76 THOROUGH-BRED VS. PONY 



and the intervening two days), an equal average rate of 

 speed as that of Stahremberg and a much higher rate while 

 going, and no one pretends that the Count or any other 

 of the Berlin- Vienna riders could have turned round and 

 done the same thing over again the succeeding week; 

 whereas this little marvel kept on doing it every week 

 for six months, and no one knows how much longer, over 

 a country having no roads deserving the name, by night, 

 and feeding only on bunch-grass. Which of the two is 

 the better performance? This one cannot, perhaps, be 

 equalled ; but to ride and repeat nearly as great distances 

 has never been and is not to-day considered an excep- 

 tional thing on the plains. 



And if this pony outdid the winner of the great Ger- 

 man race, by how far does he outrank the losers ? The 

 horse ridden by Count Stahremberg was brought in in 

 fairly good condition, but died within a day or two. The 

 horse of the German winner died. A very high percent- 

 age of the others either died or broke down midway, or 

 were ridden home moribund or ruined. They were kept 

 up, on dit, by all kinds of stimulants and nostrums on the 

 road. No accounts have reached us showing the condi- 

 tion of the horses' backs under the saddle, always a prime 

 proof of careful or unintelligent treatment. In fact, the 

 number of dead or maimed animals seems to be purposely 

 suppressed. That it was the ponies which came in with 

 the least injury will not surprise our Western men. While 

 a thorough-bred may outpace a pony, a ride which will 

 kill him will not permanently disable the little runt of 

 the prairie. The latter's ancestry has had to struggle 

 with too much hardship to be easily killed, while the 

 thorough-breds have been warmly housed and artificially 

 handled. The pony's heritage is to do and endure; the 

 thorough-bred' s to make pace. 



