u/LimpOil10

What happened to all the horses when animal power became obsolete from the beginning to middle of the 20th century?

The shift from animal to motorised power in the early 20th century was, by the standard of human history, pretty quick. I've heard that around 1900 New York City had around 200 000 horses and by 1950 it had a few hundred.

What happened to all the horses, not just in New York but all over? Were they sterelised, moved, euthanised? Did the cost of buying a horse crash to extremely low levels?

I'm especially curious about what this history might suggest about other shifts away from animal agriculture- like beef - if and when the climate crisis forces a dramatic reduction in the number of cattle.

Thanks!!!