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New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XII, Issue 750, 21 July 1904, Page 8

The Australian horse of eighty years ago was a very different animal from the Australian of modern times (says the “Live Stock Journal’ ). The greater part of the breeding stock in New South Wales had been imported from Cape Colony and from India ; ver. little judgment was employed in the selection, and very few horses of good quality could have been procured from either place. The consequence (says a writer in 1824) was that “they are principally of the nag kind, and bred without much care. They are not very sightly in appearance, being narrowchested and sharp-backed, and sadly deficient in the quarters. They have an incurable habit of shying, and they are not very sure-footed.” Youatt, in quoting this passage, adds that the New South Wales horses are seldom stabled, but “are supposed to be healthier and better able to endure fatigue when kept in the open air. This, however is probably only an excuse for neglect. Even so good an authority as Youatt was not aware that horses are all the better for life in the open air.