DOMINION CLYDESDALES,

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 167, 15 July 1914, Page 8

DOMINION CLYDESDALES,

COMMENTS AND CRITICISMS. I Contributed hy CRITIC.) The sharp decline tn prices for draught horn's that lets taken place has not been at all satisfactory. Ata-tvalia is j tlic outlet tor our -urplut> i lock, and tin. J poor leiuriis thai luvc. been obtainedl by expo: t. is liiive naturally weakencu I •the market in New Zealand: Just now there i- ;i further "dampni'' being put i upuii the limited local demand ir- .-o niany farmer., in the South Island dc . daring their intcaii ion of going out ol Held work, hold-in g th.it the pri-'c v grain being unsatisfactory, Ibe average yields becoming b'.--, and tin- labour p:oo lent bi'cilining more aud more perplexing that their energies would Ie bett-'i directed to other c'u.iniic'.s pie-ciiting greater rcturii-. lv Ati-i r.ilia there is .- feeling in quarter- where the shire i. i favoured, thti-l our Uv ile-.lalc. arc noif so good a- they iv..,-i'.' I his iceliiig .va = jiilliiciiccl h\ tin.- Australian market being Hooded v.iil, ~ number of animals that would n .', linl owner- here in New Zealand, except at aery low liguic-. i Thus, the faulty ones ate held up as •samples of lhc whole, nnd liii- brine,, up the matter of animals being inspected foi confurni.ition is well :'- I'or conslitu tional and limb ailment-. The mutton. lamb, butter nnd .heu-c. the staple pro duel- of the l.'.n:']-. hue to be ill T -.peeled by (.ovcriimei:; oilier, befot. slijpuieut for export, liii- to protect* (ie pro lv. ci- again-; t'.i.'iii-elac-. Theri'-F fore, if ll i- ue -e--aiv to inspect -l.iv.'ii lere.l siu-ep and I Hli: -. l".vv much more

