Lundy Pony

The Lundy Pony is a British breed of pony bred on Lundy Island in the twentieth century.

Lundy Pony
Conservation status
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Traits
Height
  • 137 cm[3]: 483 
ColourUsually cream, dun or bay;[4]: 284  also chestnut, dark bay, palomino or roan[5]: 40 
a small group of horses on a grassy heath, a lighthouse in the background
On Lundy Island

History

In 1928 Martin Coles Harman, who was the owner of Lundy Island, shipped a small herd of ponies to the island, where they lived and bred under semi-feral conditions; most were of New Forest stock.[4]: 284  Stallions of the Welsh and Connemara breeds were later added to the herd, as were some further New Forest stallions.[4]: 284 

In 1972, following a visit to the island by the chairman of the National Pony Society, a process of breed recognition was begun. A brand was registered with the society and a Foundation Stock Register was started.[6] There were at that time twenty-seven horses on the island – a stallion, eighteen mares and eight foals; the majority displayed characteristics typical of the Connemara.[6]

In 1980 the herd was moved to Cornwall and North Devon in south-west England. A breed society, the Lundy Pony Breed Society, was established in 1974.[4]: 284  A population of approximately twenty mares and foals is maintained on the island, replenished by stock from the mainland.[4]: 284 

The conservation status of the Lundy Pony is unknown; in 2022 no population data had ever been reported to DAD-IS.[2] It is not among the native British breeds listed on the Equine Watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.[7]

Characteristics

The ponies stand some 137 cm at the withers, and are usually cream, dun or bay[4]: 284  chestnut, dark bay, palomino and roan may also occur.[5]: 40 

Use

The horses are of working hunter pony type,[6] suitable for cross-country riding.[5]: 40 

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lundy Pony.
  1. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. Breed data sheet: Lundy / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2022.
  3. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  4. Elwyn Hartley Edwards (2016). The Horse Encyclopedia. New York, New York: DK Publishing. ISBN 9781465451439.
  5. Élise Rousseau, Yann Le Bris, Teresa Lavender Fagan (2017). Horses of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691167206.
  6. Elizabeth H. Parsons (1972). Lundy Ponies. Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society. 23: 59. Lundy Field Society.
  7. Equine watchlist. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed January 2022.
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