CHAPTER XXXIV 



THE SADDLE HORSE 



Any horse used for riding might be called a "saddle horse." But 

 there is a certain type of horse best suited to carrying a man in safety 

 and comfort, and this is the type to bear in mind when thinking of 

 saddle horses. The horse of all pioneer peoples is the saddler. In 

 new countries, before the opening of roads, the saddle horse is of greatest 



Fk;. 17.1. J'UL-i^Miifd saddle horse. The noted prize-winning sUillion, Ken- 

 tucky's Choice, owned by Mrs. R. Tasker Lowndes, Danville, Ky. 



usefulness. When the country becomes settled and roadways are 

 opened and improved, other types of horses quickly appear, and there 

 is less and less real necessity for the saddle horse; but the saddler never 

 disappears from any community because he is highly prized as a horse 

 for pleasure and recreation. 



When roads were being opened in the states along the eastern 

 seaboard and the roadster began to gain popularity, Kentucky, Mis- 

 souri, and the West were yet a country of bridle paths, and there the 

 saddle horse was held in high esteem. In 1818 a traveller through the 



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