The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-05-23
OPTIMISTIC VIEW REGARDING
MONTANA HORSE INDUSTRY.
DEMAND is EVER GROWING
Buyer Who Thinks Highest Figures
Have Not Vet Been Reached
His Reasons.
From Wednesdays Daily Gazette.

From Wednesdays Daily Gazette.
While some seem to be of the opin-
ion that the high water mark has
been reached in the prices of livestock
Of all kinds, there are others who
believe the present figures are but
the forerunners Of better ones for a
number Of years to come.
A gentleman who by reason Of his
occupation, that Of a horse
dealer, is we'll informed, re-
marked to The Gazette a few days
g that he was firmly convinced that
for several. years at least prices of
all kinds Of range animals would con-
tinue to advance. Particularly, he
said, would this be the case with
horses. Lately he has visited some
of the middle western states and
found a marked scarcity of good
horses, while the demand seemed to
be greater than ever. He explained
this unusual condition of affairs by
saying that until within the past two
or three years horses had been a
veritable drug in the market and
many who had previously. made a
business of breeding them had clos
ed out, as horses had become about
the poorest property a man could
own. The result had been that the
ranges of the west were looked to
and with the exceptional demand
created by the men who were buying
for the British government much of
the better class of western stock
had been picked up. Really good
saddle horses were scarce already
and as far as work horses were con
cerned the scarcity was even greater.
Take the Montana ranges, for in
stance" he said. 'They may be said
to have been culled, and while many
animals remain they are of the sort
for which there is but little demand.
The bicycle craze, as we may call
it, which for a time threatened to
do away with the horse, has about
run it's rae and many who thought
they would never want to own another
horse have come to the conclusion
that mans best friend is, after all,
superior to any combination Of steel
and wind-filled rubber tires that hui
man ingenuity can turn out and are
again buying horses. Then the con
tinued prosperity of the country at
large is having it's effect on the horse
market by creating a demand not
only for draught animals, but for driv-
ers and coachers for city use. The
eastern farmers, who some years ago
quit breeding, need fresh stock and
need it badly. They find it next to
impossible to supply their wants at
home and must look elsewhere, and
the west is the place they naturally
turn to, knowing that horses out here
have never been as scarce as with
themselves.
another factor in the demand
which has sprung up for horses is
IAN AOA6O AAlAA1S1 dIlOll llLO LuC WCSL
and Canada. 1t is true that many of
the new settlers have brought horses
with them, but the large majority
did not and must depend upon the To-
calities in which they have decided
to make their homes or-their supply.
Canada, as you probably know, was
never much of a horse country, so to
speak. Even when such animals were
a drug on this side of the line, many
of the men of this state made nice lit
tie bits of money by taking horses
to Winnepeg and whereabouts and
selling them to the grangers, in spite
of the tariff they were compelled to
pay. With western Canada settling
up fast the demand for horses has, of
course, increased, consequently a bet
ter market exists there than ever
before. a
"Good horses, as I have said before,
are scarce and will continue to be so
for a number Of years to come. You
cannot raise them in the short time
required for raising a lot Of pigs and
there is not that continual %fuctuation
in prices. While the demand is in
creasing the supply seemingly is de-
creasing. The man who is paying at
tention to the breeding and raising
of horses is the one who is going to
make money. The same may be said
as regards cattle. But as with the
horse, they must be good ones"