ne,e--:!iy i. it '..i i'-.-.-c . live dratlgui ' hoi~e~'.- Cp lo qiiii. iccviitlv anyona. ! c.n1.1 imperil ll.c i|r.liiu':it-iion-c breeding industry h\ exporting animals taut, nl though'-..nn 1 according to the veteiin,irv si'heduic. were not of tile coiil'oriua ■lion that would nl tract bn.v.-i-. We li.ive in New Xi'.il.u; I exporters uh.i piv >. :rv II ,i | :■■-.•: f, 1 1 be- am i,-i - tliey .-an secure for :he Australian mar kot. anl it is not light that th- elTo: Ito keep up a good trade should lie weak cue! by lh- exploiting dumper. I a.- i no special pleading for tiie men iv the trade, bccaui-e t'.irv c.in protect thenselves by nils-pending operation- w'acn the market i- low it strike- the Icsiti-nan-breeder- ti"- Tn.l.-t. the men who have good mar.s a:: 1 va ho pay high -tv I Icefor 'ibe be-, stallion-. It i- •.'tntifv in-r to know thai th':- -prion- defect in the schedule hi- been reetlfle.l. and b\ niing the statukuTl of type there wi!] he le-s heard in An-tialia of de eri..ration in New Zealand dr.utgiil-. Th ■ power o a veterinary oliievr miking Ihe ill-nee tion may si-em wide, an I tli.it by villi holding•ccrtilic.i'.ts becau-c tin- an .nilarc not of the r'. ' 'ypc ti Hicer would he iulli.-ting li .t'.v 1 >-.o- "ii the buyers for expert! This would lead to sales being ma !,- "-tibject to obtaining certificate- for ihe animal-." and »j seller would not like to have rejMi'2. auimals -.nt home again. However.j something had to be done to prevent what would in time mean the pc.ni.iißnl ! collap-c of an important 'rule. A- to the demand for draughts iv New j Zealand, our requirements are limited. | and nearly all the large clikia .tor.- arc seller.- rather thin buyers. 'Ihe:i ilie ' field and roj.l tra.-;>rs arc 101 lto be! forces that have to he reckoned with a-, rivals to the hor-o: bul breeder- of goo! horsco iijvc nothing to fear, and tlie present depression iv the market should act as an incentive to further improve the quality rat'urr than to drop into cheap wain becau-e there happens to 1-e cheap price-. In this latter regard it ijtut possible that too many good mareo have found t'lieir way to Australia and their places taken by animals that have plenty of !-ty!e. but are rallier Cm. light: tb:- course being forced upon breeder-, l-'or the lighter typ,. mares the newtype stallions an- blamed, hut it would lie just a- unfair to e.iy that all tlie new-tape stallions arc liaht tiie.uselvis and breeding ligii'.er. a- it would l.c to say that all th- horses exported fron. here to Au-tialia are even representative- of the quality of our s-tock. There certainly i- a proportion of the new typo stallion- that it would have been niii.-h b.-itcr bad tin- animals been allowed to remain in Scotland ju.-l as there weir very many doubtful importation- that were made in the old dav-. a circumstance thai the extreme enthusiasts of the old type conveniently forget. There are many of tb,. recent importations that -how plenty of sire nnd weight com bined with quality, and : - f breeders who .ire forced to use light mares wore t. -elect weighty stallions llia.t have .llir prepotency to throw bigsitock they would be acting wisely. Thi- is a matter that (.once.nu ewry breeder of draught*-, they iiave tlie future of Ihe demand ii, Iheir own hands, and if light-type anareu,i- mated with light-type stallions, then it is simple ruining tlie demand for Clydesdales and playing int.. the handof the Shire, a breed thai is being puwhe • for ail it is worth iv Australia, and V" r tieiilarly in Yictnria. During tbe pathree year, 11T> Sliire stiUlion- were in' ported from England to Australia, at: only 43 < lyde.-dal.-s. During the sam period Til' Clydesdale st.illion-. 2Ti.V mares and Loot, geldings were ira-porte, from New Zealand, the tota's for eai I year Wing 2.S:Hi. OOli and :\2l\. Las' year's exportatioils '.hu- dropped to i third of 1011-12. as u!so did lnll-12 com pared to 1010-11. The large number of stallions sen! from New Zealand to Australia (prin ripally to MeHiniirnel may be taken t. indicate that breeders in Yictnria art putting forth uu elTorl 'Io capture tin N-vv Zealand trade, but in tie- rrgan Dominion breeder* have lit tie lo fear, a, we produce a better type animal thai the Clydesdales bred in Australia. T.iii is no ligurc of speech; it i- demonstrate conclusively whenever our Clydesdale are pitted against those bred iv Austin liii: Hie snperiorilv of our horses i- se.i either in the -how ring or in Ihe chains

At the last Melbourne lloyal show both championships went to Sdiires. Solomon 1\". and Iloro I'orest Belle g.iininL' stallion and mare honours re> poet iv civ. 1 have 1 n led to believe t.hat. if Captain Dale had appeared in Hie -am. fettle that he wa- when the judges place,] thin stallion lir-t in the other classes v ! the .-bow. that the result of the championship might have been changed. Thai Captain Dale vvas not at his best wa indicated by Pi! riciun. who was beaten by the former earlier at the show, being awarded the reserve championship. lior.. I'orest Belle, though a .Shire, shows a lot of Clvdefedale quality, -being straight in the hair, which is fine, clean in the limb, and altogether a '.in.mhsomc looking naaire. At aJI ever.'!?. Shires and Clydcsd.i.'rshraul.i not come into eompetiuon. an-! as the "Melbourne Leader" -pu.t it in re viewing the Khow: "since the two breeds are quite distinct, the a.bs-nrdiky of having represtenta-tives, -of caoh contesting in ■the one cla-s obvion.-.''

At the recent Sydney TvoyaJ show the New Zealand-bred draaiirhte s.eore<l decisively. 'Die ohainpioitship in itatlions went to Mr. R. .1. Call're.y'i Alount RoyaJ, bred by Mr. J. S. Oughton, Okaiawa.

