the Society lies. Could we be certain of breeding every animal
between 14 hands and 14 hands 2 inches our course would be
tolerably clear.... There is always, however, the danger that
the best-looking and best-nourished of our young stock will, if
some means be not found to prevent it, exceed this limit. The
remedy is more or less within our reach by utilising the hardy
little stocks of ponies which are to be found almost indigenous
in those districts of the British Isles where there are large
tracts of mountain or moorland ground. I refer to such ponies as
those found in North and South Wales, the New Forest, Exmoor,
Dartmoor, and the hills of the north of England and west coast
of Scotland.... Perhaps it may not be out of place to mention
that the present is not an inappropriate time for upholding the
breeding of ponies on hill lands. The keeping of hill sheep is not
so remunerative as of yore, the price of wool being so low and
the demand for four-year-old mutton not being anything like what
it was a few years ago; whereas, on the other hand, the demand
for ponies, especially good ones, is likely to increase, and if
farmers will only give them a fair chance they will amply repay
them for their keep up to three years old. It is hoped that by
careful consideration of their various characteristics, and by
registering such of them as are likely to breed riding ponies, and
by periodically going back to this fountain head of all ponies, we
may be able to regulate the size of our higher-class riding ponies
to the desired limit, while at the same time we shall infuse into
their blood the hardiness of constitution and endurance, combined
with a fiery yet even temper, so pre-eminently characteristic of
the British native breeds.”
The Shetland pony stands upon a different footing. In him we have
a pony whose characteristics are equally valuable to it as a wild
animal and as one in a state of domestication. It is the only one of
our half-wild breeds which gains nothing from an infusion of alien
blood; its value depends upon the careful preservation of distinctive
peculiarities of size and make, which fit it above all others for
special purposes.
BREEDING POLO PONIES.
With only the limited experience in breeding ponies for Polo possessed
by all who breed stock, remarks hazarded under this heading must
necessarily be guided by general principles of breeding, and readers
must be left to take them for what they may be worth.
The steadily increasing popularity of the game of Polo has naturally
produced an increased demand for suitable ponies; and Polo players
being as a rule wealthy men, to whom a really good animal is cheap at
almost any price, the value of first-rate ponies has risen to a level
which compels attention to their breeding as a probably remunerative
branch of industry. It was difficult to find ponies when an elastic
14-hand limit was the rule; and if we may judge from the prices which
have been paid since the regulation height was raised to 14 hands 2
inches, the greater latitude thus afforded players in selecting mounts
has done little or nothing towards solving the difficulty.
What is this Polo Pony for which a fancy price is so readily
forthcoming? In the first place, it is not a pony at all, but a small
horse; we may let that pass, however. The modern Polo Pony must be
big and powerful, at once speedy, sound, handy and docile, having
also courage, power to carry weight, and staying power. And, as the
necessary speed and courage are rarely to be found apart from blood, it
has become an article of faith with players that the first-class pony
must have a preponderance of racehorse blood in his veins.
Hence a serious difficulty faces the breeder at the outset. For
generations we have devoted all our care to increasing the height of
the racehorse, and with such success that in 200 years we have raised
his average stature by nearly 2 hands. The great authority Admiral
Rous, writing in the year 1860, said that the English racehorse had
increased in height an inch in every twenty-five years since the year
1700. We now regard a thoroughbred as under size if he stand less than
15 hands 3 inches. This is an important point to bear in mind; for if
we are to breed blood ponies of 14 hands 2 inches to meet the demand
which has recently arisen, it is plain that we must undo most that our
fathers and ancestors have done.
A Polo Pony to command a price must be able to carry from 12 to 14
stone, and must be sound. Nine stone seven lb. is nowadays considered
a crushing burden for a racehorse of 16 hands to carry a mile and a
quarter. Never are the weights for a handicap published but the air
grows thick with doubts and forebodings as to whether this horse or
that can possibly stand the strain required by the handicapper’s
impost, or whether it is worth risking his valuable legs under such a
weight at all. And yet, to a certain extent, it is among small blood
horses, no better endowed with bone and no sounder than the big ones,
that we seek animals capable of carrying 12 or 14 stone in first-class
Polo.
The strain of playing a single “period” in a tournament match, in which
the pony is required to make incessant twists, turns, sudden starts at
speed, is continually being pulled up short, and is sent short bursts
of hard galloping, takes far more out of the pony than does a race out
of a racehorse, or an average day’s hunting out of the hunter. The
marvel is, not that fast and well-bred ponies capable of doing this
should command fancy prices, but that such should be obtainable at any
figure.
