CLYDESDALE HORSE STUD BOOK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2985, 31 May 1911, Page 14

CLYDESDALE HORSE STUD BOOK.

As the winter show is rapidly approaching, and a favourable opportunity wiiil then present itself for breeders of Clydesdales to meet and discuss matters of interest, the opportunity should be seized of determining what steps are to be taken in reference to the formation of a Clydesdale Stud Book. It is high time that such a record was available too reference. That a compilation of the kind is necessary, and will be more necessary every year, has been demonstrated by the Australian inquiries which come to this office for information in reference to horses which have been dead for the last 20 years, and which very few remember except in nanus. But apart from that, the time has now arrived when it will bo necessary for' our breeders to comply with the demands of foreign buyers, and the stipulation usually made is that an official authentic record is available for delivery with the purchased animal. Canadians insist on sire and dam being registered for several generations. The demand from Australia will not only be maintained annually, but increase. Tho quantity of new ground they are breaking up for wheat should be reassuring on that point. South Africa and the Argentina are markets which can Ibe profitably exploited, and the demand in these centres is rapidly increasing. It is often said that the breeders who can look ahead and anticipate the wants of a country are the most successful men ; and a splendid field for enterprise is opening out for the Clydesdale horse-breeder in New Zealand. The enterprise of our breeders has already been rewarded to some extent in Australia., and the demand there for the best clash seems to be insatiable. That of itself should encourage .breeders to continue their exertions. With the class of horses wis have in Ota-go there are rich prizes to be won, but one essential point will be insisted upon —viz., that official confirmation shall be available for every pedigree. Clydesdale breeders will not be so blind to their own interests that they will not support a stud book if it is controlled and managed, as it should be, by. a live secretary. Whether it iis initiated by a private firm, a breed society, or a metropolitan agricultural society, a good man will be necessary to keep records systematically and attend to inspection, etc. The stipulations made in reference to inv portations to. Canada and the States are being copied in other breeds by Argentine, and should give breeders serious cause for thought, and decide, them to proceed with an authentic stud book as rapidly as possible. At the last meeting of the Clydesdale Horse Society in Glasgow it was stated that some of the gold medals which tine society had been presenting in various parts of the world were withheld because the pedigrees of the winners were not recorded in an official stud book, even to the dam's pedigree. At the same meeting it was ailso stated that there had been a record export of 1029 mares and 502 stallions to various countries during the year from Great Britain. There are many farmers who could enlarge their operations if they wore sure of a .payable price, and they have at hand some of the best horses in the world to assist them in the production of high-class stock. If there is one thing more than another which would enable them to share the rewards which await their skill and ability, it is the institution of ah official record setting out the verified pedigrees of both the mares and stallions which have been made uco of. Both are necessary, and on© is no use without the other. The mere registration of a stud book and calling a horse a Clydesdale is not sufficient. The characteristic type and prepotency of the sire is only obtained bv a long line of ancestry, and if the stud book is to bo any use, the qualifications of each, entry will have to be carefully considered, and the question of how many generations constitute a purebred animal determined, but such considerations may remain in abeyance at present. The main thing is to get a start made.