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"WHAT
IS A FELL PONY?"
A SNAPSHOT OF FELL PONY FACTS
- Breed origin: Fell ponies are believed to have originated during Roman times, almost 2,000 years ago, in the region which is now the border between England & Scotland. During the four centuries of Roman occupation on this border, auxiliary troops were brought in to help man Hadrian's Wall and to maintain law and order. French, Dutch, German, Polish, Spanish and eastern European
cavalrymen were posted there. Foreign horses of several types are known from archaeology in Northern Britain and crosses between such foreign horses and the Celtic pony is believed to have helped shape many British native pony breeds, including the Fell pony.
- Breed history: From the 4th Century until the 18th Century, when engineers began to surface roads again, pack-ponies were the only reliable means of transporting goods and the Fell was particularly good for this purpose, being a fast and steady walker. The now-extinct Galloway pony in southern Scotland was geographically close and is said to have been very similar to the Fell, probably similarly bred and containing types ranging from the taller Dales and Highlands to the smaller end of the Fells. The Fell is still sometimes referred to as a Galloway.
Through the 18th and 19th Centuries, as the canals, roadways and train lines were developed; the ponies were gradually superseded for distance transport. In the 19th Century ponies were utilized for trotting races and sports events as well as light arable farm work, shepherding, and transport such as carrying mail, or goods to market by trap (cart).
In the 20th Century some smaller Fell ponies were used as pit (mine) ponies while the taller sorts worked delivering milk from the colliery dairy farms. In some areas they were used for ‘deer stalking’, which required a steady, surefooted pack pony that would carry the dead stag down the hills for the hunter. The Fell Pony Society (FPS) was formed in England in 1916. Queen Elizabeth II is their Patron and is herself a knowledgeable owner and breeder. Her husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, often competes in driving events with a four-in-hand team of Fells.
- Modern usages for Fell ponies:
* Riding: Pleasure, Endurance (Olympic) or LeTrec, jumping, dressage, pony trekking/riding stables, riding for the disabled
* Driving: Competitive, Pleasure
* Working: Logging, farming, shepherding, deer stalking (carry
game down the hills for hunters)
- Breed color: Although brown is the traditional color, over the last few decades black has become the predominant color, followed by brown, bay and grey.
- Breed presentation: Fells are presented at shows clean and well groomed yet untrimmed and unadorned to emphasize their natural state and hill-bred tradition. They are never presented as a version of another breed.
- Breed height: Their average height is 13.1-13.2 hands, but the maximum height allowable is 14 hands high
- Breed temperament: Fells are survivors par excellence; constitutionally tough, but sweet natured and willing to work with you. Trust, plus soundness and intelligence, are the Fell's biggest assets. However, the Fell temperament is similar to other British native pony breeds in that the instinct for survival has been bred into them for centuries. Because of this, Fells can provide a challenge to the inexperienced or unwary person. A British native pony is bred to think for himself, take charge of himself, and survive.
A Fell, no matter how sweet natured, is NOT a pushover by any means. A Fell is smarter than the average horse and has the attitude to match. You cannot gain his respect and trust simply by sending him to a trainer; on his return he will quickly size up your capabilities and behave accordingly. A Fell requires that you be a good, firm yet kindly horseman and also have a
s ense of humour!
Not all Fells are for children or timid riders – don’t assume. Like all equines some are appropriate and some are not. Fells of any age are very likely to test a new rider. This trait is linked to a strong sense of responsibility.
It is interesting to note, however, that there are many known examples of Fells “looking after” small children or helpless people. Fells are very successfully utilized, under supervision, in disabled riding programs in their native land of Britain where their temperament is more widely understood.
A Fell pony owner needs to be: goal-oriented, creative, confidence, “relaxed” but firm, PATIENT, realistic in their expectations, appreciative of their pony's intelligence and innate judgment, alert and prepared for his survival reactions, sensible/reasonable, and informed about the breed.
