New Forest Pony
New Forest Pony: The earliest record of horses in the New Forest dates back to Canute's Forest Law of 1016. In the 11th century, England's Norman kings made the New Forest which is located in Hampshire on the South Coast of England and spreads out over 90,000 acres, a royal hunting ground.
The New Forest remains a protected region and wild Ponies still inhabit the area. The blood line was first improved by the introduction of welsh mares in 1208. Later, around 1765, a thoroughbred stallion was added to the forest but some of the most significant additions were the arabian stallions introduced by Queen victoria in the mid 1800's.
The Forest Ponies range in size from 12 hands up to 14.2 hands. The colors allowed for registration are bay, brown, gray, chestnut, roans, and blacks. Limited white markings are allowed on head and legs. Blue eyed creams, palomino, piebald and skewbald are not permitted.
Today, with the demand for high acheiving sport ponies the breed is making it's mark. They are well suited to a variety of disciplines from dressage, driving, jumping and polo.
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