ENGLISH AND NEW ZEALAND HORSES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 127, 21 February 1908, Page 2

ENGLISH AND NEW ZEALAND HORSES.

A COMPARISON. SOME OPINIONS BY ME. E. D. O'RORKE. At tho Masterton Show on Wednesday Mr. E. D. O'Rorke, of Auckland, who was judging the thoroughbreds and, light horses and the jumping events, was asked by our Wairarapa represii.itative '• to . Express his opinion on New Zealand hacks" compared with those of England. , The fact that Mr. O'Rorke practically spends several'. l months every year in Great Britain,'arid that lie is ono of tho recognised judges of horses'wherever ho is known, 1 entitles his- opinions -on •the subject to more' than ordinary interest. 1 " To'compare, the English and New Zealand hacks is rather a difficult proceeding,'' said; Mr. O'Rorke. " You see, the animals, speaking generally, are on, a different footing. Fir instance, the New-Zealand hack is far more of tho utility class than its brother in England, who is riSed to a great extent for pleasure 6nly. Out here in the Dominion: it Hack used for station.work'..or..journeys probably covers more ground in three months than the English hack covers in a year. . As wo all know, it is not by any means an uncommon thing in New Zealand for a hack, to bo ridden forty or fifty miles a. day, whereas the English hack is perhaps ridden by his Owner, if a farmer, to a couple of markets during the week, a few miles from his istable.. On other days he may be slowly ridden about tho farm for an hour or so, but whore .kept;-:for: pleasure .only perhaps-half the distanco is traversed. Tho.. New -Zealand-hack leads a far more strenuous life,, gets,whatever.there may. or! may.; not' be/ 'in -his - field' for 1 feed, whereas the English . horse is well fed, groomed, and looked after, on all occasions: This 1 is' easily accounted, for /'when 1 ' we con-, sider the'bqtterpriCes horses command in England thaii iii the colonics';'.iii'other words,' he is so valuable in England that ho is'.worth looking after frohi the money, point 1 of view alone. I have ridden - a great number of horses both in England and in' New Zealand, and havo wmo to ■ the conclusion that; in"! manners the English hack/undoubtedly holds pride of place; and is pleasanter to ride than tho 1 average Colonial : horse. More • - care. is taken in the breaking, arid the result is a ; better-pacedand'"better-mannered; animal. Tlio ordinary hack,in'New ! Zealand, however, is. a l 'harder'animal; than the English ono/ due, I believe, partly to climatic influence,' and;''a great deal to' tho good stallions; imported years ago of:the Traducer aiid Riddlesworth .type,'and' bcingy so far;'at any. rate', free from hackney strain—a strain that haS douo more to- injure thb English •'hoi'iie' tlian anything else. : ■ ■" ' How to Breed. ", I 30. not 'wish toi.diverge from- my. sub-; ject, but , 1 think I may ; here draw i tho ■ attention of breeders in. New Zealand, to- tho reports of . the Horso .Breeding Commission in, India, which \yent exhaustively .into the subject by order of the Indian Government. I could quote largely from the report of the Commissioni-I, have ;beforo ,me, but consider .that ono or .two-extracts will bo sufficient to showi li'ow. conclusively its was proved by the' evidence that , the hackney : should not.be, used 'as a stallion on any account. On page 37, dealing r. with the. disposal of unsuitable stallions • by. the Government, it; advises;that they might bo :used for brecdinfrmtttosii- and . goos- on. to; say: ' Thei.haqkney~Bhmild.-bV disposediof in-tho same wayi l'ney : would.prove | serviceable.; for keeping up-the-, size and room, in. .the brood mares devoted; to'mulb . breeds • isig, and ..defects which render thoir progeny, useless : as horsesvwould not affect/.the imule progeny; bred from these: mares.' Again, on pag0...;44,i' dealing.-;. With"the/success; of'.