Under existing conditions, a small blood horse that looks like making
a Polo Pony is neither more nor less than an accidental deviation from
the normal. It is an accident that his height at five years does not
exceed the regulation 14 hands 2 inches; it is an accident—unhappily,
a rare one—that he has bone to carry weight; and before the trainer
can make a Polo Pony of him he must be fast, handy, kind, and
docile—another set of accidents; we might, indeed, almost call the
first-rate Polo Pony a phenomenal chapter of accidents. For let us bear
in mind that when we have found our 14 hands 2 inches endowed with the
needful make and shape we have not by any means necessarily got our
Polo Pony. Only the smallest percentage of the thousands of racehorses
foaled annually prove good enough to pay their trainers’ bills; and
when we reflect upon the nature of the work required on the polo
ground, the sterling good qualities demanded of a pony for first-class
Polo, we should indeed be sanguine did we look for high and uniform
merit in the race of animals we hope to found upon a basis of pure
blood! The clean thoroughbred, except in very rare instances, has not
the power needful to enable him to stop quickly and turn sharply at the
gallop. Speed he has, but he lacks the strong hind-quarters essential
to carry 12 or 13 stone.
The pony possessing the needful qualifications of make and shape has
yet to be “made;” and only a trainer of experience could tell us what
proportion of the likely-looking animals that come into his hands turn
out worth the trouble of educating. Herein we find the reason for the
vast difference in value which exists between a pony that is untrained
and one which has gone through the various stages of stick-and-ball
practice, the bending courses, practice games, and has finally been
proven in matches. In the raw state the best-looking 14-hands 2-inch
pony is worth £25 to £50; when trained—when he has proved to his
exacting trainer’s satisfaction that he is a Polo Pony, and does
not merely look like one—he is worth, as we know, any sum up to 750
guineas, and there is no reason to suppose that this figure marks the
limit which enthusiastic players are prepared to pay; on the contrary,
the tendency is to go further.
Such ponies as Mr. George Miller’s Jack-in-the-Box, Lord Kensington’s
Sailor, Captain Renton’s Matchbox, Mr. Buckmaster’s Bendigo, the late
Mr. Dryborough’s Mademoiselle, Mr. Walter Jones’s Little Fairy, have
acquired their fancy value through their amenability to the training
which has fitted them for the game. As to the breeding of these
ponies, it is doubtful if their respective owners know as a certainty
whether they were got by a thoroughbred pony sire or by an Eastern
sire; in the case of many high-class ponies nothing is known of their
breeding. All probably have a strong strain of pure blood in them, but
in the absence of certain knowledge concerning their pedigrees they
are of comparatively little use to us as object lessons in Polo Pony
breeding. Whether, in view of the extremely “accidental” character of
the Polo Pony already referred to, that knowledge would be helpful if
available is another matter.
And while we make the English Turf pony which can carry weight our
ideal, we acknowledge the difficulty of procuring it by seeking
ready-made ponies in every corner of the horse-breeding world. Arabs
and their near allies—Egyptian, Syrian and Barb ponies; Australian,
Argentine, Canadian and Cossack ponies; ponies from the Tarbes district
of France; ponies from Texas, Wyoming and Montana—all these have
been imported and are played on English Polo grounds, and though not
considered equal in speed, bottom, and courage to the English pony,
the best of them when “made” are good enough to command high, if not
extravagant, prices.
The great object, it is granted once for all, is to get a pony as
nearly thoroughbred as possible, for none other is good enough to play
in the best class of game. At the same time, a large and representative
proportion of players, while heartily granting the superiority of the
well-bred pony when it can be obtained, consider it wiser to look the
situation squarely in the face and admit that the supply of such ponies
cannot be depended on to meet the demand.
If it be a choice between an utterly inadequate supply of English-bred
ponies with blood, speed, stamina and weight-carrying power, to be
bought only at prices which reserve them to the wealthiest, and a
sufficiency of ponies with a strain of alien blood, somewhat less
speedy, courageous and enduring, the latter must be chosen; and as
already said the Polo Pony Stud Book Society has recognised this by
opening sections of their Stud Book for suitable individuals among our
Forest and Moorland breeds, with a view of obtaining foundation stock.
