Prior to the advent of the horseless carriage, horses were everywhere. Especially essential in the settling of the American West, they were used for mounted transportation, hauling carriages and stagecoaches, moving cattle, and inevitably for entertainment in the form of racing and rodeos. Rodeos provided an avenue for cowboys to show off the roping and roundup skills they used every day. Such competitions continue to celebrate the heritage of the American West today.

The Pony Express was a short-lived and much romanticized part of American history. St. Joseph, Missouri, was the site of the eastern edge of the Pony Express route, and Sacramento, California, was the western destination. Up until that point, most mail was sent around South America to California by steamship, which took a month. The intent was to shorten the time for mail to cross the country until the railroad was complete. William Russell, William Waddell, and Alexander Majors thought of the idea of offering ten-day delivery via a horse-and-rider relay. Each rider would cover seventy-five to 100 miles, and each horse would be expected to cover less than fifteen miles. The Pony Express company bought 400 horses to stock the route through Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and on into California.

As an innovative idea, the Pony Express was a great success. However, as a business, it was a failure; it lasted only nineteen months, and its owners lost $500,000. If you want to learn more about this fascinating venture, check out the Pony Express Museum in Saint Joseph, Missouri, or visit its website at www.ponyexpress.org.

Western movies romanticized the cowboy and his relationship with the horse to such an extent that the ideas viewers took home in their minds may have contributed to the horse's continued popularity long after automobiles and mechanized farm machinery replaced it as a beast of burden. Unfortunately, these movies also perpetuated many misconceptions about horses and riding in general, leading some to believe that hopping on a horse and galloping across an open field is easy and all there is to riding. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

Perhaps the most significant development to take shape in the latter half of the twentieth century was the horse's elevation in status from work animal to animal companion. Although still considered property by law, many people today tend to view their horses more as beloved pets than as mere livestock. Some prized show horses live lavishly pampered lives and are valued into the thousands of dollars because of their talent and the quality of training invested in them.