CHAPTER XIX 



PONIES 



What is a pony? By common consent at the present day a 

 pony is regarded as a small horse the height of which does not 

 exceed 14! hands. However, in discussing this subject Sir Walter 

 Gilbey states ^ that prior to the organization of the Hackney Horse 

 Society in 1883 the dividing line between the horse and pony in 

 England was vague and undefined. It was then found necessary 

 to distinguish clearly between horses and ponies, and 14 hands 

 was made the standard. The Polo Pony Society, however, estab- 

 lished I4j hands as the extreme height for a polo pony, and this 

 also is the maximum allowed by the American Shetland Pony 

 Club. Prior to 1883, according to Gilbey, small horses in Great 

 Britain were indifferently known as galloways, hobbies, cobs, or 

 ponies, irrespective of their height. It is interesting to note that 

 the Thoroughbred two hundred years ago is said to have had an 

 average height of 14 hands, but he has gradually increased in 

 stature, so that to-day his standard is 1 5 hands 2i inches. Ponies 

 vary in height standards, according to breeds and classes. 



The Welsh pony has long been bred in Wales, where for hun- 

 dreds of years it has been used among the mountains of that 

 country. It is said that these ponies were much improved early 

 in the eighteenth century by crossing with a small race horse 

 called Merlin. They have also been somewhat improved by the 

 use of Arab blood. Considerable variation occurs among Welsh 

 ponies in size and also in type. These variations have been 

 recognized by the Welsh Pony and Cob Society of Great Britain 

 by classifying them for show and registration in four sections, 

 A, £, C, and D, as follows : 



A. Welsh mountain pony. Part I. Height not to exceed 12 hands. Color 

 of any sort. In type this resembles a small Arabian or Thoroughbred, pos- 

 sessing much the same character and carriage of head, rump, and tail. It is 



1 Thoroughbred and Other Ponies. London, 1904. 

 168 

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