HOW TO IMPROVE OUR HORSE STOCK

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 62, 21 September 1872, Page 3

HOW TO IMPROVE OUR HORSE STOCK

(From the Town and Countky.)

Phal'oiit. The first step to take in the improvement of any class of stock in to,cull the females and select on! y such of them as are reully fit to breed from. We will suppose til at this has been done by the breeder of draught horses, and that he is looking for the right sort of horse to put to his mares. Ifere he would be guided by their character. If they are really first-class heavy draught he might put the English dray horse or the heavy Clydesdale to them with profit; for although heavy draught horses are only Huitcd for town work, the demand for them is good --there being but few offering. For the generality of our draught mares, however, there is no doubt but the medium sized, compact, active, shortlegged Clydesdale, with a good rein and head, would be the best sire. When we consider the heat of our climate, and the short supply of food on the roads, there is no question but the progeny of this claw of horse would he best suited for general carrying purposes ; and for farm work they would be the very thing. Even with comparatively light mares such a horse would get useful stock ; for if they had not substance enough for slow draught, they would with good bends and reins, and the comparatively high forehead of the Clydesdale, be excellent horses for heavy spring carts and vans. The Suffolk would make a good sire for some of our mares ; hut he is rat her long in the back for the generality of them. LioiiT llaitiVKSH.—Here again the first step is the culling and selection of marcs ; and all that are not good in the shapes, especially in the head and neck, should be rejected. The choice of a suitable sire for getting light harness horses will depend altogether upon the sort of dam, the light harness horse being generally a cross-bred animal, and as has been already pointed out, produced in a good many ways. Thus, il the mare sis comparatively large, the more correct, practice of the present system is to put a well-bred

waddle horse t.o her ; while if she is of a medium

size, a couching horse or hunter is used ; and if the dam be small a comparatively large horse, say a compact, well-topped, small sized Clydesdale or >Suf-

folk I'unch is selected. Light, harness horses are bred in nil these three different. ways ; but unless from the true broil couching horse, coupled with well-bred Tim res, or from the thorough-bred hunter, with the light draught mare, with verv poor success. The fact in that, light harness or saddle horses cannot be bred successfully or profitably, unless the pure bred sire, or the coaching horso thoroughbred, 01 Arab is used. Of the true pure bred coaching horse, (.here is scarcely a representative in the enlnny. The only one the writer knows is " Denmark,' 1 belonging to Mr E. IT. Woodhouse, Mount Crilead <'anipbelltown. We are therefore eon fined to tlu xise of the thoroughbred and Arab ; and the propel course for breeders of light, harness and saddle horse: who leave not thoroughbred mares, would, therefore be to select upstanding, well-shaped, active draugh' mures, with i/ood rein and head, and put a compile; thoroughbred or Arab horse to them. If the prodm < was a horse lie would most probably bring a gooc price as a stylish carriage horse ; and if a mare o good size, shape, and style, as she would most likeh be, she also should be put to a compact thoronghbrec Or Arab, and the progeny would be either of a lighi harness, or upstanding saddle horse stamp, accordine to the size of the sire. The mares again of this grade should likewise be put to a thoroughbred' or Arab according to her size, and so on, till the stock becanu —if it ever did so—too small to breed from witl profit, when the mares should be used for work only and if the owners desired to continue breeding lighi harness or saddle horses, ho ought to go back to one oi other of the steps mentioned in the course of breedim here indicated—keeping to his thoroughbred sire and upon no account breeding from half or three quarter bred entires. Whether the exact course o breeding here sketched be followed or not, breeder: of horses may depend that as with respect to eattli and sheep, so with horses and all other sorts of stock the greatest certainty of like begetting like, follow; the coupling of two pure animals of the same family' the next by putting to pure animals of the same breed together; and the next by coupling a thorough bred sire and a cross or grade dam—which is all wc c:m do—while perhaps only in one ease out of ter do certain and satisfactory results follow the coupling of half or three-quarter bred animals. To put half bred colonial entires on account of their size to mare; of a somewhat similar stamp, and to expect that liki will beget like, as the term is generally understood is sheer folly, and t,lie proof of this—were prooj needed —'" ill be found in the very inferior character of our light harness and saddle horses which art nearly nil the descendants of cross-bred sires. Owners may begrudge disposing of such of their mares as art unfit to be put to the stud at the low prices thc\ bring, but better give them away for nothing thai' keep a lot of unprofitable animals eating grass (even horso is said to eat or destroy and cost, as much a": three head of horned cattle), and breeding weeds anc mongrels, which sell in Sydney from Is to £1 pei boid. They may also dislike expending from £80 h £200 in the purchase of a good thoroughbred colt but they would be very satisfied to do so, for witl the right stamp of mares from time to time, to ten o the colts of such a aire (to say nothing of the fillie: kept to improve the stud), would, in a single year repay the whole outlay for the sire, and such a sin would most likely bring in besides a good round sun annually for the service of mares belonging to owner; in the neighbourhood. Saddle Houses.—lf careful selection: and clost culling were necessary in the case of draught and lighi harness mares, much more is it in those intended tt breed saddle horses, for if a mistake was made in tin selection of mares in either of the former breeds the produce, although inferior in shapes and style could from their size be turned to some use or other

