The New Forest pony is one of the recognised mountain and moorland or native pony breeds of the British Isles. The breed is indigenous to the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England, where equines have lived since before the last Ice Age. DNA studies have shown ancient shared ancestry with the Celtic-type Asturcón and Pottok ponies.
About New Forest pony in brief
The New Forest pony is one of the recognised mountain and moorland or native pony breeds of the British Isles. The breed is indigenous to the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England, where equines have lived since before the last Ice Age. DNA studies have shown ancient shared ancestry with the Celtic-type Asturcón and Pottok ponies. New Forest ponies should be of riding type, workmanlike, and strong in conformation, with a sloping shoulder and powerful hindquarters. They are valued for hardiness, strength, and sure-footedness. The population of ponies on the Forest has fluctuated in response to varying demand for young stock. Numbers fell to fewer than six hundred in 1945, but have since risen steadily, and thousands now run loose in semi-feral conditions. Ponies failing to pass standards may not be registered in the purebred section of the stud book, but are recorded in the appendix, known as the X-register. The offspring of purebred-approved registered ponies may be registered as purebred. New ponies have a gentle temperament and a reputation for a sturdy whole, they are hardy and hardy. The one known genetic disorder found in the breed is congenital myotonia, a muscular condition also found in humans, dogs, cats, goats and goats. The condition affects the skeletal muscle excitability of the foal, which regulates the skeletal excitaline of the pony.
The maximum height allowed is 14.2 1⁄4 hands, but in practice New Forest horses are seldom less than 12 hands. In shows, they normally are classed in two sections: competition height A, 138 centimetres and under; and competition height B, over 138 centimeter. The ponies are most commonly bay, chestnut, or grey. Few coat colours are excluded: piebald, skewbald, and blue-eyed cream are not allowed; palomino and very light chestnut are only accepted by the Stud book as geldings and mares. Blue eyes are never accepted. White markings on the head and lower legs are allowed, unless they appear behind the head, above the point of the hock in the hind leg, or above the metacarpal bone at the bend in the foreleg. The pony’s tail is trimmed to the pattern of the Agister responsible for that pony. Each Agister takes responsibility for a different area of the Forest. The animals are gathered annually in a series of drifts, to be checked for health, wormed, and they are tail-marked. Many of thefoals bred on the forest are sold through the Beaulieu Road pony sales, which are held several times each year. The welfare of ponies grazing on the New forest is monitored by five Agisters, employees of the Verderers of the NewForest. The only offspring of these animals that are not purebred may not be registered.
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This page is based on the article New Forest pony published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
