Mountain & Moorland

Mountain and Moorland horses are a group of horse and pony breeds native to the British Isles. Many of these breeds have been bred from wild horses that roamed and still roam  the moorlands and countryside of the British Isles, and kept as domesticated leisure/working horses. Fell ponies for one of the known breeds as well as all four Welsh breeds, Eriskay ponies, Exmoor ponies, New forest ponies, Shetlands and the Kerry Bog Pony.

Mountain and Moorland horses range between 7 hands (hh) and 11.2 hands (hh)

Certain breeds of mountain and moorland have uniform coat colours (Exmoor), but most ponies come in a variety of colours, however the Shetland is the only pony that can come in skewbald or piebald. They are very easy to keep and are happy to feed on just fresh pasture, however if left to roam and graze on a plentiful supply of forage, they can be prone to obesity and laminitus.

Mountain and moorlands generally make good first ponies for child riders. They can be used in a number of small breed show classes. They can be also used as grazers or good companion horses for larger horses.