Digital Commons Network^™

For The Improvement Of The Breed Of Horse : Thoroughbred Racing And National Security In The Age Of Horsepower, 1776-1945, Elizabeth Redkey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

From Biblical times through the mid-twentieth century, humans relied on horses as a critical vehicle of war. But horses, unlike modern machines, could not simply be manufactured to the necessary specifications, in the necessary numbers, at the necessary times. In addition, cavalry warfare was the most physically demanding of all tasks to which humans have put horses, and required horses of exceptional endurance and athletic ability. Creating a pool of such horses to be drawn from in times of military need took careful breeding and planning. But the United States, with its fear of a standing military, and its decentralized …