From the Los Angeles County Horseman's Directory, 1949-50 Edition: Part One

The cover art for the Directory appears to be a drawing called "Paint Rock and Foal"
by George Shepherd. He was well-known for his portraits of Thoroughbreds.

One of the most interesting and useful pieces of the story of California horses I've come across lately is a copy of the 1949-50 edition of the Los Angeles County Horseman's Directory, Illustrated. 

The inside cover featured one of R. H. Palenske's
famous head studies of Man O'War.

The Directory is copyrighted 1949 by California Horseman's Surveys, 455 El Dorado Street, Pasadena, California. The Introduction was written by Frederick C. ("Rick") Knowles. This copy came from the estate of Monrovia, California horse rancher Merle H. Little, who signed the bottom of the inside cover page.

Merle also saved a copy of Knowles' folded business card, which explains the purpose and distribution of the book. Knowles must have handed out these cards to potential advertisers and distributors of the free publication.

The inside of the card explained:

The 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY HORSEMANS' DIRECTORY 

is now being compiled in book form for

early publication. 

An estimated 300 pages of good reading, good pictures, and excellent reference.

Names and addresses of 4000 L. A. county horse owners, pictures of today's outstanding stallions, Riding Clubs, Drill Teams, Etc.

Complete listings of Veterinarians, Horse shoers, Boarding and Training Stables and related industry in Los Angeles County.

10,000 free copies of this publication will be distributed in Los Angeles County through our Co-Operative publicity plan.

I haven't attempted to count yet, but it does look like there are several thousand horse owners and breeders listed inside, arranged by city. There are many photos of riding groups, ads for stallions at stud, breed registries, stables, and more. 

There is so much useful information packed into this 212-page paperback publication that I'm going to have to write several posts about it. To start with, let's look at the last page, which provides more context for the book's significance. It notes, "Some sources indicate that there may be as many as 75,000 horses in L.A. County."

The publishers had taken a survey of horse owners, and found that "82 percent keep and maintain their stables strictly for their own pleasure and recreation. The remaining 18 percent are breeders of registered stock, who supply the ever increasing demands for quality stock, both for pleasure and show."

The publishers had asked:

'IF YOU WERE TO BREED HORSES, WHAT TYPE OR BREED WOULD YOU PREFER?"

A brief summary of the answers will provide information of inestimable value to the entire horse industry. The results of this survey show --

    42% would prefer a cold blood, quarter type, pleasure horse. Because most anyone can ride them.

    21% would breed for color: (Palomino, 94%; Pinto 6%). They make a flashy Parade or Pleasure horse.

14% would breed Arabians, if they could get good mares. The most feel there are plenty of good Stallions in this area to breed to.

9% like Tennessee Walkers -- because they are gentle, have style, and are noted for an easy ride.

6% would breed Saddlebreds -- They like the Show horse; or because the Saddlebreds have style for both Pleasure and Parade.

5% would definitely breed Morgans, because the Morgan has style, endurance, and good disposition.

2% like Thoroughbreds, because of  their place in the Racing Industry.

1% like the Standard-bred, because they prefer a road horse, and this type is returning to popularity.

The page concludes:

"73% of the horses in Los Angeles County are not registered.

"12% can be classified as Pure Bred, and another 15% of them are Registered in one or more recognized Study [Stud] Books."

In short, this small book provides us with an exciting snapshot in time. 

I think the Directory will be very helpful in demonstrating just how important horses were in Southern California after World War II. It's not always easy to convey this truth to people who were born after the days when many backyard stalls and paddocks were torn down, and horse ranches and riding stables were replaced by freeways, housing developments, and shopping malls. 

It will also be useful to academic, professional, and amateur equine historians in search of more details about post-war horses and their owners and businesses that supported the horse industry, as well as researchers who are interested in the history of popular culture, outdoor recreation, sports, entertainment, land use, and the built environment.

More to come!