114 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



and saddle horses. The Swedish army horses 

 are loaned during a great part of the time to 

 the peasants, who may use them for saddle and 

 harness, but not for heavy work. The Swedish 



Suffolk-Punch M.irf. "Queen of Dla.moxds" 



Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



ponies bear a general resemblance to those of 

 Norway, Iceland, and the Shetland and Orkney 

 islands. They are mostly gray or mouse col- 

 ored, with black points. The smallest are found 

 on the island of Oland, and are called Glanders. 

 Large heads with heavy jaws, 

 thick, harsh coats, and tufted 

 manes and tails characterize 

 nearly all these northern ponies. 



In the southern countries of 

 Europe we find little animals 

 that correspond to the ponies 

 of the north. In Greece ponies 

 share the kingdom with don- 

 keys and mules ; a particularly 

 small breed, smaller than that of 

 the Shetland Isles, is found in 

 the Cyclades. No sign remains 

 of the equine glory of ancient 

 Greece and of her famous breed 

 of Thessalian horses. 



The same may be said ol 

 Italy, which is now under tli< 

 necessity of annually importing 

 more than thirty thousan 

 horses. The Sardinian ponic- 

 are strong, handsome animals ; 

 they are generally brown. The 

 smallest are called " achetta," 



and their sure, firm step on the mountains is 

 much praised. Ponies are also bred in Sicily. 

 Formerly Italy was celebrated for her horses. 

 The Neapolitans, especially, enjoyed a world- 

 wide fame at a period when breeding and 

 ecjuitation were at their zenith in that coun- 

 try. Pasquala Caracciolo, a professor in the 

 Italian school for these arts, now abandoned, 

 asserts that for traveling, trotting, galloping, 

 and war, and also for leaping and hunting, 

 the Italian horses were preferable to all others 

 in the world. They were very handsome, 

 robust, enduring, agile, courageous, and in- 

 telligent, with finely shaped head and shoul- 

 ders ; they were agreeable under the hand, 

 and if ridden by a good horseman, they took 

 a gait that was elegant and elastic, and very 

 pleasant to the rider. 



Spain also was famous for her horses, espe- 

 cially the celebrated Andalusians, which had 

 much in common with the Neapolitan horses. 

 The Moors imported Arabian blood into Spain, 

 from which resulted horses of lighter weight 

 and purer Eastern race. The Jouicts, so called. 



Reve d'Or," Stallion of Heavy Belgian Draft Breed 

 His mimerous medals are round his neck 



