A CRITICISM OF OUR CLYDESDALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 21

A CRITICISM OF OUR CLYDESDALES.

; I A letter signed " Clydcside " appears in a recent issue of the ScoUkb Farmer which has some inteiest for our readers, as the writer appears to have more than a passing acquaintance with t ho points of a Clydesdale. After dealing .vith the weather con- ; ditions which had prevailed la6t year and the price of gram. " Clydeside " turns his attention o the horse parade at Invercargill, of which he write*:— There were four imported hordes forward, and. with the exception of Mr Irving's Royal Derby, were quite recent arrivals, and 6een in public for the first time. These were Mr , D. MacdonaJd's Sir Thornley, Mr Walter , Blackie 's Sir Neville, and Mr James Drain's Sir Norman, all three-year-olds, and, as their prefix implies, all from the , Park Mains Stud. Royal Derby was bred by Mr J. Wallace, Cumberland, end is got by Crown Derby. He is a gay, cleanlogged, clifty-looking horee, and he has improved considerably since his arrival here last year. His owner has credit by him. He did not seem to move too freely in front, but he mo-»es close. I may state that Mr Irving is one of the pluckiest importer* we have got, and it does need." some pluck to bring a valuable horse all i the way out here. He it was who im- ' ported Baron Fyvie. besides some other?, and he hae Silver Crest on the way out now. An account of his purchase and" sailing appeared in the last issue of the Scottish Farmer to hand. Sir Thornley is- , by Sir Hu R o, and was bred by Mrs Andrew, in Kintvre. This is a massive horse for his age. with a grand top and pleasing" outlook. He may not be all one would 1 bke at the gvound, his legs not beint? of the very quality fort. Otherwise ho is the making of a great cart horse. Sir Neville is by Goshawk, and bred at SeaI ham Harbour, out of a Holyrood mare. ' This is a quality kind of horse, with good! feet, s-ery true at the ground all roun<: 7 . i He is just now a bit lengthy of his top. ! but may improve as he goes on. Tbn fourth one is Sir Norman, a black colt bred by Mr Douglas. Balcaimey, Ayrshire, by I Dunure Ca^le out of a Montrave Mao mare. His breeding should do. I understand he was first as a foal .and as a yearling- at Girvan. All this colt wants is height. He has got a nice short top. and well-sprung ribs, with his legs well sei j under him, and a forefoot to please. Thesp young horses should do a lot of good to , the districts in which they are placed. , They have all thickened considerably sincp j landing, but it cannot be said of any of 1 them that they have grown much. The fame can be said of Baron Fyvie and' others landing here at the age of two ' years off. As a rule, they arrive her« in the summer with their Home winleccats well crown, and after a month or ,co the coat is cast again. Whether casting their coats three times in the 12 months j afl'ecte their growth or system I cannot j .say, but they certainly fjrow «-cry little after it. 'Hie Dunedin show took plaop on Thuisday, 10th October. The weather was fine, and thore was a good ntteiulancp of farmers J and otheis interest pd. There were 22 eniproil in the aged cla>s. and 17 in the three-year-old class, and I do not think there were two absentees. The parade ! started in the large judging enclosure >n the society's show ground at 11 o'clock, and after viewing the horses on parade fo • half an hour the three-year-olds returnee? to their stalls, and thp judging of tha older horsp* besan. Fxcent Sir Thornlev. none of the imported horses «hown at Invcreargill was shown here. The imccr--tations here were Mr James Patrick's Pr'dfl of Npwton and Newton Chief, the latter of winch did not comnele; Mr D. Macflonald's Sir Thornlev, Mr Gardiner's Baron Fvvie, Messrs Callander and Webster's