So I keep finding out things about the British native pony breeds that I didn't know before.  I thought that the Dales ponies were always black or dark brown. 

Black Dales pony

 But I was wrong - this is what the Dales pony society says about the Dales' colours - "colours are predominantly black, with some brown, bay, grey and rarely roan".

 Grey Dales pony

In fact it turns out that the blue roan and bay roan colouring in Dales is very, very rare!  It seems it was undesirable for a while and they were discouraged and nearly lost in the breed forever.  Thankfully they are gaining favour again, and the owners of the Roandale stud where I took these photos are actively breeding the roan colours.  They have a very handsome blue roan stallion (which I unfortunately didn't get a photo of as he was indoors at the time).  The Dales ponies come in bay roan and a blue roan, both very beautiful.

 Blue roan and bay roan Dales

Horse colours and how they are bred is a very interesting science - some genes are more dominant / recessive so many colours are harder to get.  Here is a very interesting chart on horse colours and how different genes effect the final colour colour chart

Bay Dales pony

I'm really enjoying this project, and all the fascinating things I am finding out about our lovely British native breeds.

**Please click on the images to see them larger.

A trip to the Dales (Teesdale)

So, after a bit of a break from photographing the British native ponies, I finally arranged a trip to the north of England to photograph some native Dales ponies. The Dales ponies are on the Rare breeds survival trust watch list as 'critical' which is at the very top of the endangered breeds.  This means there are very few breeding Dales ponies around, and they are in danger of going extinct, which is very sad as they are wonderful ponies. 

 Dales pony mare with her young foal

I had always thought that the Dales ponies were from the Yorkshire Dales, but they are actually from a much larger area.  The Dales Pony is a native of the upper dales of the eastern slopes of the Pennine range, from the High Peak in Derbyshire all the way to the Cheviot Hills near the Scottish Border, so that covers North Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland areas.  The favoured breeding areas have always been the upper dales of the rivers Tyne, Wear, Allen, Tees and Swale.

A Dales pony with a view of Teesdale behind

They were bred in this area, where the lead mining industry flourished from Roman times until the mid-nineteenth century, because they were excellent pack ponies.

Unfortunately, there are no wild or completely free roaming Dales ponies on the Dales anymore, so I found a Dales pony breeder that breeds ponies true to type, and has them out grazing on the Teesdale hills over looking the beautiful Dales area.

This is the website of the very kind people who let me photograph their lovely ponies:

 Roandale stud Dales ponies

As usual I found the ponies and hung out with them for quite a few hours (which went far too quick) to get some natural shots of the ponies doing their thing.

Dales pony

Please click on the photos to see them larger, and remember I have many of my pony images for sale in my Etsy shop 

First off, I'm sorry I have been away for so long, but I'm back now and will try and be more regular with the posts...I have a lot of photos to post !

I wanted to share a few more photos of Dartmoor ponies, as I have a few nice ones of some pedigree registered Dartmoor ponies.

Dartmoor pony 

As I explained in my last few posts there are different types of ponies running on Dartmoor national park.  Whereas the Dartmoor hill ponies are all different shapes, sizes, and colours the ponies that are bred and registered as pedigree Dartmoor ponies by the Dartmoor pony society are all bred to a certain standard.

 

 

 Dartmoor pony

 

 

Their height should not be more than 12.2hh, their colours are bay, brown, black, grey, chestnut and roan.  Piebalds and Skewbalds are not allowed.  Excessive white markings are discouraged.  They should be sturdily built, but with quality.

 

Full breed standard here

Dartmoor pony foal

The pedigree pure bred Dartmoor is not so often seen on the commons beacuse they are too valuable to be left out, and also to prevent uncontrolled breeding with non-registered animals, but there are some especially if you know where to look.  I got some insider knowledge of where to find some from Lowertown Farm because they breed pedigree and heritage Dartmoor ponies, and keep a few out on the moors.

They told me where I might find some of their ponies, so I went in search of them.  After struggling through lots of gorse and bracken I found them !

Mare and foal

These wonderful little ponies are still on the endangered breeds list at the moment, but let's hope that with some successful breeding they will be able to come off that list.

Please click on the photos to see them larger.  

 

And don't forget you can check out my Etsy shop to buy prints and canvas of my horse and pony photos.

