PONIES PAST AND PRESENT

INTRODUCTION.

In another volume,Horses Past and Present, brief reference has been made to the early subjugation of the horse in Eastern countries by man; and it is unnecessary here to further touch upon that phase of our subject.

The early history of the horse in the British Islands is obscure. The animal is not indigenous to the country, and it is supposed that the original stock was brought to England many centuries before the Christian era by the Phœnician navigators who visited the shores of Cornwall to procure supplies of tin. However that may be, the first historian who rendered any account of our islands for posterity found here horses which he regarded as of exceptional merit. Julius Cæsar, when he invaded Britain inthe year 55B.C., was greatly impressed with the strength, handiness, and docility of the horses which the ancient Britons drove in their war chariots; his laudatory description of their merits includes no remark concerning their size, and from this omission we may infer that they were not larger than the breeds of horses with which Cæsar’s travels and conquests had already made him acquainted.

There can be no doubt but that these chariot horses were small by comparison with their descendants—the modern Shire horses;[1]they probably did not often exceed 14 hands, and were therefore much on a par in point of height with the horses Cæsar had seen in Spain and elsewhere. It is unlikely that so shrewd an observer would have refrained from comment on the point had the British horses been superior in size, as they were in qualities, to the breeds he already knew. It is doubtful indeed whether the horses of Britain gained in stature to any material extent until the Saxons and Danes introduced horses from the Continent. These being for militarypurposes would have been stallions without exception, and being larger than the British breed must have done something to produce increase of height when crossed with our native mares.

[1]See “The Great Horse or War Horse.” By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. 3rd edition, 1899. Vinton & Co., Ltd.

This being the case, we are confronted with the difficulty of distinguishing between the horses and ponies of these early times; the chroniclers do not attempt to differentiate between “horse” and “pony” as we understand the terms. The process of developing a big horse was necessarily a slow one, from the system, or want of system, which remained in vogue until the fifteenth century, and was still in existence in some parts of England in HenryVIII.’s time. During the long period the greater portion of the country lay under forest and waste, it was the practice to let those mares which were kept solely for breeding purposes run at large in the woodlands, unbroken and unhandled. Doomsday Book contains frequent mention ofequæ silvestres,equæ silvaticæ, orequæ indomitæwhen enumerating the live stock on a manor; and there is evidence to show that these animals (always mares, it will be observed) were under a modified degree of supervision. They were branded to prove their ownership, and during thesummer selected mares appear to have been “rounded up” to an enclosure in the forest for service. Apart from this they ranged the country at large, strangers alike to collar and bridle. It would be unreasonable to suppose that the mares which were employed in agricultural work were not also used for breeding; the surroundings of the farmer’s mare in those days were not luxurious, but she undoubtedly enjoyed shelter from the rigours of winter and more nourishing food than her woodland sister. Hence it is probable that the first differences in size, make and shape among English horses may be traced to their domestic or woodland ancestry on the dam’s side.

The life led by theseequæ indomitæmade for hardiness of constitution, soundness of limb, surefootedness, and small stature; and we venture to think that the half-wild ponies England possesses to-day in the New Forest, Exmoor, Wales and the Fell country are (or were, until comparatively modern endeavours were made to improve them) the lineal descendants of the woodland stock which is frequently referred to in ancient records, and which in 1535 and 1541 HenryVIII. made vigorous attempts to exterminate.

The law of 1535 (26 HenryVIII.) declares:—

“For that in many and most places of this realm, commonly little horses and nags of small stature and value be suffered to depasture, and also to cover mares and felys of very small stature, by reason whereof the breed of good and strong horses of this realm is now lately diminished, altered and decayed, and further is likely to decay if speedy remedy be not sooner provided in that behalf.“It is provided that all owners or fermers of parks and enclosed grounds of the extent of one mile in compass shall keep two mares, apt and able to bear foals of the altitude or height of 13 handfuls at least, upon pain of 40s.“A penalty of 40s. is imposed on the Lords, Owners, and Fermers of all parks and grounds enclosed, as is above rehearsed, who shall willingly suffer any of the said mares to be covered or kept with any Stoned Horse under the stature of 14 handfuls.”

