Dartmoor Horses

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If you love horses, don’t ever forget to try riding on those enlisted in the Rare Breeds Watch list of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Since 1973, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust has been founded to help save the native animal breeds. Among those on the watch list is the Dartmoor Horse.

During the medieval times, the Dartmoor pony has been carrying heavy loads of tin from the mines across the moor. When the mines were closed, some were kept for farming while the others were left to roam on the moor. They were bred in Dartmoor, a wild upland area abundant with moorland and granite tors. At first, Dartmoor ponies were registered in the Polo Pony Society Stud Book. Next, it was registered in 1898 in the stud books of the National Pony Society. In the 1920s, Prince Edward (Edward VIII) maintained and bred Dartmoor ponies near Princeton. He wanted to produce finer polo ponies, so he crossed the Dartmoor ponies with Arab ponies. In 1924, the Dartmoor Pony Society was set up and handled the maintenance of the Stud Book. At that time, the maximum height was already fixed at 12.2 hands high. Today, there are less than 1,000 breeding mares and so Dartmoor pony is enlisted as a rare breed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

They are still roaming in the moors together with other ponies which are of different or unknown breeding. In the autumn of each year, the ponies on the moor will go through the Dartmoor Pony Drift. It was an occasion wherein cattle and ponies were gathered off the moor to assess whether there any illegally pastured animals roaming in the Forest of Dartmoor.

The Dartmoor pony mostly comes in bay, brown and black colors. They have small heads with large eyes, strong neck, well laid back and sloping shoulder, strong back and hindquarters. They are excellent jumpers with great stamina. They are dependable, prudent, kind and quiet.

They are best for children, adults and the whole family as well. They can be used in dressage, show jumping, cross country, one day events and carriage driving. Because of their levelheadedness, able and willing attitude, they are perfect for Pony club mounts. In various disciplines such as In Hand, Ridden, lead Rein, First Ridden, Open Ridden, Cradle Stakes, Working Hunter, Hunter Trials, the Dartmoor ponies are excellent performers.