|
The Hackney Pony was developed during the
19th century primarily by a single man, Christopher Wilson of Westmorland. He
used his stallion, St. George (foaled in 1866), who was a Norfolk Roadster and
Yorkshire Trotter cross, to mate with Fell mares. He took the Progeny and
interbred them to produce a fixed type The Hackney Pony probably contains some
Welsh blood, which would help in retaining the pony characteristics of the
breed.
The first Hackney ponies were known as
Wilson ponies, and it was not until later that they became known as the
Hackney Pony. Wilson commonly kept his ponies out in the elements all year,
wintering them on the despicable fells and providing them with little extra
food or care. This helped develop the breed's extraordinary toughness and
their amazing powers of endurance. This pony does not have its own stud book
but instead shares one with that of the Hackney Horse. By the 1880s, the breed
was established and its outstanding trotting abilities, its class, and its
exuberance made the ponies a great success.
The Hackney pony has to be under 14 hands
high and should exhibit true pony characteristics, not simply appearing as a
scaled-down version of the Hackney horse breed. The Hackney pony generally has
an even more exaggerated action than that of the Hackney horse, with the knees
rising very high and the hocks coming right up under the body as far as
possible. The action should be spectacular, fluid, and energetic, and the pony
should carry its tail high with an arched neck to produce an effect of display
and sportsmanship.
The Hackney pony should have a small,
quality pony head with alert ears and large, intelligent eyes. Their necks
should be muscular and arched and carried proudly. They tend to have good
powerful shoulders and hindquarters, a compact back, and a light frame. The
legs should be very strong with good joints, although their bones are usually
very fine. Their feet should be very hard and it is in common practice to
allow the toes to grow longer than normal to accentuate their snappy action.
The tail is always set and carried high. The Hackney pony can be brown, black,
bay, or chestnut, and sometimes have white markings. Their height ranges from
12.2 hands high to 14 hands high.
Check out these websites for more
information on the Hackney Pony breed!
http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/hack.html
http://www.geocities.com/winniem22/history.html
Hackney Pony Facts
http://www.hackneysociety.com/thehackney/
http://www.raresteeds.com/Breeds/hackney_horse.htm
http://www.hackneypony.com/
http://www.equine-world.co.uk/about_horses/hackney_horse.htm
http://www.showhorse.com/hackney2.htm
Return to
Horse Breeds page
|