“It is provided that all owners or fermers of parks and enclosed grounds of the extent of one mile in compass shall keep two mares, apt and able to bear foals of the altitude or height of 13 handfuls at least, upon pain of 40s.

“A penalty of 40s. is imposed on the Lords, Owners, and Fermers of all parks and grounds enclosed, as is above rehearsed, who shall willingly suffer any of the said mares to be covered or kept with any Stoned Horse under the stature of 14 handfuls.”

This Act applied only to enclosed areas, and therefore would not affect the wild ponies in any appreciable degree: but six years later another Act was passed (32 HenryVIII., c. 13) which provided that—

“No person shall put in any forest, chase, moor, heath, common, or waste (where mares and fillies are used to be kept) any stoned horse above the age of two years, not being fifteen hands high within the Shires and territories of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Buckingham, Huntingdon, Essex, Kent, South Hampshire, North Wiltshire, Oxford, Berkshire, Worcester, Gloucester, Somerset, South Wales, Bedford, Warwick, Northampton, Yorkshire,Cheshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Salop, Leicester, Hereford and Lincoln. And furthermore, be it enacted, that if in any of the said drifts there shall be found any mare, filly, foal, or gelding that then shall be thought not to be able nor like to grow to be able to bear foals of reasonable stature or not able nor like to grow to be able to do profitable labours by the discretions of the drivers aforesaid or of the more number of them, then the same driver or drivers shall cause the same unprofitable beasts ... every of them to be killed, and the bodies of them to be buried in the ground, as no annoyance thereby shall come or grow to the people, those near inhabiting or thither resorting.”

This enactment was of a more far-reaching character than its forerunner. The “shires and territories” enumerated were those in which greatest attention was paid to the breeding of Great Horses; “profitable labours,” in those times, could only mean military service, agricultural work, and perhaps pack transport, for any of which purposes the woodland ponies were useless. How far the law proved effectual is another matter: laws more nearly affecting the welfare of the subject were less honoured in the observance than the breach in the remoter parts of the kingdom in those times.

In 1566, when Elizabeth was on the throne, Thomas Blundeville, of Newton Flotman, wrote a book onHorses andRiding; and prefaced it by an “Epistle dedicatorie” to Robert Lord Dudley, Master of the Horse, which begins:

“It would be the means that the Queen may not only cause such statutes touching the breeding of Horses upon Commons to be put in execution: but also that all such parks within the Realme as be in Her Highnesse hands and meet for that purpose might not wholly be employed to the keeping of Deer (which is altogether without profit), but partly to the necessary breeding of Horses for service [i.e., military service] whereof this Realme of all others at this instant hath greatest need.”

It would appear, therefore, that Henry’s laws had become a dead letter, or something very like it, within twenty-five years of its finding place on the Statute Book. It was afterwards repealed in respect of certain counties by Queen Elizabeth and JamesI. (for particulars see p. 26 and p. 33, “Horses Past and Present.”)

These various early edicts no doubt produced some result in the more central parts of England, though, as we gather from Blundeville’s “Epistle,” those charged with their administration failed to enforce them in areas more remote. A certain amount of driving and killing no doubt was done, but probably no more than enough to make the herds wilder than before and send them insearch of safety to the most inaccessible districts. The natural result of this would be to preserve the breeds in greater purity than would have been the case had they been allowed to intermingle with horses which, after the harvest was carried, were turned out to graze at will over the unfenced fields and commons. It is worth glancing at these items of horse legislation to discover that the half-wild ponies have survived, not by grace of man’s aid or protection, but in defiance of his endeavours to stamp them out.

Nearly a century later (1658) the Duke of Newcastle published his work on theFeeding, Dressing and Training of Horses for the Great Saddleand therein, urged strongly the desirability of discouraging the breeding of ponies. The records of subsequent reigns show occasional endeavour to improve by legislation the breeds of horses needed for military purposes, tournaments, racing and sport, but until we come to the time of GeorgeII. we find nopositiveattempt to discourage the breeding of ponies. An Act passed in 1740 was definite enough in the purpose it sought to attain. This was the suppression of races by “poneys” and other small or weak horses.

