HORSE-BREEDING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1748, 6 September 1905, Page 58

HORSE-BREEDING.

WHAT OTHER COUNTRIES I>o. .THE KING’S PREMIUMS. SELECTING STALLIONS. In endeavouring to improve its breed of horses almost every country has recognised that the stallion, as the less numerous and more important factor m the breeding establishment, should receive first attention; and anything that has been done.so far has been by way or attacking the unsound stallion. In England and Wales the Government subsidises twenty-three thoroughbred stallions and in Scotland five _ at £l5O each. In the discussions which "took place on the subject in 1884-5 it> was shown that the great difficulty in the way of horse-breeding m England was the impossibility of farmers obtaining at reasonable rates the service of suitable and sound thoroughbred stalliohs. In 1885, on the initiative ot Sir Walter Gilbey, the Hunters’ Improvement Society offered premiums for thoroughbred stallions to serve farmers mares at reasonable fees. Thirty-live sires were examined and twenty-five rejected. At the first show of the Royal Horse Commission held at Nottingham in 1888 seventy-four were examined, and only thirty-one passed. At the last examination that has been reported on fifty-five were presented and forty-eight passed. Reporting to the Commission in 1898 on behalf of the veterinary inspectors, Professor Sir George Brown wrote: “Comparing the results of the present show with the results of similar examinations in Newcastle in 1887 and Nottingham in 1888, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that a remarkable success has attended the efforts which have been made to prevent the use of animals for breeding purposes affected with hereditary diseases, such as cataract, side-bones, ring-bones and spavin. Since that time, and during the past four or five years, there has been a noticeable decrease in the above-named diseases, which were at one time exceedingly common, and in the present exhibition it is satisfactory to be able to state that a critical inspection of forty-nine horses did not reveal a single instance of cataract or other disease of the visual organs. Further, it may be observed that no instance of roaring or broken wind was discovered, although the tests applied were exceptionally severe. The total result of the veterinary inspection was the rejection of only three horses out of forty-nine examined.” In the veterinary examination which the stallions have to pass for premiums any one of the following diseases disqualifies: — Roaring or whistling Ringbone Unsound feet Navicular disease Spavin Cataract Over a period of four years, 1909-3, 229 stallions were submitted for examination and only 39 were rejected for unsoundness, the reasons being as follows : Roaring 1 Whistling ... ... ... 10 Unsound feet ... ... 3 Ringbone ... ... ... 3 Navicular disease ... ... 1 Spavin ... ... ... 6 Cataract ... ... ••• 15 The King’s Premium system has been in operation since 1888, and between that year and 1902 23,168 lialfbred mares were served, the percentage of foals averaging from 52 to 61. Each horse is supposed to serve not less than fifty mares a season, the commission fee being £2, and the balance being made up to the owners by the premium. A list of breeders in all parts of the country is preserved, and this is expected to* be of great service to the War Office and Remount Department in procuring horses for the army. In face of the statements made by the Royal Commission from time to time there seems to be no room for doubt that the premium system has done an immense amount of

