PONIES AND PONY-BREEDING 165 



The Exmoor. — The Exmoor pony, like the Dartmoor, should not ex- 

 ceed 13 hands at the shoulder, even if he reaches that height, a fact that 

 is rather remarkable, for Exmoor is better supplied with nourishing keep 

 than Dartmoor. There is also a sort of glamour of romance in connection 

 with the Exmoor, as the stories of the mysterious Katerfelto — the dun 

 stallion which appeared upon the scene, from where no one appears ever 

 to have discovered — have been the thesis adopted by other writers besides 

 the great Whyte Melville, and to the public the mysterious is nearly 

 always attractive. Some sceptics asserted that there was never such an 

 animal as Katerfelto; but they were wrong, for he was eventually secured, 

 and while in captivity served several mares. Mr. G. S. Lowe, who investi- 

 gated his history upon the spot, asserts that he was a dun horse with a 

 black list down his back, and that his appearance was that of a blood-like 

 cob. Suffice it to say, that Katerfelto was no myth, and that his mysterious 

 appearance may probably be due to the fact that he had survived some 

 shipwreck and made his way to Exmoor unnoticed, or, at all events, for a 

 long time uncaptured by any of the inhabitants of the locality. The 

 residents in the village of Exmoor can offer no information whatsoever 

 concerning the origin of their ponies; all they appear to know is, that 

 this breed has existed for a period far beyond living memory, and that 

 the animals are most necessary to their comfort. 



About the year 1820, Sir John Knight purchased some 20,000 acres 

 of moorland, for the purpose mainly of raising ponies, and he afterwards 

 added to his original purchase the part of the forest that belonged to 

 Sir Thomas Acland, as well as the celebrated herd of ponies contained 

 thereon. The original stock was subsequently crossed with the Nubian 

 horse Dongola. the Arab, and the Thoroughbred; but he ultimately tired 

 of pony-breeding and devoted his attention more to sheep — not, however, 

 before the height of the Exmoor had been brought up to nearly 13 hands 

 by the use of Thoroughbred blood. 



In the year 1850, Sir Frederick Knight, who then owned Simonsbath, 

 recommenced pony-breeding operations to a great extent, and produced 

 some extraordinarily good-looking animals up to 13 hands, whilst several 

 extremely beautiful specimens of Sir Thomas Aeland's strain still survive. 

 The latter have chiefly been bred by the late Sir Thomas Acland at 

 Porloch, near Dulverton, to which place their ancestors were removed 

 when Sir John Knight purchased Simonsbath. It is believed that shortly 

 before his decease Sir Thomas Acland introduced some crosses, and so 

 followed the example of Sir John Knight. If so his action is much to be 

 regretted, as the truebred Exmoor pony had already become extremely 

 rare, for no British pony has been a greater victim of fantastic crosses. 



