IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 167 



usual destination — as, indeed, it mostly is now — 

 was pack-transport. As the winters are hard 

 enough on the mountains, and the keep scarce, it 

 is obvious the weakly foal has little chance, even 

 if he did not, as he generally does, fall a victim 

 to the wolves, which do great damage in some 

 districts. The result of the local and climatic 

 conditions, combined with the utter want of any 

 supervision in Turkish days, has been to produce 

 a short-necked, straight-shouldered, cow-hocked 

 pony, little, if at all, over thirteen hands, but 

 possessing great hardiness and endurance. 



Till the year 1885 no attempt at any improve- 

 ment would seem to have been made. The re- 

 production of the race in general was provided 

 for by letting the colts run with their dams for 

 three or four years,* and the Herzegovinian pony 

 bid fair to descend to the level of that of the 

 Dalmatian Islands, the lowest type of horseflesh 

 with which I am acquainted. It was obviously 

 desirable that such a state of things should be 

 put an end to, but little could be expected from 

 the peasantry, whose pig-headed obstinacy, cling- 

 ing as it does to the old and bad methods, con- 

 stitutes the greatest difficulty to the Austrian 

 administrators. Still, it was decided that the 



* Occasionally, especially near Mostar, the Turkish cavalry 

 horses wero allowed to serve, and the breed was thereby much 

 improved. 



