44 EWE-NECKS 



ewe-neck. The Indian's gag-bit, invariably applied with 

 a jerk, throws up the pony's head instead of bringing it 

 down, as the slow and light application of the school-curb 

 will do, and this, it is thought by many, tends to develop 

 the ewe-neck. But this is scarcely a theory which can be 

 borne out by the facts, for the Arabian retains his fine 

 crest under the same course of treatment. A more suffi- 

 cient reason may be found in the fact that the starvation 

 which the pony annually undergoes in the winter months 

 tends to deplete him of every superfluous ounce of flesh 

 wherever it may lie. The crest in the horse is mostly 

 meat, and its annual depletion, never quite replaced, has 

 finally brought down the Indian pony's neck nearer to the 

 outline of the skeleton. It was with much ado under his 

 scant diet that the pony held on to life during the winter ; 

 he could not scrape together enough food to flesh up a 

 merely ornamental appendage like a crest. Most Moors 

 and Arabs, on the other hand, prize the beauty of the high- 

 built neck, and breed for it ; and their steeds are far bet- 

 ter fed. There is rarely snow where they dwell ; forage 

 of some kind is to be had in the oases, and the master al- 

 ways stores up some barley and straw for his steed ; or in 

 case of need will starve his daughters to feed his mares. 

 The Indian cares for his pony only for what he can do 

 for him, and once lost, the crest would with difficulty be 

 replaced, for few Indians have any conception of breeding. 

 The bronco's mean crest is distressing, but it is in inverse 

 ratio to his endurance and usefulness. Well fed and cared 

 for, he will regain his crest to a marked extent. 



As we shall later see when we reach the land of the 

 pure -bred Arabian, there are many more points of simi- 

 larity than are generally supposed to exist between this 

 steed of royal lineage and his country cousin across the 

 sea. The city dwellers, or those who live near enough to 



