The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-03
THE PONIES OF ICELAND.
They Are MarveIs of Strength aud
Endurance.
From the London Globe.

Endurance.
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 misnomer. 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 deport-
ment-a horse In everything, in fact, ex-
cept inches; and a sober, steady, hard
working horse, too. He is very "multum
in parVo," a Concentrated essence" of
horsefesh. He can swim like fish, climb
like a goat and jump like a deer. He
sticks at nothing, and takes every vari-
ETY. of traVel-bog, lava bed, sand, bowld-
ers and grass mounds-with undisturbed
equanimity. If he has to ford one or two
rivers, with strong currents flowing girth
deep. 1t is all in the days work. Only
give him time and periodical halts for re-
freshment and he will do this fifty 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
unaltered and unimproved, the average
pony standing from eleven and half to
twelve and a half hands, though here and
there one will reach to nearly thirteen
hands. Every variety of color is seen, but
skewbalds of many shades are the COM
monest. The chestnuts, as a rule, are the
finest and the browns the hardest. Beau
tiful cream colors, with light points, are
not infrequent; black Is very rare, and
roam also. Their PAGES are fast, consider
ing the size of the animal, a journey of
thirty-two miles being often done in six
hours or less, with heavy baggage. They
trot, canter and gallop, but the pace most
esteemed by the natives Is the amble or
"skeid,' in which 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 of another 60
ing at hand-gallop, and they maintain
the pace for a days journey under a
weight of eleven to fourteen stone. Ice
land ponies are steady and fast in harness,
though wheels are a comparatively new
departure in their country. They travel
mostly in strings, often tied head and tail
Hay, baggage and household goods are
thus transported, and building materials
also. You meet a "timburlestur,' or
timber team, of from eight to ten ponies,
one carrying planks trailing on each side,
another strips of iron, another bundles
of tools; a certain number of spare ami
mails running loose. and not infrequently a
foal or two.
1t is as rare to see a dead Iceland pony
as dead donkey, though their skulls are
often visible. half trodden into the miry
ways surrounding the farms. The pony
begins work at six or seven years-hard
work, that is to say. He is earl appren-
| ticed to his trade by following his mother
at her avocations, and when he is foot sore
| is strapped upon her back. He works well
up to twenty years and over, and often re-
mains fairly sound to ripe old age He
feeds on the fat of the land in the sum-
mer and in winter, If his owner is poor.
must live on his wits and his stored condi-
ton Farmers who are fairly well off keen
| their animals In during winter and feed
| them on hay; but, Notwithstanding, many
| of the ponies have a hard time of it, The
Icelanders, however, keep their steeds as
well as their means allow, and treat them
| altogether in a brotherly fashion; and the
s. P. c. A. would seldom find scope for its
activity except, possibly, in the improve
ment of biting and gearing. Taking il all
around, the Iceland pony is certainly not
| less happy-very often far happier-than
| his bigger brothers in the south; and his
| endurance, placidity and docility make
him a favorite in other lands besides his
own, while fitting him for his home duties
In a manner which could not be surpassed
and must be tested 10 be fully understood.