322 POLO 



long and muscular, and the hind legs bent a bit at the hocks- 

 and coming well under the animal ; for a pony with a straight 

 hock will never turn quick enough. Given all these, besides a 

 good temper and courage, and it will be your own fault if your 

 pony does not become all you can desire. 



To play polo a pony should be a perfect ' school ' animal, 

 and the lessons he will learn in the riding-schoolsuch as pas- 

 saging, reining back, and the ordinary circles and changes 

 will prove invaluable. The following necessary qualifications 

 in a good polo pony, which appeared in a late issue of Hayes's 

 ' Sporting News,' are so much to the point that I cannot refrain 

 from quoting them. The writer says : ist. A pony should be 

 able to strike off from the halt into the canter or gallop. 2nd. 

 He should be able to De brought to the halt at the fastest 

 gallop in a very few strides. 3rd. He should be trained to 

 change his leading leg the moment the proper ' aids ' are ap- 

 plied. 4th. He should go at any rate of speed (between his 

 natural limits) his rider may wish. 5th. He should be capable 

 of being made to passage to the right or left at a canter. 



We will suppose that you have been fortunate enough ta 

 become the possessor of such a paragon, and that you have 

 bought him unbroken. Your first step will be to treat him 

 kindly and get him to know you and care for you. This can 

 very easily be done. A carrot, an apple, or a lump of sugar,, 

 given whenever you go near the pony, and also whenever he 

 plays, both before and after a game, will soon make him con- 

 nect your presence with delicacies such as he delights in, and, 

 though the love may be cupboard love, it will be the first step 

 gained towards winning his affections. 



Select as your training ground as large and as open a space 

 as you can. If the pony's education is carried on in a small 

 field, he gets to know his way about it too well, and will prob- 

 ably pull, when going towards the place he has come in at 

 and hang back when going away from it. The best plan to 

 counteract this is to put your spare sticks &c. in a different 

 part of the field each day. The pony knows that you stop 



