HORSE AND PONY BREEDS

4. THE EXMOOR PONY

By Christie Wolhuter

We will be continuing our pony breed series by moving around the British Isles to a rare and unique pony, the Exmoor Pony. The Exmoor is the oldest UK breed classified under the nine breeds native to the British Isles. These ponies roam semi-feral across the moorlands of the Exmoor National Park.

The Exmoor is thick-set, small, and brown or dun in colour with the characteristic pale or “mealy” nose. They are so sturdy that children and adults can ride them.

HISTORY

It is thought that the first wild ponies moved to Britain from Alaska 130,000 years ago. This was so long ago that the ponies must have existed around the time of the mammoth and the sabre-toothed tiger.

When the Celtic people settled in Britain, they tamed and used the ponies to pull their chariots. There are mentions of ponies on Exmoor in the Doomsday Book - Britain’s oldest ever public record. The book was written in 1080 - a whopping 941 years ago!

World War Two then nearly wiped out the breed. A combination of absent owners, poverty, and the use of the moorlands for troops resulted in there being only 50 ponies left after the war. Passionate breeders desperately tried to save the breed, and ponies were even exported to Canada and the USA. Nowadays, there are just under 500 recorded in the UK, and they are still considered an endangered species.

The Exmoor is superbly adapted to the wild, able to with stand the UK cold and rain. They have thick eyelids called “toad eyes” and very thick forelocks that help protect them. The “toad eye” along with the thick forelock helps the rain run directly off the face. Their tails also grow short hairs on the top, called a “snow shute.” To complete their protection systems, their coats have two layers, kind of like thermal underwear! Every year in the breeding season, the native herds are rounded up by the local farmers to be inspected and some are selected to be sold as recreation ponies.

One of the UK’s oldest and most beloved ponies definitely deserves to be preserved. They are hardy, great children’s ponies and have lovely quirky characters.