The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

CHAPTER XXVI
STOCK RAISING

SOME of the men who followed Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic at the close of the 15th century were accustomed to stock raising in Spain, and all of them realized the value of the horse to the mounted warrior, armed with long lance or sharp cutlass, with which he could ride down the poor naked Indians of Cuba. They had come from Seville and the southern provinces, and had perhaps acquired their appreciation of the horse from the Arab, who made this noble animal his companion, and to all intents and purposes a member of his family.

The conquerors brought with them their animals and thus the equine race was introduced for the first time into the Western Hemisphere. All that came from Spain in the early days were of Arabian stock, which, although permitted to deteriorate, has still retained many of the characteristics of the parent stock, among which are endurance and gentleness. A colt that has always run wild over the ranges of Cuba, can be easily broken to the saddle in a few hours.

Owing to the abundance of food throughout the year, and to the absence of sleet, snow or cold rains, that sometimes chill and retard the growth of young colts, this Island is probably quite as well adapted to the breeding and raising of horses as any place in the world. During the first Government of Intervention, a large number of American horses were brought to Cuba by the Army of Occupation, and in spite of this abrupt change of climate and conditions, cavalry officers stated that never before had they found a place where their mounts seemed to thrive so well, and to remain so free from disease. Out of two thousand horses stationed at Camp Columbia, in the year 1901, only three were found in the hospital, two of these suffering from accidents, and the third, from a mild case of imported glanders.

The native horses, although smaller than the American, are hardy, gentle and easily kept, and unless taught to eat corn, invariably prefer the rich grasses to which they have always been accustomed. This native stock, when crossed with good Kentucky, Missouri or Montana stallions, produces really excellent service animals, especially for the saddle.

Since the accession of General Menocal to the Presidency, and especially since his appointment of General Sanchez Agramonte as Secretary of Agriculture, rapid strides have been made in the introduction of fine thoroughbred stallions, most of them gaited saddle animals that have been imported from Kentucky, and brought to Cuba for breeding purposes. These animals have been distributed by the Department of Agriculture throughout the different provinces, and improvement in resulting colts is already beginning to be apparent.

Probably one half of the native horses of Cuba in 1895 were killed or rendered useless during the War of Independence, which began in that year. This, of course, was a great loss to the Island, but so rapid is the rate of increase in this balmy climate that horses have again become quite plentiful and consequently cheap.

Registered in the Department of Agriculture, in the year 1918, for the Province of Oriente, were 218,876 horses; in Santa Clara were 212,985; in Camaguey 129,023; in Matanzas, 108,900; in Havana, 94,214, and in Pinar del Rio, 63,021; making a total of 827,019 registered in the Island.

The small, pony-built, light stepping, sure-footed horses, of the original or native stock of the Island, especially in the interior, are quite cheap; mares selling in some places at from $10 to $20, while geldings of the same grade will bring from $20 to $40, and stallions from $25 to $50.

Nevertheless, a well gaited and spirited native saddle horse, in the City of Havana, will find a ready market at anywhere from $75 to $200. Imported saddle animals, well gaited, and from good stables, bring in Cuba prices varying from $300 to $2,000; the price varying with the merit of the animal and the fancy of the purchaser. With splendid grasses, balmy climate, and excellent water, there is no reason why the breeding of horses in Cuba, especially those types suited for fancy saddle animals, military remounts and polo ponies, should not be profitable and successful in every sense of the word.