Under this law matches for prizes under £50 were forbidden, save at Newmarket and Black Hambleton, and the weights to be carried by horses were fixed at 10 st. for a five-year-old, 11 st. for a six-year-old and 12 st. for a seven-year-old horse. This statute had two-fold intention: it was framed “not only to prevent the encouragement of a vile and paltry breed of horses, but likewise to remove all temptation from the lower class of people who constantly attend these races, to the great loss of time and hindrance of labour, and whose behaviour still calls for stricter regulations to curb their licentiousness and correct their manners.”

During the present century organised effort to improve these breeds has followed recognition of their possibilities for usefulness, and in few localities, if any, does the original stock remain pure. In Devonshire, Hampshire, Wales, Cumberland, the Highlands, Shetland, and in the West of Ireland, the original strains have been intermingled and alien blood introduced. Small Thoroughbred, Arab and Hackney sires have produced new and improved breeds less fitted to withstand the rigours of winter and the effects of scanty food contingent on independent and useless existence, butinfinitely better calculated to serve the interests of mankind.

Before the establishment of the Hackney Horse Society in 1883 the dividing line between the horse and the pony in England was vague and undefined. It was then found necessary to distinguish clearly between horses and ponies, and accordingly all animals measuring 14 hands or under were designated “ponies,” and registered in a separate part of the Stud Book. This record of height, with other particulars as to breeding, &c., serves to direct breeders in their choice of sires and dams. The standard of height established by the Hackney Horse Society was accepted and officially recognised by the Royal Agricultural Society in 1889, when the prize list for the Windsor Show contained pony classes for animals not exceeding 14 hands. The altered Polo-rule which fixes the limit of height at 14 hands 2 inches may be productive of some little confusion; but for all other purposes 14 hands is the recognised maximum height of a pony. Prior to 1883 small horses were called indifferently galloways hobbies, cobs, or ponies, irrespective of their height.

THE NEW FOREST PONY.

The New Forest in Hampshire now cover some 63,000 acres of which about 42,000 acres are common pasture, the remaining 21,000 acres having been enclosed in 1851 for the growth of timber. The greater portion of the common land is poor and boggy moor, and on these areas ponies have been bred in a semi-wild state from the earliest times. It is considered more than probable that the New Forest ponies are the survival of the stock which, before the time of Canute (1017-1035), was found in the district formerly called Ytene, and which was afforested in the year 1072 by the Conqueror.[2]

[2]Mr. W. J. C. Moens, in a pamphlet printed for private circulation.

HenryIII. (1216-1272), on 15th March, 1217, ordered the Warden of the pony stud kept in the New Forest to give to the Monks of Beaulieu all the profits accruing from the droves from that date till November, 1220, this donation being for the benefit of the soul of his late father, King John. Thus it is evident that the New Forest ponies of the thirteenthcentury were numerous enough to form a source of revenue to the Crown.

The remote history of the breed need not concern us; for it was not until comparatively recent times that any endeavour was made towards the improvement of the “forester,” as it is called. The first infusion of alien blood likely to be beneficial seems to have been made about 1766; and the circumstances under which this fresh blood was introduced are interesting. In 1750, H.R.H. the Duke of Cumberland acquired by exchange a thoroughbred foal from his breeder, Mr. John Hutton. The animal was named Marske, and was run at Newmarket: achieving no great success on the turf, he was put to the stud, but up to the time of the Duke’s death his progeny had done nothing to win reputation for their sire. When the Duke died, in 1765, his horses were sold at Tattersall’s, and Marske was knocked down “for a song” to a Dorsetshire farmer. The farmer kept him in the New Forest district, and here Marske the sire of Eclipse served mares at a fee of half-a-guinea, till his famous son achieved celebrity. Eclipse was foaled in 1764, won his first race on 3rd April, 1769, at Epsom, and made his name in a single season on the turf.

For four years at least, therefore (until Mr. Wildman ferreted out “the sire of Eclipse” and bought him for £20 to go to Yorkshire), the New Forest breed of ponies were being improved by the very best thoroughbred blood, the effects of which continued to be apparent for many years after Marske had left the district.

