THE PONY BREEDS OF HORSES 159 



or limb is almost unknown. For generations ponies 

 have been accustomed to pick their way up and down 

 stony precipitous hillsides. Their feet and legs conse- 

 quently are of the very best, and they are remarkably 

 sure-footed. 



History of horses in warfare is replete with accounts 

 of the endurance of ponies and their ability to thrive on 

 poor and scanty food. Sir Walter Gilbey, in " Ponies, 

 Past and Present," gives an interesting account. Sir 

 Teddy, a twelve-hand pony, raced with the London mail 

 coach to Exeter, a distance of 172 miles. He was led 

 between two horses all the way, and carried no rider, 

 performing the journey in 23 hours and 20 minutes, beat- 

 ing the coach by 59 minutes. J. C. Appleby, in his book, 

 " Nimrod," mentions the fact that during the drawing of 

 the Irish lottery the news was conveyed by express from 

 Holyhead to London, chiefly by ponies, at the rate of 

 nearly twenty miles an hour. Mr. Whyte, in his " His- 

 tory of the British Turf," gives an account of a thirteen- 

 hand three-inch mare belonging to Mr. Daniel Crocker, 

 that in April, 1754, traveled 300 miles on Newmarket 

 Heath in 64 hours and 20 minutes, which was 7 hours and 

 40 minutes better than the time for which she had been 

 backed to perform the journey; namely, 72 hours. On 

 one of the days, Tuesday, April 23, she went 108 miles; 

 the day before and the day after she covered 96 miles, 

 each day. She was ridden by a boy who weighed 65 

 pounds, and this did not include saddle and bridle. In 

 our own country there are many accounts of endurance 

 of western ponies. 



Nor is it only in endurance that the pony excels. His 

 greater stamina is also evidenced in his length of life. 

 The following instances in which ponies have attained 



