STUD BOOK. 63 



Marske. The Welsh pony is often a beautiful animal, and 

 can scarcely be tired. The New Forest evinces the source 

 whence he sprung, by his spirit, speed, and endurance. 



The Exmore ponies are far from being so handsome as 

 the Welsh, but they are hardy and useful The Dartmoor 

 ponies are still more deficient in beauty of form, but well 

 suited to the country in which they are bred. 



The Highland pony partakes of all the hardihood of the 

 others, but is slower and somewhat unpleasant in his paces. 

 The Shetlander is the most beautiful of the inhabitants of 

 the northern islands, although of a very diminutive size, vary- 

 ing from seven and a half to nine and a half hands in height. 

 He has a small head, a good-tempered countenance, and a 

 short neck becoming gradually fine upwards. The shoulders 

 are low and thick, the back short, the quarters expanded and 

 powerful, the legs flat and fine, and the foot retains its nat- 

 ural form even in old age. 



THE CABT-HOBSE. 



Although we have incidentally spoken of one or two va- 

 rieties of the draught-horse, our volume would not be com- 

 plete did we not enter more particularly into a description of 

 agricultural horses. The cart-horse varies in almost every 

 county, but one particular characteristic is, or should be, ac- 

 tivity, in conjunction with such a degree of weight as will 

 give them more physical power in draught. 



The cart-horse should not be more than sixteen hands 

 high, with light, well-shaped head and neck, short ears, full 

 chest, large shoulders, low in front, the rump being higher 

 than the forehand, back strong and compact, legs short and 

 flat, fillets large, and pliable in the joints. 



For heavy wagon draught the horses should be large, 

 provided the size arises from build, and not from flesh alone, 

 which they will be if fed on sloppy meat this increasing the 

 cellular and adipose matter, without nourishing the muscu- 

 lar fibre. 



The object of breeding draught-horses is to increase 

 strength; and this is not best accomplished by increasing 

 size, a compact horse of fifteen and a half or sixteen hands 

 high being frequently more powerful than one of seventeen. 

 Cart-horses, when well treated and moderately worked, live 

 to a great age, instances being on record of their reaching 

 forty, though regularly worked every day with younger 

 horses. 