Tat.in.ik:. His -he i- Royal Crown i by | (Koyal l"amc). dim Flora of Okaiavva | (sire Pride of Windermere, dam Lady i Kan furl v). Pride uf Windermere was jbrcl by*Air.'William Macatilay. Maheiio, ! Omiiaru, and i- by Sandy Ei-skinc limp..) I daau Maggie .M.icaulay by l.<ird S.ili-burv. , Thi- pedigree, as will -be seen, i- strongly marked by "old type" blood. The cha.mI piou marc, the great New Zealander 1 Princess l-'.inny. whose doughty deeds iv j the show rings both in N.Z. and iv Alls- I , tra!a( are so well known. During Mr. W. Gardiner's ownership she w.ie first , \vh rover shown and only once Buffered dit. of the s! p. and an increase in ! detent, this being at Oamaru iv 1110.1, ! wiicn she wa- second to one of Mr. liar- | diner'- breeding iv the class for dry | mares. She is by Crown Prince I by Lord ! Salisbury I. dam -lean by Lor! J,ornc .(imp.). Other N* I *' Zealandei.-i wen- in ithe prize-taking lists at Sydney; but 1 just mention the most notable achievcj inents to .-bow how well the New Zea- ! landers are holding" up their en.i of Hie I log. "Old type" breeder.- will declare thai the victories are due more io the i.i I! i tb of tlie past than the pillar* of the present. ! There is -ome danger threatened the i Clydesdale breeders of tiie Dominion by ! the too free export of mares of breeding type, ami vvlieii il it. considered lli.it Ui.iiT.l marcs have been sent to Australia ! during the past three years, lhc drain upon the breeding ranks has been pretty , heavy. Of course, a large num'hrr .-cut 'away were li 1 litis, and a proportion of i the-1! may not have possc-scd the essentia] qualities io keep up the standard of size, and weight: but it must be adi initl.'il lhat a. great many good one-, have been .-.'lit away that could ill be .spared, and if looks as if the '-ewe lamb | cry that i-. at p.-e.-ent being raised j will be heard in horse-breeding circles. ■ The matter of tiie scarci'lv of good mares I is already indicated by the fact that low aspriecs are ut present, and wil.hout uny i inimedial-c prospect of the ma.rkct rising, whenever ana brood mares of special <|Uality are offered, they- will bring high price*. ,',1,,. icu-on for 1.1.i-being- that tbe i market i- gelling -n bare vi l-hc right | materia!, lv proof of ibis, look al the i results of Mr. Mcf.lurc's (-ale -.il YaMj hurst, recent.lv- w lien ten mares reajise.d ■ the handsome i-um of 8311 guincan, an average of £87 C/o each. Last seac-on's foals from eight, of the mares made a total of 2IS average £-28 12/3. Do these figures indicate 'that the bottom has dropped nut of the. draughtimrse market? The mares were a.]f by Shepherd Lad, Die great Herd Laddie aire, and the f.jnls by Aitkcnm-ae, an

imported horse i-ite Karon'- Pride, dam .less by Prince Aldino, g. -ire Sir Everar.l. To., often temporary declines iv the value of draughts lead to a d.'.-ile to cell off am! gu into breeding again when the market improves. Thi- ig..,.,l enough theory lor ilie farmer who gro.v- potatoes, mn i; :- fata! v.' -i applied 1 1. .lis.per.-ug a staid, anil it :- a mallei- fur congratulation that Mr. AI.I 'oire's in.ires haw gone into Ihe ban-!-lof Canterbury bmedei's of repute, and were not buuglit for speculative purposes.. In conclusion tlie indications ate plain that breeders mißt not inglc.-t weightand quality in lie Clydesdale and the importance of tisiag the best ,-ire-. The premium system Jo largely in vogue in Scotland is being followed in parts of New Zealand, aid it is working well. Horse-breeding associations are 'formed, and owner s invited l.> offer tile services #f a i-tallion for a .-cason. Tlie animal i- .sebvled by v e<mniitlceland the boi-e chuceii must have a veterinary eerlili.ate. Tinis the lervices of a fipst-c!a--B horse a:,, .-ecurci at a reasonable cost 1.. members, and he system is worthy of further extension.