CONCLUSION 293 



cally all our army horses are Irish," he said. 

 From this statement we may well assume that 

 it would be possible to breed at a profit, in 

 Ireland, a very large number of horses annually. 

 Probably no country in the world is better suited 

 than Ireland for horse breeding. Yet the shrink- 

 age in the reserve of horses in Great Britain con- 

 tinues practically unchecked, and, according to 

 statistics, a month or two ago one of the largest 

 of the omnibus companies in London was selling 

 off its horses at the rate of a hundred or so a 

 a week ! 



As a natural result of all this, the demand for 

 oats has recently fallen by more than twenty per 

 cent. The Board of Agriculture believes that the 

 retention of colts is all that matters, while the Royal 

 Commission, to judge from their annual report, 

 apparently labour under the mistaken impression 

 that the supply of thoroughbred sires must solve 

 the difficulty of keeping up the supply of horses. 



Without in the least wishing to be pessimistic, 

 therefore, one must look facts in the face, and, 

 looking them in the face, one cannot do otherwise 

 than admit regretfully enough that the long and 

 glorious career of the horse in its direct and 

 indirect bearing upon the development of the 

 world and the progress of civilisation has at last 

 come somewhat abruptly to a close. 



