British Native Horses and Ponies Quiz

Answer: Cleveland Bay

The Cleveland Bay comes from North East England and was originally bred as a pack horse and known as the Chapman horse - a name derived from the packmen and pedlars (or chapmen) who used them. These Chapman horses were bred to Arabian Barbs to produce a more powerful horse, known as the Yorkshire coach horse. The breed today still has two types, with the Chapman being a finer and smaller animal. They are always bay in colour though.

The advent of the car and the tractor saw a decline in the numbers of the Cleveland Bay but they are making a come-back (though still on the Rare Breeds critical list) and are popular again as carriage horses. They are also being being bred with other types such as thoroughbreds to produce competition horses for pursuits such as dressage, show jumping and eventing.

For more information visit www.clevelandbay.com

Answer: Exmoor

The Exmoor pony is said to have first been described in the Domesday book. It is a very hardy, tough little pony (11.3 - 12.3 hh) and is said to be largely unchanged for the last 10,000 years because of their similarity to ponies seen in cave paintings. They are always bay, brown or dun and must have no white on them. The mealy muzzle is a greying, grizzled appearance around the mouth and nose and the toad eyes refers to a rather fleshy upper eyelid which is thought to help keep the rain out of their eyes during the wet moorland winters. They also have a weatherproof coat and a snow-chute on the top of the tail.

The true Exmoor declined seriously and is still endangered but it has increased in popularity as a riding and driving pony and is now making a come-back. For more information visit

www.exmoorponysociety.org.uk/home

Answer: Suffolk Punch

More correctly known as the Suffolk horse, the "Punch" part comes from the horse's appearance - a long, solid body set on legs that look too small for it. The breed was clearly described in the 15th century and is always chesnut (traditionally spelled this way and not chestnut) with no white allowed except on the face. It has very clean legs with no feathers, making it ideal as a working horse because it stays relatively clean. The breed declined steeply in the 1930s after the introduction of machinery and in 1966 only 9 foals were born. All the animals alive today are descended from one stallion - Crisp's Horse of Ufford who was foaled in 1768.

The breed is still endangered but is becoming more popular again and being shown at agricultural shows around the UK. If you want to know more then go to www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk

Answer: Eriskay

The Eriskay was once used as a crofter's pony in Scotland - a sort of general purpose animal around the farms and smallholdings or crofts. It was crossed with other breeds and replaced by machinery until, in the 1970s, there were just 20 pure-bred ponies left as a small breeding colony on the island of Eriskay, a Hebridean isle near to South Uist off the coast of Scotland. There are now around 420 of them as a breeding programme has been introduced to save the breed.

They are 12-13hh and are always born black or bay, turning grey as they mature. Very occasionally one will retain its dark colouring but they are never any other colour. They look like a finer version of the traditional Highland pony.

Answer: Highland

The Highland pony was once the workhorse of the mountain areas of Scotland. Most modern ponies can trace their breeding back to about 1830 and there are thought to be about 6,000 worldwide today. They were prized as being very tough and very strong, able to carry an adult man all day over rough terrain or to carry the deer carcasses back to the hunting lodge on large estates after a day's hunting. The Gaelic name for the pony is Garron.

Today, they are still used in their traditional role but are also used as riding ponies and compete in many areas. They are particularly good at jumping and long-distance riding and make ideal family ponies as their docile nature and strength mean that anyone from the smallest child to Dad can ride them.

Queen Elizabeth II, a keen horsewoman, uses them on her own highland estates and has a large stud at Balmoral Castle.

To read more, visit www.highlandponysociety.com

Answer: Dartmoor

The Dartmoor pony was originally used by the tin miners of Devon and Cornwall to carry the ore from the mines. The local farmers also used them as pack ponies and riding ponies to herd sheep on the rough, open moorland of Dartmoor. The earliest known reference is in a will of Bishop Aelfwold of Crediton in 1012. Today they are more usually used as riding or driving ponies and make ideal first mounts as they are generally very nice natured and kind.

