HORSE-BREEDING FOR PROFIT.-GENERAL UTILITY HORSES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 5

HORSE-BREEDING FOR PROFIT.GENERAL UTILITY HORSES.

The reaction in favour of draught horse breeding is one of the most hopeful signs of the times, and now that farmers are convinced that the breeding of good- sound cart stdck should pay, and pay well, nothing should deter them from pursuing what under favourable conditions must be, over a course of years, a most profitable pursuit. All interested in the subject know the necessity for this movement, and have had ample opportunities for impressing on their minds the despicable influences which mainly contributed to the deterioration of our draught "horse stock from the •high standard of excellence it had atcained a dozen years ago. Throughout the greater part of the seventies and eighties the possession of a reputation for breeding powerful, enduring, sound, and active cart horses carried with it the command of the top price in the market. Then came the collapse : the best mares

and young stallions were sold to go to the other colonies. So general was the virtual abandonment of the pursuit by erstwhile breeders of note that it may safely be affirmed that those of them in the southern provinces who retained their choicest animals in order to creditably follow up the pursuit could be counted on the fingers of one hand. It pleases those ■who retired, no doubt, to have, in view of the present movement, glorification of the remnants of their former studs, left on their ihands because unsaleable, but we must not get away from the fact that as regards draught stock we shall have to begin again to breed mares. There is a sad lack of suitable sires, but these may, and are likely to, be speedily introduced, unless we continue content with medium sorts. We have, however, too many of the latter description, and it rests with the breeder to use or discard them. As things are, we have a breed so vitiated that we have to breed the mares which 'are to put it right again, and a rigidly pure strain on the sires' side seems to be essential.

It has been wisely said that before a farmer -begins as a breeder of horses, he ought- to satisfy himself as to (1) the class of horse for wjiich there is the most continuous demand ; (2) what horses on the average command the best prices ; ' (3) whether any of the breeds that it would evidently pay to raise could be bred from animals that earn their livelihood in work on the farm. If the last condition is fulfilled the certainty of profit is assured. It is for this reason that many experienced breeders in the Home country say thai the harness horse, the class suitable for army remounts, or as hackneys, can be bred with a minimum of risk and a certainty of profit. It is a matter of common notoriety that in these southern provinces it has always been almost impossible to .procure a stout, active, sound horse of nhe kind. The few avßo had skill and judgment in the matter were dependent on supplies from Canterbury, procurable occasionally, but mainly on drafts from the North Island, whose resources, however, seem to have been exhausted two or three years ago. Since then drafts from New South' Wales have barely satisfied pressing needs. We are therefore justified in coming to the conclusion that there is a demand, that it is continuous, and that the prices .will well remunerate the breedei of honest, sound, high-class carriage, harness, and saddle horses. How then are we to produce $his type of animal? There are some who think it may be bred from strong, heavy, 'clumsy cart mares, but all the buyers, dealers, breeders, and workers of harness horses in the United Kingdom, who know most about it, say emphatically No. There are, of cour.se, exceptions to every line, and it may occur, with good luck, and jwhere the cart mare has action, courage, and endurance, that .such a mare may throw some useful and showy stock. But the risk in mating the two extremes, viz., ,the thoroughbred with the carl horse, or ,vice versa, seems to be that you get instead of a combination of the substance, ftftd jjerh&ns action* of the carl mare with

the quality and courage of the thoroughbred, either an animal all common or all light — either quality and no action, or no quality and good action, a common top and light bone, and nine times out of 10 an animal that is a slug without bottom. Authorities are numerous on this point. Now there is a way in which the farmer can make halfbred horse-breeding successful and very profitable. Let him provide himself, if he is without them' for farm work, with welltirnberecl strong mares, on short legs, with good action, always remembering that " action is beauty, pace and money." Lei. them be, above all things, sound and hardy, fit to do their full share of the farm work, and thereby alone more than pay for their keep. With mares like these he must succeed, for according to a noted English breeder : (1) If he uses a sound, robust, thoroughbred stallion, he will get one of three things : A grand carriage horse A valuable hunter At worst a trooper. (2) If he uses a " .stepping " hackney stallion, provided he has quality and size enough, he will get A very excellent carriage horse, with high action, but generally inferior in outline, as he runs the risk of getting the short hackney quarter, low-set tail, and short neck. II he uses a high-quality coaching stallion, with action, he may turn out the most magnificent match pairs of bays. Horses are more difficult than cattle or any other farm animal to breed to perfection, for, independent of shape, other qualities have to be sought for, especially action courage, and temper. Any defect in courage in an animal intended for great occasional exertion renders him unfit to be selected to continue an improved breed ; and whatever may be his pedigree, he has degenerated. There is little doubt the qualities of courage and endiu'ance which the Irish hunter is famed for are due to the fact that their good sires • are horses that have been tried themselves, and have been raced and hardened with severe Avork. It is notorious that some of the most successful Irish sires have been regular slaves, and in some instances have been driven to a race meeting, taken out, and, after running and winning, trotted home 10 Irish miles with a car laden with the rejoicing farmhand friends of the owner. One point with regard to young stock it is necessary to emphasise, and that is the importance of doing the best possible for foals between the time they are taken from the dams and the following,, summer. Hardiness of constitution is hereditary, like other qualities ; and the m inner in which young stock are reared tends greatly to confirm or diminish this.