 

Dartmoor hill ponies

 Dartmoor hill pony and foal

Apparently, over two thousand years ago, Phoenician traders introduced ponies to the West Country. These original ponies evolved into two distinct breeds, the Exmoor and the Dartmoor.

The ponies now native to Dartmoor have adapted to suit whichever part of the Moor they live on. The colours are mainly bay, grey, chestnut and black, with some coloured ponies and even some spotted ponies.

Just over one hundred years ago, the pony breeders showed a split into two categories. One group began to concentrate on selectively breeding for the show ring with strict breed standards.  The other group bred more for usefulness and suitability for various kinds of work.

 Dartmoor hill pony

The mining industry found the native Dartmoors very useful, and crossed them with Shetland ponies for working underground. The farming industry required a sturdy weight-carrying pony, so ponies who were strong and had good depth of bone were chosen as breeding stock.  And when they were needed to be more sporty, for example as polo ponies, they were bred with arabs and thoroughbreds.  They have been used as riding ponies and driving ponies.

Dartmoor hill pony

So with all these different bloodlines that have been introduced it means there is a great variety of ponies on the moors today.  The common characteristics hardiness and good temperament. have remained the same though.

Dartmoor hill pony

Only a pony that has been bred on the commons of Dartmoor, by a registered Commoner, and whose sire and dam run on the Commons, is a Dartmoor Hill Pony.

Dartmoor hill pony

These are all photos I took on Dartmoor, showing the variety of different types and colours of Dartmoor hill pony.  Please click on the photos to see them larger.

More info on Dartmoor hill ponies here:

Dartmoor hill ponies 

Different types of ponies on Dartmoor

I have had a lot to learn about the ponies living on Dartmoor - I thought, probably like many people that there was just one type living feral there, but there are actually several different types.  Here is an overview:

 A coloured Dartmoor hill pony

Dartmoor was designated a National Park in 1951, but there have been ponies there a lot longer.   Ponies help to give Dartmoor its unique character and are one of the attractions for visitors to the area. They are an integral part of the moorland landscape and are a part of the area’s cultural heritage. Ponies are also important for conservation grazing particularly on certain habitats such as wet permanent pasture.

There are many ponies living feral on the moors, but there are several different types - it's quite confusing !

Firstly, there is the pedigree Dartmoor pony - this is the true to type Dartmoor Pony with known breeding and is recognised as a vulnerable breed by the Rare breeds society .  These are the Dartmoor pony breed that you will see being shown at pony shows.  They are represented by the Dartmoor pony society, have a strict breed standard, and are bred selectively, so that they have become more refined !  You will not see many of these running free on the moors.

The Dartmoor pony society

Dartmoor hill ponies

Secondly, are the ones you will see most often - these are known as Dartmoor hill ponies.  Only a pony that has been bred on the commons of Dartmoor, by a registered Commoner, and whose sire and dam run on the Commons, is a Dartmoor Hill Pony.

There are many variations of colour and type of Dartmoor hill pony, but they are all hardy and can survive on the moors all year round.  There are some that are Small and round like Shetland types, there is the coloured type, spotty type and the classic Dartmoor type.
 

Dartmoor Hill Pony Association

Classic Dartmoor type hill pony

Third, there is the Heritage Dartmoor pony.  This is where certain unregistered, but true to type Hill Ponies are given Heritage Trust List (HTL) status.  HTL status was granted several years ago to The Dartmoor Heritage Trust, a charity not connected with the Dartmoor Pony Society, to allow farmers on Dartmoor to obtain payments to assist them to retain their unregistered but true to type herds on the Moor.

They remain unregistered, but can if approved and they meet certain criteria enter the Dartmoor Pony Society/Duchy of Cornwall Upgrading Scheme.  This is where several generations of Heritage pony are bred with a pure bred stallion, and if they pass inspection they can become registered as a pedigree Dartmoor !

Dartmoor pony heritage trust

After scrabbling through lots of gorse and bracken I found these two young ponies, along with a mare and foal - they belong to Lowertown farm.  The one on the right is a pedigree Dartmoor, and the one on the left is a pedigree X heritage pony.

More to come about the lovely Dartmoor and Hill ponies in the next few blogs, so be sure to check back.

Please click on the photos to see them larger.

Get an Exmoor pony !!

 

Shy Exmoor pony

What is the future like for these wonderful British native ponies that are classed as a rare breed?  Hopefully, they have a positive future, along with all other British native breeds of ponies and other animals.  We need people to realise how wonderful these little ponies are.