It is at least probable that Marske ran in the Forest during the lifetime of the Duke of Cumberland; for that prince was Warden of the New Forest, and evidence is forthcoming to show that he made a systematic attempt to better the stamp of pony.

For many decades after this infusion of thoroughbred blood nothing was done to maintain the improvement made. On the contrary, the demand for New Forest ponies increased, and the commoners took advantage of the higher prices obtainable to sell the best of their young stock; thus the breed steadily degenerated, until the late Prince Consort sent a grey Arab stallion to stand at New Park. The effects of this fresh strain of blood were soon evident; but history, as exemplified by the beneficial results of Marske’s service, repeated itself; the commoners were too ready to sell the pick of the young animals, wherebythe benefits which should have accrued were heavily discounted.

It must be explained that the large breeders have running in the Forest a hundred ponies, or even more; many breeders possess forty or fifty, while the small occupiers own as many as they can keep during the winter. Their sole responsibility to the Crown in respect of the ponies is the “marking fee” (raised in 1897 from eighteen pence to two shillings per head), which goes to the Verderer’s Court. The marking system enables the Court to know how many ponies are running in the Forest, and the latest census showed about 3,000 animals, of which it was estimated some 1,800 were breeding mares.

From spring to autumn the droves range the Forest at will, affecting, of course, the best pasturage, or, in the heat of summer, the shadiest localities; in winter about 1800 ponies are taken into pastures, the remaining 1200 being left at large.

It is to be observed that the most profitable animals are the hardy ones, which run in the Forest all the year round. The majority of the young animals are handled only for the purpose of marking, and are never, if possible, driven off their own ground. Thus,unless strange stallions are used, it is very difficult to change the blood, the forest-born stallion remaining in his own locality and collecting his own harem around him. “In-and-in” breeding is therefore inevitable. Besides these 3,000 it is estimated that about the Forest neighbourhood some 2,000 ponies are worked in light carts and other vehicles, and, as many of these ponies are used for breeding purposes, it will be seen what an important source of pony supply we have in the New Forest district.

When the influence of the Arab sire sent by the Prince Consort ceased to be felt, degeneration again set in, the decreased prices brought by ponies at the fairs proving conclusively how the breed was deteriorating. To combat the evil the Court of Verderers in 1885 hired four well-bred stallions, which were kept by the “Agisters,” or markers of ponies, for the service of commoners’ mares at nominal fees. Two seasons’ experience proved that funds would not bear the strain, and the horses were sold; with the less hesitation because it was found that in the absence of any inducement to the breeders to retain promising young stock, good foals and bad were alike sent for sale to the fairs. Moreover, the wild mares were not ofcourse covered by these stallions, and the majority of the New Forest stock obtained no benefit from their presence in the district. The “ponies in hand,” nevertheless, were more than sufficiently numerous to be considered, and in 1889 it was arranged to provide the necessary inducement to keep promising youngsters by giving premiums at a stallion show in April of each year, winners of premiums to run in the Forest till the following August; and this scheme has been productive of very marked results in the way of keeping good stock to reproduce their kind. Her Majesty in 1889 lent two Arab stallions, Abeyan and Yirassan, for use in the district, and these, remaining for two and three seasons respectively, did much good. A son of the former, out of a Welsh mare, now stands in the district. His owner, Mr. Moens, states that his produce show great improvement, and his services are in eager demand among the commoners. The general improvement in the Forest ponies since 1890 is very striking.

Lack of funds has seriously handicapped the New Forest Pony Association in its work, and the burden of carrying out the programme has fallen upon the shoulders of a few. Conspicuous among those whohave borne the lion’s share of the task is Lord Arthur Cecil, who now turns out no fewer than twenty-two stallions for the benefit of the commoners generally. For many years past Lord Arthur has interested himself in the improvement of the breed; he has been using with much success stallions of a distinct and pure breed from the Island of Rum off the West coast of Scotland. These are the original Black Galloways which were found in a wild state on the island in 1840 by the late Marquis of Salisbury, and were always kept pure. Lord Arthur secured the whole stock in the year 1888. I cannot do better than give, practically in its entirety, his interesting letter on the subject of the ponies which for the last ten years have been increasingly used in the New Forest so much to the advantage of the breed:

