The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-01-10
ICELAND PONIES
e., SWIM Liz, Fish, ciimb Like Goat.
aud jump Like Dter.

Fan SWIM Like Fish, Climb Like "oa''
4 aud Jump Like Deer.
II Tho camel is the ship OF the desert,
enc iceland pony Is the cab, train, ON;
IrIb,,s and tram car OF the wonderful
roun,.y 10 which no belongs. 10 begin
MN he Is a niisnomer, lie Is not :,
,ony In the ordinary sense OF the word;
In Is horse; In bone and sinew, In
v,rcrEth and endurance. ~ manners
Ina dplS,rtrlcnt-a horse IN everything
In facl, except lhches; and u SOBER,
Steady, Woodworking horse, too ne IS
ycrv "n,ultum IN parv0." ana CON
Iccnir,ted essence Of horseilesh. lie
Il can EwIni like a fish. climb Ike n goat
iond Iump Ikea deer. He sticks nj
"",hInr ana takes every variety OF
i ,raycI.-tog. iava-bed, sand, boulderp,
md crass mounds.-wlth .undisturoed
snuonimi.y. II he has to ford zone or
iva rlVors. with strong currents flowing
lplrih deep. It Is all In tho days WORK.
lOnly give HIN time and periodical hhlts
! for rcfreshment, anu ne Will uo. ms Hlty
miles per day and thrive upon Il.
Iceland ponies nre bred In hundreds
/ In the large grass plains In the south
erD districts Of tho island. Little or no.
caro- Is. taken In selection. so the breed
Romans unaltered and unimproved, the
iayeraec pony standing from eleven and
foyc. hatf 10 twelve md ope-half hands,
Though here ard there one Will reach to
NEARLY thirteen hands, Every variety OF
Ic1lor Is seen. but skcwbaldc of many
ionades are the cominonest, The chest
lnuts, as n rule, are the finest, and the
lLrowrs are the hardest. Beautiful
icrcan, colors, with light points, are not
linlreuueat. black Is very rare, and roam
ialso Their PAGES are fast, Considering
The size OF the animal, n journey OF
4 thIrty.two miles being often done In
slx hours or less, with heavy baggage.
iThey trot, can.er and gallog, but The
\ mace most esteemed by the natives Is
4 The ,amb!c or "skcld,"sS In which the
/ fore and hind legs on side are nd.
yanced simultaneously, giving q run
/ ming action, smooth to the rider. A
/ good "pace Is considered very valu-
able and often sold for a high price.
Some OF these ponies amble so fast that
/ thcy keep ahead OF another going at a
4 hand ealiop, and they maintain the
/ mace for days journey under weight
Of eleven 10 fourteen stone. Iceland
ponies are steady aud fast In harness.
1 though wheels are comparatively new
/ departure In their country. They travel
mostly In strings, often tied head and
tall. Hay, baggage and household goods
are thus transported; and building ma
tcrlais also. You meet o "timber-les-
tur," or timber team, OF from eight 10
ten ponies, one carrying plauks trailing
on each side, another strips OF iron,'
another bundles OF tools: a certain
number OF spare animals running loose,
and not infrequently foal or two.
II 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 works we'll up TO twenty years and
often remains fairly sound to q ripe
! old age. He feeds on the fat OF the
land In summer and In winter, IL his
j owner Is poor, must live on his wits
and his stored condition. Farmers who
/ are fairly well or keep their animals
\ IN during winter and feed them on
I hay: but Notwithstanding, manr OF the
ponies have hard time OF It. The Ice
landers, however. keep their steeds as
4 well as their means allow and treat
them altogether in brotherly fashion:
and the S. P. c. A. would seldom find
4 scope for It's activity, except, possibly,
in the improvement of biting and gear
i Ing. Taking It oil around, the Iceland
4 pony Is certainly not less happy-very
Il often far happier-thani his. bigger
brothers in the south: and his endur-
4 ancc. pl1cidity and docility make him
i favorlte in othe- lands besides his
own. while fitting him for his home
duties In manner which could not be
! surpassed and must lie tested TO be full
] " Observation-Disclosures Globe SsE