| Deerstones Farm |
|
The Fell Pony is one of the many pony breeds originating from the British Isles. It is an ancestor, as are all British ponies, of the original wild stock found in Britain and Europe. Fell Ponies are native to the northern part of England along the Scottish border, primarily in Cumbria.
Around the year 120 A.D., the Roman Emperor Hadrian decreed that a wall should be built partitioning what is now mostly Scotland from England and Wales. Hadrian had been constantly plagued by marauding Picts from Scotland and felt a fifteen foot wall with a fort every mile would be a good deterrent to plunderers. In order to build this wall, Hadrian needed a vast army of skilled labourers, which he hired from Friesland. They were hired on contract complete with families, tools and horse power. The practice of gelding horses was virtually non-existent, and since usually only male horses were used for hard work, many Friesian stallions came to help build Hadrian's wall. Naturally they bred with the native ponies creating the first of what would be known as the Fell Pony. At the end of each contract, itinerant workers would sell off their horses. The Romans found them ideal mounts, so much so that they imported more Friesians.
Cumbria in northern England was a less than hospitable place for animals, with its harsh winters and sparse vegetation. Only a small pony of maybe thirteen hands could find the food and the shelter to survive. Consequently cross breeding of Friesians and native ponies produced a medium-sized pony with many of the Friesian characteristics and all of the native pony toughness in order for it to stay alive. This new pony was recognized as a duel purpose animal, as a pack pony which was not too high to load yet strong, and as a riding pony which could traverse the roadless terrain nimbly and swiftly.
By the fifth century this pony type was well established with very little physical change.
Once more the Picts were raiding England, some going as far south as Suffolk. They rode the native pony and hence distributed Fell Pony blood to many areas. This is credited with helping to form the now extinct breed of Galloway in Scotland and the Old English Black of the midlands. Many Pictish carvings depict the Fell Pony as we know it today, and by the sixth and seventh century it was a fully developed all purpose animal used to ride, drive, pack, and as war horse and hunter.
From about 800 A.D. for several hundred years, the Normans and Vikings began invading Britain. Their reprisals to resistance were devastating. They took anything which was useful and destroyed everything else. What remained for the few people who survived were goats and ponies, the poorest of which were eaten, thus ensuring the remaining breeding stock was of the best available quality.
Also at this time many monasteries were built. These the Normans left in peace. Monks raised sheep, and many ponies were used for shepherding and packing fleeces to market.
Cumbria, the main area for Fell Ponies, was and still is very remote. There are few large towns and few roads due to the terrain, which is largely lakes and mountains. Consequently, the Fell Pony was isolated and allowed to establish its conformation, size and colour with very little dilution of type.
Local geography also fostered isolated farms where the farmer needed a small work horse which could survive the harsh winter and do any and all of the farm work on very little food, as well as providing transportation and entertainment in the form of pony races. This the Fell Pony excelled at; it could work alongside a draft horse ploughing all day and yet ate half the amount of food.
The Industrial Revolution brought mining to the Lake District. Iron, lead ad coal were all mined in this area and due to the lack of decent roads the product was packed out on Fell Ponies at 250 pounds per pony. The Fell's qualities did not go unnoticed by smugglers who packed their contraband inland on them, or by the post-office which delivered mail to outlying areas with Fell Ponies.
After the Second World War, there was a slump in sales of ponies which severely depleted Fell numbers. Thanks largely to very staunch local farmers, though, the numbers were maintained, and with the advent of pony trekking in the 60's, the Fell Pony was once again in demand.
H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth has long been the patron of the Fell Pony Society in England, and for many years has maintained her own herd. With the advent of combined driving in 1970, the Fell Pony has found another venue in which to excel, as Prince Phillip has shown driving his four-in-hand of Fells throughout England and Europe.
A Fell Pony should have the following characteristics:
In all the Fell Pony is a marvelous all-rounder who can carry the whole family, participate in all aspects of horse sport, and when crossbred has produced some outstanding competitors in international horse competition.
This page last modified: 14 February 2008
.
© 2002-2006, Deerstones Farm and Naked
Essence Web Designs.