“The Rum ponies which were much thought of by my father seem to be quite a type of themselves, having characteristics which would almost enable one to recognise them anywhere. Every one of those I bought in 1888 hadhazel, notbrowneyes; and though only a small boy in 1862, when six or seven of those ponies came to Hatfield, I can remember that they also had the hazel eye. They have, almost without exception, very good hind-quarters, with the tail well set up; and it is in this respect that I hope they will do good in the New Forest. On the otherhand, they have big plain heads which are not liked by the commoners. This defect, however, is rapidly disappearing with good keep, as it does with all breeds of ponies.“After I bought the ponies in 1888 and began breeding I was at a loss to know how to continue the breed, as I could not well use the stallion which accompanied the mares to his own progeny. I remembered having seen at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show, in 1883, a stallion which had interested me very much, being exactly like the ponies I remembered coming to Hatfield. I enclose ... copy of a letter[3]received from his breeder.

“After I bought the ponies in 1888 and began breeding I was at a loss to know how to continue the breed, as I could not well use the stallion which accompanied the mares to his own progeny. I remembered having seen at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show, in 1883, a stallion which had interested me very much, being exactly like the ponies I remembered coming to Hatfield. I enclose ... copy of a letter[3]received from his breeder.

[3]“The pony, Highland Laddie ... was bred by us at Coulmore, Ross-shire; being the youngest, I think, of seven foals thrown by the black mare, Polly, to Allan Kingsburgh (Lord Lovat’s stallion) ... and, as far as I know, Polly was never covered by any other horse. Most of her foals, if not all, were shown by us and won prizes at country and the Highland Agricultural Society’s Meetings in the North. Her third foal, Glen, a jet-black stallion, took 2nd prize in his class at the Aberdeen Show in 1880 (I think), and again took the medal for pony stallions at Perth in 1881 or 1882. At the same show Polly’s second foal, Blackie, took second prize in the gelding class, and her fourth foal (the eldest of the bay mares), shown at Inverness by McKenzie of Kintail, would easily have taken a prize in her class but for an accident on the railway or ferry ... which lamed her for the meeting. Your pony has, of course, the same pedigree as those.... The Rum ponies were always supposed to be pure, as the Marquis of Salisbury was known to take a great interest in the breed ... though not sure, I believe a pony stallion of another strain, a dun with black mane and tail (Lord Ronald) was sold by my father to go to Rum.... Allan Kingsburgh and Polly were both bred by my father.... Allan’s dam was a bay mare, Polly’s was a grey named Maria. I know the stock from which both came: it was brought long ago from Glenelg and bred and kept pure by my grandfather and ancestors who lived in Glenelg when that Barony belonged to the MacLeod of MacLeods. I am not sure of the sires of either Allan or Polly, but know they were both pure Highland. One, I think, was Lord Ronald which I formerly mentioned, and the other a pony belonging to a Mr. Stewart in Skye (a known breeder of Highland cattle).”

... It is curious that I should have thus dropped on to exactly the same kind of thing that my father is supposed to have used; he used the same blood years ago in Lord Ronald.“I think what first interested me so much in these ponies was that, as long ago as I can remember anything, I heard my father describing them to old Lord Cowley and the Duke of Wellington. He told them how like the Spanish horses he had thought the ponies in 1845; and mentioned how he had turned down a stallion on the island and a Spanish jackass—some of the mules are still (1889) at Hatfield. He also said that he saw no reason why they should not be descended from some of the Spanish Armada horses which were wrecked on that coast. When the ponies—most of them stallions—came to Hatfield in 1862, I remember some of them broke out of the station; it took several days to catch them again. They were almost unbreakable, but my brother, Lionel, and I managed to get two of them sufficiently quiet forusto ride, though they would not have been considered safe conveyances for an elderly gentleman. We were never quite sure of their age, but they must have been nearly thirty when they died. I believe my father had intended these ponies to be kept entire, but they were so hopelessly savage they had to be cut. They could trot twelve miles in fifty-five minutes after they were twenty years old, and could gallop and jump anything in the saddle.“My father’s theory about the Spanish Armada receives curious corroboration in the well-known fact that a galleon lies sunk in Tobermory Bay; while, in the “Armada” number of theIllustrated London Newswhich was published in 1888 (the same year that I bought the ponies), there was a small map which showed the storms off the North and West of Scotland, which are almost exactly coincident with the occurrence of this particular type of pony, though no place was so favourable for breeding a type as a remote island like Rum.

