HORSE BREEDING

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 54

HORSE BREEDING

;(By'R.D.)

The present condition of the horsebreeding industry is exciting a good deal of discussion, and various schemes have been suggested for effecting a much-need-est improvement in the class of animals now being produced in the co ony. ‘Amongst the various suggestions made are a tax on stallions; the registration of both sires and dams ; veterinary examination ; the giving of premiums similar td those known in Great' Britain as the Queen’s prizesy which amount to about £l5O each, the condition being that the horses stand in certain districts, and serve a limited number of mares at a fixed fee; importations' by the Government"; and a host of other ideas, many of which aro mere personal fads. If any one", '*or a comibihatioii of-these suggestions will lead to the price of horseflesh being raised, a long step will bo taken towards effecting that nnprovement in quality Vhicli is.' so much desired. "Deterioration has taken ' p*ace mainly because for- many years noisebreeding did not-pay. ' Twenty-five or thirty years ago we had many fine studs of dra-ught- horses” in various parts of the colony, .and they were carried" on by men who understood' '■ their 5 • business. v\ ellselected importations were regularly made, and the new blood, helped to maintain the high standard, of to which we 'were then accustomed. Wny are these studs no longer in existence? The answer is simple. They were dispersed because it did not pay the_owners toi keep them up. Prices came, down so low that devoting the land to some more payable industry became compulsory, and draught horse breeding relegated to small fanners, who had little experience and exercised neither care nor judgment in selecting the animals from which they bred. Prices being so> low, it was . absolutely . necessary to employ cheap sires, the inevitable result being inferior progeny. • This practice being continued year after year, it scon' became difficult to obtain a good draugni horse in Victoria, and it was only when a demand for West Australia set in that the' first slight signs of a revival could be noticed.

I scarcely think "the deterioration in light horses was so great as in couhection with draughts. Indeed, the wonder is that, the falling off in quality has not been more marked. For years large drafts of the best of our light horses have gone to India, ancl these have "included a large percentage of mares; that Shouldl , have been kept to maintain the quality:of the local studs.. Although the Indian ..buyers, who are keen judges and smart business men, skimmed the cream of our light horse stock, nevertheless we are able to send a large, number to South Africa, where they established an excellent name under the trying conditions involved in the prosecution of war. The horses sent were mostly second raters, yet they stood the hardships of the campaign perhaps better than any other horses in the British army.

In carrying out any scheme for placing the horse-breeding industry on a better footing,- an essential condition must be that farmers will not be called upon to pay high, jservice fees for the use of stallions. 3 A tax of from £lO to £2O per year has been advocated., and. there is ho doubt an impost of that kipd would wipe out many inferior animals now doing stud duty; but in restricting competition 'it would also raise prices, and this is what the ordinary farmer cannot afford. cWhat w© do require, however, Is a rigorous- and systematic veterinary inspection every year, and- the condemnation of all‘ animals affected 1 with unsoundness that ‘' was likely to be transmitted to the offspring. This would necessarily involve registration, but it will lye. la mistake - to make the fee so high as ffco i constitute a tax on stallions, and thereby v raise the price of service to breedet-S.' 'There is already too little money'in the breeding of even sound, serviceable hacks and heavy draughts.-. It has been suggested and-I think very sensibly, that th© Government should appoint three inspectors, one to be a competent veterinary surgeon, and the • other two men of recognised ability as judges cf the merits and demerits of a stallion. They would visit every centre where an agricultural society exists upon a given day cnee every year, and in company with two members of the local society, who would act as advisers, the work of inspection could be carried out. The presence of local men would be of assistance, as they could furnish information legarding the character of the stock left by the stallions under review —a point that is of considerable importance. A veterinary examination and registration of mares, would also' bo necessary, so as to prevent as far as possible h ereditary unsoundness, and fanners should be encouraged to breed from their best mares, instead of selling them, as they are too apt .to do now. The cost of this examination and registration should be made as light as possible, but it should be searching and strict, and only properly qualified animals should be allowed to carry on the reproduction of their species. A good deal of assistance to horsebreeding could be rendered by agricultural societies and kindred bodies if premiums were subscribed and offered as an inducement to

sires of recognised merit and soundness to stand in specified districts at- a reasonable fee. In this connection the giving cf premiums by the Government on the lines adopted in regard to the Queen’s prizes would be a great boon, and could hardly fail to effect much good. Assistance in this direction from the state, and co-operation amongst breeders, would go a long wav towards lifting the horse-breeding industry out of.the depression into which it has fallen.

