Читать книгу The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History - Tamsin Pickeral - Страница 20

HEIGHT

Up to 14 h.h.

APPEARANCE

Small, quality head with intelligent, kind eyes and a well-shaped neck. Long through the back with muscular hindquarters and a sloping shoulder. Deep and broad through the chest with sturdy legs and feathering around the fetlocks.

COLOR

Predominantly black though can be brown, bay, or gray.

APTITUDE

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

THE FELL, ALONG WITH ITS CLOSE RELATIVE the Dales, is one of the more unique and beautiful native ponies, with an often jet-black coat and a particularly majestic bearing. The breed traces its roots back to the time of Roman occupation in Britain, which first began when the Romans, under the directive of Julius Caesar, landed c. 55 B.C.E., bringing their horses with them (though sustained occupation is generally dated from 43 to 410 C.E.). The Romans constantly battled along their northern border with the fierce Picts, who lived in what is now Scotland, and in 122 C.E. the Roman emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a massive fortified wall to keep the Picts at bay. The wall would traverse the northern border of England from coast to coast, and at intervals of a mile along the wall there would be sentry stands and armed guards. It was an enormous undertaking and a significant historical event; it also marked a most important development in the establishment of the Fell breed.

The native ponies of that time were small and originally descended from a Tarpan-like pony that bore much in common with the Exmoor. Along the northern and western edges of the Pennines and the open moorland country of Westmorland and Cumberland in the north of England ranged ponies that had developed from these prehistoric ponies and the now extinct Galloway. The Galloway was in effect one of the “superhorses” of history and was the sure-footed and tireless mount of marauding Scottish warmongers and cattle drovers. The Galloway was bred in the Mull of Galloway, the southernmost part of Scotland, and was renowned for its very great trotting ability. Although no longer in existence, the Galloway contributed significantly to a number of breeds, including the Fell, the Dales, the Highland, and, indirectly, the Thoroughbred and the Canadian Newfoundland.

The diminutive size of these ponies roaming along the northern border made it difficult for them to transport the loads required in the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. As a result, when building began, around six hundred men from Friesland were sent over to help, and they brought with them their large, black, distinctive Friesian horses, which were crossed with the local native stock. It is thus the indomitable Friesian horse that was most significant in the development of the Fell, and today the stamp of the Friesian is still most evident of all those that influenced the breed. There was the occasional influence of other foreign breeds imported by the Romans, particularly the Arabian and other European horses, but after the Romans withdrew from England, approximately one thousand Friesian stallions were left behind in the northern territories. These horses continued to breed with local stock, thereby consolidating the characteristics of the Fell. Little further outside blood was introduced to the breed, with the exception of the Galloway, and as such it has remained almost untouched genetically.

Fell ponies are very strong for their size and able to carry and pull heavy loads. Because of this, they were greatly suited to riding, driving, and being used as pack animals, and they were used extensively in the north of England for transportation. Roads were few and far between until the eighteenth century, and the Fell was perfect for traversing the difficult terrain at speed and with a very smooth pace. By the nineteenth century, the ponies had started to be used less and less for transportation and in agriculture and instead became popular in trotting races. Today the Fell makes a fantastic riding or driving pony suitable for children and small adults alike.