Aye, Laddie, The Largest Pony is the Irish Connemara

The Connemara Pony is considered to be Ireland's only native breed and is part of a group of equines known as mountain and moorland ponies. It originated in Connemara, county Galway on the rugged mountain coast of western Ireland, although the exact origins are obscure. It is known that the Connemara lived in Ireland for thousands of years but that they were brought there by the Ancient Celts, who were skilled horsemen.

One belief is that the Connemara Pony descended from the Spanish horses that swam to shore after the Spanish Armada sank off the rocky coast of western Ireland in 1568 and bred with the native ponies that were running wild in the mountains. However, it is certain that Thoroughbred and Arabian blood were introduced in the 1700's to refine the breed. The Connemara, in turn, was also used to influence the fine Irish Hunter.

In their native Ireland over the centuries, the Connemara was popularly used as a pack pony carrying loads of seaweed, peat, corn and potatoes to market and was also used for farm work. Local racing was also popular and the Connemara competed equally with the larger Irish Hunters and the English Thoroughbreds. But in such a poor area, families could only afford one good pony, and that had to be a mare that could foal each year so that there was something to sell so the family could survive through the long, dark winter.

But by the beginning of the 1900's, the purity of the indigenous Connemara breed was being threatened by the random cross-breeding with other breeds of horses. By the 1920's the Connemara Pony, as a viable breed, was very much endangered, so the local breeders formed the Connemara Pony Breeders Society in 1923 for the purpose of preserving and developing the breed. The first volume of the Connemara Pony studbook was published in 1926.

A clue to the excellence of the Connemara Pony is the extreme environment in which it lives. When turned out to survive in the harsh weather on rough pasture, only the strong of the breed survives. However, many Connemaras were being kept in stables and thus inferior examples existed, so in the 1920's, a group of owners chose a dozen quality ponies and turned them out into the wilds to live and reproduce. Those that survived had retained the excellent qualities, and it is believed that were the ones that preserved the great stamina, sure-footedness, hardiness, adaptability, and purity of the breed. Therefore Connemara as we know it today is still a product of its original environment; centuries of natural selection with a bit of human interference, followed by 72 years of selective breeding.

The Connemara has since been exported to all European countries, New Zealand, and Australia. In the United States, the largest market for the Connemara Pony is middle-aged women.

The body of the Connemara is compact and deep, yet not bulky with a fine sloping, rounded shoulder, strong back and well developed quarters. Its legs are short, clean, and have ample boning. The Connemara Pony has a handsome, well-shaped head with a fairly lean, medium-length neck, and an abundant mane and tail. Connemara Pony was originally dun in coloring, but this color is now rare. It is most frequently found gray, but also in black, bay, brown and occasionally seen in roan, chestnut and palomino. Black points are often seen, but piebald and skewbald are not considered acceptable for registration. Full maturity is not until five years of age, and can sometimes be a bit later, but they can live well into their 30's.

The Connemara is the largest of the pony breeds and stands from 12.2 hands to over 15 hands high, with 14 to 14.2 hands being the average. Yet in spite of its relatively small size, the Connemara Pony is known as an excellent hunter and jumper and it regularly competes in such varying events as distance riding, driving and dressage, also. Connemaras should move underneath themselves without reach yet covering a lot of ground. The over all impression is of an animal that is hardy, strong, free and actively moving.

The Connemara pony is renowned for its versatility as well as its gentle, tractable, sensible and willing disposition. The Connemara has an ability to bond with their human handler that is unique to this breed. The breed is mannerly and manageable, kind, responsive and possesses good sense along with basic intelligence; all characteristics that make it ideal for show or as an excellent child's or adult's pony.


About Crystal Eikanger

Crystal Eikanger is a freelance writer, web designer, video editor and voice talent working as Ei-Kan Productions on www.rentacoder.com as well as other freelance sites. www.HorseClicks.com is a popular website filled with classifieds of horses for sale, horse trailers, tack, and horse related properties.