... It is curious that I should have thus dropped on to exactly the same kind of thing that my father is supposed to have used; he used the same blood years ago in Lord Ronald.

“I think what first interested me so much in these ponies was that, as long ago as I can remember anything, I heard my father describing them to old Lord Cowley and the Duke of Wellington. He told them how like the Spanish horses he had thought the ponies in 1845; and mentioned how he had turned down a stallion on the island and a Spanish jackass—some of the mules are still (1889) at Hatfield. He also said that he saw no reason why they should not be descended from some of the Spanish Armada horses which were wrecked on that coast. When the ponies—most of them stallions—came to Hatfield in 1862, I remember some of them broke out of the station; it took several days to catch them again. They were almost unbreakable, but my brother, Lionel, and I managed to get two of them sufficiently quiet forusto ride, though they would not have been considered safe conveyances for an elderly gentleman. We were never quite sure of their age, but they must have been nearly thirty when they died. I believe my father had intended these ponies to be kept entire, but they were so hopelessly savage they had to be cut. They could trot twelve miles in fifty-five minutes after they were twenty years old, and could gallop and jump anything in the saddle.

“My father’s theory about the Spanish Armada receives curious corroboration in the well-known fact that a galleon lies sunk in Tobermory Bay; while, in the “Armada” number of theIllustrated London Newswhich was published in 1888 (the same year that I bought the ponies), there was a small map which showed the storms off the North and West of Scotland, which are almost exactly coincident with the occurrence of this particular type of pony, though no place was so favourable for breeding a type as a remote island like Rum.

“When my mother visited Rum the people of the adjacent island of Canna gave her a pony mare which I also remember, very old, at Hatfield. She was a rich cream colour; she threw a foal which had all the characteristics, the hazel eye, long croup and big head.“I have noticed all the deer-stalking ponies I could see on the look-out for some of these characteristics; but, with the exception of the hazel eye and a somewhat strong inclination towards blackness in colour, I cannot say that I have seen much trace of the same kind of pony on the mainland in Scotland. This, however, is no doubt rather through crossing with other strains than because they have not some of the original blood; and I feel sure that the Galloway of olden days was of the same type, though that term has now come to mean something quite different and in no way connected with the district on the West Coast of Scotland.“The hazel eye is not uncommon on Exmoor, and occurs in the Welsh pony. It would be a very interesting study to try and trace the tendency to show that colour; it would, I think, throw light on the ancestry of many horses and ponies; or, at least, it would reveal many curious instances ofreversion.”

“I have noticed all the deer-stalking ponies I could see on the look-out for some of these characteristics; but, with the exception of the hazel eye and a somewhat strong inclination towards blackness in colour, I cannot say that I have seen much trace of the same kind of pony on the mainland in Scotland. This, however, is no doubt rather through crossing with other strains than because they have not some of the original blood; and I feel sure that the Galloway of olden days was of the same type, though that term has now come to mean something quite different and in no way connected with the district on the West Coast of Scotland.

“The hazel eye is not uncommon on Exmoor, and occurs in the Welsh pony. It would be a very interesting study to try and trace the tendency to show that colour; it would, I think, throw light on the ancestry of many horses and ponies; or, at least, it would reveal many curious instances ofreversion.”

Lord Arthur, in conclusion, deprecates the susceptibility of pony breeders generally to the influence of fashion; he is of opinion that efforts made in some districts to increase size, while efforts elsewhere are directed to its reduction, cannot in the long run be beneficial; whereas, if Nature were allowed to determine the size of pony suitable for each locality, valuable results might beobtained by crossing the different breeds. It is quite certain that the perpetuation of a breed larger than the character of the country and pasture can support can only be secured by the constant introduction of alien blood, which in course of time will completely alter the local stamp, and not necessarily for the better.

