- Hackney Pony

The Hackney Pony was developed during the 19th century primarily by a single man, Christopher Wilson of Westmorland. He used his stallion, St. George (foaled in 1866), who was a Norfolk Roadster and Yorkshire Trotter cross, to mate with Fell mares. He took the Progeny and interbred them to produce a fixed type The Hackney Pony probably contains some Welsh blood, which would help in retaining the pony characteristics of the breed.

The first Hackney ponies were known as Wilson ponies, and it was not until later that they became known as the Hackney Pony. Wilson commonly kept his ponies out in the elements all year, wintering them on the despicable fells and providing them with little extra food or care. This helped develop the breed's extraordinary toughness and their amazing powers of endurance. This pony does not have its own stud book but instead shares one with that of the Hackney Horse. By the 1880s, the breed was established and its outstanding trotting abilities, its class, and its exuberance made the ponies a great success.

The Hackney pony has to be under 14 hands high and should exhibit true pony characteristics, not simply appearing as a scaled-down version of the Hackney horse breed. The Hackney pony generally has an even more exaggerated action than that of the Hackney horse, with the knees rising very high and the hocks coming right up under the body as far as possible. The action should be spectacular, fluid, and energetic, and the pony should carry its tail high with an arched neck to produce an effect of display and sportsmanship.

The Hackney pony should have a small, quality pony head with alert ears and large, intelligent eyes. Their necks should be muscular and arched and carried proudly. They tend to have good powerful shoulders and hindquarters, a compact back, and a light frame. The legs should be very strong with good joints, although their bones are usually very fine. Their feet should be very hard and it is in common practice to allow the toes to grow longer than normal to accentuate their snappy action. The tail is always set and carried high. The Hackney pony can be brown, black, bay, or chestnut, and sometimes have white markings. Their height ranges from 12.2 hands high to 14 hands high.

Check out these websites for more information on the Hackney Pony breed!

http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/hack.html

http://www.geocities.com/winniem22/history.html

Hackney Pony Facts

http://www.hackneysociety.com/thehackney/

http://www.raresteeds.com/Breeds/hackney_horse.htm

http://www.hackneypony.com/

http://www.equine-world.co.uk/about_horses/hackney_horse.htm

http://www.showhorse.com/hackney2.htm

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