THE NORMAN-PERCHERON HORSE. (New Zealand Country Journal.)

Otago Witness, Issue 1672, 8 December 1883, Page 6

THE NORMAN-PERCHERON HORSE. (New Zealand Country Journal.)

For a number of years the Percheron horse has been a great favourite in America. As a draught horse he ranks high in that country. Importations of this breed from France have been going on for a considerable period, and the number now in the States must be very large indeed. .Recently a Norman-Percheron Horse Company has been formed, Mr Dunham being president. It may be stated that this gentleman has been the principal importer of these horses, as far back as 1872 having obtained from France six Percheron stallions. In ISSO he imported 140, the next year 227, and in ISB2, 250. According to the Breeders Gazette, the Horse Company's ranch, which is located on the south bank of the P ia ™>» Colorado, comprises a grazing area of 7UU square miles, and will support, summer and winter, 10,000 head of stock. They have now JOOO marea, which number will ehortty ba

largely increased, the latest arrivals being 20 stallions imported from France last April, one of whom, Draco (2006), is an iron-grey three-year-old of perfect conformation, weighing 17001b. From these mares and these stallions, the proprietors claim they can produce horses weighing from 10001b to 14001b, the colts averaging about one-half the combined weight of the sire and darn. This cross will produce a horse sufficient in size to meet the demands of the country. As such horses are worth from 150dol to 200doleach, it will readily be seen that this enterprise will prove very profitable, much more so, in fact, than the raising of cattle on the ranch, which industry has assumed such immense proportions.

To show the marked effects that the Peroheron is having on the horse stock in many of the principal States, the remarks published in the National Live >tock Journal some time ago may be quoted :—": — " The revised edition of the 'Percheron- Norman Stud Book' issued a year ago, contained the names of between 800 and 900 imported and native purebred PercheronNormans in the United States, and of these at leaßt 800 have been imported or bred within the last 15 years. It is, therefore, safe to assum* that by far the greater portion of these horses are still living-, aud they are known to be mainly in the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and lowa. This very large influx of heavy draught blood must, within a few years, exercise a very marked influence upon the average horse stock of these States. Indeed, the effect is already perceptible ; and to-day, the number of horses to be seen upon the streets of this city, harnessed to the heavy express waggons and trucks, showing unmistakable traces of this imported blood, is more than five times as great as it was four years ago. In many sections of the country, farmers have absolutely no home stock that does not show the effect of these French and English draught crosses."

Some farmers and breeders of horse stock have raised' the objection that the Percheron breed were notoriously lacking in constitution, and that they were short-lived. To this charge a complete refutation had been given, as it had been proved that the breed generally were of excellent " constitution," — that term, of course, meaning the structural and organic vitality and vigour which, to a large extent, gives to horses immunity from disease, and enables them to retist attacks to which others, less favourably organised, would succumb. In regard to their longevity one authority says : "Turning to the first volume of the Percheron - Norman Stud-book for data upon which to satisfy ourselves as to the facts in case, we found that, of six importations made to Ohio prior to 1860, the average term of life had been 24 years, with one still living. The earliest age at which, any of them died was in the ca3e of Rolhn (No. 418 of the Stud-book), foaled 1852, imported 1856, who died June 1869, aged 17 years. Old Lows Napoleon (No. 281 of the Stud-book), foaled 1848, imported 1851, died August 1871, in hi.s 24th year. All the others lived to be over 24, and one, a mare, is yet living in her 28th year." It is gratifying to find that this celebrated breed of horses has at length been introduced into Australia. The Leader notices the event as follows: — "Mr Learmonth visited Esiropo with the intention of purchasing for Australia specimens of the celebrated Norman- Percheron horse, which breed, although hitherto a stranger to these Colonies, has established a well-deserved and world-wide celebrity. The result is that last week four stallions, purchased by him in France arrived safely per the steamer Gulf of Carpentaria, and are now located in the vicinity of Melbourne. It was from these horses that the present valuable breed of Clydesdales originally sprang, and in France and in other parts of the European Continent their worth is most highly esteemed on account of their marvellous combination of power, endurance, beauty, and characteristic good temper." Since their introduction the horses had excited a great deal of interest, and had been viewed with admiration by a large number of breeders and others. The following description of the animals may be of interest : — "Bayard, a beautiful dark bay, with black points, is a splendidly - made animal, with immense power ; indeed his development of chest, shoulders, and quarters is characteristic of tbe breed. This horse by keen judges would probably be voted the pick of the four, but Figaro, a magnificent dapple-grey, is a more taking animal at a glance, having more of the trotting than draught Ptallion about him. Another noble animal is Mustapha, a roan, of similar build to Bayard, but bigger. The smallest horse of the four is L'Africaine, whose raven coat, without even a single white hair, shows him to be aptly named ; he is less taking in appearance than the others on account of his plain head, but has beautiful action, especially from the knee, and is a most decided multum in parvo."