We may take it as an axiom in our endeavour to produce a breed of
14-hands 2-inch Polo Ponies that the sire must be a small thoroughbred,
or, if not a thoroughbred, an Arab. The reader may be reminded that
adoption of this alternative involves no departure from the principle
of a pure blood basis. It was the Arab that laid the foundation of our
thoroughbreds in England, and the best horses on the Turf of to-day may
be traced to one of the three famous sires—the Byerly Turk, imported in
1689, the Darley Arabian in 1706, and the Godolphin Arabian in 1730;
all of them, it may be remarked, horses under 14 hands 1 inch.
There is, indeed, much to be said in favour of the policy of returning
to the original Eastern stock to find suitable sires for our proposed
breed of 14-hands 2-inch ponies. While we have been breeding the
thoroughbred for speed, and speed only, Arab breeders have continued to
breed for stoutness, endurance, and good looks. By going to Arab stock
for our sires we might at the beginning, sacrifice some measure of
speed; but what was lost in that respect would be more than compensated
by the soundness of constitution and limb which are such conspicuous
traits in the Eastern horse. Furthermore, the difficulty of size, which
first of all confronts us in the thoroughbred sire, is much diminished
if we adopt the Arab as our foundation sire.
[Illustration: ARAB HORSE MESAOUD—14.2 hands.
The property of Mr. WILFRED SCAWEN BLUNT.]
We need not consider the game as played by Orientals. The Manipuris,
whose national game it is, and from whom Europeans first learned it,
use ponies which do not often exceed 12 hands in height. The game was
introduced into India proper in 1864,[11] and was first played in
England by the officers of the 10th Hussars in the year 1872, on their
return from service in India.
[11] “_Recollections of my Life._” By Sir Joseph Fayrer, Bart. 1900.
In India, where the game of Polo was first played by Englishmen, the
Arab is thought the perfect pony, the more so because the height
of ponies played under the Indian Polo Association’s code of rules
must not exceed 13 hands 3 inches. The extensive operations of the
Civil Veterinary Department have proved again the truth that no sire
impresses more certainly and more markedly his likeness upon his stock
than the Arab, a fact which is due to the high antiquity, and therefore
“fixed” character of the breed.
If, therefore, we find the stock got by the thoroughbred sire too prone
to outgrow the limit of height, we may, without self-reproach, turn for
assistance to the Eastern stock, from which we have evolved the modern
racehorse, as in doing so we shall simply be going a step farther
back, and thereby avoid in great measure the difficulty of stature
which our fathers and ancestors have created for us in our endeavour to
breed a small compact horse from the pure strain.
The next point that presents itself is, On what sort of animal would it
be most advisable to cross our thoroughbred or Arab? In the absence of
any long-continued series of experiments, which alone could have led to
definite results in the production of a fixed type of pony, or a stamp
of pony worth trying to perpetuate as a fixed type, the answer must be
conjectural; we can only deal in probabilities.
We may not be able to establish a breed of which a specimen exceeding
14 hands 2 inches shall be something quite abnormal; on the contrary,
the whole course of experience in breeding horses of whatever class
goes to prove the impossibility of ensuring that the progeny of any
given sire and dam shall attain to a specified height, neither less
nor more. Nevertheless, there seems no reason why skill and care in
breeding should not in course of time produce an animal whose _average_
height at maturity shall be the desired 14 hands 2 inches.
There are, it must be repeated, several essential points to be kept
clearly in view in our endeavour to develop a Polo Pony on the
foundation of Thoroughbred or Arab blood. We have primarily to guard
against the tendency to exceed the regulation height, and we must seek
means to obtain the bone and stamina which are so necessary. Our Forest
and Moorland mares suggest themselves as the material at once suitable
for the purpose and easily obtainable. In these ponies we have the
small size which will furnish the needful corrective to overgrowth,
and we have also that hardiness of constitution and soundness of limb
which are invaluable in laying the foundation of our proposed breed of
14-hands 2-inch ponies.
Many attempts have been made from time to time to improve these breeds;
indeed, some have been so frequently crossed with outside blood that
the purity of the strain has nearly disappeared; this is believed to be
the case with the Dartmoor pony. At the same time these infusions of
blood have done nothing to impair the value of the ponies in respect of
their intrinsic qualities of hardiness and soundness.
That small thoroughbred and Arab blood blends well with the Forest
and Moorland strains has been abundantly proved; Marske, the sire of
Eclipse, who was under 14 hands 2 inches, as is well known, stood at
service in the New Forest district for three or four seasons from about
the year 1765, and produced upon the New Forest breed a beneficial
effect which remained in evidence for many years. The late Prince
Consort sent a grey Arab stallion to stand at New Park, which did much
good in improving the stamp of pony; and in 1889 as before mentioned
Her Majesty lent two Arab sires, which remained respectively for two
and three seasons and produced a marked effect on the Forest breed.
