Connemara pony

Overview

The Connemara is the native pony of Ireland, named after the Connemara region of County Galway where it developed. It is a compact, well-balanced riding pony with depth and substance, and is known for its hardiness, stamina, sure-footedness and jumping ability. The breed standard describes it as suitable for a child or an adult.

History

The origins of the breed are much debated, and many of the stories about them are legend. Theories range from Iron Age ancestry to Arab blood arriving through medieval trade with Spain and Portugal, and one legend links the breed to the Spanish Armada. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust describes its ancestry as native Irish ponies with Arabian, Hackney and Thoroughbred influences. What is documented is that estate owners imported horses directly in the eighteenth century, and that the ponies worked on small farms in the west of Ireland, hauling turf and carrying loads.

From 1891 the Congested Districts Board introduced a variety of stallions to Connemara to "improve" the local ponies, with results the breed society later judged unsatisfactory. A 1901 study by Professor James Ewart of Edinburgh University recommended improving the ponies while keeping their hardiness, vigour, stamina and temperament.

In 1912 Michael O'Malley, a vet from Rosmuc and later a founding member of the breed society, took a stallion and a mare from Connemara to Olympia in London, on foot, by train and by boat, to show the breed. In December 1923 a public meeting, held under the Galway County Committee of Agriculture and the Department of Lands and Agriculture, formed the Connemara Pony Breeders' Society, which chose to improve the breed from within, by selecting the best native mares and stallions as foundation stock. The first show was held at Roundstone on 15 August 1924. The first volume of the stud book, published in 1926, listed 9 stallions and 93 mares. The first stallion entered in the stud book was the grey Cannon Ball. The society's annual show has been held at Clifden since 1947.

The British Connemara Pony Society was founded in 1947 and registers Connemaras in Great Britain.

Breed standard

• Height: 128 cm to 148 cm at maturity.
• Type: a compact, well-balanced riding type, with depth, substance and good heart room.
• Colours: grey, black, bay, brown, dun (also called buckskin), palomino, dark-eyed cream and blue-eyed cream, and occasionally roan or chestnut. Grey is common.
• Movement: free, easy and true, without too much knee action, but active and covering the ground.
• Build: deep-chested, with a strong back and sloping shoulders.

Temperament and uses

The breed standard lists good temperament, intelligence, soundness, surefootedness and jumping ability among the breed's characteristics. Connemaras were once farm and pack ponies. Today they are mostly ridden, by both children and adults, and compete in jumping, eventing and dressage. As with any breed, these are tendencies, and individual ponies vary.

Health and management

Like other native ponies, Connemaras evolved to live on sparse grazing. Research at the Royal Veterinary College notes that ponies tend to be more insulin resistant than horses, which makes them more prone to equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). This trait is genetic, probably an adaptation to harsh environments, and on richer grazing it leads to obesity, EMS and a higher risk of laminitis. World Horse Welfare names obesity as the biggest risk factor for EMS, and says insulin testing is a valuable way to assess the risk of laminitis and EMS in native breeds. Keep an eye on weight and body condition, and ask your vet about testing.

Conservation

Although the Connemara is an Irish breed, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust includes it on its Watchlist because it is found in the UK and has long been part of British agriculture.