ROLE OF THE HORSE IN HISTORY

Southland Times, Issue 24000, 15 December 1939, Page 22

ROLE OF THE HORSE IN HISTORY

Tracing Ancestry Of Modern Clydesdale

TIE horse has filled the role of friend and helper of man for many centuries. Most authorities are agreed that the draught horse has evolved from the Lower Eocene Period. Nevertheless the first actual proof of the existence of the horse appears to date back to the time of the Israelites. Not until the arrival of the Israelites in Egypt, is the first allusion made to the horse.

draught horses must be said to date their In the latter part of the eighteenth century, the agriculturists of Norfolk and Suffolk paid special attention to the cart horse which, though regarded as a plain horse, was said to be level and symmetrical. He was a low set, longbacked horse, with shoulders too far forward, and a deep barrelled horse. The improved Suffolk is lighter and quicker than the old breed with a low, powerful shoulder, and very drooping croup. The legs are very clean and wiry. It was also about this time that the farmers of Lincolnshire produced what was known as the dray horse, magnificently shaped horses, which enjoyed great popularity. They were the produce of a cross between the Old English black and the Flemish horse. Clydesdales are renowned for their activity, hardiness and good temper. They are at the same time high spirited and courageous, and require handling with more intelligence and kindness than is usually allotted to other breeds of heavy horses. The outstanding points of this breed have always been large, open feet, and heels well set on clean, well-defined pasterns, sloping back to the fetlock joint, and from which should hang delicate, silky hair, reaching down to the heels behind, and fringing gracefully over the coronet, the outlines of which should not be hidden. The cannon bones should be hard and flat, and the legs should show the tendons standing out clear and strong, as in a thoroughbred or Arab. Points Of Horse THE knee should be broad, strong and firm, while from the inside and down the sharp inner edge of the leg should hang long, silky hair, gradually increasing in quantity until it reaches the fetlock joint. The tendons and muscles above the knee should be well defined, rising and swelling gradually into a muscular forearm, like the biceps of an athlete. The shoulders of the Clydesdale are usually more oblique than in other breeds; this is bound to be the case, as the sloping pastern must give a sloping shoulder above it to give a true natural balance. The hind, as well as the front feet, should be large and open, the pasterns moderately sloping and well defined, the fetlock joints clean and hard, and absolutely free from fleshiness. The whole hind leg should be well behind the body of the animal, with the strength of the thigh throwing the hock inwards rather than outwards, thus keeping the whole of the propelling power of the animal within its centre of gravity. The head is usually broad and intelligent, and the eyes large and full, with something of kindly inquiry in them. The ears are large and widely set, but mobile and full of attention, a dropping ear or dull, heavy eye being very rare.

The nature of the original stock which formed the foundation of the modern European horse is extremely doubtful. Sir Walter Gilbey claims it for the Shire horse, while Lord A. Cecil is of the opinion that it is associated with Clydesdale. Both may be right, as certain points could well be developed from the original stock to make them now so different. When the Romans invaded Britain they found the people in the possession of horses, using them for their chariots as well as for riding.

According to Sir Walter Gilbey, of the descendants of the old English Great Horse or War Horse, the Shire is the oldest form of horse in England. One thousand years ago this horse was written of as “the Great Horse,’ and nearly one thousand years before that evidence is available which goes to prove that the same stamp of horse existed in Britain. This type of horse, so much used in agriculture, traces back to the direct descendants of the horse which Julius Caesar found in England, and which attracted his attention for its efficiency as a war horse in the service of the ancient Britons. The Great Horse was essentially a war horse until the. middle ages in England, up to which time general haulage was performed by oxen. Breeding Checked DURING the Wars of the Roses horse breeding was seriously checked, but as many as a hundred stallions were imported in the reign of King John from the Netherlands, and according to Sir Walter Gilbey it is from this blending nearly 700 years ago of these animals with this English breed that some strains at least of our heavy

The early horses introduced into Australia came from the proximity of India and the Cape of Good Hope, and were of somewhat inferior quality. In 1835 great efforts were made by several enterprising settlers, both on the island of Van Dieman and also on the Continent of Australia, and several horses of good breeding were imported from England, especially by Mr Wilmore, of Van Dieman’s Land. For a time progress was by no means rapid, for as a well-known breeder of Clydesdales in Victoria remarked as far back as the early 90’s there were many people who had hardly grasped the idea that the Clydesdale was a special breed at all; they appeared to think that “everything depends on chance, cheapness, good care and generous treatment.” The past 40 years,, however, has quite dispelled any such views. Numerous breeders in all parts of the Dominion, and perhaps more particularly the South Island, have developed this breed to its fullest extent. Importations have been numerous, and usually breeders have spared no expense to obtain the best that money could buy. It is due to their enterprise and painstaking efforts that, so many specimens of outstanding quality are regularly paraded at all the leading shows.

Farmer’s Mainstay THE draught horse has from the earliest days of agriculture been the mainstay of the farmer. Experience during recent years, too, suggests that for the time being at least the horse supplies the economy and dependability, which are important factors to successful farming. Modern transport devices, instead of taking the place of the horse, may more truly be regarded as supplementary. Thus, though to a degree the horse may disappear from the roads, there are many tasks associated with the primary production, which he alone can efficiently perform. While mechanization of farm plant and transport has taken a rightful place in present-day agriculture, there is no question that the horse has returned to favour for many farm operations. A good demand has peen evident during the past few years for good draught horses of the right type, not only in New Zealand, but also in Australia, io which country a number of exports have been made from this Dominion in recent years.

Since 1911 when the peak number of 404,000 was reached, the horse population of the Dominion has decreased tremendously. In the years 1929-34 the number shrank from 298,986 to 273,906, and in the last two years of that period the decrease amounted to over 7000. This reduction applied to all classes, as, although there was an increased demand from farmers for working horses, this was offset by the lessened demand for heavy horses in the urban areas.

A perusal of the pedigrees of Clydesdale horses through the various stud books discloses that many horses prominent today have originated from original entries in the register, on the fen?- 1 ' side of which Mhere was no recorded pedigree. Bred on good lines thereafter, of which records were kept, many of these Clydesdales became the tap-root of present-day prize winners. Had the original promoters of the draught horse book insisted on a “clean” pedigree for the original volume it is to be feared that the completion of the register would have been much impeded.