64 Breeds of Horses 



out, even tradition has little or nothing to say on the subject. 

 Lord Arthur Cecil thinks that the Fell pony and the Highland 

 pony are nearly akin, and he is an authority on anything and 

 everything connected with ponies. It may be so, and, indeed, it 

 is almost inevitable that there should be some relationship between 

 the Highland pony and the Fell pony, as he is known in Scotland. 

 But the old light trotting cart horse, or the Vardy horse, always 

 crops up in my mind when I see a good Fell pony, carrying his 

 head and tail well, put his foot out and his hocks under him, and 

 making a great show. 



It is easy to see how these hardy little ponies could be gradually 

 evolved from the light, clean-legged cart horse that was so popular 

 at one time, at any rate on the east coast. A cold climate and 

 short commons would bring about a reduction in size; and it must 

 be remembered, if this is supposed to be the origin of the Fell 

 pony, that his ancestor was not a very big one to begin with, 

 so the reduction of size would not be very great. I have no 

 historical grounds for such a theory — it is merely a matter of 

 surmise, and it is offered as a suggestion. In support of it, however, 

 it may be permissible to point out that the Fell pony survives 

 in the Fells and mountainous districts, in the plains of which, 

 the Vardy horse was such a favourite amongst all who knew 

 him. 



Why the Fell pony should have gradually fallen ofif in numbers 

 till there are comparatively few left it is difficult to say, for there is 

 no more useful breed for the small hjll farmer. Is it that, like some 

 other breeds, the hill pony is so well adapted for crossing that he 

 has been crossed and crossed, and crossed again, till the old type 

 has, in many instances, disappeared? It may well be so, and if it 

 is, the more the pity. 



The Fell pony, it is said, should stand from 12 hands 3 in. to 

 14 hands i in. I do not remember to have seen any of the breed 

 under 13 hands 2 in., and most of those I have come in contact 

 with have stood about 14 hands. Short on the leg, with capital bone 

 and plenty of it, they remind one of a miniature Clydesdale, with 

 good shoulders. Needless to say, they are fine movers. I am not 

 aware of the extent to which breeding on the Fells prevails at the 

 present time, but when, some few years ago, I went through 

 Cumberland and Westmorland, the only ponies I saw were practi- 

 cally housebred. That is, they were brought down to the enclosures, 

 and no doubt sheltered when the weather was very bad, though the 

 shelter would perhaps scarcely have been considered as such by 

 a fashionable stud groom. There may be in places ponies bred in 



