lo THE HORSE 



excellent mount for a boy or girl, and in leather is a 

 most attractive-looking little horse, for his trot is 

 usually superior to that of the thoroughbred, as the 

 little one uses his knees and hocks better when at 

 this gait than does the taller animal. The expression 

 Galloway, however, is not often heard in general use, 

 and consequently it is unnecessary to refer to these 

 animals further in a work of an elementary 

 description. 



The Pony 



is a most difficult animal to treat of, for no one exactly 

 seems to know what constitutes a member of this 

 race. In some parts of the country a horse is styled 

 a pony if he does not stand 15 hands; 14.2 is the 

 limit in another district, whilst elsewhere 1 4 hands is 

 considered the correct height, and so on. Conse- 

 quently many differences of opinion exist, and are 

 likely to continue for ever in pony-breeding neigh- 

 bourhoods ; the heights of animals all bred the same 

 way will be found to vary considerably. The general 

 acceptation of the term pony may, however, be 

 taken to be an animal standing under 14 hands, 

 which certainly leaves a very fair margin for the 

 word, as many Shetlands do not much exceed 9.2 

 hands. In a work of this description it would be 

 impossible to undertake a description of the various 

 breeds of pony, such as those which are classified 

 as the New Forest, Exmoor, Dartmoor, Welsh, and 

 Irish; not to mention the Shetland, 'which, as the 

 most diminutive of them all, possesses a strong 

 individuality of his own. The great advantages of 

 possessing a pony — provided always that he is big 

 enough to do one's work — is that these little animals 

 are always hardy, that they eat very little, and that 

 they are active, big-hearted, high-couraged bantams, 

 to whose bottom it is veiy hard to get if they are 

 treated fairly well. It is difficult, moreover, to put a 



