HORSES IN HWW ZEALAND

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2173, 15 July 1889, Page 2

HORSES IN HWW ZEALAND

At the opening cf the new Dunedln Horae Baleyarda (Ateairs Weight, Stephenson and Oo's) Dr Cough tray, m proposing the toast of •• The Horse Trade," said that Dooedin could produoe the finest horses m the Oolony, sod horses that were worih anything could always oommand a fair and deoent prtoe. He desired, however, to make a few remarks whioh wonld give the company food for thought. He fonnd that, while m 1858 there were only 14,912 horaes m the Oolony, there were i i 1887 as many as 190,000 ; and of these about 48,000 or 49,000 belonged to Otigo and Southland. —(Applause). The draught atook was comparable with anything he had seen In aay part of the world, bat he urged that they should pay more attention to the breeiiug of light horses, and they would thereby within a very short spaoe of time materially Increase the assets of the Oolony. By Improving light horaes m the matter of size, strength, and compactness, they might Increase their value m a single year by £2 or £3 a head. If, say 100,000 horaeß were improved In the oiurae of two years to the amount of £3 eaoh that meant that the assent of the Oolony would be Inoreased by £300,000, and it alsa meant that a greater namber of horses would be adapted for exportation. He maintained that New Zealand was the natural country to furnlah the horaes for the Indian army, and. that from the rigor of its climate it was eminently suited to supply the markets of Melbourne and Sydney. List year the number of horaaa exported to Yiotorla waa 511, and to Now South Wales 333. The exports to Ylotoria, New South Wales, Qaeeneland, Tasmania, Fiji, Oaloatta and the South Sea Islands ware 1664, It they exported 15*000 every year aud Improved them to the extent of £5 only by oareful breeding, then the Increase In the value of the ex* porti for the year would be £75,000.