120 INTRODUCTION. 



horses, with a hawk's-billed head, prominent eyes, 

 broad jaws, a strong neck, and an immense mane ; 

 they had round ribs, a straight back, sound legs, 

 and a bushy tail ; their figure was low and long, 

 but they were gentle and sober. 



In the British islands there was a race of indi- 

 genous poneys which Cassar found in part subdued 

 by the natives, and was known also for ages after 

 to roam in a wild state in every part of the island : 

 it is still imperfectly represented by the Scottish, 

 Welsh, New Forest, and Dartmoor breeds, they 

 having all the same characters of hardiness and a 

 long low form with bushy manes and tails; the 

 original colour may have been sooty, or else dun, 

 with the black streak on the spine which marks 

 the wild races of Northern Europe, — for these two 

 colours are, we believe, the most frequent. The 

 remains of war-cars discovered by Sir Richard Colt 

 Hoare, and still more the remarks of St. Austin^ 

 attest their stature ; for he says, " The Mannii, or 

 poneys brought from Britain, were chiefly in use 

 among strolling performers, to exhibit in feats of 

 their craft." Although the legions, and in particu- 

 lar the Alse of auxiliary cavalry, must have created 

 a new British race of horses, composed from the 

 different breeds brought to the island, and subse- 

 quently amalgamated with a part of the indigen- 

 ous race, the Anglo-Saxon conquest necessarily 

 brought in a third, consisting of their own, a 

 Jute, Frisonic, Frankish, Scandinavian, and Da- 

 nish intermixture, — in which the Frisonic and 



