Bibliothèque mondiale du cheval

« […] Now, a supply of horses cannot be met by any offhand act of the will. We cannot say "Let there be horses !" and the horses appear.
Automobiles can be made in a week. A battleship takes two or three years. A horse cannot be bred and reared and trained so as to be serviceable for hard work, in less than 6 years, one while the mare carries him, three while he grows to an age where his training can begin, two for him to mature and complete his education. We cannot "go shopping" for horses because we have plenty of money. Their supply must be the result of forethought and care.
It is time Americans wakened to the true conditions. With the facilities and resources at our command this country should never have to seek a horse supply for its army outside its own borders, as would be necessary in case of war within the next ten years.
Further, our position is unique in that we have no pugnacious neighbors, and America is good friends with many nations, all of whom may fight one another at any time. They would be glad to buy horses of us if we had them, as we sold them to England at the time of the Boer war. We could not do that to-day.
It may happen that some suggestion will be found in the observations recorded in the following pages, which will arouse interest in this important problem, and help in Its solution. » Présentation de l’éditeur (1912)