The Kerry Bog Pony is a horse breed of mountainous and moorland princess originally from Ireland. Probably derived from Irish Hobby horses, originally living a very wild existence in peat peat from what is now County Kerry in southwest Ireland. Local residents use ponies as carrier horses and carts to transport peat and seaweed to the villages. This breed develops physical characteristics including a low weight-to-high ratio and an unusual footstep pattern, which helps it move in soft soil such as peat. The pony is known for its hardiness and the ability to survive in harsh conditions.
War, increased mechanization and the decline of small local farming populations almost resulted in the extinction of breeds. In 1994, a local man discovered and genetically tested 20 ponies he used as a foundation stock to rebuild the breed. In the early 2000s, the breed was recognized by the Irish Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the European Commission; Horse passports are being issued to breed members, and a small number of ponies are exported to the United States. At the same time, the registration of Irish and American breeds was formed. In 2011, the population registered more than 300 horses.
Video Kerry Bog Pony
Characteristics
Kerry Bog Ponies generally have 10 to 12 hands (40 to 48 inches, 102 to 122 cm) tall. The standard call for Irish mares to stand 10-11 hands and horses and geldings to stand 11-12 hands. Its low weight ratio allows them to run on wet soil. Their hind legs tend to track outside their front feet, allowing for better progress in soft soil. They show a relatively upright and sharp nail angle compared to other races, perhaps other characteristics that help their movement in peat swamps. Kerry Bog Ponies are an easy guard, and when wild they live in low heather nutrients, sphagnum moss and possibly seaweed from the coastline. Overall, they are muscular and strong and their head has a concave profile, small ears and large eyes. Their winter coat is long and dense, serving as a protector of harsh weather. All colors of the solid coat are found, including a watery color like palomino, and common white markings. Pinto colored animals are not accepted by the Irish registry. This breed is well known to fans for strength, intelligence and athleticism, and is generally used for driving, as a companion animal and for a therapeutic equestrian program.
Kerry Bog Ponies has historically been known in Ireland as a "hobby", probably derived from the practice of Gaelic obaireacht , or a call out of "Hup, Hup" to pull a pony back to the ranch. It is considered one of the mountains and ponies of the moorland of the British Isles. A 2006 study using mitochondrial DNA found that Kerry Bog Pony is not closely related to two other native Irish descendants, Irish Draft and Connemara horse. It has a rarer haplogroup more closely related to other small horse breeds found in Western Europe, including Shetland horses and Icelandic horses. A 2012 study found a link between Kerry Bog Pony and the Dartmoor Pony and Exmoor Pony races, and lack of ancestry with Pony Welsh, as well as strengthening his lack of connection with Connemara. The study also shows that the Kerry Bog Pony population has a number of crosses with other breeds in the mountains and moorlands as part of an initial effort to increase population in the 1990s. The Kerry Bog Pony may be one of the few breeds that contributes to the development of Gypsy Vanner horses (also known as Irish Cob).
Maps Kerry Bog Pony
History
The original origin of Kerry Bog Pony is unknown, but there are horses that live wild in peat swamps in what is now County Kerry in southwest Ireland since at least the 1600s. Some fans claim that this breed is a descendant of the ancient Irish Hobby. In the illustrated book of 1617, the horses are described similar to Kerry Bog Pony today and the original Irish Hobby, showing similar morphology of two offspring. Initially, Kerry Bog Ponies were used to transport peat and seaweed. They are known for their ability to navigate through marshes, around soft spots and on rocks often in wet and windy weather, and for their strength relative to their small size. Some are trained to work in harness and are used to pull the train. The bangs were released into the peat swamp when they were not needed, then again arrested for work. Little if any breeding program; on the contrary, they are allowed to reproduce in their wild environments. In 1720, Isaac Ware went to County Kerry and observed that the horses were like horses of AsturcÃÆ'nn from Spain.
The British cavalry became aware of the horses in 1804, during the Peninsula War, and used it as a collecting animal during the conflict; most do not return to Ireland. The famine of 1845-1852 resumed their decline, as farmers who had previously used them to die or emigrate. In addition, Spanish donkeys are brought to the island to replace the pony, and when peat declines as a fuel source, packing animals are no longer needed. In the 1850s, farms began to consolidate, and more machines and large horses were being worked on, further reducing the number of ponies needed. As a result, the horses were left wild, mostly ignored and sometimes shot by locals.
Reappears
In 1994, John Mulvihill, who operated the Red Fox Inn in Kerry Bog Village in Glenbeigh, County Kerry, began searching for the remains of the Kerry Bog Pony population, despite reports that the breed was extinct. He finally finds 20 ponies that are similar to the ones he remembered from his childhood, and moved them from the marsh to the cage. In 1995, he performed blood typing done on horses by Weatherby's Ireland, which identified their DNA markers. Further DNA testing shows them as a unique breed that forms a separate population from other local bangs and from other breeds in Ireland and the UK. Of these 20 horses, only one stallion, named Flashy Fox. Between 1995 and 2012, he became the father of more than 140 foals, and played an important role in repopulating breeds.
Mulvihill continued to breed and promote the pony, and in 2002, the breed was recognized by the Irish Government as Pony Heritage of Ireland. In the same year, the Kerry Bog Pony Institute was formed. Also in 2002, Americans became interested in this breed, and the first pony was exported from Ireland to the US in 2003, to a farm in Ohio. In 2005, the American Kerry Bog Pony Society was founded, with 11 initial registrants. Also in 2005, the Irish Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the European Commission recognized Kerry Bog Pony as an official breed; the following year, the Irish Horse Board issued the first horse passport for breed members. Until 2009, there were exceptions in places that allow unrelated ponies that meet the standards of physical breeds to raise as Kerry Bog Ponies, with registered descendants and given passports stating them as raser Kerry Bog Ponies. This is partly due to an inbreeding concern among a small number of ponies that were originally listed. Kerry Bog Ponies is also part of the Irish Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (closed for new applicants in 2009), which rewards farmers financially for using environmentally friendly methods. The Kerry Bog Village, an open-air museum in the Ring of Kerry is one of the birthing locations and houses of the existing Kerry Bog Pony population.
In 2011, there were 335 horses and 51 horses registered in the Irish registry, including 59 new foals that year. The number of groups has steadily increased since registration began in 2005. These numbers make Pony Kerry Bog the third in the population number among Irish descendants, behind Connemara and Irish Draft horses. Although the numbers continue to grow, this breed is still considered highly threatened by the Equus Survival Trust. The horses are managed by Kerry Bog Pony Co-Operative Society of Ireland (formerly Kerry Bog Pony Society), based in Ireland with a branch in the UK. Inspection is required before the bangs are allowed into the studbook. The book is divided into four classes: Class 1 horse meets all requirements, Class 2 horse does not meet height requirements, Class 3 horse does not meet color requirements, and the Class 4 horse has not submitted to the official inspection. The breed association has hosted the annual event and sale of breeds in Glenbeigh, County Kerry since 2007.
The first two ponies to be exported from Ireland went to a farm in Austria in August 2016. Kerry Pony International Association Kerry was formed around the same time in 2016 by a group of breeders from a small group of countries to create a registry to accommodate horse owners covering many countries.
References
External links
- Cooperative Kerry Bog Pony
- American Kerry Bog Pony Society
- Kerry Pony International Kerry Association
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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