I posted this question to the ALHFAM (Association of Living History,
Farm and Agricultural Museums) yesterday, figuring that many of my
friends who work at farm and agricultural museums might have an
answer, and got the following from Tom Woods, who used to be at Old
World Wisconsin and is now the principal of Making Sense of Place.  I
hope this is a useful addition to the discussion.

Martha Katz-Hyman

*******************************
Hi Martha,
 
There were certainly enough horses in the United States to provide a
thriving hide and hair business in the nineteenth century. According
to the census, by 1890, the North Central states alone had over 9 1/4
million horses, mules and asses. Add nearly 2 million from North
Atlantic, 1 1/4 from the South Atlantic, nearly 3 1/2 million from the
South Central states, and 1 1/2 million from the Western states, and
you had about 17 1/2 million horses in the country. There were
proportionately fewer in previous decades, but it was a steady growth
to 1890, roughly doubling from decade to decade.
 
I disagree with the commentator who suggested horses lived only about
10 years in the 19th century. That age is roughly accurate for the
average lifetime of working oxen, but horses lived a much longer life.
Oxen were butchered and eaten and turned into cowhide. Horses were
mostly slaughtered and turned into horse hide only, a much less
profitable use than meat and hide.
 
Regards,
 
Tom Woods

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