Pony Breeds: Show Ponies, Rare Ponies

A Pony Breed Means What?

All Ponies can be called a horse, because they belong to the same species.

The world today has many breeds and/or types; in referring to some of them as ponies, varying aspects and standards are applied by scientists, breed associations, or the general public.

We do not wish to even try to stipulate what any animal should be called. If various breeds are considered ponies but are called otherwise by the respective association or registry, the reader is likely to find such an animal included on both of our lists. This is because we wish to honor the associations' preferences while we also wish to display breeds listed in such a way as to allow readers to easily locate them on this site. We do most certainly however, endeavor to present truthful information, including scientific, genetic, historical, and modern day information. More

Pony Breeds of the World

 
The term "pony" has various origins, and so ponies mean different things to different people. While it was and still is loosely applied in certain fields of equestrian activities (the cowboy often referred to his "pony", irrespective of type or height, and polo pony is another example, irrespective of type or height), there are breeds and show associations which refer to anything under 14,2 hands as a pony. In hippologistic and scientific contexts, however, the phrases "horse" and "pony" carry different meanings, as each expresses different conformation types, which also are tied to certain behavioral traits. Within these parameters, animals may be above 15 hands and still be ponies, and there are animals under 13 hands that must be called a horse, in both instances due to that animal's type.

Ponies vs. Horses

Two things are important to note here regarding such designations:

1) The different conformation types stem from different ancestral, prehistoric animals. Even among the post-glacial wild subspecies that all modern equines go back to, the pony type was represented. Generally, primeval equines of the northern regions were of pony type,  while those adapted to southern, warmer regions were not.

2) Whether a animal is called a pony or not is never meant in a demeaning, or an upgrading way, neither emotionally, nor economically. There are high-value animals, and there are those that might be considered of lesser value in both categories.

Scientifically, there are a number of factors that distinguish ponies, although some breeds fall into a gray area -- because most breeds represent a blend of traits, it is not always the case that the traits associated with pony are so dominant that a breed can confidently placed in that category.

The pony is found throughout the world and there are many distinctive breeds. Pony breeds and their outcrosses have influenced many breeds s the world over, but individual pony breed registries have also been maintained, with much delight in breeding superior animals.

Conformation

Among the characteristics associaton with ponies as "type" are:

Rounded forms, a compact build with good muscling, short legs in comparison to the body, heavy mane and tail, including thick forelock, and a roof-like top of the tail; short cannon bones, well-developed joints; the head has a broad forehead, a light dent on the bridge of the nose when viewed from the side, medium-sized muzzle, big, round eyes protected by a protruding lid, short, wide-placed ears. The body is barrel-like, with a broad back, a well-rounded rib cage, a strong loin, a dropping hip and a low tail set. The withers are not very prominent.

Although all colors are found among today's breeds of ponies, the original color of the ancestral pony was a peat brown, as is still expressed in the Exmoor pony; part of this prehistoric color package are a "mealy mouth" and lighter-colored areas around the eyes, at the belly and flanks, and inside the legs. Mane and tail are black, of course.

What does not meet the eye is that in typical ponies, the joints are constructed differently, providing more lateral stability, but not quite as much forward freedom as in the joints of the horse-types. Another anatomical peculiarity of ponies is the form and placement of the teeth: The incisors of the pony are more like a nipper, meeting straight up and down, instead of at an angle. Thus the pony can graze down deeper. The pony's molars are larger and set evenly in the jaw (which is stronger, heavier) like the spokes of a wheel. The pony is typically an easy keeper; it can survive on hard grasses and bark, which it is able to grind sufficiently due to its strong molars, and it has a digestive tract capable of utilizing coarse feed high in fiber and low in nutrients.

Ponies are somewhat shorter-strided, but more of an all-rounder, rather than a specialized runner. The pony's moves are flat, instead of moving with more knee action.

In most modern breeds, breeders have tried to combine traits. Traits like flat movements (short, broad cannon bones), well-expressed joints, compactness - well-sprung ribs, muscling, strong loins, highly efficient digestive tract - are all characteristics which they took from the pony, If the region they lived in had a wet and cold climate, and if they were too poor to supplement their animals, they also had to rely on those characteristics that allow ponies to prosper under those conditions, thus implementing more pony traits in their breed. In one way or another, the pony contributed to most, if not all, of today's breeds. More often than most breeders realize, color is linked to certain conformation and other traits, so if in any given breed a brown or bay color was preferred and selected for, it automatically meant that other pony characteristics were perpetuated, too.

The pony is used for a wide variety of purposes in today's world, ranging from riding, driving, and work with many varied disciplines within the competitive arenas and for pleasure. Ponies represent Mother Nature's recipe for an all-rounder.

Article by Hardy Oelke. For information regarding the Sorraia, the Vale de Zebro Wild Horse Refuge, and the Sorraia Mustang - visit www.sorraia.org

Jansen, Forster, Levine, Oelke, Hurles, Weber, Olek, "Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic equine", 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The following links will take the reader to pages pertaining to pony "types" that are listed on the horse breeds page:

Haflinger, see the H section
Hucul  - Carpathian Pony
Icelandic pony, see Icelandic Horse
Miniature Horse, see the H  section.
Norwegian Fjord, see the H section
Polish Konik, see the H section