“This book had its beginnings just before World War II exploded the world into the machine age. Two small boys, one in Oklahoma and the other in California, stood at the roadside and watched cavalry regiments pass by on maneuvers. The locals and the times differed but the result was the same. Neither was ever able to forget the long lines of horses, the dusty uniforms, the clink of equipment or the fluttering guidons. Perhaps they realized that they were seeing the end of an era. ...Like countless other individuals before them, both boys were infected with the “horse bug.” ...they were constantly searching for a better mount, one that could do the job under saddle more efficiently, stay sound in spite of hard use and have sufficient speed when needed. ...Frequently, the pedigree of a desirable individual traced back to one of the U. S. Remount stallions that had stood at stud in America during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. That raised the questions of “What was the Remount?” and, “How did such numbers of those good horses come into being?” ...By the time these two boys met, some forty years after they had seen those columns of cavalry ... a casual conversation about a common interest blossomed. Serious talks, shared files, brittle magazines pulled from storage boxes and hours spent pouring over old pedigrees to trace a particular horse back to a certain Remount stallion began to lead to a single goal. ...From those two boys who once stood at the roadside watching the cavalry march by, goes a “Thanks” to the men who conceived and put into operation the Army Horse Breeding Program. ...Through their efforts, and through those of the men who rode and cared for the animals, horsemanship in America was kept alive in a world that had turned its back on the animal that had helped to build modern civilization.”

War Horse