In cities, there was a decline. About the time the photo I posted was taken there was serious concern that’s summarised as “The Horse Manure Crisis of 1894.” Urban planners (esp. in NYC and London) were freaking out over the ever-increasing volume of horse-flop that had to be cleared from the streets every day. It was all they could talk about at the first international urban-planning conference in 1898, where they gave up on finding a solution.
Fortunately for them, electrical and internal combustion technology saved the day. The year after that movie was taken, automobiles outnumbered horses in NYC. Six years later, horse-drawn trams were phased out. It was good luck and timing, helped by the fact that a massive and well-funded horse poop denialist campaign didn’t exist.
