PONIES AND PONY-BREEDING 153 



brilliant-actioned and sizeable horses have been produced from the Coacher 

 and the Hackney. 



Assuming that action and not great stature is required, the introduction 

 of Hackney blood, provided always that the stallion used is Hackney-bred, 

 and not therefore the possessor of a strain of alien blood either Thoroughbred 

 or otherwise, is morally certain to produce what is required, though, of course, 

 if the mare is hopelessly bad, or else is bred in such a way that her blood 

 will not "nick" with that of the sire, a disappointment is likely to result. 

 All things being equal, however, it may safely be expected that the old and 

 true type of Hackney will provide his stock with action all round, a good 

 middle piece, and short, flat legs; whilst the Cleveland Bay will produce an 

 increase of size, though if bred to underbred mares his offspring will probably 

 be very plain. At the present time, a large number of American Eoadster 

 mares are being imported into this country, but the greatest care should 

 be exercised in breeding from them, as, excellent though their style and 

 manners may be, it should always be remembered that the horses on 

 the other side of the Atlantic possess a tendency to be light in barrel and 

 bone, and so if not bred to the i*ight sort of horse are likely to throw back 

 to a weedy ancestor. Still, these should throw something very good to an 

 old-fashioned short-legged, heavy-boned Hackney. 



Of the heavy breeds of draught-horse, the Suffolk undoubtedly is to be 

 regarded as providing the greatest held for valuable Harness crosses, and 

 if l)red to the Thoroughbred or Arab, and then to the Hackney, it is very 

 possible that a good stylish Harness horse might be produced, though 

 the majority would be more likely to be of the Vanner type. The first 

 crosses with either of the above varieties produce some extremely useful 

 animals, but as a rule these cannot be expected to possess the brilliancy of 

 action and the breediness which are associated with the highest class of 

 Harness horse, such as has been described above. 



PONIES AND PONY-BREEDING 



As many writers have truthfully observed, the first difficulty that 

 confronts a person who is attempting to describe a pony is the diversity 

 of opinions which exist upon the subject of the description. An animal 

 that is regarded as a Pony in one part of the country is styled a Cob 

 in another, the inhabitants of one district possessing very different ideas 

 upon the qualifying height from those entertained by the residents in 

 another. Then again these little horses appear in such different foi'ms, 

 that a description which holds good for one variety would not apply 

 in the least to another, the truth being that ponies are as varied in 