 

Exmoor pony in sepia

They make lovely children's ponies, but can also be ridden by small adults as they are very strong.   They are very hardy and can live out all year round, so they are easy to care for. They are very intelligent and fun to ride.  Exmoor ponies are also very adaptable to most disciplines, ridden and non ridden.

One thing these ponies are excelling at is horse agility, which is a very fun thing to do with your pony.  Last year Bear - a most gorgeous Exmoor stallion won the horse agility world championship.  Take a look at this amazing video of him at play, with his owner Dawn Westcott.

Bear at liberty agility

Exmoor pony

Thankfully people are realising their worth for another job, which hopefully will help secure their future too.  They are being used for conservation grazing.  What is conservation grazing?  Whole herds of varying numbers are used for managing interesting landscapes in a low intensive way to encourage the wildlife and plants that these areas support. Sites need grazing to remove the scrub and rough grasses.  More info here from the Moorland Mousie trust that have ponies available for this job.

Conservation grazing

There are quite a few sites around Britain that are using Exmoors for this as they are an excellent choice for the job.  Read about one of the sites in the South Downs where they are using Exmoor ponies for conservation grazing.

Conservation grazing on the South Downs

If you are loving the Exmoor ponies and would like to read more about them there is a really good blog you can follow:

Exmoor pony blog

And there is a particularly heartwarming story about the rescue of an orphaned foal on Exmoor here:

Monsieur Chapeau

Please click on the photos to see them larger.

Next blog will be about the lovely little Dartmoor ponies !

Moorland Exmoor foal project

Exmoor foal

As I mentioned in the last blog, the Exmoor pony is an endangered breed, which is really sad, as they are so beautiful and adaptable, and make wonderful riding ponies.

It would be easy to think that they are endangered because there are not enough of them left to breed in significant numbers, but this is not the case.  Unfortunately, quite a few of those born each year are culled.  How could such a terrible situation arise ?

 

 

Quote from equinetourism.com

 

"Because of strict grazing quotas and the breeding programmes, most foals, especially colts, must leave the moors each year and find good homes. Sadly, those that do not manage to find good homes are often sent for meat"

 

Quote from Exmoor Pony Club facebook page

 

"Up until now, there has been a communication gap between the moorland farmers and potential homes that has resulted in a significant number of foals being culled, when there may well have been better opportunities for them. It is clear that more help is needed to promote and market the availability of the foals and the moorland herds - in addition to all the good work that is already being done.

There is also the fact that more good homes may be available if some of the foals can be socialised and handled to make them more appealing to potential owners. When the existing pony organisations are up to capacity, there are still plenty of foals that need a helping hand to make the successful transition from the moor to domestic life."

Foal running back to his mum

 

Is there anything being done about this ?  Thankfully, yes.

This year Holtball Exmoor Pony Stud / Exmoor Pony Club is running the Moorland Exmoor Foal Project to help support and promote the moorland farmers of Exmoor and their ponies.  Here is how Nick and Dawn Westcott are helping (taken from their Facebook page)

WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT
So this year, we are buying some moorland foals and giving them their initial socialisation and training, after which we will be looking for good homes for them. The ponies will come to Holt Ball after inspection and be socialised using positive, trust based training.

HOW IS THIS PROJECT FUNDED?
In our first year of running this scheme, there is no funding or support and the price we will be able to achieve for the ponies after their initial training will not even begin to cover the project costs. So we are welcoming sponsorship, support, donations - large or small, in whatever form - to help fund this project.

THIS IS NOT A 'RESCUE' PROJECT
We do not want to pitch this as a 'rescue project'. This is a project run by Exmoor farmers for Exmoor farmers to support, promote and manage the moorland foals who need to come off the moor and try to find them good jobs and good homes, rather than culling them. The Exmoor pony is an Endangered Breed and too many of our genuine moorbred ponies are being wasted through lack of viable opportunities. We want to help change that.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
If you'd like to get involved to help with the care and management of the ponies, visit us to observe some of their training, generally lend a hand, or become a sponsor, or make a donation - then please get in touch with us.

Beautiful Exmoor foal

If there is anything you feel you can do to help these beautiful Exmoor ponies please get in touch with Nick and Dawn Westcott Here .  Please help secure the future of this wonderful British native breed, and help save these lovely foals.

 

 Few months old foal