HATS OFF TO THE HORSE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 45, 23 February 1942, Page 4

HATS OFF TO THE HORSE

The horse is a noble beast. From time immemorial it has been rightly regarded, next to the dog, as the most intelligent and faithful friend of man. Everybody (at least, nearly everybody) will be pleased that our kind-hearted Government, having provided social security and insulation from foreign disturbances for humankind is now, in terms of a special petrol allocation for horse floats, pursuing a policy of uplift and improvement for members of the animal world. Importers, commercial travellers and some business men who were unceremoniously bundled out of business overnight by planning and State control, are sure to complain. They always do. I feel certain the Government will pay no attention to them. A horse float, I understand, is a sort of merry-go-round in which the descendants of Phar Lap may visit and view the countryside at the loveliest time of the year. They may even go to the races, a privilege denied during the Christmas holidays to those unlucky humans who happened to live more than a hundred miles from the course. Let us hope that our 'enemies will show a decent respect for our sporting instincts and not make themselves difficult or dangerous while the races are on. G. HENRY.