The Hon. Gerald Lascelles, Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest, has said of this locality: “You have a magnificent run for your ponies. Your mares might breed from ponies of almost any quality.... Ponies running out all winter in the mountains of Ireland and of Wales, on Exmoor, in Cornwall, and on the Cumberland and Yorkshire fells, have a far worse climate to face than that of the New Forest, and no better pasture. Such ponies would laugh at the hardships of the New Forest.” The New Forest pony is perhaps less hardy than some of the hill breeds, but his constitution is quite robust enough to be one of his most valuable attributes; and opinions are not unnaturally divided as to the desirability of increasing his size, if gain of inches mean sacrifice of hardiness. Thirteen hands was the height the Forest breeders formerly admitted to be the maximum desirable; butof recent years their views on this point have been somewhat enlarged.

The close resemblance of the Rum ponies to the native of the New Forest marks out these stallions as peculiarly suitable for crossing purposes. For this reason, and also because their number must exercise strong and speedy influence upon the wild Forest mares, the foregoing particulars have been given in detail.

Lord Arthur believes that the Welsh pony stallion of about 13·1 or 13·2 would be as good a cross for the New Forest pony as any now obtainable.

Lord Ebrington, who bought Exmoor and the Simonsbath stud of improved Exmoor ponies, lent one of his stallions to the New Forest Association in the summer of 1898, and this sire has done good service among the wild mares.

When broken the New Forest ponies are generally far more spirited than the ordinary run of British ponies. The practice of using the “ponies in hand” for driving the wild mobs to be branded, &c., teaches them to turn quickly and gallop collectedly on rough ground; they thus acquire great cleverness.

As regards their market value, the following letter from Mr. W. J. C. Moens, a mostenergetic member of the Council of the Association, gives the best idea.

“At the last Ringwood Fair, December 11th, 1897, there was a larger outside demand for suckers than ever experienced; buyers coming from Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Essex, Somersetshire and Dorsetshire. The prices ran from £4 to £6 10s.; the larger dealers buying about fifty to sixty each, which they trucked (25 to 30 in a truck) away by rail. One lot of about 55 were sold at once by auction at Brighton, and realised £6, £7 and £8 each, one fetching £10. The foals improve enormously on good keep. Our Forest feed is hardly good enough; on richer lands the ponies grow nearly a hand higher and get more substance. Since our Association has improved the breed, of late years, very many have gone to the Kent Marshes, where they are highly thought of, very much more so than the Dartmoor ponies. Yearlings at last Lyndhurst Pony Fair, in August, fetched £5 to £8, but the average was spoiled by two large sales by auction of ‘lane haunters’—old mares and other cast-offs—which realised small prices.... I have seen some of our improved ponies at Hastings and elsewhere, broken in, and about five years old. They are much valued and sell for about £25.... The general improvement since 1889 or 1890 is very marked; and, though there was some opposition to the idea of bettering ‘the real Forester’ at first, now all admit the benefit of the work.”

For the information of those interested in this breed, the following description, furnished to the Polo Pony Society for their Stud Book (vol. v.) by the New Forest Local Committee, may be quoted:

For the New Forest pony it is difficult to give any exact description, but the best class of them are from 12 hands to 13 hands 2 inches high according to the portion of the Forest on which they are reared. If taken off the Forest when they are weaned and well kept during the first two winters, they are said very often to attain the size of 14 hands 1 inch. There is sometimes an apparent deficiency of bone, but what there is should be of the very best quality. The feet are wide and well formed. They are often considered goose-rumped, but their hocks should be all that could be desired. In colour they may be said to range through every variety, though there are not many duns, and few if any piebalds left. The flea-bitten greys which are still very numerous on the Forest show strong traces of an Arab cross. The shoulders, though not always what might be desired in point of depth, are almost invariably fine and well laid. It is a great characteristic of the New Forest pony to be always gay and alert, and, though they are extremely good-tempered and docile when fairly broken, they are quite indomitable until they are completely cornered. The true Forester is never sulky.

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