FACTS FOR FARMERS. HOUSES AND HORSE BREEDING.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 213, 20 September 1873, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS. HOUSES AND HORSE BREEDING.

(.VcsrnAiiAsi vn ) l'lie following is mi abridgement of the paper " On the be»t mode of encouraging tliu more \alnnblc breed ol horse* uiojt useful in the colony and for oxport," read by Mr Luckay, M.L.A., at the l<ii>t monthly meeting of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales'- - '• it 'mwiig bivn decided by the Agricultural Society of New gouth Wales th.it tho time had arrived when it should make some serious attempt to gather agricultural experience of the eoloDy, with a view to the gratuitous dissemination of it amongst those who are m possession of the land, and the '.octety having done me the honor to ask me to read the first paper on the ' best mode of encouraging tho more valuable breed of horses most, useful in the colony and for export,' I have undertaken that duty in tho hopo that tho opinions and experience that I put forward may be tho means of eliciting discussion and criticism, which shall have tho effect of drawing the attention of tho*e interested in tho breed ins of horses t<> i practical eoimilerution of the subject, and which, I trust, will eventually letnl to more care and attention m the breeding and rearing of the classes of horses which shall bo found most suitable for the general requirements of the colony y. for export, and at the bauie time most profitable to the breeder. " I shall commence with the thoroughbred or blood horse, regarding him as I do, as being capable of use in almost any capacity, as far as his actual strength will go j and if duo caro were regarded in breeding, he might bo produced suitable to every description of work, short of heavy draught, and even for ordinary draught I venture to stale that a dash of blood would be found to give more activity and endurance. " The breeding of blood horses in New South Wales hat miready been to great » suocess that I feel it scar eely necessary to dwell on this subject at any great length ; but I must I express a regret that the breeding of blood horses has been so regarded as to produce them lor racing purpose* only — the stylo of modern racing being for pace, both in England and the colonies, the short race being most favoured —has had the effect of diverting the attention of breeders from the large, well-developed, aad muscular class of horse which used to be regarded so highly as a welter horse or weightcarrier. In fact, we have had one class of breeders producing racehorse?, in which they have been eminently successful, as our victories over the other colonies will testify, not excepting our neighbours [of Victoria, who havu so largely and with very commendable spirit imported to their colony from, England a great number of the most expensive and iashionable stallions and mares. And we have had another class of breeders producing heavy draught horses, which they have produced of a verj useful and valuable kind. But the roadster, the owriage horse, and the cavalry horse have been entirely and sadly neglected. I am not aware of any breeder who has devoted hi* attention exclusively to the production of either of these three useful descriptions of horses. Let us hope, however, now that the requirements of the colony hare largely increased, the Indian market promises a largo demand, and the pastoral prospects of the colony are in so prosperous a condition, that breeders will give their attention to the production of these useful and valuable animals. la this our Victorian friends are far before us, and have succeeded in the production of tho roadster or hackney, the oarriage horse and the hunter ; so much so indeed that the large amounts which used to find their way to the coffers of this colony for horses suitable to the Indian market are now reaped by the Victorian breeder. " Whilst on the bubject of blood horses, I would take the opportunity of remarking that we have amongst the blood stock of the colony stallions capable of producing almost any of the more useful description of horses ; to do this, howover, due and careful regard must be had in the first place to the description of the horse it is desired to produce. And the first axiom to be laid down by the best authorities on the horse is that ' like will produce like.' It should be a careful consideration with the breeder that the qualities of the sire and dam be so adjusted that auy failing on the part of eitheß bo compensated by a special quabty on the part of the other. " On a reflection of the number of first-class horses amongst our racing studs at the present as well as in times past, it is somewhat remarkable that as compared with imported stallions those of colonial breed — though from the best ancestor — hare been go unsuccessful in the. stock, they have produced. I can call to mind bardl t > one colonial-bred ' stallion that has signalised himself as the progenitor of a successful line of winners on the turf, until we come to the name of the renowned Sir Hercules, and his son, Yattendon. Let us hope that the The Barb will be another exception. When wo consider the distinct mark left in each ease by the imported stallions since the fii>t day of breeding in the colony, wo fail to find any corresponding mark in. the progeny of their best sons — Cameiton, Hector, Whisker, Skeleton, Giatis, Tros, Cap-a-pie, Emigrant, .St John, Rev Warrior, with