STILL VALUABLE

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 January 1941, Page 9

STILL VALUABLE

HORSES IN GREAT BRITAIN. LONDON, November 2. The war has improved the status of the horse in Britain. At one time it looked as if the animal might oecome almost extinct —mechanical power was ousting horse power fiom the roads and from the farms. But Britain still has more than 900,000 horses on agricultural holdings, and fully two-thirds of them are giving valuable- help this autumn in the second great ploughing campaign. As they live almost entirely on food grown on the farm and contribute to the maintenance of soil fertility they still hold an important place in national economy. Even before the present war it was estimated that 170,000,000 gallons of petrol, etc., had to be imported for mechanised agricultural work alone. Since then the number of farm tractors has risen from 40,000 to 76,000, and there is also a vast fleet of lorries and vans, as well as private cars and trailers, transporting farm produce and requisites. Liquid fuel consumption by the agricultural industry is probably not less now than 250,000,000 gallons. Unfortunately, the number of farm horses, which reached its peak early this century, has continuously declined since the end of the last war. Official returns indeed show that the farm horse population has been halved in only 19 years, in spite of unrestricted imports from the Continent, costing £2,128,760 in 1938. Against this, however, must be offset exports, mainly of pedigree stallions and mares, which have been bringing the country more than £500,000 a year. Even last month 24 horses, including 11 Clydesdales, were granted export certificates. Thanks partly to generous grants from the Racecourse Betting Control Board, increase in breeding had started to show some re-awakening, and the number of stallions officially licensed for stud work had increased by one-third between 1934 and 1939. Whether this revival will 'continue is doubtful, and unfortunately it came too late to be of any help in the present emergency. But keen bidding for strong working horses as well as for young stock at many of the autumn sales shows that farmers still favour animal power for their field work.

Present shortage of feeding-stuffs and the heavy demands of Britain’s record cattle population make it essential that farm horses be fed with the utmost economy. In spite of the protests of horsemen, they will have to eat a larger proportion of coarse fodder, including oat straw, as well as roots, and be content with less corn and meal.

All horses kept for other than farm purposes, including thoroughbreds, hunters and pit ponies, are believed to number not more than 250,000. but in their feeding, too, the utmost economy will have to be followed.