AND OTHER SKETCHES 25 



HORSE BREEDING IN CANADA. 



There is no industry in connection with Canadian 

 agriculture that has seen more ups and downs than that 

 of horse breeding. There used to be a big demand in 

 this countr}^ for tramway horses, but when electricity dis- 

 placed the quadruped all sorts of evil was prophesied as 

 a result of the change. Thousands of undesirable horses 

 filled Canadian barnyards. They were a common lot, 

 mongrel bred and fit only for the work they had been 

 bred for. The commonest kind of stallions had been used, 

 the chief consideration of the majority of owners being 

 c!iea})iiess of service. Fortunately a demand sprang up 

 in England for cheap horses for tramway purposes and 

 Ontario was soon cleaned out of the commoners, thou- 

 sands being shipped across the Atlantic. Once rid of the 

 mongrels Canadian farmers were urged to breed a 

 higher type of horse. There were lots of good mares in 

 Ontario at least, and by dint of hard, persistent work of 

 the press a change was inaugurated and the mongrel- 

 bred stallion was no longer the preferred sire. Next, the 

 war in South Africa provided the Canadian breeder with 

 a profitable outlet for his stock, and as the Imperial 

 officers were not unreasonably exacting in their demands, 

 thousands of horses were purchased in Ontario at prices 

 that paid a handsome profit to owners. The only regret- 

 table feature in connection with this African demand was 

 the large number of well-bred mares that were shipped 

 out of the country but, tempted by the high prices pro- 

 curable, farmers could not resist the temptation to sell, 

 and a serious drain of our broodmare stock was the 

 result. 



When the demand for our horses for war purposes had 

 ceased, Canadian breeders had confidence in the future 

 and kept on breeding a superior type, and their confi- 



