The Status of the Horse Industry 245 
and the motor truck have also exerted a large influence 
and to them the credit is partly due for educating the 
buyers to select only the better class of horses. Motors 
have especially displaced a large number of light horses. 
If history repeats itself, and it is likely that it will, the type 
of horses will soon readjust itself to the demand, which is 
at present strongest for the draft horse and the light 
horse that is strongly built, and therefore serviceably 
built for draft, army, or any work that requires constitu- 
tion and wearing ability. 
The value of the horses in the United States has kept in 
close pace with the number. In the period when horses 
were increasing in numbers, they were also increasing in 
price. In 1897 the average price given by government 
authorities was $31.50. In 1916 the value was $101.60, 
which was a decrease since 1911, when the value was given 
as $111.46. Of even greater importance is the value of 
the horses in different sections. In the more thickly 
settled states, where the agricultural development is 
greater, the horses are of higher value. There are two 
reasons for this situation. In the sections of greater 
agricultural development, the food is of such a nature 
that the horses produced are of higher value, and secondly, 
as the West is more of a breeding center, there is less 
local demand for commercial stock. These two points 
may be illustrated. The value of horses produced in 
grain and farming sections is higher than those produced 
under range conditions, as the former are invariably larger 
and better grown, due to heavier feeding, and therefore of 
more value. The West with its undeveloped lands raises 
many horses with but little or no grain. A study of horse 
values shows a direct ratio existing between the agricul- 
tural development and the value of the horses. Fertile 