good to the cause of breeding in England. It is very generally admitted, even by those who ax© opposed to the extension of State activities, that the State has a decided responsibility in this matter. It is significant that such men as the Duke of Portland,' the Earl of Coventry, and Baron Ribblesdale signed the last report of the Commission, which contained this paragraph:— “ Your Commissioners note with regret that at the end of the 1902 season two premium-winning stallions, whose services were always in great demand, were secured for a foreign Government, whose agents are ever on the look-out for our best horses, over the sale of which we have no control. This is a grave disadvantage, to which we must always be liable so long as it is left to private enterprise alone in the United Kingdom to compete for the possession of the most desirable stallions with the Governments of foreign countries.” Precisely the same grievance was voiced in Sydney a few days ago by the Premier (Mr J. P. Carruthens) in addressing a conference of horse-breeders. He said : “ One thing that was palpable to the most casual observer in regard to their thoroughbred stock was that they had buyers at all times ready to buy the best horses, and there had been a serious loss through their best blood horses being taken away from Australia. It would take a very positive man to assert that they had imported horses of the same character as some of the stallions taken away. During the last week no less than one hundred thoroughbred stallions had been boughtfor export, and the buyers had picked horses they thought to be especially fitted for army purposes. If their horses were so cheap and good, there would always be people ready to buy the best they had, and so they wpuld reduce the average of what remained as to quality and character. It appeared necessary, therefore, that they should try to preserve the best they had for service in the State, and at the same time there should be a constant influx of good blood in order to keep up the standard of their stoek.” The State stud proposal—which has been to some extent put into operation in New Zealand —has been made in Australia, but the condition of things there robs tile argument of some of its force. On many of the large stations horsebreeding is carried out systematically, and on a large scale, good stud animals being used; and, in spite of great losses by drought-, thousands of horses of a good class are being turned out every year. In Australia the demand for examination of stallions is spreading. What has shaken up the breeders to the necessity for doing something is a report furnished to the Imperial Government by Colonel Goad, DirectorGeneral of th© Indian Army Remount Department, in which he warned Australia against the possibility of losing the remount trade altogether. The Royal Agricultural Society (Sydney) took up the matter, and the Horse Committee passed the following resolutions, embodying the best means of preventing the deterioration of horseflesh: — 1 A tax on stallions, none being allowed to cover unless passed by a qualified official appointed by the Government. 2. That premiums be given by the Government to private individuals who will stand stallions at a nominal fee for the use of breeders, whose mares must be approved by a duly qualified officer appointed to inspect them. 3. That prizes be given for stallions and mares approved as being suitable for remounts and gunners, to be exhibited at. the Royal Agricultural Show, and that a sub-committee he appointed from the council to meet the Government officials and confer with them. A conference of breeders and experts Was then called to discuss the question. At this Sir Matthew Harris protested strongly against, the mischief that was being done by the travelling of poorly-bred stallions. The Chief Inspector of Stock reported that the information obtained from sixty-six districts in the State showed that the breed was improving in thirty-eight, was stationary in and was deteriorating in five. Where matters were stationary the requisite attention Was not paid to the laws of breeding; and where the quality was deteriorating no attention had been paid to tlie breeding of sires, and the progeny was a nondescript and weedy class of animal. In four yeans New South Wales had imported seventy-four stallions and fifty mares, for breeding purposes. The Chief Inspector laid stress on tlie effect ol racing on the breed of horses, showing that whereas a few years ago long -distances under fairly heavy weights were the rule, now the tendency was towards short distances under low weights, The following table shows the dimensions or the New South Wales home trade during recent years:—

The preliminary conference last- Friday adopted as the basis of the proceedings of tlie general conference the <.oi-

