THE PONIES OF CONNEMARA. 357 



sires might develop into excellent polo ponies, but they would hardly suit 

 the buyers that at present frequent Clifden and other markets, or make 

 light hunters. 



The Walers, so much in evidence in India and more recently in South 

 Africa, are said to be the " produce of the Arab, the English thoroughbred, 

 and the Clydesdale." In Austraha, where horses naturally tend to become 

 lean and wiry, Clydesdale blood may prove useful ; but, if one may judge by 

 what has already occurred in Ireland, the less Clydesdale and Shire blood 

 infused into the Irish ponies the better. A cross I recently made between a 

 small Clydesdale mare and a well-bred pony is far from shapely. By the 

 time the defects in make are removed from this cross, probably all the 

 Clydesdale blood will have been eliminated. In most Walers the origi- 

 nal Clydesdale blood has probably been completely lost by repeated 

 crossing with the English thoroughbred. 



It hence follows that the evolution of an ideal Connemara pony is an 

 extremely difficult problem. It is not merely a question of settling whether 

 thoroughbred, hackney, or Arab sires should be used, but rather how all 

 the good points in the present ponies may be combined, the weak points 

 eliminated, and the improved blend perpetuated. Intercrossing, unless 

 great care is exercised, almost invariably results in the loss of the good 

 points of at least one of the breeds. A violent cross may shake both breeds 

 to their foundations, and destroy all that has been gained by careful and 

 prolonged artificial selection. On the other hand, without intercrossing a 

 condition which is perhaps best described as staleness supervenes. The art 

 ol breeding consists mainly in realising when the rejuvenation of a strain 

 is required, and in using the right kind of blood for renewing the youth, 

 i.e., getting rid of staleness due to inbreeding or to an unsuitable environ- 

 ment. 



The Connemara ponies being, as a rule, non-impressive, they would be 

 easily swamped by either Arabs or thoroughbreds. On the Continent the 

 necessity of using non-impressive sires seems to be fully recognised (a con- 

 siderable number of the French Government sires are half breeds) ; but, for 

 some unaccountable reason, we have not yet poX. the length of establishing 

 a breed of hunters, i.e., a breed containing a more or less definite proportion 

 of thoroughbred blood. 



In order to improve the Connemara pony, two things seem imperative — 

 (i) to increase the "bone," and (2) to improve the make without destroying 

 the hardiness, stamina, and docility. The " bone " might be increased in 

 various ways, but care should be taken to maintain the pony characters — 

 the small head, short legs, etc. Probably the best plan would be to use 

 stout, active pony sires. Had the once famous Galloways of the Scottish 

 Lowlands been available, they would have answered admirably ; but there 

 are still powerful, large-boned ponies in various parts of the world. The 

 " bone " having been increased, the problem will then be to infuse just 

 enough Eastern blood to give character and shapeliness to the breed. The 

 Eastern blood may be obtained from the fountain-head — the Desert Arab, 

 or from a somewhat contaminated source — the English thoroughbred — or 

 perhaps, better still, from an Arab thoroughbred blend, such as is largely 

 used in France. 



One of the lessons of the South African War is that steps should be 

 taken to encourage the breeding of hardy ponies in every part of the 

 empire. It has recently been pointed out (Scottish Farmer, April 20, 1901, 



