I02 CHOOSING A POLO PONY. [Chap. IV. 



very rarely become a quick and handy polo pony. He 

 is of the horse, and not of the pony type. Even if 

 his shape and make is all that is required, a good 

 judge will find out his defects the moment he 

 rides him. 



The third type is the good-looking coachy pony with 

 shoulders which we do not discover to be more suitable 

 for the collar than the saddle, until we sit over them. 

 I know many such ponies, and have seen some of them 

 honoured in the show ring by judges who did not ride 

 them. Such ponies are seldom sufficiently fast for 

 polo, and even if they have the requisite speed, their 

 conformation prevents them turning quickly enough. 



We should bear in mind that substance and w^eight- 

 carrying power are essential in a first-class polo pony, 

 even for a light man. Weight and strength are 

 required to withstand the knocking about and riding 

 off by heavy men on heavy ponies. Although a 

 light weight may hunt brilliantly on light-weight 

 horses, he must have ponies with strength and sub- 

 stance if he wants to take his place in good polo. 



The defect which should above all be avoided in a 

 polo pony, is the possession of a bad or impetuous 

 temper ; because an animal w^hich has this defect 

 hardly ever turns out satisfactorily, and is therefore 

 not worth the trouble of training. Although it is fre- 

 quently impossible to be certain that a pony has this 

 vice before feeding him well on corn, we may often 

 get a reliable intimation of it, in the first instance, 

 by the appearance of the animal's eye, which is his 

 most tell-tale feature. When buying a trained polo 

 pony or one which has done other kinds of work, the 

 intending purchaser will do well to carefully examine 



