466 HORSES POLO PONIES 



no such animals could be entered without certificates signed 

 by judges, unless they were certified leading prize-winners. 

 The certificates include freedom from hereditary disease. 



The late Captain Moray-Brown's description of a Polo 

 Pony is taken as a standard to aim at in the shape and 

 quality of a high-class riding pony. "He or she should have 

 a clean, well-bred head, a broad forehead and intelligent eye, 

 a well set-on neck, strong, flat legs, and good sound feet. 

 The nearer perfection you can get shoulders the better, for, 

 though sloping shoulders are not absolutely necessary for 

 turning quickly or for speed, yet good shoulders will often 

 enable your pony to recover himself if he makes a mistake 

 or gets knocked out of his stride. The pony's back should be 

 short and muscular ; the ribs well arched, and the loins 

 strong ; the quarters should be long, strong, and muscular, 

 with length from hip to hock, and the second thighs 

 well developed. Do not despise a pony with a tendency 

 to sickle hocks or with a slight goose-rump. These 

 points may offend the eye as far as symmetry is concerned, 

 but an animal thus made, though he may lose speed from the 

 conformation, can invariably turn quickly. Let your pony 

 show as much substance as a weight-carrying hunter, the 

 quality of a racehorse, and measure from 14 to 14 hands 2 

 in." To stand with the hind legs well under the body like a 

 zebra enables a polo pony to turn more cleverly in the game 

 than when the legs are placed perpendicularly, as they ought 

 to be in the case of other horses. 



The Polo Pony Stud Book differs from other British 

 Stud Books in admitting specimens of any breed that do not 

 exceed 14.2 hands, and that pass the rigid inspection of the 

 judges. Small-sized Thoroughbreds, such as "Rosewater," who 

 gained first in a strong polo class at Hurlingham ; " Dancing 

 Girl " by " Starlight " out of " Pretty Dance " ; and " Tessie " 

 a Newmarket as well as a pony race winner are eligible, and 

 supply an important element in the foundation being laid of 

 the riding pony of the future. No distinct type of riding 

 pony exists, and the individual specimens of " weight- 

 carrying" ponies are rare and valuable, and much in demand. 

 Although many are admitted to the Register, " the weight- 

 carrying blood polo pony is the type which the Society con- 

 siders is the one to be aimed at" 



