Welsh_Ponies

Early History & Heritage

The original home of the Welsh Mountain Pony was in the hills and valleys of Wales. He was there before the Romans. His lot was not an easy one...winters were severe and vegetation was sparse. Shelter, most often was an isolated valley or a clump of bare trees. Yet the Welsh pony managed not only to survive, but to flourish. Led by proud stallions, bands of mares and their foals roamed in a semi-wild state climbing mountains, leaping ravines, running over rough terrain. Hence, the development of a pony with a remarkable soundness of body, tremendous endurance and a high degree of native intelligence. Down through the years, the Welsh pony and cob has served many masters. On the upland farms of Wales, Welsh Cobs would often have to do everything from plowing a field to carrying a farmer to market or driving a family to church on Sunday. Welsh ponies have been pampered by royalty and served on the farms of the poor. That the Welsh pony carries a trace of Arabian blood seems beyond a doubt. However, he has maintained his own dominant physical characteristics over the years. It has been demonstrated that Welsh crosses well with many other breeds, and this is, to breeders, an important aspect of his unusual versatility.(Credit WPCSA)

SECTION A~ Welsh Mountain Pony

Considered by many to be the most beautiful of all ponies, the Section A is an animal of great beauty and refinement, he has the substance, stamina and soundness of his ancestors. Well known for their friendly personalities and even temperaments, they are extremely intelligent and easily trained. Both the Section A and Section B ponies are characterized by the following traits. A large, bold eye, tiny head, short back, strong quarters, high set on tail, fine hair, hocks that do not turn in, laid back shoulder, straight foreleg and short cannon bone. The Section A pony may not exceed 12.2hh.

SECTION B~ Welsh Pony

With all the physical and personality charactistics of the Section A, this section of the Welsh Pony was originally added to meet the demand for a larger riding type pony. Section B ponies do not exceed 14.2hh but have no lower height limit. They are well known for their elegant movement and athletic ability but still retain the substance and hardiness of their foundation, the Section A.

SECTION C~Welsh Pony of Cob Type

The Welsh Pony of Cob Type may not exceed 13.2hh and are characterized as being strong, hardy and active with pony character and as much substance as possible.Known for their gentle nature, they are characterized as strong, hardy and active, with pony character and as much substance as possible. They have bold eyes, strong laid back shoulders, dense hooves, a moderate quantity of silky feather, lengthy hindquarters, and powerful hocks.

SECTION D~The Welsh Cob

The Welsh Cob was part of the string of mounts for the British knights during the 15th century. A Welsh Cob was used to lead the mighty fighting horses known as destriers. As the destrier's natural gait was the trot, Welsh Cobs had to cover great distances matching the war horse stride-for-stride at the trot. To this day, the forceful ground covering trot of the cob is legendary. Their substance made them popular mounts for British infantry and for pulling heavy guns and equipment through rugged terrain up until 30 or 40 years ago. Prior to the automobile, the Welsh Cob was the quickest transport for doctors and businessmen.

Welsh Cobs are known for their gentle nature, and are characterized as strong, hardy and active, with pony character and as much substance as possible. They have bold eyes, strong laid back shoulders, dense hooves, a moderate quantity of silky feather, lengthy hindquarters, and powerful hocks.

The Section D cob exceeds 13.2hh with no upper limit on height. A strong and powerful animal, have gentle natures and are extremely hardy. An ideal mount or driving animal for many adults, the Section D has become a popular choice for dressage, combined training and combined driving.

HALF-WELSH

The breeders of both fine light horses and smaller ponies have successfully crossed with Welsh ponies and Cobs. With an unusally high capacity for transmitting his best qualities though carefully selected crosses, Welsh are often used to improve many performance lines. 1/2 Welsh ponies bred by "Ever After" Welsh Ponies are eligible for 1/2 Welsh registration by the WPCSA, and are therefore eligible for showing for WPCSA National breed awards.

Hunter's Sound Stable is nestled on 22 acres in the rural preserve area of Buckingham in Lee County, Florida. All of Hunter's Sound's ponies have wonderful dispositions and have been handled extensively. Each of our foals has been imprinted and has learned to crave human companionship with a mutual love and respect by imprinting and handling each pony daily.Our ponies greet humans as friends and will eagerly approach humans by their own choosing. All youngstock will be familiar with the basics to lead, load, clip, tie, bathe and stand for the farrier, and all have been kindly handled by children. Some will have proven show records.

Our breeding establishment is small to ensure time is spent with each individual pony. At this time, Hunter's Sound has chosen to concentrate on Section A Welsh Mountain Ponies, and Section B Welsh Ponies, and as Half-Welsh sportponies. Our small band of mares are mostly free roaming, however, each pony is handled daily, and kept in an exercise/training regimen throughout their pregnancy, and along with the foal after birth. We offer fine riding ponies and horses of all breeds for sale, and youngstock is occasionally available to approved show homes.