Dartmoor pony

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Dartmoor Pony
Country of originEngland
Traits
Distinguishing featuresSmall but strong, many colours, hardy

The Dartmoor Pony is a

tin miners and quarry workers. It is kept in a semiferal
state on Dartmoor.

Despite this, numbers living on the open moor have declined from an estimated 5,000 in 1900 to about 300 registered ponies today.[when?] Only around 800 ponies were known to be grazing the moor in the spring of 2004.

Breed characteristics

The Dartmoor Pony has a small, neat head, large, wide-set eyes, and alert ears. It has a well-compact body that is strong, with a broad, deep rib cage, of medium length. The legs are strong, long from body to knee and hock, but with short cannons with strong, dense bone, and a flat-fronted knee; the fore leg rises to a shoulder that is well-angled and with good freedom of movement, and the hind leg rises to a quarter that is well-muscled and rounded in appearance, rather than flat or sloping. The

chestnut, or roan.[1]

Piebald and skewbald colouring is not permitted within the Dartmoor Pony breed. Ponies with this colouring, seen running on Dartmoor, are likely to be Dartmoor Hill Ponies, as Dartmoor commoners may graze any type of pony out on the moors.[2] The Dartmoor Hill Pony is classified as a pony born on Dartmoor, but not a purebred registered Dartmoor Pony. It is not a true breed as such, as the registry for Dartmoor Hill Ponies is open only to those born on the moors, so a pony born of two Dartmoor Hill ponies, but not born on the moors, could not be registered with the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association.[3]

Although Exmoor Ponies live fairly close geographically and their markings are somewhat similar, evidence now suggests that Dartmoor and Exmoor Ponies are not as related as was once thought.

History

The bones of prehistoric horses have been found in

Vere Gordon Childe's period III - IV in southern Britain. This would date the bones at the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural society (the Neolithic Revolution) around 3500 BC; the bones are probably from wild horses, but domestication may have begun by that date.[4] Archeological investigation from the 1970s has shown that domesticated ponies were to be found on Dartmoor as early as 1500 BC.[5] The first written record, dated to AD 1012, refers to wild horses at Ashburton, and early records from Dartmoor manors refer to ponies being branded and earmarked.[6]

A Dartmoor mare nursing her foal

The Dartmoor Pony was used in medieval times for carrying heavy loads of tin ore from the mines across the moor.

Dartmoor Prison from the early 1900s until the 1960s, and used by guards for escorting prisoners.[8]

The Dartmoor received

Fell Pony blood were also added.[9]

Ponies on Little Mis Tor

The first attempt to define and register the breed was in 1898, when the ponies were entered into a studbook started by the Polo Pony Society. In 1924, the breed society was founded, and a studbook opened.[7] World War I and World War II were devastating to the breed. Only a few ponies were registered during World War II. However, after the war, local people began to inspect and register as many ponies as they could, and by the 1950s, numbers were back up.

Two schemes have been introduced to halt the decline in numbers, and broaden the gene pool of the Dartmoor Pony. The Dartmoor Pony Moorland Scheme was established in 1988 and is administered by the Dartmoor Pony Society and the Duchy of Cornwall, as well as being supported by the Dartmoor National Park. In 2004, a new scheme, the Dartmoor Pony Preservation Scheme, was introduced, and herds taking part in this new scheme must enter one mare each year to the DPMS. The Dartmoor Pony has been granted Rare Breed status.[10]

Dartmoor Ponies today

Dartmoor Hill pony on Dartmoor

Dartmoor Ponies are native to Britain, but are also seen in other parts of the world, including the US,

Riding Pony.[13] The breed is a good size and temperament for a children's mount, but it can carry an adult. They are mainly used for hunting, trail riding,[14] showing,[15] jumping, dressage, and driving,[16]
as well as everyday riding.

All ponies that are free-roaming on Dartmoor are owned and protected by Dartmoor Commoners. Visitors feeding the ponies is illegal.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About The Breed". Dartmoor Pony Society. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  2. ^ Dartmoor Commoners Council
  3. ^ Ponies found on Dartmoor Archived 2011-03-18 at the Wayback Machine, The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association
  4. ^ Daniel 1950, p. 173
  5. ^ "National Park Information Leaflet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  6. ^ Local Government Factsheet
  7. ^ a b c Dent 2007, p. 152
  8. ^ Lynghaug 2009, p. 464
  9. ^ The British Horse
  10. ^ "Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Dartmoor Pony Registry of America". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Dartmoor Societies in Europe and Australia". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  13. ^ Rayner 1974, p. 181
  14. ^ Lynghaug 2009, p. 462
  15. ^ "Horse of the Year Show Champion Dartmoor". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  16. ^ "Dartmoors in Competition". Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  17. ^ National Park Byelaws

Sources

External links

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