THE MULTIPLE ORIGIN OF HORSES AND PONTES. 447 



less vestiges, so long as tlie}^ are luirinless. When nii ergot or a 

 chestnut is accidentally torn off there is consideral)le hjss of blood. 

 It is conceivable that in the remote past hor-scs which happened to 

 l)e I)orn without ergots proved better adapted for a life in the sub- 

 arctic regions — Avere less likely to suffer from injury when moving 

 through frozen suoaa and to become a prey to wolves — and hence 

 had a better chance of surviving and leaving descendants." 



There is also evidence of specialization in the teeth of the Celtic 

 pony. In many horses — e. g., the horses of southeastern Asia — the 

 canines and upjx'r first i)rem()lars (wolf teeth) are well developed, 

 but in the Celtic ])ony the first premolars seem to l)e invariably 

 absent, while the canines are either al)sent oi- very minute, even in 

 old males. In all the typical Celtic }ioni(>s I have seen the head is 

 small, Arab like in outline, and well put on to a relatively long neck: 

 the muzzle is Hue and slightly arched, the under lip short and well 

 molded, the nostrils are wide, and the eyes on a level with the fore- 

 head, Avhile tlie ears are short, white tipped, and carried as a rule in 

 an upright position. Owing to the shortness of the jaws the pro- 

 ])ortion of the head t(^ the body is as 1 to ti.oO instead of 1 to 2.20, 

 as in the w-ild horse. 



Except in size I have been unable to discover any difference be- 

 tween the skeleton and teeth of the Celtic pony and those of the small 

 horse of the " elephant bed " of the Brighton Pleistocence. In the 

 most northern part of Iceland, where the few pui-e sjiecimens of the 

 Celtic pony survive, only a height of 12 hands (48 inches) is 

 reached. Under more favorable conditions the height would ])rob- 

 ably bo 50 or 52 inches, the size of some of the '' elephant l)ed '' 

 horses and of the smaller variety of the desert-bred Arab, to w'hich 

 the small, slender-limbed occidental pony closely approximates. 



In tem])eranient the Celtic pony is very different from the wild 

 horse. Captain TIayes had no difficulty in handling the wild horse 

 in my possession, but from first to last, though giving evidence of 

 marked intelligence, it was absolutely irresponsive and spiritless. 

 A Celtic pony, on the other hand, rapidly learns what the trainer 

 wishes and responds with alacrity. In its keenness and speed, stay- 

 ing power and agility, a pure Celtic pony is as different from an 

 ordinary heavy-headed Iceland pony (i. e., a dwarf horse) as an 

 Arab is from a cart horse. 



The question may now be asked, is my most tyi)icai Celtic pony a 

 pure or nearly pu.re specimen of a once widely distributed wild 

 species, or is it at most an approximation to an ideal type living 



a If , as it seems likely, the absence of ergots (i. e., of s])ni's in the center of 

 the footlocks) is an advantage in ariil regions, snch as the Libyan Plateau, 

 we can understand their frequent absence in Barbs and Arabs. 