- Breed maturity: The Fell pony breed matures late – not until seven years of age or later, which can be a problem due to their mature appearance. Fells in their native country will undergo little more than routine halter-breaking as a foal. Some foals are sold in the autumn, but those that are kept at home may be left to run free until the age of two or three. At some point the breeder/owner will handle it, mouth it, and accustom it to having something around its girth. Then it is turned away again onto the fell (hill) or an allotment with other ponies, to grow on and mature in natural surroundings without further handling. The early training is not overdone, but it is never forgotten by the pony.
Saddle training will be done when the pony is nearing four, or sometimes later. It is light training only; work in any small arena should be very short at this age so sharp turns are kept to a minimum.
Although accidental breedings are always a possibility it is recommended that Fell mares not be bred until they are at least three years of age, otherwise irreparable damage may be done to internal organs, reproductive organs and may restrict the mare’s own growth and maturity.
- Breed movement & body carriage: Fells do not hold their heads so high as do their cousins the Dales ponies. Their action is ideally long and ground-covering, moving from the shoulder with a moderate amount of knee action, rather than high-stepping. Seen from front or rear, they move straight, neither showing the fault of inward-pointing cow-hocks, nor moving “wide behind”. The ponies are stocky, but quick, strong and active.
The qualities which attract people to the natives, such as the Fell pony, are versatility and adaptability, hardiness, sure-footedness, soundness, ease of keep, attractive appearance, common sense, good temperament, and delightful character. These traits, not surprisingly, come from the mountain and moorland environments where these natives developed over thousands of years, and in selective breeding following domestication.
To adapt to such harsh conditions, the ponies have developed a remarkable range of physical features and psychological characteristics, to the extent that they can truly be called miracles of survival. These features include their size, shape, and leg strength. Their head is large, yet proportionate, with a nasal cavity adequate enough to allow cold air to pass and be warmed before entry into the lungs. The jawbone must be deep enough for teeth of sufficient size to bite and thoroughly chew fibrous vegetation.
Their winter coat is their most extraordinary survival feature. Arguably, the most important vortex in the coat of a native pony is the large one at the rear of the flank. The hair grows in definite streams and there are also the whorls and vortices from which the water is channeled from the apices to the whorls and vortices. A low set tail is also a ‘must’ in survival terms.
- Breed appearance: A good animal's head is pony-like, broad across the eyes, deep in the jaw, with small pricked ears and a well chiseled muzzle, neither very fine nor coarse, and with firm rather than drooping lips. It has a good length of rein emphasized by a well sloped shoulder. Its mane and tail are fine, straight and profuse, and the back is not too long. They have hard dark or "blue" coloured feet and flexible, resilient pasterns. Flat, clean bone is preferred in the lower leg. A good Fell should have a measurement of at least 8 and a half inches round the cannon bone of the foreleg under the knee, and the measurement round the natural "waist" in the ribs where the saddle girth lies is usually more than 65 inches and often 6 feet. 
Fells usually have lots of straight silky feather - long hair fringing the back of the lower leg and hoof - and long silky manes and tails. Some ponies may cast the feather in summer and re-grow it in winter; kept in muddy conditions in winter, they will lose the fringe around the hoof.
- Breed conservation: The Fell pony, like most breeds, was historically bred for specific purposes. Over the centuries as breed types formed around what is now the border country between England and Scotland, it is believed that hill farmers, packmen, and tradesmen and the like were breeding equines for their specific needs. To maintain those useful traits they would use breeding animals to fit that purpose – mostly irrelevant to any fashion or aesthetic sense such as color. More important to these utilitarian people were the unseen traits such as strength and temperament.
This ancient history has everything to do with the Fell pony now - because it addresses the issue of why stewards of this breed are contending, sometimes rather vigorously, for the conservation of their well-loved breed. To these breed stewards the Fell pony is far more than merely an “animal”; it is an important part of their ancient history and traditions. Just as a master of an ancient discipline lovingly and carefully passes on wisdom to future generations, often in the form of long-term personal apprenticeships, so also do many rare breed stewards yearn to have people come into their breed with a humble willingness to listen and learn. The Fell pony is considered rare, even on its native soil of England. Its recent numerical growth in outside countries has put it into an even more precarious situation.
