the tracks are very stoney and rough. They run loose on the 

 mountains and are not caught till seven or eight years old, their 

 ages being reckoned from the date they begin to work. It really 

 does not much matter if these ponies are aged as they will work for 

 years. A peculiarity I noticed is that the marks of the teeth be- 

 tween six and eight years show them younger than they really are, 

 the teeth being worn down, being attributable to the quantity of 

 sand taken in with the rough herbage."'^ This peculiarity is com- 

 mon to most of the Soutli African horses that are bred on the veld 

 and in the dry plateaux regions. 



During the latter part of last century a number of so-called 

 Basuto Ponies have been successful in Johannesburg and other rac- 

 ing centers, bnt most of them can be traced directly or indirectly 

 to the Orange Free State. Pious Peter sold for £500 in Johannes- 

 burg was bred in the Orange Free State; so was Bafar and Soldaat, 

 the fastest pony in Basutoland at that time. 



Scottie, another star of the Course is a son of Honesty, a well- 

 known racer in the Orange Free State and a son of Champagne 

 Charlie.*^ 



Basutoland should be a first rate horse breeding country, ly- 

 ing as it does at an even elevation of some four to five thousand 

 feet above the sea, with a temperate climate in which Horse-sickness 

 is unknown. Droughts are seldom and the pastures although rough 

 are very good. 



Basuto Ponies are famous all through South Africa and as 

 Polo Ponies they have quite a fame in India. The Army Remount 

 Report while placing the average South African cob as "unsur- 

 passable ' ' placed the Basuto Pony as the ' ' best ' '. He can be bred 

 with very little expense and valuable as they are they very seldom 

 fetch high prices. The Basuto often will not sell and in barter his 

 price will rarely exceed £8 or £10. 



The best horse experts are agreed that the Basuto Pony has 

 sufficient individuality to be classed as a distinct type.**^ 



Too little is known of the Namaqua Pony to give it a special 

 heading, yet a few remarks will well merit this hardy type of pony 

 that has silently been in the make for many years. 



(44) J. A. Nv,nn "Reports on Horse Supply of South Africa 188S." 



(45) J. W. Bowlcer " Bacing Calendar July, 1901." 



Campa,re Captain McCall's report in Cape Montldy 1865. 



(46) J. M. Christy A. P. V. S. Transvaal Agricultural Journal. 1908. 



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