PONIES AND PONY-BKEEDING 161 



friends amongst admirers of ponies, but the services of a sire possessed of 

 Hackney blood to any consideraljle extent are apt to produce a heavier class 

 of foal than those now in request. The fashion, of course, may change, 

 and perhaps it will before long, as it is by no means improbable that a 

 heavier breed and, on the whole, more powerful type of pony will be in 

 demand. As it is, generally speaking, there is naturally far more action in 

 the first cross Hackuey than in the first cross Thoroughbred pony; and 

 whilst the latter shows, as a rule, the more quality, the former possesses 

 the greater amount of substance. The Hackney, it must always be borne 

 in mind, is a trotter above all things and then a walker, whereas the 

 Thoroughbred is a galloper, and it is only natural to expect that the inherent 

 qualities of the sire in either instance will be transmitted to a greater or 

 less extent to his offspring. Of course, the character and breeding of the 

 mares — especially the breeding — will have a great deal to do with the 

 appearance and value of the foals. That goes without saying, as otherwise 

 the mares could be collected from all parts and merely selected by their 

 looks, without any attention being paid to their ancestors; but in such a 

 case it is to be feared that the success of the stud, if ever attained, would 

 be delayed for many a year, as the foals would come season after season in 

 all shapes and sizes; and unless a breeder can get hold of a " sorty" lot of 

 mares, all bred on pretty much the same lines, he cannot reasonably expect 

 anything like uniformity amongst their produce if they are all served by 

 the same horse, as no doubt they would be for a season or two at least after 

 the stud had been established. 



This brings us once again to the all-important question of inbreeding, 

 which has been alluded to above, when a reference w^as made to the 

 remarkable successes of Mr. ChristojDher Wilson. Here, of course, lies 

 one of the greatest secrets of the triumphs of that gentleman; but it 

 must be remembered that when he " sibbed" so strongly he was only 

 combining blood of which he thoroughly understood the projaerties. It 

 is questionable, therefore, whether a person who starts a pony farm by 

 collecting a herd of Dartmoor, or New Forest, or any other breed of 

 mares, and crosses them with a Thoroughbred or Hackney pony sire, would 

 be acting c[uite wisely if he determined to commence close inbreeding 

 at once and to shut his eyes to the imperfections of his stock, or their 

 approach or otherwise to the approved type. He may, of course, be 

 fortunate in getting one or two youngsters of exactly the class he wants 

 in the first or second season, and these he might breed together, and thus 

 make good progress towards the goal he has in view; but the wise man 

 will first of all try to establish the type he requires amongst his breeding 

 stock, and when he has produced the material, and enough of it to work 



Vol. I. 11 