Just as in the early 1900s when great efforts were made in Britain to protect the Fell pony breed from disappearing , so too today must breed enthusiasts of conscience take a stand for the breed’s protection against a modern set of foes such as ignorance, the whims of fashion, and the often too influential role of the show ring.
The challenges of any breed coming off of its native land and being introduced and raised in a new environment can be appreciated in this quote by equine scholar Clive Richardson,
“In recent years the number of Fell ponies bred not only off the fell (hill) but outside of the British Isles has increased… It is vitally imperative that these enthusiastic and committed new breeders maintain a clear focus on the type of animal they are trying to produce. It is relatively easy for a breed to change out of all recognition as a result of environment and not adhering to the original breed standard…”
“By obtaining sound breeding stock, replicating the ponies natural environment as far as possible, maintaining close links with the parent society, using Fells in a wide range of activities, and keeping in mind a clear picture of what a Fell pony should look like, the dangers of breed type being lost are minimized.”
- Breed population (estimated as of January 2005): Globally there are fewer than 5,000 registered Fell ponies and it is estimated that less than 500 of these are active breeding mares.
- Breed organizations:
United Kingdom: Fell pony mother breed registry & society
“Fell Pony Society” (FPS)
http://www.fellponysociety.org/
United Kingdom
(check website for current address
& phone number)
The FPS, located in the United Kingdom, is the Fell pony’s mother breed registry & society. The FPS was formed in 1916. Although Queen Elizabeth II is Patron of this breed society, Fells are still known as a ‘working-man’s pony’.
Refer to the Fell
Pony Society site for absolute current breed information.
The FPS is the Fell pony breed’s world-wide governing body and ultimate source of information. They have an Overseas Sub-Committee to represent their interests to other countries - please see
http://www.fellponysociety.org/affiliates.htm
for further information.
Compiled by: Laura Hart, for the Educational Development Committee of the
“Fell Pony Society and Conservancy of the
Americas”
References:
- Fell Pony Society (FPS) www.Fellponysociety.org
- Fell Pony Society and Conservancy of the Americas FAQs http://www.fellpony.org/FAQ.htm
- “Miracles of Survival”, Valerie Russell, the Native Pony, June/July 2001
- link temporarily unavailable
- “Preserving Fell Type”, Clive Richardson, Fell Pony Journal, January, 2002
- link temporarily unavailable
- Christine Robinson – Vice-Chair, FPS, http://www.fellpony.org/staff.htm
- Sue Millard – Chair FPS Overseas Sub-committee, Fell Pony Museum webmaster and researcher, Fell pony author and illustrator, Fell pony judge,
http://www.fellpony.f9.co.uk/fells/felcnts.htm
and http://www.fellpony.org/staff.htm
- Victoria Tollman – Secretary Fell Pony Society and Conservancy of the Americas, Editor Fell pony Journal and Archive, Executive Director Equus Survival Trust,
http://www.equus-survival-trust.org
and http://www.fellpony.org/staff.htm
Home
Conservation in the 21st Century
"Fell History" by Sue Millard
Where do We Go From Here? - S. Millard
What is a Fell pony?
Not a Friesian
Miracles of Survival
Conservancy Press Release
FPS Liaison Resignation
Horse Sense - pony with a purpose
Fell pony; ALBC Conservation Priority List
Fell pony Temperament and Maturity
Beatrix Potter - Fairy Caravan
NA Fell pony History & Liaison Intro
Equine Bovine Mag
Fell Convention UK - Equine Journal
SE Equine Monthly
Fell Pony Journal
The Reach
Horsemens Yankee Pedlar
Rare Breeds Journal
Merlin at Kentucky Horse Park
ALBC
Rural Heritage |
