A  Big  Business  in  Little  Horses. 
PONY  BREEDING  ON  DONG  ISLAND. 
Three  breeds  ;  each  for  a  special  purpose  ;  Welsh  ponies, 
miniature  trotters  ;  cross-breeding,  pony  farm  opera- 
turns  ;  a  three-minute  pony  ;  three  abreast. 
Well-bred  and  well-broken  ponies  possess  so  many 
advantages  over  horses  for  certain  specific  uses,  that 
the  demand  for  them  of  late  has  rather  exceeded  the 
supply.  The  Rural  New-Yorker  therefore  gives  a 
sketch  of  some  ponies,  and  also  an  account  of  a 
visit  to  the  farm  of  Dr.  0.  C.  Jackson,  near  Jamaica, 
L.  I.,  a  well  known  and  expert  pony  breeder.  Dr. 
Jackson  is  a  successful  veterinary  surgeon,  and  brings 
to  his  pony  stud  all  the  intelligence  that  a  superior 
knowledge  of  the  anatomy  and  pathology  of  the 
equine  race  confers,  as  well  as  being  possessed  of  a 
natural  love  for  all  domestic  animals  and  especially 
the  horse.  This  he  comes  by  naturally  enough,  for 
play  with  them,  ride  or  drive  them  with  absolute  safe¬ 
ty,  always  assuming  that  they  have  been  properly 
broken  and  reared.  Of  course,  any  sensible  breeder 
knows  that  a  pony  can  be  spoiled  by  bad  treatment  as 
well  as  a  horse.” 
“You  think,  then,  the  Welsh  ponies  are  better 
drivers.” 
“  Oh,  yes  !  Just  look  at  this  one.  You  see  he  is  not 
pony-built ;  he  is  a  miniature  horse.  He  is  taller  by 
five  or  six  inches  than  the  Shetland,  but  weighs  less. 
He  looks  like  a  reduced  copy  of  a  standard-bred 
trotter.” 
“  Are  they  capable  of  being  driven  long  distances  ?  ” 
asked  The  Rural. 
“  Undoubtedly.  I  would  match  a  pair  of  well-de¬ 
veloped  Welsh  ponies  against  any  team  of  horses 
weighing  2,400  pounds  for  a  six  days’  trial.  The  ponies 
are  light,  wiry  and  nimble,  and  they  would  be  sure  to 
win.  I  have  driven  a  team  of  ponies,  half  Shetland 
“  In  proportion  to  their  age,  I  think  they  are  stronger. 
They  are  certainly  truer.  You  know  how  a  horse  colt 
acts  with  a  load.  Fie  pulls  and  stops  short,  but  ponies 
pull  as  true  as  steel  when  first  put  into  harness.  They 
are  very  tractable  and  very  intelligent.” 
“  Have  you  ever  crossed  ponies  on  larger  horses  ?  ” 
“That  experiment  is  now  under  way.  I  have  a 
standard-bred  trotting  mare  in  foal  with  a  Welsh 
pony.” 
“  What  are  you  trying  to  bring  about  by  such  a 
cross  ?  ” 
“  I  want  to  achieve  a  pony  that  can  trot  in  three  min¬ 
utes,  and  I  think  I  shall  succeed.” 
“  Are  there  any  specially  preferred  colors  ?  ” 
“  Not  particularly.  Just  at  present  I  am  breeding 
light  sorrels  as  much  as  possible.  A  pony  or  team  of 
ponies  of  this  color  match  perfectly  with  a  phaeton  or 
other  rig  finished  in  the  natural  color  of  the  wood,  and 
with  russet  harness,  make  a  very  pretty  and  har- 
A  GROUP  OF  PONIES.  Fig.  54. 
his  father  was  a  noted  and  successful  horseman. 
His  love  for  horses  as  well  as  his  patriotism  was,  no 
doubt,  largely  instrumental  in  sending  him  to  the  late 
war,  where  he  became  a  captain  of  cavalry  before  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  twenty. 
The  farm  of  122  acres  on  which  Dr.  Jackson  resides 
was  first  occupied  by  his  father  in  1833.  The  doctor 
engaged  in  pony  breeding  in  November  1888,  and  has 
been  more  than  ordinarily  successful  in  the  business. 
