HORSES FOR AUSTRALIA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 858, 2 July 1910, Page 8

HORSES FOR AUSTRALIA.

»/ EXPORTING TARANAKI DRAUGHTS. Thranaki draught horse breeders who did so well at the big Australian horso ' Bales last; year, are making a business of catering for the market across tho . Tasuiaii. Shipments have been taken across this winter, and while there is reason to believe that the vendors profited. by tho trip, they said that they expected the market to fall. Some breeders have . been preparing , for the coining sales ever since • a year ago. Ono well-known South Taranaki breeder has v linen on the look-out for good, heavy' horses,- wherewith- to supplement those he decided to tako from his own farm, lor months past. Ho believes , in taking over a dozen at a time, and ./is very much against taking a greater number. 1 .. .

in some quarters there rises every now and then an outcry against-the exportatiou of our best horses, and the contention behind the noise is that the country is loosing the pick, of its horseflesh, and retaining the weeds. •Without discussing that point, it is interesting to Hotc that another. appears to have been overlooked. The attraction of the. Australian markets livened np the horse-breeding, industry remarkably, and in many studs extra preparation was .made foy ! t«iio 'production of first-class heavy horses. Several desirttbte . sires were imported to the province, and there, is ho doubt that unless tho over-sea market falls very flat there w'ilj be a constant trade between here and Australia maintained.

. At the present time there are Taranaki .draughts about to bo shipped across, and it is. reported that the selection is a very .creditable one. Evidently the business is profitable, as the breeders who. wera the. first to risk their shipments "are the men who are still Keen/on the trading. About the ■ only person who reported a loss last year was ona who unfortunately'. landed 'in Sydney, while the big strike was upon the country. At that time the' horse -market was as dead as most other lines.

Probably' it was an, idea that the New Zoaliinders who .went across with horses wero amassing ' wealth rapidly which induced Australian speculators to como to New' Zealand and scour it for horso-flcsh. Fortunately, perhaps, for our breeders, there is not much chance of that particular line of commercialism becoming a : payable one. At the .time the, buyers were.; /hero they professed, {o be able to make profit out of' certain classes .of animals if they could get them at from £30 to £35. Sydney prices,at the time showed that the particular class of horse was bringing £33 10s. there at the time, It costs about £7 to ship a,.horse to Sydney, and there would: probably he another'£3 per animal (unless the string was'a very big one) by. way of; tho buyer's personal expenses,, so. it does not seem likely that wp will. have niaiiy visits of the'kind mentioned. .

New Zealand horses have a good , reputation in; Australia,, and the name is worth something, for they usually bring a somewhat higher'figure than .'the home-bred, animals. It is to ho hoped that those who are now'trading to the big 1 sales *on the other side will not take-over stock which will injure .that reputation.