One of the Dongola Arabs or Barbs which Mr. Knight used gave the best
results on the Exmoor ponies, and the use of the thoroughbred horses,
Pandarus by Whalebone, and Canopus, grandson of Velocipede, also
improved the breed in point of size.
Some of the best hunters in the West of England trace their descent on
the dam’s side to the Welsh Mountain pony, the sire of some of the best
horses, however, being a horse with a stain in his pedigree, viz., Mr.
John Hill’s Ellesmere by New Oswestry. In this connection it may be
remarked that Bright Pearl, winner in the class for unmade Polo Ponies
at the Crystal Palace Pony Show, held in July, 1899, was got by the
thoroughbred Pearl Diver out of a Welsh Hill Pony mare whose wonderful
jumping powers had gained her many prizes.
The fact that the Forest and Moorland breeds owe their small size to
the rigorous conditions of a natural free life and the spare diet
accessible must not be lost sight of, for their tendency to increase
in size when taken up, sheltered and well fed is very marked. The fact
is of importance, because we could not expect that foals got by a
thoroughbred or Arab sire would possess the stamina that enables the
Forest or Moorland pony to withstand exposure. It is true that the
stock got by Marske throve under the comparatively mild rigours of New
Forest life; but the thoroughbred of 135 years ago was a stouter and
hardier animal than is his descendant of to-day. It would therefore
be necessary to choose between losing the young half-bred stock
altogether, and of rearing it under more or less artificial conditions
with the certainty of rearing an animal which would respond to those
conditions by increased stature.
The same remarks apply equally to stock got from Forest or Moorland
mares by an Arab sire which flourishes in a high temperature, but is
not adapted to endure continuous cold and damp.
Judgment and care might do something to obviate the tendency to
overgrowth; the happy medium to adopt would be to allow the dams
with their half-bred youngsters as much liberty as varying climatic
conditions indicated the well-being of the latter could withstand.
It has been suggested that the mares which have finished their active
career of four or five seasons on the Polo ground might with advantage
be used for breeding purposes, being mated with a small Forest or
Moorland stallion. This suggestion does not commend itself to the
practical breeder, who is well aware that a big mare throws a big foal
even to a small horse. Were increase of size the object in view the
worn-out Polo Pony mares might be used thus with every prospect of
success; the reverse being our aim, it is to be feared that experiments
conducted on these lines would lead to failure.
[Illustration:
_From a sketch by H. F. Lucas Lucas._
POLO PONY SAILOR.]
It is reasonable to think that a breed of small horses can be
established by the judicious intermingling of our Forest or
Moorland mares with small Thoroughbred or Arab sires, but past
experience in stock-raising has taught breeders that the creation of a
new and improved strain, whether of horses, cattle, or other domestic
animals, is a slow process. Failures must be corrected and errors
retrieved by gradual and cautious steps before we can hope to succeed
in creating a breed of ponies true to the required type. That it can
be done with patience and skilled judgment there need be no doubt;
but the evolution of the animal required, whether on the thoroughbred
foundation or on the original progenitor of the thoroughbred, the Arab,
will be a matter of time. It may be that the present generation will
lay the foundation of a breed of 14-hands 2-inch Polo Ponies, and that
posterity will build the edifice and enjoy the benefits.
To summarise briefly what has been said in this chapter, the position
is this:—
(1) Ponies with blood, speed, courage, and the many qualities essential
to make a first-class Polo Pony are rare.
(2) (_a_) They command fancy prices when trained, but (_b_) it is only
when trained and _proven_ that they command high prices.
(3) The difficulty of producing a breed of blood ponies is due (_a_) to
the long-maintained and successful endeavour to increase the size of
the thoroughbred, and (_b_) to the fact that racehorses are bred for
speed only, whereas speed is but one of the many qualities essential to
the Polo Pony.
(4) To avoid this difficulty—
(_a_) The sire chosen for the foundation stock should be a small
and compact Thoroughbred or an Arab.
(_b_) The dam used for foundation stock should be chosen from the
best of our Forest or Moorland ponies.
(5) The tendency to undue increase in height should be counteracted—
(_a_) In the individual, by a free and natural life as far as
climate permits.
(_b_) In the breed, by recourse to further infusion of Forest or
Moorland blood when necessary.
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