314 Western Live-stock Management 
horses are scarce, the dealers who own a few have tried 
to make it of greater value than ever. The American 
horses produced at the present time are often far better 
than the horses which were imported prior to 1914, as 
many of the imported ones were a cheap class of horses 
which were sold on the reputation of the better individuals. 
Since European stock has been brought to this country, 
some excellent animals have been imported and have been 
used for the foundation of the breeds in this country. 
The American-raised stock, therefore, contains much of 
the best blood of the European countries, and in addition 
they have been raised under American conditions and 
are therefore acclimated. But even in this case, an 
American horse of equal merit with an imported horse, 
both from the standpoint of conformation and breeding, 
would not sell for as high a price as the imported one. 
The present supply of imported horses is low, and there- 
fore the American horse is being forced on the American 
public. It is now the business of the pure-bred breeders 
of this country to develop their horses to the utmost, to 
castrate the poorer individuals, and further to develop 
this home trade which is now becoming firmly established. 
A factor which has been of immense value in putting 
the pure-bred horse properly and consistently before the 
public has been the stallion license laws. These laws are 
the outgrowth of a demand from the public for a correct 
representation of the stallion’s breeding and soundness. 
In most laws these factors are the points that have had the 
most prominence. It has been necessary to submit the 
breeding of the horse to the stallion board, together with 
a veterinarian’s certificate of soundness. A license is then 
issued, showing the correct breeding, and if the horse is 
afflicted with hereditary unsoundnesses, he is either barred 
