Читать книгу The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History - Tamsin Pickeral - Страница 18

HEIGHT

Up to 12 h.h. in the U.K., 12.2 h.h. in the U.S. (Section A)

APPEARANCE

A beautiful, small head with large eyes and small ears. Neck is well formed and arched. Short back, sloping croup, and high-set tail. Legs are short, clean, and very sound and the hooves incredibly tough.

COLOR

Often gray but can be any color.

APTITUDE

Riding, light draft, showing, dressage, jumping, competitive horse sports

THE BRITISH ISLES ARE HOME TO NINE surviving native and ancient breeds of pony, often referred to as the Mountain and Moorland breeds, that developed primarily in the rugged moorlands and highlands of the country. Each exhibits its own distinctive characteristics, but they also share many common traits as a result of the similar, harsh habitat in which they developed; in many cases, they also share similar prehistoric roots.

One of the most influential of Britain’s native breeds is the Welsh pony, which has frequently been used with great success to improve and even create other modern horse breeds, such as the American Welara, based on crosses between Welsh ponies and Arabians. Welsh ponies have roamed the moorlands of Wales since prehistoric times and are thought to have descended from the now-extinct Celtic pony. In 1901, the Welsh Pony and Cob Society was established in the United Kingdom by local landowners who recognized the great importance of their ponies, and in 1902 the first studbook was opened. It was divided into four sections to acknowledge the four different types of Welsh pony that had developed: the Welsh Mountain Pony (Section A), the Welsh Pony (Section B), the Welsh Pony of Cob Type (Section C), and the Welsh Cob (Section D).

The Welsh Mountain Pony is the oldest of the four types with fossil evidence suggesting that small ponies existed in the remote hills of Wales before 1600 B.C.E. These animals were small and fine-boned, but they developed great endurance, toughness, and sure-footedness; survival of the fittest and natural selection in wild herds contributed toward the passing on of these innate traits, and the Welsh Mountain pony today has retained its durability.

At some point fairly early in the pony’s history there was a significant infusion of Arabian blood, possibly encouraged by Julius Caesar. The ponies were used widely by the Romans, especially in a light draft capacity, and it is possible that Arabian and Oriental blood was introduced to increase their speed and agility. Today the presence of Arabian blood is evident in the Welsh Mountain’s extreme quality and often extravagant movement. Welsh Mountains typically have very attractive heads, often with a slightly dished profile that reflects the Arabian influence.

More Arabian blood, in addition to Thoroughbred and Hackney, was introduced to the breed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with one small early Thoroughbred stallion in particular having a significant effect. Merlin, a descendant of the Darley Arabian—one of the foundation sires of the Thoroughbred breed—had such an impact on the Welsh Mountain that the ponies were sometimes referred to as Merlins. The other great foundation stallion for the breed was Dyoll Starlight (f. 1894), who also had Arabian blood in his breeding. Dyoll was a magnificent gray pony and produced many gray offspring in his likeness. Gray continues to be the predominant color of the breed.

The Welsh Pony (Section B) is a slightly larger version of the Welsh Mountain Pony and can stand up to 13.2 hands high. These ponies have fine, high-quality, beautiful heads with small ears and good width between the eyes. Typically, they have excellent body conformation and a free-flowing action with greater riding-pony qualities. The Welsh Pony can be any color, but they are most frequently black, bay, or gray. They excel as riding ponies and often exhibit a great talent for jumping.

The Welsh Pony originally developed through crossing the smaller Welsh Mountain Pony with the larger Welsh cob. They share many lines similar to those of the Welsh Mountain, including the early Thoroughbred Merlin and Dyoll Starlight. A significant influence on the breed was the stallion Tan-y-Bwlch Berwyn (f. 1924), who was descended from the Dyoll Starlight line crossed with a Barb. Two further important founding stallions are Criban Victor (f. 1944) and Solway Master Bronze (f. 1959). The Welsh Pony is noted for the elegance and freedom of its movement and is, like all four of the sections, suitable for riding and driving.

The Welsh Pony of Cob Type (Section C) is heavier in frame than Sections A and B and can stand up to 13.2 hands high. Their appearance reflects their cob blood, seen in their heavier frame, majestic bearing, and often-considerable feathering around their lower limbs. They retain all the beauty of Sections A and B, with attractive heads set to a finely arched, muscular neck. They are compact and muscular animals with powerful shoulders that allow for their excellent movement. They are similar in appearance and aptitude to the Welsh Cob, Section D, the largest of the Welsh breeds, which stands at more than 13.2 hands high and has no upper height limit. These are truly superlative animals that are equally at home being ridden as driven. Both Sections C and D, like their smaller counterparts, exhibit a great talent for jumping and have superb, ground-covering natural movement. Although they can be any color, they are most often black, bay, or gray.

Both Sections C and D developed from the same roots. The cobs originated during the Roman occupation of Britain when the Welsh Mountain Pony was crossed with horses brought by the Romans into the country and later through the infusion of a great deal of Spanish blood. There was also influence from the now-extinct Norfolk Trotter and the Hackney. The Welsh cob was extremely popular, particularly in the Middle Ages, because of its versatility and was used for working the land, riding, and transportation and by the Welsh Militia in 1485 when Henry Tudor won the throne of England. These hardy, energetic horses were and are renowned for their extravagant and smooth trot and are able to traverse difficult terrain quickly and comfortably. The Section D is still famous for its spectacular trot, and for many years breeding stock was selected based on the quality of this gait.