WAIKATO FARMERS' CLUB.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3023, 28 November 1891, Page 1 (Supplement)

WAIKATO FARMERS' CLUB.

Tiif follow ing paper on this subject was read by Mr.l no. Fisher at the last Cambridge meeting of tin; Club : — Mr Chairman and Gentlemen, —[ii these days when numbers of books on horse-breeding, theoretical and practical, and by talented authors, can be obtained for at most a few shillings, it may seem presumptuous on my part, with my limited experience, to venture a paper on such an important subject ; yet its very importance, and the increased attention lately devoted to this industry in the Waikato, emboldens me to place my ideas before you, more with the intention of provoking discussion than of dictating to members the lines on which animals should be bred. It is no news to be told that for many years nearly all classes of horses have been bred and sold at a loss to the breeder, and during these years a sad deterioration has taken place in their size and quality. This, I think, is most noticeable in the heavy draughts, and the question is often asked whether it is our climate, soil, food, want of judgment, or want of care on the part of the breeder, that is the cause of this deterioration. I think it is largely due to the latter, because when our lands were new, our clovers rank and rich in flesh and bone forming qualities, it was an easy matter to raise heavy draughts ; but when inferior grasses took the place of the clovers, and at the same time very inferior prices could only be obtained for the horse, the breeder had not the incentive to provide by artificial means the bone and fleshforming qualities lacking in the grasses With the improved system of cultivation now adopted, and at the same time a better demand and better prices, more care will naturally be taken of the young [ stock, and I trust the day is not far distant when Waikato draughts will command top price in the market. For carriage horses and hacks with action, size and quality, even during the bad times, there has been a demand exceeding the supply, and at prices which may be considered liberal ; at any rate those who have bred and disposed of such animals must admit that the return has been as good for the outlay as any other production of the farm during the s-amc period. To be a successful breeder a farmer ought to have an ideal of the animal he wants to produce ; that ideal must be nothing short of perfection, and though sure to meet many disappointments and discouragements, he must follow up his ideal persistently. He should have no haphazard attempts at breeding one class this year and another class next year, because fashion or scarcity has influenced the price for the time being. He should be a good enough judge of the animal he wants to know the points in which that class excel ; and by careful selection both of sire and dam —to mate —so as to secure the result he desires. To do this successfully, it is desirable that a knowledge of the progenitors of the animals bred from should be obtained, as ancestral defects may crop up and defeat the object of the breeder. Strict attention must be given to hereditary soundness of both sire and dam. Some breeders with whom

I have conversed mail tain that to secure a lasting name as a successful breeder, absolute soundness of both sire and dam is essential, and that even sound animals, if they have been suffering from illness so as to weaken their constitution, should not bj bred from until they have perfectly recovered. Much may be said on both sides, but at any rate before breeding from an unsound animal enquiry should he made, aud if it is ascertained that the unsoundness has resulted from attempting what other animals of the same age and class have successfully accomplished, then it may be taken for granted that the unsound animal is not by any means the best of

