I 
INTRODUCTORY 
The world’s horse population is 105,400,000, of which the United States 
shares with 23,015,922, or 23%. 1 The United States is also credited with 
having 25 horses per 100 population, outranking other countries in this 
respect. 1 To date census figures for 1920 give the horse and mule popula¬ 
tion of the United States to be 27,676,939. 2 
That the horse industry of the United States, particularly of the draft 
type, is to remain the source of reliable, efficient, and economic power 
for the major body of agricultural workers and transportation men, is 
evident. A very plausible undertaking, the “National Survey of the 
Economic Status of the Horse,” sponsored by the saddlery interests, 3 has 
been made, the results of which bear fruit in accord to the foregoing 
assertion. 
This survey, among other things, discloses the following: 1 
“(1) All data gathered and studied indicates that the tractor in its 
present state of development is a means of supplementary or auxilliary 
power rather than a substitute for the horse. 
“(2) That the tractor to date has made no appreciable dent in the 
number of horses on our farms. In at least 50% of the cases just as 
many horses are kept as after its purchase. 
“(3) Actually, horse displacement which can be credited to the tractor 
is very, very small, and in no case are the horses displaced equal in 
value to the tractor which displaced them. 
“(4) That the horses remaining after the tractor has been purchased 
perform on the average from 75% to 90% of all the work.” 
The survey also points out that the increase in the number of horses 
and mules has always about kept pace with the increase in population 
and agricultural expansion, excepting only from 1900 to 1910. 
Relative to the effect of the introduction of motor trucks on the farms, 
the survey reveals the fact that in January, 1919, there were 184 times 
as many horses and mules as there were of motor trucks, so that the 
influence is very little. It is mentioned that only one farm in nearly 
fifty has a truck. 
As to the part played by draft horses in city haulage it is worthy 
of note to consider the following findings: 1 
“For all hauls within a radius of 2 or 3 miles where a number of stops 
are made from terminal to down town business houses—hauling in 
many cases is superior and in all cases cheaper. Long delays at terminals 
seem to be inevitable and when this delay amounts to 2 or 3 hours it is 
quite obvious that the horse is much cheaper due to the small investment 
idle. Added to this, it is possible to use horses in many alleys and such 
places that would be almost inaccessible for a motor truck. 
“A number of cartage concerns also handle contracting work, such 
as excavating. In this field it was also clearly demonstrated that the 
horse has his place. First, in getting into excavation the horse could 
often get into places where a motor truck could not go. It also was un¬ 
necessary to build heavily planked roadways for the horse as are necessary 
to give the truck traction. This also holds true on the dump. 
“In ice companies, bakeries, creameries, etc., having short hauls and 
regular stops or routes the horse has a distinct place. The truck could 
