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ON THE BREEDING OF HORSES.

PART I. It is with much regret that we have observed a great falling oif of late years in the breed of horses in the Northern Island. Time ■was when our horses would bear a very respectable comparison with the horses of any ot the Colonies, for stoutness, powers of endurance, and those other qualities which are so_ eminently requisite to form a good horse. We have yet amongst us some good specimens of the class of horse to which we particularly refer, old now certainly, but still serviceable, and from which the observer may judge of the kind of horse which can be produced in New Zealand. There is, for instance, that beautiful little grey gelding “ Boots,” (the property of Mr. Tifieu), who! for stamina, pluck, and speed, it would be well to endeavour to produce his match. Then we have “ Charley Napier,” a crack horse, own brother to “Boots,” and a very successful racer. This horse is possessed of great bottom and pluck, and we believe has never been beaten ; —“ we ne’er may see his like again.” These two excellent horses were got by “ Figaro,” a thoroughbred horse (imported to New Zealand in 1841 by Mr. Ridwell) bred in New South Wales by Mr. Icely. We are not aware that “Figaro” ever did much on the turf, but of this we are certain, that his stock were, when got out of good mares, remarkably fast, and have done great things at our own local races. The . objection, and that a serious one too, raised to this breed of horses, is their very uncertain temper. That vice known in the colonies as “ bucking,” has arrived at a perfection worthy of a virtue in these horses, by reason of which the breaking of them in was a task not easily performed, and caused many a plucky rough rider to come to grief with a vengeance. Then we had in those days past, that very fine thoroughbred “ Riddlesworth,” a horse bred by Mr. Thornhill in 1837, got by “ Erailius,” dam “ Bee-in-a. bonnet“ Riddlesworth ” was imported Wellington by the Hon. Mr. Petre about the year 1843—he was taken over to Nelson in 1857, and died there in 1861. By this horse, was got some of the fastest and best horses we have ever had, all remarkable for points combining great power and beauty. The next entire of note was “ Rubens,” a grey New South Wales Arab, the property of Mr. St. Hill. This horse was remarkable for his speed (by the way, we find no note of this beautiful little horse in the New Zealand Stud Booh). He ran successfully in the Wellington, in the Wanganui, and Hutt Turf, for four or five years, against some very respectably fast horses, and we never heard of his being being beaten. He was possessed of singular beauty of appearance, having about as handsome a forehead and crest as any horse we ever saw. All his stock show the same striking characteristic and are likewise noted for speed and endurance, they are not a large class of horse, rather small, 14| to 15 hands, head well set on, with “ fine and strong frame, sinews well and strongly developed, and standing out, stout barrel,

andwell-made muscular hocks and fore-arms, but rather deficient about the quarters. “ iEther,” bred by the Duke of Grafton, imported to Wellington by the hon. Mr. Petre, in 1843, died in Auckland in 1859, the sire of “ St. Pattick,” the sire of “ Charles O’Malley,” was another first-rate horse, but of him we know less than of the other horses mentioned, beyond that his blood is much esteemed by breeders. “ Glaucus,” another wellknown and e steemed horse, was bred by Capt. Hunter, in New South Wales. Imported to Nelson by Mr. Redwood in 1852. “Of this horse we find the following notice in the New Zealand Stud Book ” —“‘Glaucus’ was a remarkakbly fast horse in New South Wales, where he raced successfuly at several meetings. He also ran well in Nelson. After serving three seasons in Nelson, he was sold to Mr. Fox and sent to Wellington. All these fine horses are gone, and little of them is left to tell the tale of their exploits and renown, except a meagre notice in the Stud Book, and the sound of their names, which acts as a kind of war-cry amongst the breeders. They have passed away, and like the “ baseless fabric of a vision,” have left hardly a trace behind. It is to recover, in a measure, the ground which has been lost, and to call the attention of the wealthy among our stock-owners to the fact of the rapid degeneration of the present generation of horses, when compared with those “local celebrities” which we have named in the early part of this paper, that we take upon ourselves the responsible but agreeable duty of drawing comparisons between the past and the present, and inviting an honorable emulation in reproducing their like. In this purpose, it is our belief, and the belief of most men practically acquainted with horse breeding, that nothing less than a thoroughbred horse will do. Half breds and three parts breds, or horses any way deficient in blood, will never get the right sort of stock, and it is therefore wasted time and wasted expense to attempt breeding from them. We don’t object to three-parts and half-bred mares, providing that they are possessed of good points and qualities, and are, above all, good mothers, yielding plenty of milk. The mongrel bred horse will come up from a foal, somehow or other, let the conditions under which he passed his youth be what they may, but not so with the thoroughbred colt or filly; they must have abundance of nourishment when young, or otherwise, notwithstanding their pedigree, they will turn out but weedy articles. We quite agree with Mr. Elliott, the industrious and accurate compiler of the New Zealand Stud Book, that the climate of New Zealand is admirably adapted, before the climate of any other part of the world, for the production of any kind of horse; and we are decidedly of opinion that with care and judicious management in the breeding, a class of horse would, in the fulness of time, be produced in this country, independent of any external aid, which would take its rank amongst the other celebrated breeds of horses through the world. And we should hear of the New Zealand horse, as we now hear of the Arabian, the English, and other renowned breeds. (To he Continued.)

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBT18630126.2.6

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 26 January 1863, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,097

ON THE BREEDING OF HORSES. Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 26 January 1863, Page 2

ON THE BREEDING OF HORSES. Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 26 January 1863, Page 2

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