but among our saddle stock there are many thousands of mares winch, although put to good sires, would produce nothing but mongrels and weeds, £t only for boiling down, and disposing of them in that way the net proceeds would' not average over one-fourth of the return from cattle which are melted, while horses cost three times as much proportionately for grass and management,. As to our supply of dams for breeding saddle stock, we have—First: The thoroughbred mares which would be nearly all suitable; second;

There are the well, nearly thoroughbred, mares, thb ■ majority of which are also lit for the atud; wo have —third ; The upstanding light harness mares of good shapes and style, which might nearly all be bred from; ww have—fourth: The medium-sized saddle mare i showing some breeding, from whicli not more than one out of every ten should be selected from the stud; we have—fifth: The small-sized saddle mares, from which not more than one out of every 'fifty should be picked for breeding; and ive_have —sixth:: A whole host of light weedy inoagrels, which ought to be boiled down or spayed. From what has been said'in treating of the breeding of light harness stock, it wii! be gathered that n -thing but thoroughbred or Arab sues ought to be used in getting saddle horses. Some middling upstanding hades have been got by what are termed well-bred hunters and coaching entires; but these themselves are the result of a cross, and their stock seldom to be depended upon. Even a small Clydesdale, Suffolk Punch, or Cleveland of the right stamp, coupled with light saddle mares, might produce a saleable animal, and one that might be useful for some sorts of work, but then to adopt such a cross would be contrary to the true principles of correct breeding, and the mares got in this way ought not to be bred from.

TuoitouonniiKD v. Aicab.—lt has been hero recommended to the breeders of light harness and saddle horses, to use the stout thoroughbred or Arab according to the description of their mares - , and, it might be added, according to-the purpose for which the stock are bred. If they are intended for racing, there is no doubt but the thoroughbred sire should be selected; if for general purposes,, either the stout thoroughbred or Arab may be Jused, according to the size of the mares. To get good stock that would not be reckoned too small and light, the Arab must be put to comparatively large, roomy, upstanding mares, for it is the opinion of everyone who.has paid ■ any attention to the subject, that the progeny of the Arab, out of medium-sized saddle mares, would, with his points of carriage, compactness, and endurance, have also the fault of being undersized, and would seldom- reach fifteen hands. They would no doubt, though sin,ill, get through more v.ork, and do it. more pleasantly than most of the larger horses (so generally woidd ponies) ; but the breeder must produce horses that will sell at paying prices, and anything under fifteen hands being considered too small for gentlemen's hacks, and light harness horses could only be disposed of for, delying or to work hard, for which poor and unreinunerative prices are paid. Again, as there is every variety of thoroughbred there is little doubt that by making the proper selection, a larger sire with nearly as much stoutness, comparatively, as the Arab possesses, can be. obtained, although for such a horse the price may be high. The advocates for the introduction of the Arab in preference to thoroughbred when they quote the success of the Arab in early days iu England, and in this colony about twenty-five years ago, entirely overlook the fact that the mares with which the Arab got such wonderful stock were in both instances large and roomy, as well as carefully bred ; and the stock iu

consequence while falling oil' in size, were still largi enough to need the fifteen hands limit. If we hac. the same dams, we might again obtain the like re' suits ; but unfortunately mares ot' the right stain}: are not to be had, the unfortunate draught cross ii: the gold-digging times, some eighteen or twenty year.ago, having ruined the greater part of our breeding mares, and left, us a lot of mongrels. There seetnt little doubt but that all would, add to tile stoutness and endurance of our light harness and saddle horses as well as improve them in carriage and style, by breeding from the Arab, but as the improvement would not be an immediate one, but rather an apparent falling off, breeders generally will not fry tht experiment. A few enterprising breeders, among whom we may mention the Messrs White, of the Upper Hunter, and Messrs W. J. and A. A. Danger, of Singleton, have however, again taken to the Arab as a sire, and it is hoped the venturo will in their case be attendee! with success. As they have good mares in id plenty of work for those of the stock that may prove too small to breed from, they are in a good position to make the experiment. The great advantage of the Arab in (England was not so apparent in their immediate descendants as in those of the second and third generations, and some of those breeders who can atl'ord to wait should put some of the largest thoroughbred mares to the Arabs mentioned, with the view of breeding sires, which, if not for racing, would for general purposes be an improvement on our present thoroughbred.