CHAPTER XIV

THE EXPORT TRADE

Among the first to recognize the enormous power and possibilities of the Shire were the Americans. Very few London shows had been held before they were looking out for fully-registered specimens to take across the Atlantic. Towards the close of the ’eighties a great export trade was done, the climax being reached in 1889, when the Shire Horse Society granted 1264 export certificates. A society to safeguard the interests of the breed was formed in America, these being the remarks of Mr. A. Galbraith (President of the American Shire Horse Society) in his introductory essay: “At no time in the history of the breed have first-class animals been so valuable as now, the praiseworthy endeavour to secure the best specimens of the breed having the natural effect of enhancing prices all round. Breeders of Shire horses both in England and America have a hopeful and brilliant future before them, and by exercising good judgment in their selections, and giving due regard to pedigree and soundness, as well as individual merit, they will not only reap a rich pecuniary reward, but prove a blessing and a benefit to this country.”

From the day that the Shire Horse Society was incorporated, on June 3, 1878, until now, America has been Britain’s best overseas customer for Shire horses, a good second being our own colony, the Dominion of Canada. Another stockbreeding country to make an early discovery of the merits of “The Great Horse” was Argentina, to which destination many good Shires have gone. In 1906 the number given in the Stud Book was 118. So much importance is attached to the breed both in the United States and in the Argentine Republic that English judges have travelled to each of those country’s shows to award the prizes in the Shire Classes.

Another great country with which a good and growing trade has been done is Russia. In 1904 the number was eleven, in 1913 it had increased to fifty-two, so there is evidently a market there which is certain to be extended when peace has been restored and our powerful ally sets about the stupendous, if peaceful, task of replenishing her horse stock.

Our other allies have their own breeds of draught horses, therefore they have not been customers for Shires, but with war raging in their breeding grounds, the numbers must necessarily be reduced almost to extinction, consequently the help of the Shire may be sought for building up their breeds in days to come.

German buyers have not fancied Shire horses to any extent--British-bred re-mounts have been more in their line.

In 1905, however, Germany was the destination of thirty-one. By 1910 the number had declined to eleven, and in 1913 to three, therefore, if the export of trade in Shires to “The Fatherland” is altogether lost, English breeders will scarcely feel it.

Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are parts of the British Empire to which Shires have been shipped for several years. Substantial prizes in the shape of Cups and Medals are now given by the Shire Horse Society to the best specimens of the breed exhibited at Foreign and Colonial Shows.

ENCOURAGING THE EXPORT OF SHIRES

The following is reprinted from the “Farmer and Stockbreeder Year Book” for 1906, and was written by S. H. L. (J. A. Frost):--

“The Old English breed of cart horse, or ‘Shire,’ is universally admitted to be the best and most valuable animal for draught purposes in the world, and a visitor from America, Mr. Morrow, of the United States Department of Agriculture, speaking at Mr. John Rowell’s sale of Shires in 1889, said, ‘Great as had been the business done in Shire horses in America, the trade is but in its infancy, for the more Shire horses became known, and the more they came into competition with other breeds, the more their merits for all heavy draught purposes were appreciated.’

“These remarks are true to-day, for although sixteen years have elapsed since they were made (1906), the massive Shire has more than held his own, but in the interests of the breed, and of the nearly four thousand members of the Shire Horse Society, it is still doubtful whether the true worth of the Shire horse is properly known and appreciated in foreign countries and towns needing heavy horses, and whether the export trade in this essentially British breed is not capable of further development. The number of export certificates granted by the Shire Horse Society in 1889 was 1264, which takes a good deal of beating, but it must be remembered that since then Shire horse breeding at home has progressed by leaps and bounds, and tenant farmers, who could only look on in those days, are now members of the flourishing Shire Horse Society and owners of breeding studs, and such prices as 800 guineas for a two-year-old filly and 230 guineas for a nine-months-old colt, are less frequently obtainable than they were then; therefore, an increase in the demand from other countries would find more Shire breeders ready to supply it, although up to the present the home demand has been and is very good, and weighty geldings continue to be scarce and dear.”

THE NUMBER EXPORTED

“It may be true that the number of horses exported during the last year or two has been higher than ever, but when the average value of those that go to ‘other countries’ than Holland, Belgium, and France, is worked out, it does not allow of such specimens as would excite the admiration of a foreign merchant or Colonial farmer being exported, except in very isolated instances; then the tendency of American buyers is to give preference to stallions which are on the quality rather than on the weighty side, and as the mares to which they are eventually put are also light boned, the typical English dray horse is not produced.