its class, and as like produces like, a tendency to weakness in wind, liinb or constitution would, in the course of a few generations, so intensify the weak ness as to make it hereditary. While I would not counsel a farmer to breed only from hta old or broken down animals, yet if absolute soundness is a necessity, many eood animals useless as workers, yet profitable as breeders, would have to be destroyed. In selecting au animal to breed from, there are several things that should never be lost sight of; amongst these I think action is the most important. No matter how good a horse may be in other respects, if he is deficient in action he is a failure, or comparatively so; but if, to use a common expression, he can handle his legs, many other serious defects cau be over-looked. Of course, the style of action will depend on the work the animal is ' designed for. For instance, high - stepping action is permissable in a carriage horse, but is objectionable in a saddle horse. Mares should, in all cases, be roomy (that the foal may have a chance for proper development), and the best procurable. Shape, size and quality in the dam cannot be too highly valued. What the breeder wants to is a horse that will sell, and the extra cost of his mare may all be recouped by the first colt he may sell, and with good mares he has a greater chance of success before him Weedy mares, if bred from at all, should he crossed with horses of a heavier atul better stamp than they are themselves. E.ery breeder should keep his best fillies for stud purposes, if breeding for a type, and by careful selection from his own stock he will have a greater success. I need not impress on tho farmer the importance of systematic feeding and care of his young stock, for breeding without feeding must result in failure. On the other hand, over-feeding or forcine, while it may produce size, will neither give shape nor quality. At all times I strive to rear a full-sized animal, yet I prefer one slightly under the type to an over-sized ouo. Colour is a thing hard to control. I have heard breeders of greater experience than myself say it is not under control in the horse, but it is well known that there are certain families of horses in which eolour is characteristic, and I think by selection of both sire and dam it can be controlled. I have not bred for colour myself, having usually selected the horse I thought most suitable for my mares regardless of his colour, and the result has been more white legs and faces than has been pleasing to me. I confess to au antipathy to such markings in saddle and carriage horses, and consider that they repel instead of attracting the eye. Therefore I consider the adage that '"A good horse cannot be a bad colour," is true only in a limited degree. It should be the aim of the breeder to produce an animal pleasing to the eye in shape, action, and colour. One of the greatest hindrances to successful type breeding in Waikato is, in my opinion, the scarcity of suitable sires and mares. I do not mean by this to cast any reflection on the sires that are now, or have been, standing in our district, because I think they compare favourably with similar auimals throughout the Auckland Proi iue al District. With the exception of heavy draughts, all our breeding has not been type but cross breeding; and, as a natural consequence, has been unreliable and ufteu uusatisfactory. I do not think many horse breeders have had the happy experience of a well-known Auoklaud sheep breeder, who some years ago was able to say he had taken prizes in the Lincoln, Leicester, and lougivoil [ classes by sheen which were all the get of I a Lincoln ram. In conclusion, I feel I

have only skimmed the surface of this most important subject. I have confined myself chiefly lo genuralitics. To go fully into this question requires an abler head and more facile pen than I am possessed of; hut I trust this paper may stimulate others—not only to favour us with their experience, but also to give in* creased attention to thin most important industry; as, with our climate and soil, I am convinced we have a great future before us in horse-breeding. Mr R. Reynolds thought Mr Fisher's paper a valuable one and trusted it would provoke a discussion that would enlighten them on many points of the dilKcnlt problem of horse-breeding. Personally he did not agree with Mr Fisher's ideas regarding persistent breeding for a certain type. For years he had been endeavouring to breed hacks from thoroughbreds ; but the result was not encouraging for he had bred but very few, and he intended trying some other strain. He hoped that ere long hackney stallions would be imported, for ho believed they would prove serviceable sires for getting good hacks. He quite agreed with Mr Fisher that like produced like, for he well remembered breeding from a mare that jibbed, and the very ftrsft time her colt was put in harness it jibbed in an exactly similar manner to its mother. If he had a mare that was useless for work he would rather bury her than breed from her. He liked a good walker, for if a horse was good at that pace it could generally hold its own in othar paces.

Mr E, B. Walker believed in thoroughbreds to get hacks, and thought it would be a great mistake to depart from them, but they must hive plenty of bone. He had known a man, 14st weight, ride a tho roughhred 120 miles in twelve hours. If there had been carthorse blood in that horse's veins, how far would that man have been at the end of the day ? He always found crossbreds go wrong in the legs quicker than thoroughbreds.

Mr G. E. Clark believed in using thoroughbred sires, but he believed the colts were not properly treated, some were starved and others overfed. The Waikato he thought too flat for foals ; they did not get near as much exercise as they would in a rough country, consequently their muscles were not as well developed. He fancied Australian bred horses had more stamina than those raised in New Zealand.

Mr Pickering advocated usiug thoroughbreds, but if he made a change it would be for Arabs. The bone of a thoroughbred was of fine quality, and when compared with that of a cart horse, was as ivory to wood. In a thoroughbred horse all parts should be true. Carbine he fancied must have been perfection in that or he would have broken down much earlier. He had known thoroughbreds in England that carried 14st comfortably. The troub'e in this district was in obtaining suitable mares. Foals he thought usually followed the sire iu bone and muscle. Several others spoke on the matter and the discussion was closed by Mr Fisher. He spoke of a cross between thoroughbred sires aud cart mares producing a good stamp of horse, providing there was not too much cart horse in bone and action. He referred to the increasing ■timber of hacks and hunters in Waikato, but most of them had a trace of the cart horse blood. Mauy authorities advocated Clydesdale marcs aud thoroughbred sires as the foundation for hack breeding. He thanked those who had criticised his paper and hoped the discussion would prove of benefit to them all

On the motion of Mr Clark, seconded by Mr Forrest, Mr Fisher was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his paper.