The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1902. THE BREED OF HORSES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIV, Issue 71, 18 March 1902, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1902. THE BREED OF HORSES.

The following remarks, which apply with equal force to New Zealand, appear in the columns of a contemporary :—A great deal has been said and written about the Australian horses of late, and everyone is agreed that there is room for improvement in the direction ©f producing correct types of animals, in greater numbers, for the purposes of the army. Mr Alexander Bruce, the New South Wales Chief Insp ctor of Stock, has published his views at some length, and in a very specific manner, on the subjects of breeding througbbreds, saddle horses for utility purposes, also upsn racing, and how it should be managed. The outline of Mr Bruce's subject was stated as "Our saddle horses; what j they were; what they are now; what | brought about the deterioration; and how their superiority can be restored." And he went on to catalogue reasons for the alteration he mentioned ns (1) the discovery of gold; (2) the introduction of draught blood ; (3) the ignorance and neglect of the rules of breeding; (4) the increase of racing and betting, and relaxation of rules of racing, with reduction of weights and distances; (5) the increase of two-ysar-old races; (6) the formation of pony and galloway racing clubs. At any rate, says the Sydney Referee, the Chief Inspector of Stock must be given credit for bold and original idpas, and the courage of his opinions. We will wind up by quoting a little of what he has written, which, carried out rigorously in bulk and in detail, might improve the turf out of existence altogether :—" It is high time, in the public interest, that a thorough change should be brought about in the mode in which racing is now conducted. Thwe is no prospect that the racing and betting men, who now have practically the control and management of racing, will voluntarily consent to any change which would remedy the evils alluded to, as the conditions and rules under which racing is carried on have been altered largely at their instance, and in their interest, and they are certain to resist anj change. This being the casp, the only remedy is legislation, which would lay down such length of races and such] weights, according to the claßß and age of the horses, as they would have to carry, and issue such regulationq as would prevent any but stout, useful, weight-carrying, loog-distance horses from going on the turf; and thus provide suitable sires for the production of saddle and light harness horees of a similar stamp, instead of the light, weedy sort which are to be met with all over the Commonwealth, and which have been sired by the speedy, weedy thoroughbred so often met with on our racecourses. The only qufstion is, would such legislation effect the necessary improvement in our saddle and light horses and cavalry and artillery horses ? And there is not the shadow of a doubt but it would do so most simply and effectually, fo: it would make the statement that racing improves the breed of horsis—which is, a-i racing is now, an 'itterly erroneous and misleading one—perfectly true, as no horse who hnd not stoutness and endurance, as wdl as foot, could have any chance on the turf."