The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1888. BREED OF HORSES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1762, 12 July 1888, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1888. BREED OF HORSES.

The season when farmers must begin to think of their breed of horses is drawing near, and consequently a few words on the subject may not prove inappropriate. It appears to us that this is a subject that is very mvlcbj neglected. IVe haye the finest countries in th 6 whole world for producing good horses, and it appears that this fact is being fully recognised. Agents from India, have come to this colony to buy horses for military purposes;; they want strong, heavy weightcarryiDghacksij and-they have bought a good many,-but-'they would have •bought more Hi they could have got them. The fact..is that the kind they require have been -neglected in this colony. Our breed of draught stock is certainly excellent, and Canterbury holds a foremost place in this respect. Great care and attention has also been paid to the breeding of the most less of'all, the; thoroughbred racehorse, but the good, strong upstanding hack and carriage hoWs .are: completely neglected. There is no class so useful, and there is : no class to which less attention is paid, and in all probability the cause is that few would pay the price, which sellers have been in the habit of asking for them. In this respect both b'ujers and sellers make a mistake, - "We cannot see that it costs much more to breed a first-class hack than it does to breed a weed. It does not appear to us that there could possibly be £5 difference in. the cost, yeb breeders make the difference £2O and £3O when selling them, and if they d© not get their fancy prices they say thalb'tb • breed them is unprofitable. They breed miserable " weeds, 1 ' which they have no hesitation in parting with atj from £5 to £lO, but if they have a good horse they will want such fancy prices as £3O and £4O for it. How is it possible that there can=be sueh<agreat difference in the cost of breeding horses? There cannot be, and | there is not, and if breeders only thought of it they would find that it would pay them better to breed good stock at from £ls to £2O than "weeds" at from £5 to £10: Then why not blot out the.."weeds" and go in for good stock.? It is .only necessary to make a, if the good stock once get ,a ; solid footing care is all that is needed afterwards. A s regards buyers, there can be no doubt but gebd stock is preferable to them. A few-pounds in the first cost of a horse is very little, and it is just as hard, and sometimes harder, to keep a '• weed" as a first-class roadster or carriage horse. Buyers would doubtless recognise this if thej got the good horses at a reasonable price, and consequently we think that this is a question which farmers ought to reflect upon- If they breed youd

horses they* wiir undoubtedly get a j market for them, for they will be saleable in other countries, if not here ; if they continue to cultivate the I " weeds" they must always depend on tbe local market for "their sale'. '•■ AsregardsHhe breeding-of racers, we do' notice that'there'is"' any thing in it. It is this, mania for the '.thoroughbred, blood which has destroyed the, stock--of horses in this district, and in aur opinion the,sooner people' get rid* ot this notion, and .settle down to breeding useful and marketable;.horses, the. better .for thetfiselves and 'for. the obuntry.. ■ .'..-"" ,;;■; .-.. •• ./ '