There is no doubt that as the Percheron horse becomes known in Australia there will be a run upon the breed, and that further importations will" take place, either from France or America. Who will be the first to introduce the Percheron into New Zealand ? In this article I purpose giving a few brief characteristics of the Percheron horse.

Colour. — The prevailing colour of the breed is very showy — being a beautiful dapple grey. I have before me six portraits of different animals, including both stallions and mares, and they are all grey, some much darker than otherß. Advertisements of these horses by Mr W. Dunham, the great American importer, invariably represent the colour as dapple grey! Ab will be seen, however, by the horses -imported into Melbourne, the colour is not always grey, being occasionally roan, brown, and even black. Dv Hays, a French writer on horses, is quite eloquent on the subject of the colour of his favourite breed, the Percheron. He says: "While acknowledging my preference for the grey horse over a horse of a different shade, I am now very far from showing myself exclusive, and quarrelling with the mass of enlightened persons who seem desirous of adopting the dark coloured coats. I only desire one thing, and that is to save the Percheron race, and to preserve to Perche its prosperity and its glory. ... I liked the grey horse, because I thought that Providence had created it grey in order that it might be able to withstand, during ita work, the heat of the sun, and not be prostrated under its rays. I liked it grey, as the Arab likes his horse grey, and his bou'rnous of a white colour ; as the American planter likes his white cotton suit and his panama. I liked it grey, because it seemed to me to recall more than any other the Arab, the primitive horse ; because Perche having always possessed grey horses, I thought there was much more chance of finding under this coat the type of the country ; because I -had been rocked to sleep to the tune of that old ballad of ancestors, celebrating CharJes de Trie, the Percheron Seigneur, going forth to •ombat the English at the Battle of Poictiers—

On charger white Tha airo ol Tda Ajj>\insfc the foe Haa gone to war, fc«. ICT!2S tyu a *£$' a ? ri ?S m ? infancy I bad orBatSJTO tn'a atffffc of tb^ bid msatißorMs

making mention of the white Percheron mares. I liked it grey because for the service of the past, coaches and carriers in their long stages, in the middle of the night, the grey horse appeared to me more easy to guide than tbe horse of a dark colour."

Size and Appearance. — In regard to height, the Percheron varies from 14f to 16 hands. The breod is classified thus :*— The light Percheron, with sanguine temperament ; the draught Percheron, with lymphatic temperament ; and an intermediate type partaking of the lightness of the one, and the muscular forca of the other. The general charactsristics of the old Percheron race ara tbe following : — It has style, though the head is rather large and long ; nostrils well open and well dilated ; eye large and expressive ; forehead, broad ; ear, fine ; neck, rather short, but well-filled out ; withers, high ; shoulders, pretty long and sloping ; breast rather flat, but high and deep ; a wellrounded body ; back, rather long ; the croup, horizontal and muscular ; tail, attached high ; short and strong joints ; a foot always excellent, although rather flat in the low countries and natural meadows ; a grey coat ; fine skin ; silky and abundant main.

