovation of horseless traffic, 

 any further influence that it might have exercised 

 upon the advancement of the human race comes 

 rapidly to a close. 



That the horse's reign is over — though it is 

 sincerely to be hoped that horses will be with us 

 still for many years — the statistics issued recently 

 by our Board of Agriculture in a measure prove. 

 For in those statistics it is stated that the number 

 of horses in the United Kingdom decreased dur- 

 ing last year alone by no less than 12,312, and later 

 statistics show that the decrease still continues. 



