1906 ON HORSE BREEDING IN ONTARIO. 75 



Simcoe — Contmued. 



Witli one exception all the stallions in Tiny township are sound and of 

 fairly good conformation. With reference to two grades, however, their 

 value as sires is not great. There are two Clydesdale grades and one Road- 

 ster grade, whilst the pure-breds are repesented by two Standard-breds and 

 » French Canadian, the latter standing for a fee of |12, while the others have 

 fees up to |10 and as low as |7. Mares are poor in quality and of poor type, 

 and a good many old used up mares are being bred. Two stallion owners 

 gave their views on licensing stallions. One was strongly against inspection 

 as he stated that he could raise better grades than pure-breds; The other 

 was in favor of inspection, as that would give the owners of good pure-bred 

 stallions a chance to earn something on their investment. 



In Tay township one stallion was not seen on account of its owner being 

 away. Of the six inspected, there are one imported Cljdesdale, two grade 

 Clydesdales, two cross-bred Clydesdales and Shires, and a French Canadian 

 grade. The average standard is not as good as it might be although all 

 those inspected were sound. The maximum fee is |10 and the minimum 

 f5. Mares are in quality poor to fair, with an average weight of 1,200 to 

 1,250 lbs. Too many old mares are being bred, while any good ones are 

 being sold to too great an extent. One breeder in this township, while in 

 favor of government inspection and licensing stallions, thinks that this 

 should be done gradually, as it would be a mistake to cut off unregistered 

 sires immediately, the effect being to create a great dearth of sires from 

 whicli to breed. He also thought the present custom of syndicating stallions 

 should be discouraged. A man who sells a horse in this way generally gets 

 three or four times as much as the horse was worth. He did not think that 

 owners of good horses should be put to the additional expense of a license. 



In Yespra township only two stallio-is were inspected, a pure-bred 

 Clydesdale and a grade of mixed breeding. No unsoundness is reported, and 

 whilei not of a high average, their conformation is fair. Fees are f 12 and 

 f8 respectively. The Inspectors add that the cutting off of poor stallions 

 in a district like this should not be done hastily, as farmers here will not 

 pay a fair fee for a good horse. The result would be to leave a section like 

 this without any sires. Mares are ipoor in quality and type not averaging 

 above 1,100 lbs., and too many culls are being bred. 



The four sires in Medonte township are all more or less up in years, and 

 have been good in their day and are all still sound. They consist of a pure- 

 bred and a grade Clydesdale, an imported Shire, and a pure-bred Standard- 

 bred. Three of the horses stand for a fee of |8, and the fourth for |12. As 

 in the previously inspected townships of Simcoe county a good many old 

 mares are bred, and the good ones sold. The quality on the average is 

 poor, and mares are of no particular type. Their average weight is 1,200 lbs. 



In Orillia township there are two pure-bred imported Clydesdales, four 

 pure-bred Standard-breds, an imported Hackney and a Percheron, all sound 

 as far as seen, one owner having refused to allow his' horse to be inspected. 

 In general, conformation was good. Two of the stallions were syndicated at 

 high figures. Ten and twelve dollars are paid for stud fees. Here again 

 the report mentions that many old mares are being bred, and as the average 

 quality is poor even of the younger mares the results of breeding old, broken- 

 down mares must be disastrous. Horse owners here agree that some steps 

 should be taken to do away with scrub sires. 



The Township of Oro is a good breeding centre ; among the stallions were 

 some of the best horses inspected. There is, however, some unsoundness, 

 and, while some are extra good, others are only fair, and some unfit for use. 