• the, Bengal liaiicer.'StTitl;v ifc says' It .is' needless to say that with the , success ■.that ; has. been attained, anything, - approaching ' a ' hackney, sirb has been rigorously excluded,',. liv dealing , with the results of the Commission which ,went to England and concluded its ; investigations' there, mrpago 2. will be found the .fol:: lowing:—' While in England the Commission . has'lwen able to obtain a; good dearof-valu-ablo, evidence on tliie ; vexed hunter sire question, and written evidence from the haokney breeders.,has. been. L received* which ..goes,; to ■show;that hackneyii aro no,longer considercdi ' suitablo. sires' for riding horses.' .., r . ; "In' England arid-Ireland the verdict now.is: ■tho': same, and, I\therefofe' hope .that,.' New Zealand breeders will' profit- by tho; sad' experience of thoso who have bred .from hackr neys, and 'not taint the' blood 'of;i'tho' colonial ihors'e, with tho, soft! hackneystrain. , I ,know sevoral gentloiricn/,who are the heads of the. reriiount departments, and Mothers. who have ! been; on horse-breeding Commissions,- and one and all condemn the hackney. Some .of the biggest dealers. in England,; with i whom I have talked over this subjcct, are of the samo opinion. .. . . .; '- , ■ New Zealand Horses Deteriorating, i ' , "During the last-feu I .years I am iiicliried to t-hink,; from general observation aiid from the animals I have had before mo wheii i judging at various show's, that the New Zealana horse lias deteriorated, for one does not ' come across ' many' of tile, big upstanding class like- those'- in: the AVanganui' district twenty l years ago. Thoso.' hbrses; ; were','a splendid class/ with good" hard bone,;.legs,: and feet, up to weight,- and with" finerconr.age:: It ■ is ' now beebniiiig'. more and' more difficult' to procure that-type. '.This, I think; is due to' tlio export of some .of : our. : besi* mares; ■ the, lack of encouragement given to those people 1 who have' good stallions/ and the uso of unsuitable sires:' : ' " I' feel quite convinced that an importation of really good Arab stallions would go far to help tho improvement of tlie 'New ,' Zealrind horse, as their'"value-has been proved on tho'remount breediiig farms in India and elsowhore. - ■ Inspection by Veterinarians.' " 'While 1 am on tho importation of stallions, I -should- like to make the following suggestion to the New Zealand Government: that they should establish a veterinary, department in to examine all stock , and pass it before .'itV is " sent .to tho Dominion. I am absolutely.certain that this would to a great extent prevent'animals with hereditary disease being shipped, and would save hioth money and anxiety to the New Zealand buyer arid breeder.' For instance', at tho present'time there are numbers of animals from England in 'quarantine'•' in' the . Argentine which have shown tuberculosis'since arrival. Had they been kept: at a Government veterinary department and under.Supervision'for some time 'before departure' from' Britain, and tested before being shipped,: disease would not have occurred, becauso it is a wellknown' fact, that animals with tuberculosis; react' with greater certainty >if fresh' and not tested for some time. I havo it on the best authority, that animals '. which' were tested in England have shown tubercular development, shortly after arrival when retested here. .'-If stallions and'mares intended fori export to Now Zealand were treated in tho way I suggest, animals showing hereditary diseases like spavin, ringbone, and so on, could;be better observed and kept out of. tho Dominion. In the same way, tuberculosis, etc., in- cattle cbuld be dealt with more effectively, and it would cause no inconvenience to buyers; as animals could always bo purchased subject to thorn passing tho Government examination.' I also beliove that tho Government should offer premiums on the lines the King's premiums are awarded in Britain. . - About Stallions. .. "Many stallions which have hereditary diseases aro allowed to' travel this country aiid sorvq mares. This should bo stoppeel, and I think' it' is quite.timo breeders combined with-the Goverrimentto stop it. lam inclined to believe that tho time has arrived when stallions' advertised for public . use should be licensed after being examined and passed by a Board, composed of practical breeders—who wnow the class of horses required—and veterinary surgeons.