CHAPTER I 

 THE HORSE AND HIS MASTER 



For many centuries the horse has been the sturdy and 

 esteemed servant of man. There is no more interesting 

 and important subject for our study than the origin, de- 

 velopment and improvement of the various breeds of the 

 domestic horse. He is the noblest oi all creatures that 

 we have subdued to our will. His acquisition has been 

 one of the chief factors in the rise and supremacy of the 

 great nations of ancient, medieval and modern times. 

 We have no history that is not intermingled with his. 

 In all the ages he has occupied an important position. 

 This is especially true at the present time. The founda- 

 tion of our civilization rests on agriculture and our agri- 

 culture rests on the horse. 



Saving human time. — In America we have learned to 

 substitute brute force for human energy to a greater 

 extent than any other country. The Thirteenth Census 

 shows the horse and mule population of the United States 

 to be approximately one-fourth that of the human popula- 

 tion. In other words, the United States possesses four 

 inhabitants for each beast of burden— horse or mule ; 

 whereas France possesses ten inhabitants, Germany 

 twelve, and England twenty-four inhabitants for each 

 beast of burden. Those who settled and developed our 

 country were early taught that human muscle was the 

 most expensive material from which to procure energy, 

 even though the person be a slave. Human muscle, 

 however cheap, cannot successfully compete with im- 

 proved implements operated by well-bred horses adapted 

 to their work and directed by intelligent workmen. 



As a nation we are extremely saving of time, but waste- 

 ful of everything else. We have destroyed our forests, 