Strength and Endurance. — In France these horses were almost universally used as post horses, travelling their lengthy stages with ease ; and though they have of late increaspd in _ size, they are still very active. In the opinion of those who have had experience with them in America, of all draught breeds they are the Wst for farm wock, being equally at home in the plougn or the waggon. For sound feet, strong legs and joints, and powerful muscles they are remarkable, being haidy, long-lived, and less subject >to disease than other breeds. In recent number of the British Journal of Agriculture an English writer remarks : " The horses of Normandy are a capital race for hard work and scanty fare. I have never elsewhere seen such horses at the collar. Under the diligence post carriages, or cumbrous cabriolet, or on the farm, they are enduring and energetic beyond description. With their necks cut to the bone, they flinch not. They keep their condition when other horses would die of neglect and hard treatment." Another writer remarks: "What the Percheron has done in the diligences, mail, and post coaches, is known»to everybody ; and it is useless to repeat it. From one relay to another, never dragging less than two and more often three thousand pounds, in hot weather and cold, and over hilly, difficult roads, he "made his three leagues to the hour easily, and sometimes four. What he does in the omnibuses, the world that visits Paris realises and admires, and this is one of the principal attractions of the Per cheron horse to the intelligent stranger." And Dv Hays, whom I have previously quoted, says : "To no ordinary strength, to vigour which does not degenerate, and to a conformation which does not exclude elegance, it joins docility, mildness, patience, honesty, great kindness, excellent health, and a hardy elastic temperament. Its movements are quick, spirited, and light. It exhibits great endurance, both when hard worked, and whan forced to maintain for a long time any of its natural gaits, and it possesses the inestimable quality of moving fast with heavy loads. It knows neither the whims of bad humour nor nervous excitement." * The following instances of the endurance of the Percheron horse have been published. A grey mare performed the following match :— Harnessed to a travelling tilbury, she started from Bernay at the same time as the mail courier from Rouen to Bordeaux, and arrived before it at Alengon, having made upwards of 55 miles over a hilly and difficult road, in 4 hours and 24 minutes. A grey mare, seven years old, harnessed to a tilbury travelled 58 miles and back on two consecutive days, going at a trot, and without being touched by a whip. The distance was made on both occasions in about four hours. Other facts might be given to sbow the strength and endurance of the Percheron, these qualities not merely belonging to particular animals, but being characteristics of the breed. Added to which are the fine traits of affection for its owner, an innate confidence in the man who is the companion of its labour.

It has been said that for farm work there is no horse better than the Percheron, as he is just as much at home in the plough as in the waggon. Being naturally an active animal, it may be presumed that he is invariably a good and quick walker. And I may here remark that one of the chief points in a farmer's horse should be the pace he usually walks. What farmers want is not a dull, sluggish horse, whose walk is at the rate of perhaps three miles an hour, but a horse that goes over the ground quickly. Some little time since an English wi iter was discussing the desirability of adopting the American practice of offering prizes for the best walking horses. He remarks that incalculable benefit would be reaped if the walk of ordinary horses could be accelerated a single mile per hour beyond what is now general. Horses should walk five miles per hour just as naturally and easily as three to three and a-half, and rarely four miles, as is now the rule. All the farm, and much of the country road and town street horse-work is done at a walk. It costs no more to feed a smart walker than it does a slow one, and frequently nob so much. Now let anyone, calculate the profit and advantage of using the former in preference to the latter. Let the farmer see how much more land per day he can get ploughed and harrowed; how many more loads of hay, straw, grain, and vegetables he can take to market ; and how much more rapidly he is able to accomplish all his other work, and he will have little patience in keeping a slow-walking horse any longer. It has been suggested that agricultural societies ought to give good premiums fast-walking horses, the highest prize to be awarded to the one which walked five miles per hour, the second to four and a-half miles, and the third to four miles. This last should be the least distance for which to award a prize, and all breeds should be allowed to compete. Now here is a description of the farmer's horse par excellence. His horse must be strong enough to draw the plough, the farm waggon, the reaping and mowing machine, and active enough to draw him and his family comfortably on the road at the rate of six or eight miles an hour without banging themselves up. The farm horse must be pre-eminently one of courage and endurance ; and the mythical legs of ivory, sinews of steel, and of iron are none too good for his necessities. He must be hardy, energetic, and docile. The lazy, dull, sluggish horse is a nuisance on the farm ; if he has a fitting place anywhere in the economy of Nature it is in the cities, harnessed to the ponderous drays and truck waggons, where a gait faster than two miles an nour would be unorthodox. One instinctively associates this gait with ponderous weight in the horse, a ponderous load behind him, and a smooth level street for his work. But on the farm where rows of corn are to be ploughed, and the teams must about face, or wheel to the left, every five, ton, or fifteen minutes, one does not care to have his patience tried with a horse that cannot turn round more than three or four times between breakfast and dinner time, or that cannot step off briskly over the soft ploughed ground, or up and down the hillside. Neither does he want one so light di bwdy or of limb that trtna constant draught

of the plough or the reaping machine would soon break him down through sheer weight ; or so mettlesome that he will tug on the bit and fret and prance all day until he and the driver are botli worn out.

The great question is how to get such a horse— how to get such a breed. There is little doubt that a -mixture of the NormanParcheron with a large number of the mares in this Colony would produce a decided improvement in the breed of horses, especially in regard to stamina, endurance, strength, and activity. It is to be hoped that before long there will be breeders enterprising enough to introduce the Percheron into New Zealand. William Mokoam,"

Pukekohe East.