The Question: Are the days of the horse numbered? (Asked at the National Horse Show)
COL. FRED A. AHERN, Dublin
Captain, Irish Army Team
"No. Doctors recommend horseback riding because the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. Humans must be associated with things that are alive. Civilization demands that people live near the earth. I've lived long enough to know how dull life can be without horses and dogs."
W. JOSHUA BARNEY JR., Southport, Conn.
Secretary, National Horse Show
"The working horse's days are numbered and the military horse is almost extinct. But show horses will always be with us. Our kids are more interested in riding show horses than ever before. They are the coming group. Race horses, too, will always remain and continue to multiply."
MRS. MORTON W. SMITH, Cobham, Va.
Horsewoman
"Maybe, but horses will live a long time—as long as people can afford to feed them. A long depression, resulting from war, is possible. Then people may eat their horses. It's a survival of the fittest. Even that is remote, because a horse only needs a few acres of land to feed himself."
BRIG. GEN. HUMBERTO MARILES, Mexico City
Captain, Mexican Army Team
"No. There are some sections in every country where horses cannot be replaced by motorized equipment for the cultivation of the land. He's the cheapest means of transportation for the poor, and they don't have to buy spare parts for him. Some armies will always have horse cavalry."
ELEONORA R. SEARS, Prides Crossing, Mass.
Sportswoman
"It's hard to conceive such a terrible thing, but it's not impossible. The world would be so much better off with horses instead of people. For one thing, there'd be no wars. If humans do obliterate themselves through nuclear warfare, the horse may survive because he can live off the land."
W. R. BALLARD, Toronto
Captain, Canadian Equestrian Team
"With a good deal of regret, I feel that, with the exception of sports, the era of the horse is rapidly approaching its end. As an example, I'm the largest slaughterer of horses in Canada and use the meat in dog food, but that practice is doomed because it costs more to raise horses than steers."
ARTHUR GODFREY, Paeonian Springs, Va.
Television and Radio Star
"No. Most small farms still have horses. I've heard there are quite a few thousand more horses in the U.S. today than two years ago. They are still used by some armies. Unless an atomic blast destroys us, the horse will continue to multiply and be more popular."
MAJ. GEN. ALFRED G. TUCKERMAN, New York
Past President, National Horse Show
"I was in the horse cavalry for a long time and spent four years with the First Cavalry Division. Now the Army has no use for horses, even in the mountains, and gave them up officially in 1950. However, for shows, casual riding, fox hunting, etc., there are more horses and more devotees than ever."
WILLIAM C. STEINKRAUS, Westport, Conn.
Captain, United States Equestrian Team
"Economically, in this country, the days of the horse are up. From a sporting point of view, those who love horses will keep them as long as they have a dime. In the cattle countries, the horse will be used for the roundup as long as cattle are needed to feed the world's population."
MRS. WALTER B. DEVEREUX, Rye, N.Y.
Wife of President, National Horse Show
"The days of the horse numbered? Never! In certain parts of the world, the horse is used as extensively as ever as a beast of burden. He was used in the Korean War. Perhaps, in 100 years or more, in a new atomic age, the horse will be owned only by those who ride for pleasure."
WHITNEY STONE, Charlottesville, Va.
President, U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team
"Motorized equipment has doomed the horse for practical use. But horses will always be bred for sports and their strains will improve. There is no better way to teach children to coordinate than with horses. Not only do they learn to teach the horse, but they teach themselves."
ILLUSTRATION
ELEVEN PHOTOS
NEXT WEEK:
Soccer draws more than 100,000 in Europe, but hardly draws at all in the U.S. Why?