THE POLO PONY. 



395 



well, have sloping shoulders, strong hocks, and his hind 

 legs well under him. The fact of his being rather 

 " goose-rumped " will be no detriment. These views are 

 strengthened by the remarks made on pages 310 and 311 

 about the conformation of the zebra ; for the polo pony, 

 like his striped relative, requires great ability of suddenly 

 stopping, turning round, and galloping off in the opposite 

 direction. This turn has to be done chiefly on the hind 



I'holo bij] 



Fig. 438. — English pony in South Africa. 



[ii. n. u. 



legs, which in this case will be more or less bent, and will 

 then have full power to project the pony in the new 

 direction. The best English polo ponies, such as the once 

 matchless Dynamite (Fig. 284), are animals which, but for 

 an accident of breeding, would have been high-class 

 hunters or brilliant chasers. 



