56 R/n/NG, DRIVING AA'D KINDRED SPORTS 



hundred and seventy or one hundred and fifty, 

 and many are not so large, and it is within 

 these Hmits that the pony has to work. More- 

 over, a day's work for a pok) pony as a 

 rule is three ten-minute periods and this is 

 seldom exceeded. Speed, activity, pluck, and 

 temper are thus the first requisites of a pony. 

 But the man whose means are limited has to 

 chance much in buying his ponies, as he must 

 do, in the rough. I bought most of my ponies 

 in this way in India partly because it was 

 cheaper, and partly because in India where a 

 pony's polo career is so short, seldom extending 

 to more than four seasons, and often not so long, 

 it is desirable to have as much of the pony at 

 its best as possible. 



It is not always possible, of course, when 

 buying in the rough to have a very thorough 

 trial and examination. But the folio wino- are 

 good rules to go by when purchasing a pony 

 in the rough, in the hope that it may here- 

 after serve for polo. Note how the pony stands 

 when his attention is aroused. Note if he 

 stands fair and square, and seems to cover a 

 good deal of ground ; if his neck springs grace- 

 fully out of his shoulders ; if he has a bold yet 

 gentle eye, a fairly deep girth ; if he trots with 

 a straight knee and flexes his hocks freely and 

 well. In the same way reject a pig-eyed, sulky 



