The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-01-18
Horses in Australia.

Horses in Australia.
The feats of the Australian race horse
are only beaten upon the best courses In
England, and for bottom it is questioned If
the colonial horse has been exceled. No
amusement is SO general "a racing, no peo-
pie 80 addicted to it nowhere is the horse
in such general use az in Australia. 1t 10
not confined to one class or one district, as
it may be elsewhere it is the amusement
of the country. There are cricket and all
games, coursing, hunting, catching, and
many sports but horse racing is the first
and universal favorite. In the bush, every
email village has it's fastest horses nearly
every station INDUCES in little racing
for horses are every where, and constantly
used by all the population as it is so
easy to keep any animal in this climate,
horses cost nothing. They are born and
bred-broke in and worked all their lives
upon grass and in the bush, without any
shelter, or, we may say, any grooming.
These are the ordinary horses of the coun-
try. Race horses and pet hacks, or hun
tiers, or heavy draught-horses, are fed and
stabbed, being for special work; but they
are exceptional. And, as grass ia 80 plen-
tiful, and as horses, like cattle, require no
looking after hey ond keeping them within
some limits, they have increased far and
beyond all limits of use and profit. They
are more than unstable, and worse than
use!ess. In many of the old districts Of
New South Wales they run wild in thou
sands they are not worth looking after,
and are very difficult to collect in any way;
they eat the food of other profitable stock,
and are only o scourge upon the pastures.
Hence they have to be exterminated like
vermin. In many pares of the country
they are shot by hired mon, for 80 much
per head, and are collected and destroyed
Systematically. They abound in wild mobs
upon mountains Of the most rugged and
inaccessible character, as we'll as upon the
J, widest plains Of the interior; always de-
generating, becoming smaller, weaker, and
wilder.
The wild-horse of the ranges becomes
very active and wiry, and has hoOfs OF
iron, with the foothold of o mule. He
scrambles over rocks and gallops down
slopes which no other horse, under any
circumstances, could be made to face. He
can only be obtained by careful stalking
; and coaxing into defiles, or by fences lead
, after another or, if upon the plains, the
! wiid-horse gallops till he falls. Here he
, may be got BY "coaching," like wild-cattle
: but by another system of hunting
o Daylight is chosen for this, as some gallop.
. ing may be expected, and mob OF quiet
e out as decoys. When the wild mob frs
! see the others they are very shy Of joining
' them, and will not remain with them o
q their choice.
!. The old patriarch will round up hi
Y troop, and then trot out and gaze upon tn,
j strangers-his head erect, ears forward
Q and nostrils dilated, his heavy crest lifting
J., a long, tangled mane-he challenges tn
q intruders. They will take no notice
9 Then the wild goes round his own
?. and drives them back q little. He agai
n salutes the others and this time he ex
n amines them and passes through the lo
: The wild troop then trot up, the foals fro
licking in front; they will galIop round tn
Others and wheel back again; their "sire
Il goes out, and steadies them. Aud so O
o for SEINE minutes. They might break ava
). at length, and perhaps leave the coaches
But the stockmen must watch their oppor
As tunity, and round up the whole two mob
a together. A stampede is almost sure t
l. ensue, and most of the wild ones be lost
they will break away, straight across tn
If plains trusting to their speed alone, bu
they cannot Last long. stabbed hors
will run them down under any weight, an
l. most stock horses can head them again an
again but they will not stop wild- morse :
do not readily steady and, in attempts t
st get them, many are run until they dro
dead on the plain many foals are left
and the whole dwindle by the boiling an
ID knocking up until perhaps only a half {
the original wild mob reaches the yare
70 Then even that half result is unsatlsfac
n tory for, out of hundred such wild ami
pr mails, there are not perhaps three hea
worth breakipg-in possibly some "coach
has been lost, or some stock horse injured
se The only gain is the removal of the IL
al from the pasture they were occupln
IN which they held to the annoyance and rIs
of the qniet horses, and to the loss OF foe
"a for all other stock'-Rankcns " Dominic
g. OF australia"
A man at a friendly gathering boaste
OF that he had been married twenty hS