Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-06-21
DEMAND FOR OUR HORSES.
Great Revival In American Horse
Trade With increasing Exports.

4 Great Revival In American Horse
Trade With Increasing Exports.
Our export trade in horses reached
its minimum in 1894. when the bicycle
and trolley threatened the doom of the
| horse. but five years later, in 1899, the
pendulum had swung To the other eX-
| IRENE, aud our export trade reached
its maximum. Last year we exported
| nearly 100000 head of horses, and a
fair percentage of these were trotters,
to be used either for racing. coaching
or for the parks y large number Of
| cavalry horses were also shipped, and
these are still going abroad in a cOntin-
nous stream.
The American trOtter as bred today
is the most useful and serviceable
horse in the world, and he has out
classed all others 1T the shows At
home and abroad, says The Scientific
American. He is the ideal type of
horse. with just sufficient mobility
about him To permit the breeders TO
rear him for a variety of uses. He IS
bred from 10 TO l. hands in height
and from 800 to l 400 pounds in weight,
suitable alike for racing. trotting on
the speedway or for road handling.
He Is bred to trot from 2:20 to 2:03,
and he sells from 5000 TO $4,000 on
the average, not taking into account
the extra ordinary price paid for
Maud S or a Sunol There is de-
mand today in Europe FOR American
trotterS that can meet the market re-
quirementS at prices ranging from
5000 to $4,000 Trotting bred road
horses of extra speed and beauty sell
today in the London market for $4,000
q pair.
This condition of our trOtting stock
abroad has given Il new impetus TO
horse breeding in the United States,
and there Is revival in the business
that promises we'll for the future. The
present scarcity of good salable horses
is forclbly contraSted with the condi-
ton of the market five years ago.
Then the horses in the far northwest
were so plentiful and in such little de-
mand that they were left by the farm
ers to starve on the range. On the
great ranges of Texas. California, Ore
gon and Dakota the stations We're shot
TO stop the increase, and premiums
were even offered for removing the
herds. Only recently the Union Pacific
railroad closed a contract to carry
from the Oregon ranges some 5000
head of wild horses to the grain grow
ing states. The organizers of this
movement anticipate making money
out of these wild horses when they
have been fed and prepared for the
market Instead OF the wild horses
being a nuisance on the plains today
they are in great demand both for ex-
port and for home use.
This change of condition is partly
due To our war in the Philippines. The
Pacific coast has been shipping horses
to the far east for our soldiers and
army transports at the rate of nearly
n thousand j month. These half wild
horses when broken To the saddle
make the best sort of army and caVal-
~ horses So we'll is this recognized
that both Germany and Russia are now
buying American horses for this wing
of their armies The South African
war has demonstrated the value Of Il
large cavalry army, and nearly all the
European nations are increasing their
mounted troopers, with the result that
the American horses are in greater de-
mand than ever. Not only are the
American trotters and range horses of
the west great winners, but we prac
tically have Il corner in the horse mar
kets of the world. We have the breed
ing stock. and, above all, the cheapest
ranges and feed in the world. The
American breeder can put the products
of his stock farms on the European
markets at less cost than the local
breeders, and his animals will be su-
perior in speed, power and endurance.