“During the past year (1905) foreign buyers have been giving very high prices for Shorthorn cattle, and if they would buy in the same spirited manner at the Shire sales, a much more creditable animal could be obtained for shipment. As an advertisement for the Shire it is obviously beneficial that the Shire Horse Society--which is unquestionably the most successful breed society in existence--gives prizes for breeding stock and also geldings at a few of the most important horse shows in the United States. This tends to bring the breed into prominence abroad, and it is certain that many Colonial farmers would rejoice at being able to breed working geldings of a similar type to those which may be seen shunting trucks on any large railway station in England, or walking smartly along in front of a binder in harvest. The writer has a relative farming in the North-West Territory of Canada, and his last letter says, ‘The only thing in the stock line that there is much money in now is horses; they are keeping high, and seem likely to for years, as so many new settlers are coming in all the time, and others do not seem able to raise enough for their own needs’; and it may be mentioned that almost the only kind of stallions available there are of the Percheron breed, which is certainly not calculated to improve the size, or substance, of the native draught horse stock.

THE COST OF SHIPPING

“The cost of shipping a horse from Liverpool to New York is about £11, which is not prohibitive for such an indispensable animal as the Shire horse, and if such specimens of the breed as the medal winners at shows like Peterborough could be exhibited in the draught horse classes at the best horse shows of America, it is more than probable that at least some of the visitors would be impressed with their appearance, and an increase in the export trade in Shires might thereby be brought about.

“A few years ago the price of high-class Shire stallions ran upwards of a thousand pounds, which placed them beyond the reach of exporters; but the reign of what may be called ‘fancy’ prices appears to be over, at least for a time, seeing that the general sale averages have declined since that of Lord Llangattock in October, 1900, when the record average of £226 1_s._ 8_d._ was made, although the best general average for the sales of any single year was obtained in 1901, viz. £112 5_s._ 10_d._ for 633 animals, and it was during that year that the highest price for Shires was obtained at an auction sale, the sum being 1550 guineas, given by Mr. Leopold Salomons, for the stallion Hendre Champion, at the late Mr. Crisp’s sale at Girton. Other high-priced stallions purchased by auction include Marmion II., 1400 guineas, and Chancellor, 1100 guineas, both by Mr. Crisp. Waresley Premier Duke, 1100 guineas, and Hendre Crown Prince, 1100 guineas, were two purchases of Mr. Victor Cavendish in the year 1897. These figures show that the worth of a really good Shire stallion can hardly be estimated, and it is certain that the market for this particular class of animal is by no means glutted, but rather the reverse, as the number of males offered at the stud sales is always limited, which proves that there is ‘room on the top’ for the stallion breeder, and with this fact in view and the possible chance of an increased foreign trade in stallions it behoves British breeders of Shires to see to it that there is no falling off in the standard of the horses ‘raised,’ to use the American word, but rather that a continual improvement is aimed at, so that visitors from horse-breeding countries may find what they want if they come to ‘the stud farm of the world.’

“The need to keep to the right lines and breed from good old stock which has produced real stock-getting stallions cannot be too strongly emphasised, for the reason that there is a possibility of the British market being overstocked with females, with a corresponding dearth of males, both stallions and geldings, and although this is a matter which breeders cannot control they can at least patronise a strain of blood famous for its males. The group of Premier--Nellie Blacklegs’ brothers, Northwood, Hydrometer, Senator, and Calwich Topsman--may be quoted as showing the advisability of continuing to use the same horse year after year if colt foals are bred, and wanted, and the sire is a horse of merit.

“With the number of breeders of Shire horses and the plentiful supply of mares, together with the facilities offered by local stallion-hiring societies, it ought not to be impossible to breed enough high-grade sires to meet the home demand and leave a surplus for export as well, and the latter of the class that will speak for themselves in other countries, and lead to enquiries for more of the same sort.

FEW HIGH PRICES FROM EXPORTERS

“It is noteworthy that few, if any, of the high prices obtained for Shires at public sales have come from exporters or buyers from abroad, but from lovers of the heavy breed in England, who have been either forming or replenishing studs, therefore, ‘the almighty dollar’ has not been responsible for the figures above quoted. Still it is probable that with the opening up of the agricultural industry in Western Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere, Shire stallions will be needed to help the Colonial settlers to build up a breed of horses which will be useful for both tillage and haulage purposes.

“The adaptability of the Shire horse to climate and country is well known, and it is satisfactory for home breeders to hear that Mr. Martinez de Hoz has recently sold ten Shires, bred in Argentina, at an average of £223 2_s._ 6_d._, one, a three-year-old, making £525.

“Meanwhile it might be a good investment if a syndicate of British breeders placed a group of typical Shire horses in a few of the biggest fairs or shows in countries where weighty horses are wanted, and thus further the interests of the Shire abroad, and assist in developing the export trade.”

It may be added that during the summer of 1906, H.M. King Edward and Lord Rothschild sent a consignment of Shires to the United States of America for exhibition.