This message is from: Jean Ernest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Here is one website: http://www.highlandponyenthusiasts.co.uk/
You can google for others.
They are from Scotland mostly, Here is some info from the above website:
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"Highland ponies vary in height from 13 hands to 14.2 hands and, although
some of the smaller animals naturally tend to be lighter in type, they all
should have substance, show eight to nine inches of good bone and be
capable of carrying more weight than most ponies of similar size. In
general appearance they are compact, with good fronts, shoulders and
withers, strong legs and well-developed quarters. They must be of true pony
type and not little horses. Highland ponies have always been regarded as
utility animals. For generations they served as pack and pannier carriers
and were also ideally suited to all kinds of farm work, from ploughing the
fields and carrying the crofters to market, to bringing home the peat
across treacherous and boggy ground. Although mechanization has largely
ousted the ponies from these traditional tasks, some are still used for
light carting, row-crop work, and by cattlemen and shepherds on the hills.
They are also used quite widely for forestry, dragging thinnings out of
steep or soft ground, and for carrying bundles of young trees for planting
to sites where motor vehicles cannot go...>>>>>>>>>>>>
The fact that Highlands perform well in comparatively slow work such as
trekking, forestry and deer-carrying suggests, quite rightly, that they
have a calm, steady temperament. This makes them outstandingly suitable for
the nervous or elderly, and they have also been used successfully as mounts
for disabled riders - all of whom appreciate their confidence-giving
attributes. However, it must not be thought that, because they are kind and
reliable, they are also dull. For many a Highland has shown itself to be a
keen, active ride in the hunting field and, correctly schooled, to be able
to compete with great success in Pony Club and Riding Club activities -
making up by sure-footedness and handiness what it may lack in outright
speed. With the present revival in harness work both for showing and for
pleasure, the ponies are once more proving their worth in this field also.
Safe, reliable, friendly, a good, comfortable ride, constitutionally strong
and hardy, attractive to look at, and with considerably more versatility
than is generally appreciated, the Highland pony has so much to
offer.>>>>>>>>>>>
The fortunate owners of these delightful animals have, as a rule, only one
thing to worry about - their ponies' ability to grow fat on 'nothing but
fresh air'. This is something which applies to most Mountain and Moorland
breeds because the natural foodstuffs of their habitats are generally of
poor quality and sparse in quantity. But the Highlands probably react more
quickly than most to lusher pastures and easily become over-weight. This
unfortunately makes far too many of them appear heavy and ungainly - a
travesty of the true Highland. Careful feeding and exercise will, however,
restore the pony to a more healthy, well-proportioned condition.
>>>>>>>
The old Celtic-type pony from which all native ponies are believed to
descend has, in the case of the Highland, been subject to many other
influences - Arab, percheron, Clydesdale, Norwegian, roadster, even (in one
instance) American trotting horse. Environment and selective breeding also
played their customary roles. Similarities between present-day Highlands
and the Norwegian Fjord pony - the dun colour, the dorsal eel stripe and
the zebra stripes on the legs - suggest an early Scandinavian
influence. >>>>>>>>>>>>>(From "A Highland Breed History", on the above website)
Sound a lot like Fjords, don't they?
Jean in Fairbanks, Alaska
Jean....from where do the Highland Ponies originate? Have a website? Just
curious...never heard of them. Linda in WI
