634 ASIATIC AND NORTH AFRICAN HORSES. 



years he has hved in that island, very kindly sends me 

 the following notes on these tiny animals. "The majority 

 of Battak ponies are of a brown colour, but many are 

 skewbald, and the average height of the ponies which 

 work in two-wheeled carts on the roads, is about 11.3. 

 The best ponies measure from 12. i to 12.2. I have had 

 only two of the latter height, one of which, a chestnut roan, 

 is probably the fastest racing pony in Sumatra. The 

 Battaks are very fiery, and I have known several instances 

 of these ponies running in carts until they dropped dead. 

 Their mouths get terribly spoiled by the natives, and the 

 skin and mucous membrane of the lips become fearfully 

 hard and crinkled. It is a mistake to think that they are 

 hardy. They are very plucky, and however poor in con- 

 dition they may be, they always come out of their stables 

 with a dash and a bolt, which soon evaporates. Under 

 hard work, they quickly lose condition, and take a long 

 time to pick up. They are not often vicious, although they 

 are a bit ready with their teeth, like other entires. They 

 are never castrated in Sumatra, but those which are ex- 

 ported to Singapore'and the Straits, are generally ' added to 

 the list ' on arrival. The natives say that Battak geldings 

 are of no use. Those I have seen, moved like mice and 

 never carried their tails up. Battak ponies are easy to 

 break in, but many are bad starters, on account of being 

 driven with twisted wire bits and curbs. For their size, they 

 are unsurpassable for cleverness over a bad country. Cross- 

 ing on a single plank over a creek is nothing to them, and 

 they are in no way daunted by having to walk on two betel- 

 nut trees which are cut down and laid across waterways, 

 and which fit together so badly, that -they spring up the 

 moment the pony lifts a foot. Without any pressing, these 

 ponies will jump from a high bank into a river and swim 

 across it. The plucky and clever way they make for any 

 accessible place, in order to get out, is wonderful. They 

 have, naturally, very thick coats, which get finer after a 

 few years' residence in the plains. With a little care in 



