HORSE BREEDING IN RUSSIA.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 485, 2 July 1890, Page 3

HORSE BREEDING IN RUSSIA.

Horse - breeding te now very largely carried on in Russia, and, according to all accounts, in a most systematic manner. The writer of an article in an exchange recently to hand, and who appears to have had access to official sources of information, states that the total number of horses in Russia is over 21,000,000, of which 15,000,000, or one for every adult inhabitant, are fit for work. But. in spite of this, there te considerable difficulty in obtaining the number of horses required for the army, the reason being that the Remount Commissions pay such a low price that breeders find it answers their purpose better to raise carriage and cart horses, which they can sell at a much higher figure. The creation of stallion depots by the State is designed to remedy this condition of things, and the writer of the article says that, in addition to 3,964 private studs, which comprise about 11,600 stallions and over 100,000 mares, there are now eighteen of these State depots, which contain about 1,500 stallions, all placed at the disposal of local breeders, at fees ranging from 1 to 10 roubles, the value of the i-ouble now being about 2s 6d. The State also owns six breeding studs as well. These studs have distinct attributions, and while that of Krenowski, situated in the province of Veronege, produces Orloff trotters and thoroughbreds, that of Yahowski, in Poland, te chiefly devoted to half-breds. The Nova-AlexandrowsUi stud produces big half-breds for carriage work ; that of Derkoulski, Clydesdales, Percherons and Ardennes horses ; that of Stretelski, Arabs and Arabs crossed with the Orloff trotter; and that of Limarewski, English saddle horses. These four studs contain about 600 mares. Most of tho thoroughbred sires purchased in England and France have been sent to the Chrenovoi stud, where are to bo found now three winners of the French Derby and two of the Grand Prix, viz : Consul, Boiard, and Salvator, as well as Viennois, tho latter of whom was probably the best eon of the recently deceased Silvio, who won the English Derby and Leger of 1877. Among the other sires which have stood at Chrenovoi, and which are now either dead or have been sold into private studs, are Roehampton, Marshall Scott, Paladin, Faugh-a-Ballugh and Braconnier. There are in Russia at the present time 19 racing and 38 trotting societies, all under the control of the Haras, which draws up the programmes and allots the amount of the prizes. The weights are fixed according to the English scale, but the distances are not the same. The flat races range from four furlongs to two miles and a-half, and some of the steeplechases are run at more than four miles.