DRAUGHT HORSE BREEDING.

Otago Witness, Issue 4033, 30 June 1931, Page 12

DRAUGHT HORSE BREEDING.

The present possibilities of draught horse breeding are well worth the consideration of farmers. Recent events m the horse world have done much to dissipate the idea that the day of the heavy horse has gone in the Dominion, while in the great Commonwealth of Australia there is clear evidence of a changed feeling towards the horse. The demand for draught stock appears to be general now that. farmers realise their economic value. The recent horse sale at the Taieri emphasised the genuine demand for unbroken upstanding geldings and fillies. Buyers came from Christchurch in the north and from Winton in the south, Canterbury province securing 40 animals at prices ranging from £25 to £35. Farmers, in fact, are beginning to realise that tractors, although useful, are costly, and necessitate an amount of care which, together with the annual depreciation, makes one think twice ere parting with tried breeding , mares. Writing from Canada, an official in the agriculture service of that Dominion says: “ There is a decided swing back to the horse in this country owing to conditions. Last fall the wheat farmers of the west found out that in hard times the cost of petrol and oil to operate 1 tractors and combines was practically ruinous. Accordingly this spring, those that can are buying horses, and ■ many more would if they had the money. 1 Personally I am of opinion that combines and tractors have done a great deal to bring about the present conditions in this country. Approximately a couple of thousand horses have been sold at auction in the Province of Alberta .this spring.” It is anticipated that more mares will be bred this year than for the last two or three. The tendency to swing back to horses is plain enough. The draught horse is no luxury on the farm. He is . ready at all times for all work under all conditions. Horse work is not held up by lack of petrol or kerosene or a shortage of mechanics and broken fittings or through wet weather. A Victorian farmer, writing to the Australian Farm and Home, put the matter > very fairly. He says, inter alia:

As one who has had a long experi- j enee in farming with both tractors and horses, and not with only one breed of < horses or one make of tractor, I cannot agree with the tractor salesman’s claim that the tractor is more economical and •eliable than horses. On this property

we have two and two teams of horses. At the present moment one of the tractors is in hospital and the other is dumping straw, while both teams are busy in the fallows doing good work. A great friend of mine, who* is interested in horses’ as well as other stud stock, paid me a visit during harvest. Two reaper-binders were at work, being nulled by horses, and that on a very warm day. just after the heavy December rains, with the crops well ripe and requiring immediate cutting. He asked me why I did not have the tractors pulling the binders and the horses carting to the stack. I had to admit that the big tractor had a broken axle and the other had run a big-end. You' should have seen him smile.

There is no denying the fact that the fuel for the tractor has to be purchased, most of the money going abroad, and the residue going up in smoke; whilst fuel for the horse is produced on the farm, and the residue goes to help to grow the next crop. If the farmer keeps a tractor and no horses and gets his work done quickly, sav in a fortnight, when it would have taken a month with the horse team, what has he gained ? Most likely nothing, because the remaining fortnight was spent in idleness, or, worse, perhaps, overhauling the tractor, with the prospect of -a nice bill for spare parts. It is more economical for the farmer to go to the paddock with a halter to catch a “ cylinder ” for his team than to go to the city for one for the tractor. Besides, after two or three years’ wear, the horse power can be sold at a profitable' price for city and other work, whilst the mechanical power cannot, so to speak, be given away. With proper management a horse farmer should be able to get all the power he requires for nothing by breed- • ing his own horses and handling them well. To-day there is a good demand (which is likely to continue) for good heavy horses for city work, and the breeding of such horses should show a profit in marked contrast to a tractor. It is questionable if a tractor after a few years’ wear and tear is worth the price of a team of aged draught horses, and good management should ensure a team of young, not old, horses in hand and the tractor probably on the scrap' heap. Yet our informant has a measure of respect for the tractor, and would keep one on the farm, as (when in order) it is handy and readily movable from place to place for belt work, such as threshing, chaffcutting, woodsawing, etc., and if the season is “ catchy ” it is most helpful in putting through a rush job, as it can be worked for long hours if required. By using the tractor as a stand-by it may prove a good asset on the farm,- but hitherto we considered it more of a liability, or, say, a luxury. Farmers have found to their cost that it was a mistake to reduce the number of horses in order to find room for a tractor, and to-day there is a decided demand in the belief that horses suit the times. The rehabilitation of the farming industry can only be achieved through lower costs of production, higher returns per acre, lower land values, and cheaper money. Farmers are advised to stick to their horses, for they will serve them better than any substitute. It is unwise to be wholly carried away with so-called up-to-date ideas, some of which have brought new difficulties in their trail.