Horses Should be Used Widely in the US

Before I begin, I would like to make a certain clarification. This debate is NOT titled "Horses Should Replace Cars in the US". It simply says that horses should be widely used, regardless of whether or not cars are also used. That having been said, I will begin now. Advantages of Cars over Horses: -Cars move faster than horses. And when a horse does reach a speed of about 25 miles, it cannot maintain that speed for more than a mile or two. Then it has to rest. -Horses, as living creatures, do not always do what their rider wants them to do. They can be frightened or just plain stubborn. -Horses poop. -Horses can be dangerous. -Horses get sick or old and they die. -Some people may be allergic to horses. -To accommodate horses on roads, new roads/paths would have to be built, which is expensive. -While Cars Can be Manufactured with Ease, horses have to be bred and raised. This list would probably be the bulk of my opponent's arguments, though I cannot know this for a fact. So why should horses be used instead of cars? Well. .. 1. In Absence of Fuel, the Horses Rule There is a very real scenario where oil reserves run out. This is known as "Peak Oil". . http://www.investopedia.com... If the oil runs out, countless vehicles will come to a grinding halt and become completely useless. Also, in the 1970s there was something called the 1973 Oil Crisis, which caused oil prices to spike due to an oil embargo by Middle Eastern oil producing nations. . http://history.state.gov... Something like this happening again would skyrocket already high gas prices beyond the range of what the average American could afford. And all it'd take would be a single decision in the Middle East which makes the Arab nations mad, or another major war in the Middle East. Speaking of already high oil prices, oil prices have been steadily rising during the past few decades. . http://www.wtrg.com... Soon enough oil will be too high for the average American to afford pumping gas into their car regularly. So what's the point in pointing all this out? Well, what I'm trying to say that cars that run on fossil fuels will soon be rendered useless. You will need an alternative to gas-powered cars. So then you might say, "What about Ethanol? " After all, Ethanol fuel is the perfect alternative to gasoline, right? Well, not really. In truth, cars do not generally run on 100% ethanol. The probable reason for this is that Ethanol Fuel is not as efficient as gasoline. . http://www.peakoilandhumanity.com... Also, many cars are not designed to run on 100% ethanol. . https://answers.yahoo.com... But here's where the real problem kicks in: the world population is rising, at a rapid rate. As this happens, farmers will not be wasting precious food reserves on making ethanol. Also, as ethanol is basically alcohol, some Muslim nations may have a problem with producing alcohol, which the Quran is against. . http://islam.about.com... Thus, you won't be able to import ethanol from certain nations, as they won't be producing it. So why isn't it grown here? Well, farming is hard work. The number of farmers has decreased in recent years and decades. . http://m.cornandsoybeandigest.com... . http://www.inquisitr.com... Expect this trend to continue as the urbanization of America continues. The point is, Ethanol is not a viable substitute for Petroleum. Then, my opponent may say, "What about Solar Power? " After all, cars can run on solar power, right? Well, that's true, but Solar Power is not a viable solution to the energy crisis either. You see, Solar Powered vehicles are not commercially available in most places. A very small minority of vehicles run entirely on solar power. Also, they are inefficient. . http://www.greenne.com... . http://blog.heartland.org... I would go on, but by this point you probably understand why solar powered cars are not the future either. Having explained why these many types of cars either will not survive or won't replace mainstream cars, I now move on to. .. horses. Horses need several things to survive. A. Water In Western nations water treatment is not a problem. Either way, horse water doesn't have to be quite as sterile as human water. B. Oxygen This one obviously is not a problem. C. . Food Grass is everywhere, even in big cities. Though some leaves are toxic to horses, many other kinds of leaves are perfectly edible to horses. And since trees are also everywhere, so are tree leaves, meaning that horses have a very common and replenishing "fuel". And you don't have to chop the trees down to take their leaves. So in regards to fuel, Horses are ultimately superior and they may even be needed one day. 2. The Four Horses of the Apocalypse So let's say that you manage to develop a common and replenishing fuel for cars and you have a car paradise. Well, that'll all come crashing down the second some hostile nation uses an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) generating weapon, which would eliminate the effectiveness of almost all technology, including cars. You may scoff and say, "That is an utterly ridiculous thought! EMPs my left foot! " Well, actually, such a thing is possible with current levels of technology. . http://science.howstuffworks.com... In fact, there are even internet sources that'll tell you how to make one. . http://m.wikihow.com... Besides that, there's such thing as a Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse. . http://www.britannica.com... Guess what: North Korea hates us and they have a nuclear program now. . http://fas.org... So, if the cars fail because of an EMP, then it's either horses, bikes, or walking. Other than that I don't know of any additional methods of transportation in this situation. Horses, if properly trained, are the best out of these three options, as: A. They go faster than a person can walk or run (unless perhaps you're Usain Bolt) B. A bike can get stuck in the mud. Also, it's difficult to use a bike going uphill. 3. Horse Paths Horse Paths can be made out of dirt, in contrast to Asphalt roads for vehicles. Making a dirt road isn't all that difficult. Also, they can run through the woods, providing a more scenic route. 4. Horses and Popular Sentiment Here's the way it is: people usually like horses. Movies for young prepubescent girls are made about horses. A TV Show about cartoon ponies is quite popular among young girls and gay men of all ages. 5. Poop is Good Horse manure can be used for various purposes. . http://www.usawaterquality.org... . http://www.gardeningknowhow.com... 6. Danger of Horses is not as Severe as Danger of Cars Average Weight of a Horse: 1500-2000 at most Average Weight of a Car: A lot more than a horse. . http://www.chacha.com... It's reasonable to conclude that if a horse and a car collided, the car would not be as badly hurt as the car. Also, while horses misbehave at times, cars malfunction while you're driving them and sometimes they'll set on fire and even explode! . http://www.huffingtonpost.com... . http://auto.howstuffworks.com... 7. Horses are Cheaper than Cars Average Price of a Horse: If it's not a racehorse or a thoroughbred horse, about 300 dollars or so. Counting things like the Saddles, around 2000-3000 dollars, I'd guess. Average Price of a Car: About 30,000 dollars for a new car. . http://www.usatoday.com... Conclusion: Hopefully I have shown that horses could still have use in today's United States for practical purposes. I await my opponent's response.