mam otiieis I now cannot recollect, all distinguished themsehesin the stud and ttand out pre-eminently in the stock they produced, both as racers and roadsters. " Old Camerton was imported by Mr Lethbridge about, the year 1825. Got by Camerton out ol Wultonia. Camerton served in the colony many jears, chiefly on the Hunter. His stock were notorious for their performances, both .on the turf and on the road. His sire, Camerton, was one of the horses who ran at Stockbridge, the gamest race recorded in the annals of the English turf. Four started — Camerton , Shoestrings, Ofl'a's Dyte, and another. Of thc6e, one broke down, a second went blind shortly after, the third fell dead at the winning post, and the fourth never started again. Won by Camerton. " Hector was imported in .the early flays of the colony ; his stock greatly distir guished themselves an the colonial turf of hit day, and he produced a chits of roadsters both remarkable for endurance and hardihood. " Whisker was imported when a yearling, by tho late Mr Henry Bajly ; unfortunately, this noble animal died very early in his career, or he would doubtless hnvo left his «tiunp indelibly on \uotralinu horses, as the eire of. the renowned, horse Jorrocks ; however, he can never be forgotten, especially by those who recollect the many gallant struggles of tins rare old animal over Homebush, Maitland, Paramatta, or Windsor. " Skeleton was imported about the year 1830, 1 believe, by the late Mr Riley, of Ruby, was bred m Ireland by a Mr Kelly. His performances were very good. He won on the Currngh of Kildare five races out of six in the first year of his running. He was bought at ''attersall's by Mr Riley for £700, his previous owner, l?nnce Esterhazy, having paid 2,4oo' guineas for him to the Marquis ot Sli'go. Ho served many )ears at Caniden, and besides having produced a largo number of valuable horses as racers and roadsters, was the sire of tho Messrs Macarthur's Alice Grey, and dam of Yattendon. Besides these I may enumerate Tros, Gratis, Cap-a-pie, Emigrant, St John, New Warrior, and others, all haA ing specially distinguished themselves m the stock they produced, but I fad to find on equal amount of success attending the progeny of their best sons, these, too, having come from ponybred and distinguished marcs, and having all the advantage which our climate is said to possess for horse-breeding. I may instance one of our finest colonial bred horses, Sir Charles, by Gratis, from imported Lonna. lam not aware of his having produced anything at all equal to himself. Lottery, also, a very fine horse ; Whalebone by Speculation ; Cossack, the best horse of his day ; Old Plover, Volunteer, and I am afraid Tarragon, must be added to the list, though one of the best performers on the colonial turf, as will as an almost perfect horse to the eye. It must be very gratifying to Mr If. 11. Kater that his foresight and enterprise many yenrs ago have been so successful. Mr Kater was perhaps our largest, importer, having introduced into the colony besides Cjp-a-pie and Paraguay, the sire and dam ot Sir Hercules ; Tros, the sire of Cassandra, and dam of Mr E. K. Cox's magnificent horse Yattendon ; Jiggler, the dam of Vanguard, Cantab, Smuggler, and some others. Mr Kater is now living near Sydney, having retired from his country pursuits, "and, in a communication I had with him a short time since, showed the lively interest he takes in the success of the progeny of his early importations. "I shall now refer to the roadster or hackney, one of Iho most useful of all our horses, and in a previous paragraph I have alluded to the success achieved by the Victorians in the raising of this description of herse ; still, by giving tho care and attention necessary, I ha\e no doubt that we shall bo equally successful here. The hackney or roadster may be produced from a well selected sire, of a light draught breed, and has been laid down by a well-known writer with as much goodness and strengtli as possible in a little *pace. Next to compactness the inclination of the shoulder will be regarded, as a stallion with upright shoulders never got a capital hackney. From a horse with this lading nothing can be got except it be a cart horse. He should be well up in the wither, short m the back, well ribbed up round the barrel, an«l short in tho cannon and flat below the knee, with asound set of legs, free from splint, spavin, or curb, and with a good set of leet. If he baic any of these defects, tl ey may be hereditary, in which case they arc ture to crop out in their oflspring. It is nrees»nry that he should have a good rein, arch neck, and head well put on, with kind expression \of eye. He should be activo also, lifting his legs well m his paces, with not too much knee action. Hits tail should bo well set on, as nothing gnus a better or gamer appearance to a horse than a tail well earned. A horse of this description is capable, with suitable mares, ot producing a clasg of horse *cry useful for general purposes, and with sufficient bone and substance to u dergo a large amount of work — these latter qualities being most essential to counteract tho wcediness which neglect in breeding has peimitted so many of the colonial horses to fall into. It u scarcely necessary for mo to add that tho oflspring u likely to bo stronger and stouter from a vigorous young horse tiian from one \ery old or which h.is> been woi n out nt work. (To bo continued )

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