D10 The Developmentand Future of the HorseIndustry in the US
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History & Development of the Horse
The horse was believed to have originated in North America wherehorse bones were found in Hagerman Idaho Fossil Beds.Philohippus was the first single toed (hoofed) horse and is thoughtto have existed about 5 million years ago.
About 8 thousand years ago Philohippus became extinct in thewestern hemisphere until Spanish brought horses to the new worldin the 1400’s.
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History & Development of the Horse
The horse was originally a 5 toed animal that evolved into a singletoed animal.
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History & Development of the Horse
Hyracotherium55 - 45 mya
Miohippus33 - 29 mya
Merychippus17 - 11 mya
Equus5 mya
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Przewalski Horse
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Przewalski Horse
The Przewalski horse (Equusprzewalski poliakov) is the lastremaining wild species ofhorses. All other horses areeither domesticated ordescended from horses whichwere once domesticated.
It was originally believed thatthe Przewalski horse wasdiscovered by the Russianexplorer, Colonel Przewalski,for whom it is named,in 1881.
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Przewalski Horse
Some authorities feel strongly that thePrzewalski horse is the ancestor of allmodern breeds.
Others point out that it is a differentspecies from the domesticated horse,having 66 chromosomes as compared tothe 64 of the domestic horse.
They further point out, that while crossesbetween the Przewalski and domestichorses result in a fertile hybrid, theoffspring has 65 chromosomes.Subsequent crosses result in 64chromosomes and bear little resemblanceto the Przewalski.
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Przewalski's Horse
Przewalski's horse is similar to thedomestic horse though it has asmaller, more robust build, uprightmane, and a low-set tail.
These horses have a dorsal stripe, ashoulder stripe, barring in their legs,and lighter coloring on their muzzlesand bellies.
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History of Horses and Mulesin The United States
In 1519 Coronado set out for north America with 150 horsemen.
DeSoto’s expedition followed with 237 horses in 1539
By 1547, Antoni De Mendoza, the first governor of New Spain(Mexico) had 11 haciendas and over 1500 horses.
The horse population continued to grow rapidly up through the late1800’s and early 1900’s when it reached its peak in 1915 at 21million horses.
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The Horses Contribution to Agriculture
During the 1800’s and early 1900’s, horses were used mostly forriding and pulling light vehicles.
Oxen were the preferred draft animal on the farm.
An ox costs half as much as a horse, requires half the feed andcould be eaten when it died or was no longer useful.
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However, oxen worked half as fast as horses and their hooves leftthem virtually useless on frozen winter ground.
They were also unsuitable for pulling the new farm equipmentdeveloped in the 19th century.
Agriculture continued to become more sophisticated. In 1868, ournation’s first veterinarian college opened at Cornell University.
With the use of the horse, a farmer could produce three and fourtimes as much wheat and corn than was produced just twenty yearsprior to the use of the horse.
The Horses Contribution to Agriculture
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One horse could do the work of ten, men while its cost for room andboard was about half the cost of one man.
It was the horse that first lead American agriculture as the worldleader. During our peak, the US horse population was 21 million in1915, we had 1 horse for every four people compared to GreatBritain with 1 horse to 26 people, France with 1 horse to 10 people,and Germany with 1 horse to every 13 people. The American farmercould do much more work than could be done under Europeanagriculture conditions.
The Horses Contribution to Agriculture
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By the end of the century, the average farm had 10 horses whichworked 600 hours per animal per year.
The average farm in 1790, was 100 acres. This figure nearlydoubled over the next sixty years. By 1910, 500 acre wheat farmswere not uncommon.
The Horses Contribution to Agriculture
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A New Horse Pursuit-Recreation
As horses grew in popularity, formal new recreational events startedto occur.
The first Kentucky derby was run on May 17, 1875.
In 1883, the first national horse show began at Madison SquareGardens in new York city.
The first rodeo with paid attendance was held in Prescott Arizona onJuly 4th 1886.
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The Mechanical Revolution Takes a HardHit on Horse Numbers
A transition from horse power to gas powered vehicles occurredduring the early 1900’s.
The new trucks were 10 times faster, took less room to store andeliminated the problem of manure disposal.
Due to the industrial revolution from 1915 to 1960, the horse saw adramatic decrease to an all time low of only 3 million horses in theUS.
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World Horse Populations
Today the world horse population is about 60 million horses.
The United States only has about 8 % of the world’s population ofhorses and less than 1 % of the world’s population of donkeys.
Asia is the highest with 27 % of the world’s population of horses.
Next is south America with 25 %
Mexico is third with 10%.
The US and Africa tie for forth with 8%
Europe follows with 7%
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Economic Contribution in the US
Today the horse industry has seen a continual increase in popularity,and the US horse population is estimated between 6 million and 8million horses.
The industry contributes $16 billion annually to the economy. Thisrepresents about 16 % of the gross national product.
Breakdown of the 16 billion:
13 billion is spent on the development and maintenance ofhorses.
3 billon is spent on horse related spectator sports.
508 million is generated as farm income from the sale of horsesand mules.
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Economic Contribution in the US
Horse racing is the third largest spectator sport in the US behindbaseball and auto racing.
Each year it attracts over 70 million people who wager over 13billion on the races.
Rodeos continue to grow with over 800 rodeos held each year.
In our national forests, horse back riding is the third most popularactivity, involving about 24 million visitors each year.
Nationally the number of 4-H horse and pony projects is aboutdouble the number of 4-H beef projects
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Economic Contribution in the US
As a family pet, the horse ranks fourth behind the dog, cat, and petbird.
The number of horse shows have nearly doubled in the past 20years.
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Top 10 Horse Producing States
Texas
California
Oklahoma
Colorado
New York
Ohio
Michigan
Pennsylvania
Washington
Kentucky