If you have visited Dartmoor, you could be forgiven for thinking they are very common and come in many different colours but the true Dartmoor pony is bay, brown, grey or chestnut. Skewbald or piebald are not allowed and too much white is frowned upon too. This is because many of the ponies running wild today are the result of interbreeding over many years when people were free to put any pony onto the moor. The true Dartmoor is recognised as an endangered breed by the Rare Breeds Trust and there is now a breeding programme on the moor to try to preserve them.

For more information see: www.imh.org/imh/bw/dart.html#hist

or the Dartmoor Pony Society: www.dartmoorponysociety.com

Answer: Shire

The Shire is probably the most numerous of the heavy horse breeds today and is the tallest - being heavier and taller than the Clydesdale. It is said to have been developed from the war horses brought to England by William the Conqueror in 1066 but, after the advent of firearms was used widely as a draught horse. In the 20th century its numbers dwindled as, in common with many of our working breeds, it was replaced by machines but it has made a comeback and is now popular again. Shires are used by the Forestry Commission to work where tractors cannot, to pull canal boats, to haul drays for the breweries round cities (they are cheaper to run than lorries!) as well as for riding and driving. The Shire is also being crossed with finer horses to produce powerful sport horses for a range of competitive disciplines.

To find out more visit www.shire-horse.org.uk/index

Answer: Fell and Dales

Both the Fell and Dales ponies are thought of as native Mountain and Moorland ponies in England and no distinction was made when the studbook first started in the 19th century as they were considered to be two types of the same breed. Today, the Dales pony is described as an improved breed with Clydesdale influence but they both were bred from ponies found around the Pennines - the mountain range that divides northern England. Fell ponies are named for the fells or hills, whereas Dales ponies are named for the dales or valleys. The Fell has always been generally smaller and more able to live in the bleak upland fells. Both Fell and Dales ponies have been known as galloways in northern England, possibly acknowledging the role the Scottish Galloway breed may have played in developing the ponies.

For more information see

www.laurelhighland.com/aboutfell.htm#The%20Fell%20Pony%20Family%20Tree:

and also the breed societies for the Fell and Dales ponies

www.dalespony.org

www.fellponysociety.org

Answer: Welsh Mountain or Welsh Pony

The Welsh pony breed is divided into 4 sections depending on the height and stockiness of the particular bloodline.

Section A are the finest ponies and must not exceed 12hh - despite their size they are tough, spirited little animals who can survive on the very thin grazing in the mountains. These are the Welsh Mountain Ponies.

Section B are a bit stockier and allowed to be up to 13.2hh. These are known as Welsh Ponies.

Section C is a stockier pony again, with cob blood and capable of carrying an adult - they are up to 13.2hh too.

Section D is the true Welsh cob and should be over 13.2hh. It is solidly built and often used as a dual-purpose driving and riding pony.

All 4 sections are tough, active ponies though the finer section A and B are probably more "pony-like" in character. Many children have ridden these Welsh ponies from an early age, competed at Pony Club and had enormous fun.

The breed society is at www.wpcs.uk.com/index

Answer: Clydesdale

The Clydesdale was once the heart of farming and industry in Scotland but its numbers dwindled following the first and second World Wars and, as for so many breeds, with the advent of mechanisation. In 1975 the breed was placed on the Rare Breeds Trust vulnerable list but its numbers have now increased enough for it to be classed as "at risk".

The horses are often 17hh with very large, round hooves and beautiful feathers on the legs. They are most often bay or brown but other colours also occur. The Clydesdale is a very gentle horse and today is most often used as a display horse or competition horse, pulling drays or other carts and appearing at agricultural shows. They are also being increasingly used as riding horses and, like the Shire, being cross-bred to produce competition horses.

For more information see: www.clydesdalehorsesociety.com/index


All of these horse and pony breeds are popular but most are listed by the Rare Breeds Trust as needing help to survive. If you want to know more about these and other animals being bred for survival then visit

www.rbst.org.uk/index or any of the links given above.