He  has  on  his  place  65  ponies  of  the  different  breeds— 
Shetland,  Welsh  and  Iceland,  and  the  paddock  contain¬ 
ing  them  is  a  most  attractive  sight. 
At  the  head  of  the  stud  is  Howland  L. ,  a  full-blood 
Shetland,  imported  in  1887,  42  inches  high  and  black 
as  a  coal.  Superb  is  another  Shetland,  38 >2  inches 
high.  Nabob  is  a  mahogany  bay,  47  inches  high,  and 
is  a  full-blood  Welsh.  They  are  all  of  them  beauties 
and  their  get  give  the  sires  a  good  reputation. 
“  Which  of  the  three  breeds  do  you  like  best  ?”  said 
The  Rural  representative. 
“  That  depends  somewhat  on  the  use  for  which  they 
are  intended.  If  they  are  to  be  used  by  children  ex¬ 
clusively  and  long  drives  are  not  a  consideration,  the 
Shetlands  are  the  best.  They  are  of  distinctively  pony 
build,  are  kindness  personified,  and  the  children  can 
and  half  Welsh,  42  miles  to  a  one-man  top  buggy,  be¬ 
tween  1  and  7  P.  M.,  in  a  rain  storm,  and  did  not  use  a 
whip.  The  pair  weighed  only  720  pounds  and  were 
three  years  old.” 
“You  are  crossing  them  more  or  less?”  said  The 
Rural. 
“ Oh,  yes,”  said  the  doctor.  “I  breed  pure-bloods 
and  cross-bloods,  always  having  a  definite  aim  in  view. 
The  Icelands  are  rather  large.  I  cross  them  with  Welsh 
to  fine  them  up  and  to  somewhat  reduce  their  size.” 
“  Do  you  utilize  the  ponies  on  your  farm  ?  ” 
“To  a  certain  extent.  I  mowed  18  acres  of  salt 
meadow  with  a  team  of  them  one  season.  The  meadows 
were  so  soft  that  a  horse  would  have  mired  too  much 
to  make  his  use  practicable  ;  so  I  put  a  pole  to  a  one- 
horse  Buckeye  mower  and  mowed  the  lot.  It  was 
harder  work  than  cutting  upland  hay,  but  the  little 
fellows  did  it  well,  and  they  drew  the  hay  off  on  a 
broad-tired  wagon.  I  have  small  carts,  as  you  see,  and 
with  a  pony,  cart  out  manure,  etc.  I  drive  them  a  great 
deal,  as  do  my  children.  My  five-year-old  son,  Jack, 
is  at  home  with  any  of  them  and  seems  to  enjoy  han¬ 
dling  them  as  well  as  any  of  us.” 
“  How  do  they  compare  in  strength  with  the  larger 
horses  ?  ” 
monious  picture.  Some  like  piebald  or  mottled  ;  others 
the  bay  or  black.” 
“  Are  they  easy  keepers  ?  ” 
“  Yes,  as  horse  flesh  goes,  but  I  am  a  firm  believer  in 
good  feeding.  You  can’t  rear  a  properly-developed 
pony  on  scanty  rations  or  food  of  the  wrong  kind.  A 
saving  of  $5  in  the  feed  of  a  pony,  when  growing,  may 
mean  a  depreciation  of  from  $25  to  $75  in  his  value.” 
“  What  do  you  feed  ?” 
“  Generally  equal  parts  by  measure  of  wheat  bran, 
corn  meal  and  oats.  This  they  have  twice  a  day,  with 
a  midday  feed  of  good  hay — clover,  Timothy  or  mixed 
meadow  hay,  as  I  have  it.” 
“  Do  ponies  mature  younger  than  horses  ?  ” 
“Oh,  yes.  At  three  years  they  are  generally  well 
matured  for  all  purposes.  I  begin  to  break  them  when 
six  months  old,  using  the  greatest  care,  and  every  one 
I  sell,  recommended,  is  perfectly  broken.  A  Shetland 
pony,  broken  to  harness,  does  not  need  any  special 
training  for  the  saddle.  He  takes  to  it  naturally.” 
“  Are  they  more  or  less  liable  to  disease  than  larger 
horses?  ” 
“  They  seem  to  be  less  liable  to  it,  but  perhaps  this 
is  because  they  are  less  liable  to  abuse.  For  the  same 
