THE PONIES OF CONNEMARA. 355 



cloak caught by the mare's tail, which she carried in her gallop high to a 

 degree. {Upton ; Gleanings from the Desert, p. 327.) That a tradition of 

 this kind might predispose Arab breeders in favour of horses that carried 

 the tail high — which implies its being well set-up — is quite possible. In the 

 Barb the tail is, as a rule, not " well-up." Whether this is due to the Barb 

 being a cross between the Arab and the primeval unimproved horse of North 

 Africa, or to the " Abyan " (the mare of the cloak) strain never having 

 reached Ethiopa, it is impossible to say. 



In the plain and striped Equidce, specialised for life among the moun- 

 tains, and among most mules there is a decided drop from the croup to the 

 root of the tail. Notwithstanding this apparent weakness of the hind- 

 quarters, both asses and mules are relatively extremely powerful and well 

 adapted for moving both up and down hills. The same may be said of the 

 majority of the unimproved Eastern ponies (the Pegu and others not yet 

 crossed with the Arab), many of which, notwithstanding straight shoulders 

 and drooping, weak-looking quarters, gallop and trot well, and, doubtless 

 owing to their great girth and powerful loins, carry day after day enormous 

 weights over long distances. 



Other points often insisted on are an Arab-like forehead, good girth, and 

 plenty of " bone." 



In the remote three-hoofed ancestors of the horse the orbits occupied a 

 lateral position— z'.^., the eyes were less adapted for looking ahead than 

 sideways. In the old Irish and certain other European breeds, the eyes 

 were more or less lateral in position ; while in Arabs, doubtless as the 

 result of artificial selection, they are large and well to the front. 



In the former case the space between the eyes is decidedly convex ; in 

 the latter it is usually nearly flat. Perhaps inquiries might show that, 

 though horses with laterally placed eyes may be shortsighted, they are not 

 less intelligent than horses with full prominent eyes. 



All other things being equal, the greater the girth and the stronger the 

 loins the better. Ponies with weak loins and a small girth may do wonders ; 

 but strong-loined, deep-ribbed ponies last longest and recover fastest. The 

 lean, light, wiry Australian Walers are excellent while in condition, but 

 when once out of form they are slow in recovering ; while ponies without a 

 •drop of thoroughbred blood — Syrian, Tartar, Mongolian, Burmese, etc. — 

 but with strong loins, have often not only marvellous endurance, but as mar- 

 vellous recuperative powers. 



The term " bone " is apt to be misleading. The circumference of the 

 actual bone is little more than half the circumference of the leg midway 

 between the "knee" and the fetlock, e.g., in a pony measuring 7^ inches 

 in circumference below the knee, the cannon bone (third metacarpal) may 

 measure only four inches. It is, doubtless, important to have large, ivory- 

 like cannon bones, yet when the forelegs give way, the cause (unless tTiere 

 are " splints ") is generally due to a breakdown of the ligaments and ten- 

 dons. The legs of ponies probably last better than the legs of tall horses, 

 not only because they are shorter, but also because the short neck tends to 

 reheve the strain on the forelegs, and because the constant slight jars and 

 strains incidental to a semi-wild life during colthood tend to make the 

 tendons and ligaments as strong as fine-tempered ropes and bands of steel. 

 It thus appears that ponies which very decidedly fail to reach the ideal of 

 Sir Richard Green Price and others, and Vv^hich are not so well adapted for 

 galloping as a race-horse, may be extremely well adapted for the work of 



