6
1st.—That in the application of a grant for the advancement of horse-breeding,
the needs of each class of breeder should be recognized; by giving, say, to the
hunter-breeder a Thoroughbred or approved hunter sire, or to the breeder of
harness horses, a Hackney.
2nd.—That in the selection of the particular breed of stallion or stallions for
each locality, the wishes of the breeders of horses in the locality should be consulted.
34. The Secretary of the Congested Districts Board of Ireland, which Board
introduced the Hackney into these districts in 1892, writing to the Commission,
states:—
Particulars as to the horses that have been purchased have already been given to the Commission, and as
to the results, the Board will only say that so far the appearance of the produce seems to justify the experiment
that was made.
Whether the continued introduction of Hackney blood will be desirable after a general improvement has
been effected, in the breed of horses in the Congested Districts, appears to the Board to be a further question,
and one which they will, from time to time, carefully consider having regard to horse-breeding in Ireland
generally, as well as the Congested Districts, which must always be their first concern.
35. I have made these few extracts as bearing so materially on this country.
The lessons to be learnt are mainly:—
(a). That the Hackney section of this Commission is of opinion that a
Thoroughbred or approved Hunter sire is necessary to breed Hunters,
and that a Hackney is required for breeding harness horses.
(b). That the wishes of the breeders must be consulted.
(c). That they are not decided whether a continued strain of Hackney blood
is desirable.
36. We do not require harness horses, for as I have stated on former
occasions, I am of opinion that we shall never, owing to climate, food, &c., be able
to breed Artillery horses. The use of the Thoroughbred is therefore more indi-
cated, but we have in many districts to deal with the underfed, undersized, ill-
shaped, weak limbed mare, just as is found in the Congested Districts of Ireland,
and here the Hackney is of use : but care must be taken not to continue this strain
too long. The Congested Districts Boards appear to have their doubts whether
the continued introduction of Hackney blood will be desirable, they have not had
sufficient experience as they only commenced to use Hackneys in 1892, but on
the other hand we have had experience of them for a quarter of a century, and I
think, evidence goes to prove that they did good by increasing the size of the
indigenous mare, but that long continued use of this class of stallion is not
desirable.
37. The third point brought forward by the Commission is that the wishes of
the breeders should be consulted. At the present time this is a serious question
for India. I am not alluding to districts where horse-breeding is in a backward
state, and where the breeders are not sufficiently acquainted with the class of
stallions that are likely to improve the breed, these breeders must be content to be
guided by professional advisers appointed by Government. Rather am I alluding
to old established districts, such as Rawalpindi, Shahpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and
many others, in which we find breeders possessing great knowledge, and it is the
wishes of these men that, in my opinion, should be consulted; and owing to the
fact that at present this Department has 31.59 per cent. of Norfolk Trotter,
Hackney, and Half-bred stallions, it is frequently necessary to place one or two of
these in a district where their use is clearly not indicated, and where their presence
is against the wishes of the breeders. These are the reasons which led me not to
indent for Hackneys last year, and the number required during the next few years
will naturally be small.
38. The late Director of Land Records and Agriculture, Punjab, Mr.
O'Dwyer, who took a keen interest in the subject of horse-breeding, and who
attended many of the Horse Shows, wrote a most interesting review on the
operations of 1896-97, and when alluding to the class of stallions required for that
Province, states:—
The increase of the coverings in the North Punjab is attributed to the popularity of the T. B. E. and
Australian sires, the number of which is increasing, while their services are in great demand by breeders. The
remarks in paras. 7 and 8 of the report of the Superintendent, South Punjab, and in paras. 12 and 13 of the
report of the Superintendent, North Punjab, as to the relative merits and popularity of the different classes of sires,
are valuable and interesting; and it is note worthy that they both arrive at the same conclusion, viz: that the most
suitable of all is the Thoroughbred Australian which for bone, power and substance, and above all, for capacity to
stand the climate, is preferable even to the T. B. E., which, with the Arab, ranks next in merit and popularity.