From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, in North America and Australia, how common were horses?
Was it easy for every man or boy to own a decent riding horse, or were they relatively expensive and valuable based on availability and quality?
It seems the average cowboy owned a very cheap, low quality horse, but how big was the market and availability for good horses, such as were deliberately bred well and not just mustered up and broken. How were horses sold?