42 Moorland Ponies. 



it promises well for the success of the proposals that the 

 Government is being advised in the matter by Mr. E. P. 

 Northey, of Okehampton, who enjoys the fullest confidence 

 of all breeders of Dartmoor ponies. 



Newington, T. PALMER. 



Tavistock. 



II.— EXMOOR PONIES. 



There is no doubt that ponies have been running in the 

 Exmoor district in a practically wild state for many centuries, 

 in fact their history dates back to times of antiquity. The 

 claim has been advanced that they are originally descended 

 from stock introduced into Cornwall by Phcenician traders 

 over two thousand years ago, but of this, needless to say, 

 there is no confirmation. Exmoor ponies originally formed one 

 single race with Dartmoor ponies, and thus both breeds have 

 a common ancestry, but they became two distinct breeds a 

 great time ago. It may be, as is claimed by many authorities, 

 that all breeds of mountain and moorland ponies have a common 

 origin. Although descended from the same ancestors they 

 have been differentiated by the influence of their environ- 

 ment and by the treatment they have received from the 

 hands of man, into separate breeds, each of which has, at the 

 present day, its own characteristics of colour, type, and tem- 

 perament. 



No one who has a knowledge of the respective breed types 

 of Exmoor and Dartmoor ponies would now confuse the two, 

 although the Dartmoor pony owes much of his improvement to 

 the introduction of a large number of Exmoor ponies some fifty 

 years ago. A few y- ars ago, too, Lord Arthur Cecil purchased 

 an Exmoor Stallion from Earl Fortescue which he mated with 

 his New Forest mares, and was greatly pleased with the cross. 

 It will be seen from this that the Exmoor pony plays an 

 important part in the breeding of other Moorland ponies. 



The first person really to take an interest in the breeding 

 and improving of Exmoor ponies was Mr. John Knight, who in 

 1820 purchased 10,2G2 acres of Exmoor from the Crown, and 

 at a later date brought his total acreage up to 16,000 by 

 purchasing Sir Thomas Acland's portion. Sir Thomas Acland 

 having sold his Exmoor property moved his original and pure 

 herd to Winsford Hill, near Dulverton. These ponies preserve 

 the full charactei'istics of the old strain, and at the present day 

 all other breeders when trying to improve their strain like to do 

 so by the purchase of stallions of Sir Thomas Acland's breeding. 



Mr. Knight purchased two Dongola Aral) stallions. One of 

 these wa,s njated wjtli a number of Exnjoor njares, the foal^ 



