The New Forest Pony

Height
12.2hh to 14.2hh.

Colour
Any colour except piebald, skewbald, spotted and blue eyed cream.
Only palamino, and dark eyed cream, fillies and geldings, are accepted for registration.
Blue eyes are not permitted.

Build
Good depth of body, with strong sloping shoulder. Legs should be short with plenty of dense, flat bone.

Movement
Free from the shoulder, active, straight and ground covering; with no undue knee and hock action.

Trimming rules for showing
Manes may be lightly pulled and jawlines trimmed, whiskers should be left on.
Working ponies may be body clipped.

History
A Native to the New Forest of Hampshire, England, the Forest spans around 90,000 acres. Archaeological findings suggest that ponies roamed the forest from as early as 300 AD, part of a pony skeleton about 12.3 hh has been excavated at the Roman Villa in Rockbourne.

Over the years the introduction of foreign blood has threatened the purity of the breed.
The earliest recorded initial changes to the breed were of a royal nature. During the Middle Ages a Royal Stud was maintained in the Forest. In 1220, 18 Welsh Mares were sent to the Forest.
It is said that King Henry VIII had the utmost dislike for smaller ponies; he ordered the removal of all horses less than 14 1/2 hands from the forest, with the slaughter of mares "unsuitable for breeding".

In 1852, Queen Victoria lent Arab stallion, Zorah, to roam the new Forest. His stock were not popular with the commoners, after four years Zorah became sick and was returned to Windsor. Around this time there was a strong demand for good ponies, many of the best ponies were sold from the forest to private buyers. This was detrimental to the breed; the poorer ponies were left behind to breed. During the late 1800s, verderers of the New forest recognised the decline, and introduced breeding programmes to improve the breed. Records show ten Exmoor mares were turned out to the forest in 1901. Thoroughbred, Welsh and Arab blood had also been introduced.

The Society for the improvement of New Forest Ponies was founded in 1891, it held annual shows awarding premiums to stallions. Over the years, the show grew to include ridden performance classes and races. In 1906, the Burley & District New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society began keeping records, publishing its first Stud Book in 1910. In 1938, the two societies amalgamated and no ponies of outside blood were eligible for registration.

Today many ponies roam free on the forest, and many ponies are privately owned.
Those privately owned are treasured for their wonderful calm temprament. New forest ponies are often considererd the ultimate allrounder or family pony. The smaller ponies are an ideal childs pony, larger examples easily capable of carrying adults. The New forest ponys calm, kind temperament makes them invaluable RDA ponies.

For competitive owners, the New Forest pony can excel in many spheres.
Their strong athletic build, matched with a wonderful sure footedness, ensures they gain success in showjumping, dressage, driving, endurance and the show ring.

The ponies often seen roaming the New Forest are not wild as such; they are owned by the 400 or so commoners of the New Forest, who still retain the ancient grazing rights of the land.
Many of these ponies are not pure bred New Forest, although all stallions must be registered.
This explains a number of skewbald and piebald examples seen on the forest.
For registered mares that foal on the New Forest, their foals will be registered as 'Forest bred'.
Today there are many individual classes and special rosettes, specifically for the forest bred New Forest pony.

Six times a year the Beaulieu Road sales are held, at this traditional horse fair surplus ponies that have been rounded up fom the forest are sold. Unfortunately in recent years, poor prices for ponies have resulted in many ponies being sold for meat. The New Forest Publicity Group and the Verderers of the Forest have strived to create a better market for these ponies. Measures have also been taken to improve the standard of ponies being bred on the forest.

The main hazard to these wild ponies is road traffic.

Much of the forest and moorland are not fenced from the roadside, it is not uncommon to see ponies, sheep or cows wandering across the roads. Anyone visiting the New Forest should take the utmost care when driving, in order to protect these animals.
It is also advised that visitors to the forest do not encourage ponies to the roadside with food or treats, doing such will surely increase the risk of accidents.

Breed Society
http://www.newforestpony.com/

Did you know?
The earliest representation of a New Forest pony is a child like decoration on a pot, fired at Linwood around 300 AD.

King Canute's Forest Law of 1016 records the presence of horses, among the other wild animals in the New Forest.

In 1993 the pony, Calypso, won the USDF Bronze Medal in 3rd level dressage, ridden by a 9 year old girl.

In 1928, a group of New Forest mares, along with Thoroughbred and Arab horses, were shipped over to Lundy Island to establish the Lundy Pony breed.

Surviving Breed Show schedules from the early 1900s include races for adults, riding Registered New Forest ponies under 11.2 hh.

At present there are between 3,000 and 3,500 ponies on the Forest, living in herds of up to 30 or 40 animals, often sub-divided into smaller family groups.

Elizabeth, daughter of James I, was reputed to have had a Forest Pony.

European dressage team medallist, Forester's Gold, is out of a New Forest mare.
Prolific stallion, Peverill Peterborough, qualified for the Horse of the Year Show working hunter finals a record 9 times. He also qualified for the NPS Olympia ridden final 7 times.

Time line
1891 - The Society for the improvement of New Forest Ponies founded.
1906 - Burley & District New Forest Pony and Cattle Breeding Society formed.
1938 - Both amalgamated to form the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society.
1960 - The New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society started to publish it's own Stud Book
1985 - New Forest Pony Enthusiasts Club founded.
1989 - The New Forest Pony Association & Registry of North America (NFPA) was established.
2001 - New Forest Pony Publicity Group was set up.