Exmoor Horses

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Before Exmoor horses totally go extinct, you better ride on one of them now. Exmoor horses are the rarest breed among all the rare horse breeds. Their population is far lower than all the rare breeds of horses. Do not miss out on a chance to ride Exmoor horses.

Since ancient times, the Exmoor pony have already lived and roamed in the Exmoor moorland of Southwest Britain. They have been there for so many years and are considered to be Britain’s oldest native breeds. The first ever written record about Exmoor ponies was the Domesday Book, wherein 104 Exmoor pony broodmares were recorded in 1085. Generally, they were used for agricultural purposes like pulling carts and transporting farmers from hill to hill. In 1700, farmers were permitted to graze their ponies in the forests. Until today, there are still Exmoor ponies roaming freely in the said areas. In 1818, the Royal Forest of Exmoor was sold to an industrialist, John Knight. At the same time, Sir Thomas Acland took 30 ponies and he founded the Acland herd, which is now called as the Anchor herd. Because of the World War II, the Stud Book for Exmoor ponies was destroyed.

At the same time, the ponies almost became extinct since there were only 50 registered mares and 4 stallions which remained. In 1921, the owners were concerned that their true Exmoor ponies might be lost and so the Exmoor Pony Society was founded. In 1952, a new Stud Book was created and there already additional Exmoor ponies being registered. However, their population could not equal to those of the other breeds. That is why, it is considered and listed as endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

You can easily recognize Exmoor ponies because of their colored muzzle and prominent eyes. Their “toad” eyes are unique in form because of their heavy top lids. Another distinguishing characteristic is their absence of white markings. The Exmoor mares exceed 12.2 hands high while the stallions do not exceed 12.3 hands high. Their foreheads are wide, and they have short thick ears. Their legs are short and their feet are hard and well-shaped. They also have great stamina, intelligence and kindness.

Exmoor ponies do well as weight-carriers. They are good riding ponies. An older child or a smaller adult can even make use these ponies for various performances.