‘The horse of the American western plains today is a descendent of... southern [European and Middle Eastern] horses...

It is from the horses of the Crusades that the modern heavy horses of northern Europe descend. Some years ago the three Chappel brothers, experienced livestock men, decided to try an audacious experiment. They joined these two types, for the specific purposes of producing a meat horse – different from either type and resembling the ancient meat-animal from which both are descended. The experiment was completely successful, and now the offspring of thick-meated Percheron and Belgian stallions and light-boned western mares are being bred and raised in herds of thousands solely for their meat. The resulting cross has typical “hybrid vitality.”

The Uses of Horse Flesh

What becomes of all this meat? It has many uses, but the chief of them is to supply food for dogs. Some of it is exported for human food. Liver extract and blood serums used in medicine are among other familiar products. Veterinarians say that the horse is the healthiest of all domestic animals, and probably that is one reason why its products are highly esteemed as therapeutic agents.’ (448)