Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-23
THE PONIES OF ICELAND
They Are Marvels Of Strength and Endur-
ance.
They Have n Peculiar Pacing Gait,
which Under Great Weight
COnquers Space.
From the London Globe.

If the camel is the ship of the desert, the
Iceland pony Is the cab. train. omnibus and
tramcar Of the wonderful country to which
he belongs. To begin with, he is a mis-
homer. He is not a pony, in the ordinary
sense of the word; he is a horse; in bone
and sinew. in strength and endurance, in
manners and departments horse in every
thing, in fact, except inches; and sober
steady, hard-working horse, too He is
very multum in parvo," concentrated
essence of horseflesh. He can swim like a
fish. climb like a goat and jump like a
deer He sticks at nothing and takes
every variety of travel-bog, lava bed
saEd, powders and grass mounds-with
undisturbed equanimity. II he has to ford
one or two rivers, with strong currents
flowing girth-deep, it is all in the days
work. Only give him time and periodical
hahs for refreshment, and he will do his
nifty miles per day, and thrive upon it.
Iceland ponies are bred in hundreds in
the large grass plains in the southern dis
tricts Of the island. Little or no care is
taken in selection. so the breed remains un-
altered and unimproved, the average pony
standing from eleven and a half to twelve
and half hands, though here and there
one will reach to nearly thirteen hands
Every variety of color is seen, but skew
baids OF many shades are the commonest
Inc chestnuts, as rule, the finest
and the browns the hardest Beautiful
cream colors, with light points, are not in
frequent; black is very rare, and roam Also
Their PAGES are fast, considering the size
OF the animal, journey of thirty-two
miles being often done in six hours or less
with heavy baggage. They trot. canter
ana gallcp, but the pace most esteemed by
the natives is the amble or "skeid," in
whlch the fore and hind legs on a side are
advanced simultaneously, giving a running
action. very smooth to the rider A good
PAGER Is considered very valuable and
often sold for a high figure. Some of these
ponies amble so fast that they keep ahead
or another going at hand-gallop and
they maintain the pace for days Jour
ney under weight Of eleven to fourteen
stone. Iceland ponies are steady and fast
IN harness. though wheels a compare
lively new departure in their country
They travel mostly in strings often tied
mead and tail Hay, baggage and house
aoio goods are thus transported and build
ing materials also. You meet "timhur-
IeStur, or timber team of from eight to
ten ponies, one carrying blanks trailing on
eacn side, another strips of IRON another
pundles OF tools; certain number of spare
animais running loose. and not infrequent-
ly foal or two.
1t is as rare to see a dead Iceland nonv
as a dead donkey. though their skulls are
orten visible, half trodden into the miry
ways surrounding the farms The pony
DeSlnS work at six or seven years-har,.
work, that is to say. He is early apnren-
tlced to his trade by following his mother
at ner aVocations, and when he is foot sore
Is strapped upon her back. He works well
up 10 twenty years and over, and often re-
mains fairly sound to ripe old age. He
1eeds on the fat of the land in summer
ana in winter. if his owner is moor must
I'VE on his wits and his stored condition.
Farmers who are fairly well off keep their
animals IN during winter and feed them on
nay; but, Notwithstanding MANY of the
ponies have a hard time of it. The Ice
laEders however. keep their steeds as we'll
as their means allow, and treat them alto
gether m brotherly fashion; and the S,
y; "A. would seldom find scope for its
nent Oh biting and gearing. Taking it all
around, the Iceland pony is certainly not
less ,happy,very often far happier-than
ms Digger brothers in the south; and his
endurance, placidity and dociIitv maLe
MN a favorite in other lands besides his
own while fitting him for his home duties
IN manner which could not be surpassed.
anu must be tested to be fully understood.