2

Forty-one horses and 25 ponies were at stud work during the year. They
covered 3,293 mares, viz., 2,270 covered by horses and 1,023 by ponies against
3,470 in the previous year. The decrease in coverings is attributed to the general
scarcity of fodder and the poor condition of the animals. The average number of
mares covered per stallion was 55.36 per horse and 40.92 per pony, a falling-off
from last year when the corresponding figures were 60.42 and 58.70. The
Superintendent remarks that more pony stallions could be usefully employed in
Jullundur, Dera Gházi Khan, Mooltan and Gurdáspur. None of these districts has
at present any pony stallions, but the Superintendent states that the District
Board, Jullundur, has recently purchased one at a small price. In this district
and Dera Gházi Khan there appear to be a good many mares, too small for
branding, but suitable for good pony stallions. Generally speaking, Gurgáon, Delhi,
Kángra, Montgomery and Jullundur have done least to develope horse-breeding
by providing horse or pony stallions. Kángra has no Imperial stallion, Delhi
has only one, Jullundur only two, and the District Boards of these districts have
therefore all the wider field for their operations, and their responsibility to do
something for horse-breeding is all the greater. There is no district in the
Province, I think, where District Board horse or pony stallions could not be
usefully employed.

The number of foals dropped by the 3,470 mares covered by District
stallions in the previous year was reported to be 818, giving an average of 23.57
per 100 mares covered, and 14.10 per stallion employed. This result is less
satisfactory than last year's, when the average was 40.55 foals per 100 mares
covered, and 1621 per stallion employed.

No doubt the year was unfavourable for breeding, as mares were much
reduced in condition by the scarcity of forage, and many were probably sold or
sent away and lost sight of, but the figures are not complete, no returns having
been received from one tahsíl in Gurgáon, and as regards 254 mares in Amritsar
and Dera Gházi Khan.

From the report of the Superintendent, North Punjab, we find that at the
beginning of the year there were 2 horse and 29 pony stallions in that circle.
Four horse stallions were added during the year—3 by purchase and 1 by trans-
fer from the head "Ponies"—in the districts of Kohát and Jhelum, (which have
now made a beginning in district horse-breeding,) Gujránwála and Dera Ismail
Khan, while the number of pony stallions was reduced by 3—2 having been
destroyed and one transferred to the head " Horses."

Thus at the close of the year there were 6 horses and 26 ponies dis-
tributed as follows:—

All of these were employed at stud work during the year and
covered 1,899 mares, 260 by horse and 1,639 by pony stallions against 1,676