120 INTRODUCTION. 



horses, with a hawk's-billed head, prominent eyes, 

 broad jaws, a strong neck, and an immense mane ; 

 they had round ribs, a straight back, sound legs, 

 and a bushy tail ; their figure was low and long, 

 but they were gentle and sober. 



In the British islands there was a race of indi- 

 genous poneys which Caesar found in part subdued 

 by the natives, and was known also for ages after 

 to roam in a wild state in every part of the island : 

 it is still imperfectly represented by the Scottish, 

 Welsh, New Forest, and Dartmoor breeds, they 

 having all the same characters of hardiness and a 

 long low form with bushy manes and tails; the 

 original colour may have been sooty, or else dun, 

 with the black streak on the spine which marks 

 the wild races of Northern Europe, for these two 

 colours are, we believe, the most frequent. The 

 remains of war-cars discovered by Sir Richard Colt 

 Hoare, and still more the remarks of St. Austin, 

 attest their stature ; for he says, " The Mannii, or 

 poneys brought from Britain, were chiefly in use 

 among strolling performers, to exhibit in feats of 

 their craft/' Although the legions, and in particu- 

 lar the Alas of auxiliary cavalry, must have created 

 a new British race of horses, composed from the 

 different breeds brought to the island, and subse- 

 quently amalgamated with a part of the indigen- 

 ous race, the Anglo-Saxon co?uflst necessarily 

 brought in a third, consisting of their own, a 

 Jute, Frisonic, Frankish, Scandinavian, and Da- 

 nish intermixture, in which the Frisonic and 



