Big Piney Examiner in Big Piney, Wyoming

Prospects Bright for Better Horses Demand rises as farms and cities seek more equine labor

The Sears Roebuck Agricultural Foundation reports 18.263 million horses and mules on farms and 2.3 million pulling loads in cities amid a 39 percent drop from 1910 to 1920 due to autos. Since 1920, horse numbers declined 10 percent on farms, with 15.263 million on Jan 1 1924, the lowest since 1905, yet 97 percent of field work remains done by horses and mules. Prices peaked in 1920, then declined. war production and mechanization lifted values briefly but now the market nears a turning point as breeding lags and demand grows.