226 POLO IN INDIA. [Chap. IX. 



If the man In search of a raw pony Hkes the 

 appearance of the animal, the first thing for him to do, 

 supposing that either he or his friend is a fairly good 

 judge, is to get a ride on it. He should, therefore, 

 always take a saddle, bridle and martingale with him, 

 if he goes to a fair, and having selected the ponies by 

 their appearance, he should mount them in order to try 

 their paces, mouths, and tempers ; for many of the 

 best-looking ones are the greatest brutes to ride. 

 These remarks apply just as much to Arab stables in 

 Bombay as to up-country fairs. I have ridden thirty 

 ponies in a single day in the Bombay stables, and have 

 frequently had to reject a beautiful-looking animal, 

 only because he could not use his shoulders, which is 

 a fault that cannot be ascertained without riding the 

 animal. I may here refer my readers to page 190 

 for information about the points of an Arab. With 

 regard to country-breds, see my remarks respectively 

 on them and on English ponies ; for the ideal country- 

 bred is a miniature 13-stone English hunter. Though 

 such animals are few and far between, I have seen 

 them, and have owned more than one. They are to 

 be found in India ; because there is a great deal of 

 thoroughbred English and Arab blood in that country. 

 As regards the respective merits of country-breds 

 and Arabs for polo in India, I unhesitatingly plump 

 for Arabs. Although some of the best ponies I have 

 ever seen in India were country-breds, their average 

 of fair polo ponies is much smaller than that of Arabs, 

 the majority of which will make really good ones. 

 We may find country-breds better than any Arab ; but 

 such animals are rare exceptions ; and, as a rule, 

 Arabs have more weight, bone, and substance than 



