180 GUN, KOI), AND SADDLE. 



him to come to grief, and the better to avoid this he 

 trots, his legs being all under him, enabling hirn to 

 halt or turn to one side or other with the greatest fa- 

 cility. Further, by raising his legs so high in this 

 pace he saves his hoofs from coming in contact with 

 stones and brush, at the same time giving him a bet- 

 ter choice of where he will replace his feet. Adopt- 

 ing this action through numerous generations has 

 developed those muscles w r hich are more strongly 

 brought into play, causing a change of shape; so 

 that if the horses of Arabia and Barbary have a 

 common origin, their difference of appearance can in 

 some measure be accounted for. 



So far I have been alluding to horses as trotters, that 

 is to animals of such a height as would entitle them to 

 that appellation. For a few moments I will take a 

 glance at their more diminutive brethren, the ponies. 

 Who in our metropolis has not been surprised to see/ 

 how they trot, it may be under the weight of a 

 patrician youngster or fat butcher-boy, in my lady's 

 phaeton, or a grocer's delivery-cart ? Still they get 

 over the ground at an amazing pace for such small 

 quadrupeds, and much faster in proportion to their 

 size and length of limb than their larger brethren. 

 If we take up a sporting paper and see any trotting 



