192 BREEDS OF POLO PONIES. [Chap. VIII. 



Desert, and are really Persians, or natives of the 

 Euphrates Valley. In India, these animals generally 

 go by the name of Gulf (Persian) Arabs. 



EGYPTIANS. 



There are many ponies bred in Egypt, where they 

 are called Bellady ponies, to distinguish them from 

 Syrians, which are imported in large numbers for 

 remount and other purposes. They are so interbred 

 with Syrians that it is not always easy to tell one from 

 the other. The Syrians, among which we may often 

 see Arabs of the highest caste, all conform more or 

 less to the Desert type, although some of them are 

 coarse. The Egyptian ponies are of all sorts and 

 shapes, without any special characteristics of a well- 

 defined breed. Egyptian dealers call all their ponies 

 Syrians, so as to get more money for them. 



Mr. T. B. Drybrough tells me that each of the six 

 Egyptians which he had in his stables at one time, 

 differed altogether in type and conformation from 

 the other five ; an experience which is similar to that 

 which I have had with these animals. He informs 

 me that their special characteristic, leaving out ex- 

 ceptional cases, is their lithe, flexible style of going, 

 and that they glide along in their gallop with the 

 smooth motion of a thoroughbred, but without the 

 sharp, steel-like spring of the three-quarter bred 

 English pony. Many of them drag their hind legs 

 behind them, which causes them to lose time in their 

 stride. This, which is their most common fault, is due 

 to their being weak in the loins. Although they 

 vary just as much as other breeds, they are, as a 



