THE SUFFOLK PUNCH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 155, 6 August 1914, Page 11

THE SUFFOLK PUNCH.

A NEGLECTED BREED. It is somewhat strange, taking into consideration the many good qualities of the Suffolk Punch, that the breed has not made more headway in New Zealand, for of all the breeds of draught horses one would have supposed this one was eminently adapted above all others for the varied uses of a colonial farmer. It is true that from time to time importations of sires of this breed have been made, but taking the breed generally it does not appear to have "caught on" here. So far as the origin of this breed of horses is concerned, there is not a great ileal to be said. It is as indigenous to the eastern part of the county of Suffolk as the woolly-coated Highland cattle to the mountains of Scotland. Care and selection have modified the character of the breed no doubt, but as regards its marked characteristics few breeds have so tenaciously reproduced their salient features of identification as the original race of Suffolk horses. The uniformity of character of the I Suffolk Punch is most marked, for there is something in the colour, style, and outline, varied it may be, but never obliterated, which speaks of a common origin. There have at times been infusions of extraneous blood, as shown by the Stud Book, but not one of the introductions, not one of the strains of alloy in the male line, could stand before the influence which the old breed asserts. The produce of the horses in some cases stood for years, but sooner or later they died out, and incredible as it may appear, there is not a single specimen of the breed in existence which is not descended from one single source of ancestry. Every Suffolk is the lineal descendant of a certain horse of the "old breed"• —a nameless sire foaled in 1768 and advertised as the : property of one" Mr Crisp, of Clifford, close to Woodbridge, in the county of Suffolk. This is not a mere assertion but a proved fact, which.the Stud Book proves beyond dispute or doubt.

The Suffolk Punch is essentially a thrifty horse, for a poor Suffolk, as an American writer puts it, "is as rare as a dead donkey," accounted for in s great part by his great girth and lung 'robin, which lay the foundation for a hardy constitution. His legs are like steel/ and it is not necessary for him to have the thick coarse bone of the heavier breeds, which carry with them the natural tendency to ossify the tendons and produce ringbone and sidebohe. Those breeders who years ago attempted to introduce what they took to be more substance, invariably failed, for with the big bone comes what is too often mistaken for it, the thick skin,' the coarse hair, and the troubles already referred to. The Suffolk is a short-legged, cleanboned horse, of ample size for any agricultural work, and yet, if required, admirably adapted for active town work as well. He should be deep in carcase, wide in front, square behind, with hard short legs, close-knitted joints, and devoid of all appearance of coarseness. Unless extremely well put together, judges of the breed view anything over 16.1. with suspicion. "In Australia, where the breed was introduced some 60 years ago, it has made much more progress than in this country, and some very fine studs have been established. The United States and Canada can also claim many worthy representatives, and in both. !.these- countries the-Suffolk Punch is a deservedly popular horse.. •■ £ , : . . , Whate'ver may be said or the .■W way of disparageinent as the outcome of want of knowledge >of the breed, there is one point admirers 'Btrongly claim—that is, as a farmer's horse he has nd superior: Possessing a splendid constitution, endowed with great strength, and having plenty of courage, and withal of a quiet, docile disposition, it is claimed for him that he can do more and go longer without manifestation of fatigue than any other class of animal used for heavy draught purposes. Then, again, there is no haphazard about the progeny of the truebred Suffolk. ■ It is not a question ot mixture of colours—blacks, browns, roans, bavs, and others difficult to define. The' Suffoiks are all the same, with different shades possibly, dark and bright, but still chestnuts.