2
Number of stallions
on the register.
6. Table I will show that 390 stallions were present on 1st April 1899, that
52 were added to the register and that 69 were removed, leaving a balance on
31st March 1900 of 373 stallions.
7. Seventeen ponies were on the strength of the Bombay Presidency,
against 18 on 1st April 1899.
8. Table II will show that of 344 horses employed in Northern India, 191
were up to 10 years of age, 129 over 10 and up to 15 years, 24 over 15 years.
Number of stallions
at work.
9. Table V will show that of 373 horses on the register, 293 were actually
at work, the balance of 80 is accounted for as follows:—60 unacclimatized
horses and 20 ineffective from sickness or other causes.
Cost of feed and
keep.
10. Table IX will show that the general average cost per horse, including
feed, keep, attendants, gear, etc., was R347-8-4, against R320-5-5. The
difference, consisting as it does, of only R27, or about R2 per mensem, is
much less than I expected. The high rates which prevailed for grain and
the excessive fodder famine led me to fear that the cost would have been far
beyond what it has been. That the cost of feed and keep per horse, including
all charges, should have amounted to only R28-14-0 testifies to the careful
supervision over expenditure exercised by the various Superintendents and the
District Officers.
11. The highest rates prevailed in Baluchistan, where the cost reached
R460. The lowest was found in the North-Western Provinces, where it
amounted to only R303.
Number of stallions
imported and their
classes.
12. The number of stallions received during the year either by importation
or by purchase in India was as follows:—
Thorough-breds from England
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
„
imported by Messrs. Krerouse and Madden from
Australia
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thorough-bred Australians purchased in India . . . . . . . .
8
8
2
29
In addition to the above, a small Arab was purchased to meet requirements in
Sind. Two of the English horses were for Bombay.
Prices paid for
each class.
13. The average price paid for horses purchased in India was as follows:—
Thorough-bred Australians imported by Messrs, Krerouse and
Madden, £350, or
.
Thorough-bred Australians purchased in Indian market. . . . . . . . .
Arabs
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
One small Arab for Sind
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The average cost of the thorough-bred English horses was £317
each, but this does not include salary of purchaser, expenses in
England or transit charges.
R
5,190
3,750
2,232
600
14. The cost of the thorough-bred Australians imported by Messrs. Krcrouse
and Madden includes all risk until taken over; this year this meant a longer
risk than usual, as owing to the delay in the ship arriving I was compelled to
leave Madras and to return. The horses were therefore not taken over until
one month after they landed; this being the most critical time, it increased the
importer's risk; however, I am pleased to report that they all did well.
Short note on each
class of importation.
15. English—Thorough-breds.—On the two sent to Bombay, the Superin-
tendent, Civil Veterinary Department, reports that "they are suitable in every
way," but 'Buxton,' the only one that had arrived when I visited Ahmed-
nagar, was a three-year old and 15-3 in height. Veterinary Major Morgan
reports him as a backward colt, and states that when fully grown and furnished
he should make a valuable stallion. I venture to think that a three-year old
colt, 15-3 in height, is likely to grow too big for the mares of this country.
16. Of the remaining six sent to Babugarh for service in Northern India
the majority had good bone and had been most carefully selected; some, how-
ever, had the faults so common to the English thorough-bred, viz., bad feet on
weak loins.
17. Australians—Thorough-bred.—The eight horses imported by Messrs.
Krcrouse and Madden fully maintained the reputation that all the batches