THE BATTLE OF THE BREEDS:

Otago Witness, Issue 2273, 23 September 1897, Page 6

THE BATTLE OF THE BREEDS:

Bx a Station SnEPHanD.

I.— HORSES.

Ia every civilised country wllera cue dsstestic animal are bred in anything like l&rg* numbers, there is a coufciruial fight for supraroaoy amongsb the breeders of the different varieties. In tbe Home country — wbich is. nob o»1y tbe main " seat of war " in live-sfceek breeding, bub, also th» recruiting ground for every' country ia ths world — this battle of the breeds ia hocses, cw.t')«, aud sHeep is kept up with an amouab of en6Uusia*m vr kick' one must share before it cx.ll bs fully cempreV»end«d r Even tbe editorial " we "' of the agricultural press, ewsh have their own particular fancy, and a perfectly unbiassed writer on tho merits and demerit* of any particular breed ia nowadays almost; a r*r/t~'*vis Our early Burfoundißg* have no doubt niueh bo do with out leaning* later on. Iv nay own ease, ib was c-trly instilled into ma th>t the blood horse, tbe shorthorn bull, and the BorderLeicester ram were the. "thoroughbreds" of their respective racee, and though ypars-of work amongst almost every breed of Bsibiah * liv« stock has convinced me/that; aach breed has its own pecuH*r merite, yet I still adhere to the faith of my early me»tore.

I had intended confining my remarks to the battle in the catfclo and sheep section*, bob your leader en " Hotsss for the Home Market" induces me to nffera few remM'ki on vrbafc is in New Zealand a much neglected inelutiry. Seeing reguJarly tho reporte of the principal horse sates .ab Home, it has always to me appeared strange tbab the majority of N«w Zealand farmer* should s<> per&istently continue to hare •' all tbeir eggs in one b»sk«t," and especially when horao-breediDg might booanied on pretty extensively without materially affecting the output of the staple products — mutton and wool.

That there is practically an unlimited demand in England for upstanding, light-legged ' horses no one who has given the subject any consideration will attempt to deny, a*d there is in Nevr Zealand dqucb material in tbe thapo of roonay, well-bred mares- lyjiig ready to make a start with ; bub to cros^ with them we want some upstanding hackney and Cleveland Bar stallions. We have plenty of thoroughbreds and too many American trotters. Pace is all very well in its way, buk English geniJeniOM and jobmasters doing a high-class trade do n»b want wsedjr record-breakers ; they wast stylish bay or brown 15bd Sin to 16« d horses, with good knee and hock action, »nd thoroughly trained to single and double harness. For tbeie £60 to £100 each is readily obtained, and there is no reason why New Zealand should not export a large number annually, and, as you point omfc, breeding for this ex)»ort trade would naturally tend to raise the standard of our harness horses generally: New Ztalaoders are a horse-loving people, and I prwumc it would sound very much like an iosutfc to them to be told that in horsebroediag they are immeasurably behind Iriik farmers. Y«t it ie-a faefc, and the fault lies ia the raeu, as our climate and soil will compare

favourably with even the most fertile portions of the Emerald Isle. But in holdiog up Irish horse-breeders as beinsj worthy of imitation I must take cognisance of the fact that at present a section of them are strenuously opposing the introduction of Hackney b'ood into Ireland. This would, it is alleged, lower the high repu-. tation for stamina which Irish-bred horses have so deeervedly earned. This tear, however, c-xiets only in the imagination of those giving expression to it, as the Hackney, without in any way affecting the weariag powers of Irish horses, will give to their progeny out of Irish mares an arnouat of dash and show which bo obh«r breed possessea iv anything like the same degree. The war between the two sections of breedera may, however, wage pretty briskly for some years, aud it wiil simply end in the majority of breeders rearing the class which command* the best price and the readiest market. Thic, I think, will be the high-stepp'ng harness horse, aa though clever Irieh hunters — which, by the way, are the beet saddle horse 3in the world — will always command big and even fancy prices, yet in the breeding of these, as in all other classes of live stock, a, certain number of weeds must be calculated on, and these saddle weeds" are hard to cash even at bad pricss, while for the harness weeds there is always a deaiand for city van work at prices which pay for the rearing. There arc, of course, a large number of hors«s bred in Ireland which for general harness and saddle work oannot ba excelled, and which at almost any season of the year will command a price which amply remunerates the breed«r for the cost and risk of rearing. Standing 16bd or 16hd lib, with good clean legs, broad and flit in the bone, and without; any superfluous hair, with arms showing abundance of muscle, thighs well fleshed down, ribs well sprung and closely coupled to good long quarters ; good shoulders .clean at the wirhert, a fairly long iieck, with a good game, lean, blood-looking head well carried, makes up a class of horse common enough in Ireland, and which show power and quality io every lineameht of th<ir grand symmetrical frames. These, when trained, can make a respectable show either iv harness or the hueting field. One grand point about high-class Irish hordes is theic perfect traioiug, and if an export trade sbould ever spring up here this is one essential q.-ialifi-catioD which animals intended for export mu4 ih,ave if they ars expected to bring auything like paying prices. No matter fco v superb the action or how much quality is ehown, a taulty mouth, lack of manners, or any other defecb in training •will militate against the price in a degree which it would be very hard for some "horsey" men here to fully comprehend. The lack of Staining in New Zealand horses generally ii very apparent at shows, sales, &c , but this is a difficulty which time would remedy. Another drawback is. the scarcity of harue3S circs combining tiz-3, substance, and quality. This ia a want which the free use of a few Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire coaching stallions would supply. Horses of these crosses with a bit of hackney style and action fill the eye of the English buyer and so loosen his purse strings. The war between the two leading breeds of draught horses — shire and Clydesdale — was recently the subject of a leader in tbe Witness, so that ifc is uuneceeeary for me to dwell at »ny length on that part of my subject. Shire men have been breeding with an eye to city requirements, while Clyesdale fanciers hare been going in for style, action, good legs and feeN with the power of handling them. That Clydesdale breeders have been neglecting substance is very apparent by the gelding trade in Clydesdales when compared with that of fihiree. City brewerp, mJUen?, &0., demand first weight and power, and then as much show and action as nan be had. The proper blending of shire and Clydesdale blood is, according to sj high an authority as the secretary of the Clydesdale Horse Sjciety, tho way to breed gelding* thab will "lick creation." .£BO and £90 are common enough prices for thete "creation- beating" gddiugs. Sj that this part of the horsa export trade is well worthy of serious consideration.