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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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