lowing resolutions passed by a confer* enoe on army remounts and horse-breed-ing on October 17th, 1901 1. That it is desirable that the Indian and Imperial Governments should establish official agencies in New Soutli Wales, with a view to purchasing direct from horse-breeders. 2. That in the opinion of this conference there should be a competent board for the purpose of inspecting stallions for public service, and for the issuing of certificates for approved stallions. 3. That an annual tax be placed on all stallions of three yearn and upwards. 4. That the Government be requested to give premiums to suitable stal-' lions placed at the service of the public at. a reasonable fee. 5. That in the opinion of this conference the Police Department should purchase mares, all things being equal, and that such mares, after being in use for a term of years be disposed of by auction. 6. That the Government be requested to discourage the exportation of mares., 7. That in the opinion of this conference it is desirable that periodical home fairs be established by the Government in connection with agricultural societies. 8. That it is desirable that a hoard of advice be appointed to assist the Government in giving effect to the resolutions approved at this conference. A ninth resolution will be added as follows: —“That prizes be given for stallions and mares suitable for getting horses for army purposes, and for geldings and fillies in groups of not less than six suitable for the same purpose.” [The prooedings of the conference will duly appear in the “Times.”} Queensland, meanwhile, has also given practical consideration _ - to th© matter. Early in August a hill was introduced in. the Assembly to impose a tax on stallions, and offer premiums for the best animals. Under this, as drafted, every owner will be required before July Ist to apply for the registration of his stallion, lodging its pedigree and a veterinary certificate of soundness. The applications are to be reported on by a board, and the Minister will register for premiums ali that are of distinct breeds and receive favourable reports. Animals not of distinct breeds, but free from hereditary unsoundness vill be eligible for registration, but not for premiums. A certain proportion of tbe premiums must go to draught stallions. Every stallion securing a certificate is to b© available for service, and no stallion is to bo offered for service unless a certificate of registration has been secured or applied for. The hereditary unsoundnesses, which are almost certain to cause disagreement, are not scheduled. . In Queensland has been felt to a serious extent' the exportation of the better class of mares, leaving only the weedy and inferior sorts to breed from, but this State also proposes to attack the svallion first. It should be mentioned that in Franoe the State owns three thousand stallions, which are used throughout the country, and all privately-owned stallions have to pass an examination. The same rule applies in Belgium. NEW ZEALAND STUD BILLS. A CASE FOR PREMIUMS. It was not only yesterday or the day before that New Zealand realised the inferiority of her horses. Exactly eleven years ago Mr Ritchie, in his annual report, urged the necessity for restricting the use of inferior sires. Since then the department itself has done a good deal to improve our stock by importing purebred and making them available for service at fees equal to—and in the case of light horses lower than —those charged by private owners. The stock left by these horses has been favourably commented on, and the stallions have been freely used in the different districts in which they have stood, hut the fees charged have not done much to help the small farmer to use the horses. The departmental officers have always acted on the assumption—-and it is an indefeasible one —that without soun - ness there can be no good thing, it was on this assumption that the first New Zealand Stud Bill —a draft, measure which has been used by several of the Australian States—was introduced in 1901. It provided for the annual inspection of stallions by an elective board, of which a Government veterinarian should he a member. Under it the department was to issue certificates to all stallions which were found to be “in every way fit for stud purposes, and it would be an offence on the part of the owners of both mare and horse to use an uncertificated stallion for stud purposes. This measure was introduced in 1902 and considered by the Joint Agricultural Committee of the two Houses, which recommended the Minister to hold it over until next session. The draft bill was sent out to the different agricultural and pastoral societies and branches of tbe Farmers’ Union. Ninety replies were received, and the fact that sixty-six favoured the measure in greater or less degree was evidence of the recognised necessity for doing something. In June, 1902, tlie measure was con-

skiered by the Agricultural Conference at Dunedin. The first thing that body did, was to unanimously strike out the Board, leaving it to the Minister to appoint two examining veterinarians. The only other alteration of importance was the deletion of the expression “in •very way fit for stud purposes,” and the substitution of “free from hereditary unsoundness.” Mr Ritchie’s pro- . posals were thus approved practically in toto. But the introduction of the term “hereditary unsoundness” brought trouble. It had not been mentioned in the first draft, and a conference of the veterinary staff was called to consider it. As a result of that body’s delibera- ' tions the following diseases were scheduled in the bill as hereditary in the ordinary acceptance of the term: —

