io8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 



tails which sweep the ground and are thickly haired 

 to the root. These ponies are kept by the Buriats 

 and other Mongol tribes in millions, and are 

 extremely hardy and enduring. Mr. C. W. Camp- 

 bell ^ states that " a good specimen of the Mongol 

 pony is perhaps the best of his size in the world 

 for general use. The head and shoulders will be 

 too heavy for elegance, the eyes none too full, 

 the muzzle and crest coarse, and the manners too 

 often objectionable, but the quarters, loins, and 

 legs are good, the barrel is deep and long, and 

 there is no deficiency in bone. . . . The size and 

 character vary with the locality. The commonest 

 colour is grey, chestnut follows, and then come 

 bay and sorrel. Stallions are selected animals, 

 especially in North Mongolia, but the mares are 

 not, and no special pains are taken anywhere to 

 improve a breed. Along the China border the 

 ponies are undersized, 12 to 13 hands, the result 

 of the excessive demands of the China markets 

 for all the larger beasts. As one travels northward, 

 and the China market becomes more remote, the 

 horse-flesh improves (12 to 14 hands), and the 

 best specimens of the Mongol pony are found 

 in the valley of the Kerulon." 



Mongolian ponies (pi. x. fig. 2) are brought down 

 to China in large droves for racing and polo purposes ; 



^ Report to Parliament on a Journey to Mongolia, London, 

 1904, p. 35. 



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