CHAPTER XXII 



THE RANGE HORSE 



The men designated as range horse breeders are those 

 who use the range for the larger proportion of the feed 

 of their animals, occasionally supplementing it with hay 

 during the winter period. The range horse breeders 

 are found over a large territory. Wherever cattle are 

 raised, many horses will be found. The reason for this 

 is that the cattle-men wish to raise the large number of 

 saddle and work horses which they need for their own use 

 as well as some surplus for sale. There are also many 

 breeders who are strictly horse-producers. Throughout 

 the range country, a decided change may be noted toward 

 more cattle and sheep and fewer horses. There are several 

 factors that have caused this movement, the principal 

 one being the high price of cattle and sheep and the 

 relatively slow market for range horses. In addition, 

 there are the barbed wire fences which have, in some 

 places, greatly handicapped the horse-men who let their 

 stock run on the open range. The slipshod fences put 

 up by the homesteaders kill and cripple many horses, 

 especially when they are being chased by the home- 

 steader's dogs. E^'en with a large number of breeders 

 transferring to cattle or sheep, there are still many who 

 will continue with the range horse. Horses winter out 

 better than the other classes of animals and are therefore 



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