25
Baluchistan is encouraging, especially when we note that in two years, the
number of mares covered rose from 1,218 to 2,253.
111. The number shown as covered in Bombay refers only to horses. The
numbers may be said to be identical with those of last year, 1,279 mares
having been covered against 1,276 last year. No improvement is noticeable.
This is to be regretted in Sind, which must be looked upon as the best horse
breeding portion of this Presidency and, in which there is a steady decline.
Proposal
to
remove prohibi-
tion of sale of
branded
mares
to Remount Offi-
cers.
112. During the year under review, some important questions regarding
the welfare of horse breeding in India have been discussed.
113. The first referred to the free trade in branded mares; this question was
raised by the Punjab Government, and in a letter from the Director of Land
Records and Agriculture, strongly urged that the restriction which now exists
to the effect that branded mares are not to be purchased as remounts, should
be removed. Although I trust that the day may come when it will be in our
power to remove all restrictions, still, I feel that we are not in a position to do
so at present; as it is, the dealers buy a number of our best branded mares
and if they thought Native Cavalry Officers would buy them, they would add
largely to their purchases in this direction and horse breeding would suffer
materially. The restriction has been made as little irksome as possible by the
rule relating to sale being altered so as to ensure no man being compelled to
keep a branded mare. Superintendents are now empowered to grant certi-
ficates to the owners of all mares that have been covered during two successive
years enabling them to sell to Remount Officers, but, in addition to this, they
have discretionary powers allowing them to grant certificates on other well
founded grounds, such as scarcity of fodder, and an owner being unable to
keep his usual number of brood stock. During my visits to the various Horse
Shows and Fairs—19 in number—I watched the working of this rule most care-
fully and feel convinced that not a single case occurred entailing any hardship
on the owner.
114. The Government of India, after careful consideration of this question,
decided that they were unable to modify the existing rules on the subject,
adding, however, that they hoped that a time would eventually come when it
would be possible to remove all restrictions upon the sale of branded mares.
Proposal
to
prohibit
Re-
mount
Officers
buying mares or
fillies,
branded
or unbranded.
115. The Bombay Government addressed the Government of India with a
proposal totally at variance with that made by the Punjab Government. It was
to the effect that all Native Cavalry Regiments and Police, as well as the Re-
mount Department, should be prohibited from purchasing mares or fillies. This
question was referred to me for opinion, but I could not agree with the propo-
sal on. the following grounds:—
1st.—It would undoubtedly add to the difficulties experienced by
the Native Cavalry in obtaining remounts, and would raise the
average price now paid for them.
2nd.—It would have an injurious effect on horse breeding, as anything
interfering with free trade would be likely to disgust the breeders.
Already we are told that the restriction referring to the prohibi-
tion of purchase of branded mares by Remount Officers acts in-
juriously on the horse breeding interests, and I therefore consider-
ed it inadvisable to add to the restrictions already in force.
116. For the abovementioned reasons and also owing to the fact that a
sufficient stock of suitable horses is not at present available in the Bombay
Presidency to keep up the Ahmednagar Rearing Depôt if the purchase of
country-bred mares and fillies were prohibited, the Government of India re-
gretted that they were unable to accept the proposal.
Number
of
produce foaled,
showing averages
to maros covered
and
stallions
employed.
117. The results are, as noted in Table IV (page vii) but to facilitate refer-
ence, the following abstract is given. In the column "Average per stallion em-
ployed" I have added last year's results to facilitate comparison between the
two years' workings, and, as I am of opinion that we become better acquainted
with the results by ascertaining the percentage of mares that are known to
7