The whole question revolves itself into a matter of pounds, shillings and pence, and if the service fee of stallions be raised to a higher level than that which now rules in most of the country districts, fewer farmers will continue to devote attention to horsebreeding, and, instead of the number of animals being increased, a serious falling ofT_ will take place. There is nothing conjectural about this assertion. The result indicated is as certain as that the sun will 'rise tomorrow. Farmers cannot afford to pay high service fees for stallions, because the average price which the progeny will realise is too low, and the risks in connection with horsebreeding are too great. Bet us briefly caluclate the time taken and cost incurred in breeding and keeping a four-year-old horse suitable for farm work or army purposes. The foal has to be taken care of, and in due course handled and broken into whatever work it is suitable for, and all the at - tendant risks encountered. At four years old"' the animal may be worth £2s— takes a good one to bring that price for army purposes, though a heavy draught may realise a few pounds more. It now' remains to calculate the cost of raising that- horse. The first item, leaving the value of the dam out of the calculation, is the service fee of the sire. This wall be at least £5. The agistment charge for horses within 25 miles of Melbourne averages about 2s 6d per week, but in more remote localities, it would, of course be less. However, to be on the safe side, this item may be put down at Is 6d per week, which, extending over a period of four years, or 208 weeks, brings the maintenance of the horse to £ls 12s for grsSss alone, while the service fee for the sire, being ■ anotner £o, makes a total of £2O 12s . After waring five years to produce and grow that animal the breeder .may get £25 for it, but the chances are he will get. much less.

do not think the accuracy of these figures can be questioned, and, assuming that they are accepted, the point for farmers to decide is, Does horsebreeding pay ? (My own opinion is that the owner of rich land would_ be foolish;* to go in for raising horses for sale in the open market, and the owner of medium quality land cannot afford to do so. Horse-breeding cannot show anything like the results that are obtained from dairying, and in these days of keen competition in the markets of the world we must- endeavour to secure the best possible returns per acre from our land. In the Western district and portions cf Gippsland progressive dairymen count upon obtaining a gross annual return rrom their dairy herds of about-. £8 per cow. In some instances it is claimed that £lO per cow is obtained, but this is exceptional. Assuming, however, for purposes of comparison with horsebreading, that the average return from dairy herds is £6 per cow per annum—all wellmanaged herds ought to yield more — the gross return in four years, the time it takes a foal to grow into a marketable army remount horse, would be £24. Now, it is well known that one horse will eat more grass and is much harder on pasture, than two cows ; therefore, to make a fair comparison on tlie average basis, the returii from two cows must be placed against the return from one horse, or £4B against £25. The logic of horse-breeding clearly proves that horse-breeding is'“not in itr with dairying where the locality is suitable for carrying on’the latter industry, and it is the best return per acre that the farmer must go for. For these reasons, I do not think horsebreeding -will pay where the land is high-class v< or even of medium quality; but there are large areas in the hilly c«mtry of the northeast and in the Mallee suitable for growing high-class hacks, hunters and army (horses, while in the midland and coast districts the heavy horses could be pro-duced.-—“Australasian.” .

Latest reports from London state that the demand and the shipments of .frozen meat were below normal. Owing to rather high prices for New Zealand mutton, outside lines are lower in price. Present priceis are : —Prime Canterbury, 4|d to 4£d, and occasionally to 4fd; Southlands, 4d to 4jd; North Island, 4-f-d to 4|d; New Zealand lambs scarce, and from s£d to 6d; Australian mutton quiet at 3fd to 4d. Regarding Australian lamb, the’C. C. and D. Company says : —‘'Parcels have been very mixed in size and quality, some showing breed and condition and of nice handy weights have sold readily at 5d to sfd per lb, and seem to have given satisfaction to consumers, others of larger size and heavier weights, and numbeirs from dOib to 601 b have been received, have been difficult to sell at much over mutton price, while ligfc#and plain have sold at 4£d to 4fd per l'b, which, taking into account the quality, must be looked on as full values.”