346 THE RED DEER OF EX MOOR. 



sufficient to tell anyone that for a middle-weight to 

 hope to be with the present pack in even a moderate 

 gallop would be absurd. The pure bred Exmoor 

 pony is probably the most marvellous animal of his 

 inches in existence, and we have all seen small 

 animals of twelve hands and less, carrying weights 

 up to even fourteen stone, scrambling up and down 

 steep places with apparent ease, and galloping over 

 rough ground at an astonishing pace, but this has 

 always been when hounds have been dodging about 

 among the hills from covert to covert ; when hounds 

 run really fast for any length of time over the open 

 moor, an Exmoor pony, if burdened with more than 

 a feather-weight, is bound to be left behind. 



The real value of the Exmoor pony is as a stock 

 to breed from, and a well shaped horse, about fifteen 

 hands to fifteen two, with three strains of thorough- 

 bred and one strain Exmoor pony, will gallop and 

 stay against anything in the world, with a moderate 

 weight. If you are fortunate enough to find one 

 which, to the Exmoor pony and the thoroughbred 

 adds a strain of the old Devonshire pack-horse — now, 

 alas ! almost extinct — you may ask it to carry a welter- 

 weight at any sort of pace, over any sort of ground, 

 and you will not be disappointed ; but horses so bred 

 are very few and far between, and the lucky owners 

 are not easily tempted to part with them. There are 

 a considerable number of sm.all, smart horses bred 

 in the district from the farmers' mares, many, if not 

 most, of which contain a strong infusion of pony 



