222 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



Even in conservative England, notwithstanding 

 jockey-boys, and gamblers, they are beginning to 

 wake up. 



A Polo-pony Stud-Book was started in England in 

 1894. In the preface it is stated that people ride 

 ponies as hacks a great deal more than formerly, 

 while * at present ' there was no distinct breed of 

 riding-ponies. 



This proves the growing tendency everywhere in 

 favour of low horses, also illustrated by the new army 

 policy in that direction. But I venture to question 

 the dictum that there is no distinct breed of riding- 

 ponies, because the author says he means ponies of 

 14 to 14.2 hands, and the latter height may be taken 

 to be the height of the Arab, and the description he 

 gives of the sort of horse required is exactly the 

 description of a somewhat low Arab. 



I have looked through the Stud- Books of these 

 polo-ponies for the first three years — viz., 1894, 1895, 

 1896 — and of its registered stallions I find that 

 in 1894, 25 out of 57; in 1895, 22 out of 30; 

 and in 1896, 11 out of 26 — in the three years, 

 58 out of 113 — are Arabs or of immediate 

 Arab descent, and others probably so — more than 

 half for certain ! What nonsense, then, to talk 

 of the Arab being as extinct as the dodo for prac- 

 tical purposes ! If the pure old English ponies 

 sufficed of themselves, why are more than half 

 the list of Arab blood ? Not to forget that nearly 

 all the breeds of English ponies have been improved, 



