increased with the number of horses, perhaps owing to the large 

 number owned by individual farmers less care was accorded the 

 troop than when good horses were scarcer. Towards the middle of 

 the last century about the fourth of the total number of horses were 

 swept away. It is quite obvious that these losses worked very dis- 

 couragingly on horse breeders. A period of indifference in the 

 matter of horse breeding set in. Merino sheep and Angora goat 

 farming and subsequently Ostrich farming absorbed much attention 

 and were more remunerative than horse breeding. The trade with 

 India in remounts was lost to Australia and for the remaining part 

 of the century the horse, material was gradually deteriorating and 

 the industry declined. 



(c) DECLINE. 



On no particular phase of the history of horse breeding has so 

 much been written in South Africa as on its deterioration and the 

 methods to be followed in order to regain the old standard and high 

 reputation. There are some very voluminous Bluebooks^^ that 

 should be carefully perused by every horse breeder in the Union. 

 They are those containing the "Papers relating to the purchase of 

 horses at the Cape of Good Hope for cavalry and artillery service 

 in the Colony and India" and "Additional Papers relating to the 

 supply of remounts for the British Army in India." These highly 

 interesting Papers are spiued with numerous Reports of Select Com- 

 mittees and Appendices dealing with the most important aspects of 

 the Industry. The best ones date back to the year 1875 and up to 

 the year 1898 ; the years when horse breeding was rapidly declining. 



The perusal of a bona fide Bluebook is certainly not a pleasant 

 affair, one struggles through it and often comes away from it not 

 much the wiser and probably a sadder man ; but many a good lesson 

 and warning of the past can be obtained from these Bluebooks. 



It is gathered from these and other sources that the decline of 

 horse breeding can be ascribed to several great causes; some cer- 

 tainly were beyond the control of the farmers, but others reflect 

 much to their discredit. 



One of the chief causes of deterioration may be attributed to 



(81) The official Notes, Proceedings and Reports to Parliament are printed in 

 quarter volumes and Tcept in the Parliament Archives. Copies are also 

 kept at the High Commissioner's Office in London. 



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