Bone spavin. Ringbone. Side bone. Navicular disease. Roaring or whistling. Stringhalt. Shivering. Multiple recurrent fibroid. Bad hooves. Over this list the veterinarians and racing-owners immediately joined issue, for reasons which were fully explained in the third of these articles. In discussing the schedule at the recent conference, Mr C. J. Reakes, Assistant Chief Veterinarian, said all the diseases were more or less common in New Zealand; hone spavin far less than in England ; but ringbone—a most intractable disease—much more. Thirteen out of 106 horses examined in the South Island for military purposes were con-, demned for ringbone. Diseases of the bone structure, it has been laid down, stand first in their tendency to perpetuate. Sid-ebono is uncommon amongst our light horses, - but not amongst draughts. Roaring and whistling are almost peculiar, to racing-stock, though they are sometimes found in hacks and •harness horses, and occasionally in draughts. Navicular arthritis is fairly common, but seldom recognised. Shivering is not very common in New Zealand, but stringhalt is frequent. Both are nervous diseases, and liable to perpetuation. The opposition to the measure as now drafted has 'come from an unexpected quarter—not from the small farmer, who might be expected to regard any selection or taxation of stallions as a prelude in increased fees; but from men of large means, who might be expected to go for soundness at any price. The reason is that the inclusion of roaring and whistling would seriously affect the large racing studs'. The recent conference, although in favour of premiums, rejected a proposal urging the reintroduction of the Compulsory Stud Bill, but requested the department to open registers for the enrolment at a small fee of stallions that are free from hereditary unsoundness. It is difficult to . see how this is going to solve the problem. The wealthy breeder already chooses the stallion he believes to' be sound, the service fee being a secondary consideration. It is the small man who requires assistance and some degree of coercion in the matter of selection. So long as one stallion travels on four legs at £1 or 30s, with a guarantee, it does not matter how many horses of soundness and quality pass the same way, the small farmer will choose the cheapest. It is absolutely essential, if our horseflesh is to, be improved, that all stallions shall undergo examination, and that those found unsound shall he prevented from serving at stud in any part of New Zealand. The fact that our draught horses are in generally better condition than- the lighter breeds is no reason why they should be exempted from attention. . There are many weeds and wasters eating full meals and inefficiently pulling .-ploughs and drays about the country. The draught stallions are generally fairly pure, but that they are not sound ~ was proved a few years ago at Masterton, when four out of thirteen were condemned at a horse parade. But a draught animal has generally passed the breeding age before it goes out of work, and the judicious working of a

mare during breeding tends, if anything, to strengthen the constitution of fcoth mare and foal. Moreover, the draught horse is an animal of constant utility, and his efficiency is of such importance to the farmer that he is more likely to receive proper care and attention than the “light” horse. While the weeding out of unsound horses is of pressing urgency, the whole tendency of eliminating the inferior sires and taxing the better ones will be to increase the fees chargeable by the owners of good horses. If this should be the result-—or even if the cheap and nasty horses merely were forbidden to travel—the effect would he to restrict breeding on the part of the less wealthy

farmers. This would have to be guarded against if we wish to maintain our surplus for export, and the only way to do it, unless the State becomes the sole owner of stud stallions, is by introducing the premium system. The beneficial effects of this system in England are beyond dispute, and everything points to it as the means to be adopted in New Zealand for bringing the services of good stallions within the reach of small farmers. The Agricultural Conference held at Dunedin three years ago adopted a motion, recommending this

course, and last month the conference in Wellington reaffirmed the desirability of subsidising pure thoroughbred and pure draught stallions. If the system were adopted, it is highly probable we should find we had sufficient sound sires in the country, though the importation of new stock is always a thing to be encouraged. To-day our purebred breeding stock stands as follows:

Entires Brood Mares Thoroughbreds ... 611 1,560 Draughts ... 1,351 14,144 Suppose, for the sake of argument, that five-sevenths of. these stallions were condemned, as was the case at the first examination of the Hunters’ Improvement Society in 1885; we should still have 174 stallions to do the same amount of work as the 29 King’s Premium stallions are doing in England every year. A similar elimination in draughts would leave us 386 for stud purposes; sufficient, at an average of 50 mares each, for 19,300 mares. The horse-breeders of New Zealand have (of all breeds) 33,900 mares with foal at foot or to foal this season. This must mean, at the lowest estimate, from £33,000 to £50,000 in fees, or in other words, 500 stallions, which would have been sufficient for the purpose, could have earned £IOO each for the season. If New Zealand could start by subsidising twenty-five entires at £IOO each, this would provide for the stationing of four in each of the larger districts and nine amongst the six smaller. This would enable owners to reduce the fee to approved mares by £2 2s, which .would be about half in the case of draughts and a great deal more in the case of light horses. Or, by making the premium less and the fee consequently a little higher, twice as many stallions could be subsidised. The cost would be about £2500 a year. The value of a fair average of foals would be at least ten times that amount.

Horses in Drought State. •Exports. Dosses. 1901 ... 455,134 19,760 14,789 1902 ... 418,417 13,927 33,160 1903 ... 403,305 10,205 19,543 1904 ... 399,900 11,632 7,470 55,524 74,962