British Spotted Ponies

The spotted coat of the British Spotted Pony was his natural camouflage whe he roamed the heaths and forests of ancient Britain. Stoneage man painted him on the walls of his caves, and they appear in many illustrated manuscripts, old paintings and drawings down through the centuries. Because of their unusual coat colouring the spotted pony was highly prized and it is documented that they were sold for enormous sums of money and were widely used in peace and war. In a parchment roll dated 1298 there are listed all the horses purchased for Edward 1st campaign at Falkirk. It describes a spotted Welsh Cob from Powys purchased from Robin Fitzpayne. He is one of the most expensive on the list. In a fifteenth century manuscript of the chronicles of Sir John Froissart there is an illustration of a little chestnut spotted cob.

Due to Britains Celtic origins and the subsequent worship of the horse goddess Epona, the ancient fertility rites and dances have been passed on down through time and are still enacted by the Morris dancers and mummers in their plays throughout the country villages to this day. One of the characters in the mummers'plays is the spotted hobby horse who represents spring growth and fertility. He would dance down the village streets and any fair maiden he could catch was supposed to become pregnant.

The spotted pony is feral in the British Isles, and possibly was a well known colour amongst the Welsh hill ponies. There are many instances of spotted ponies in the old Welsh stud books, and Gwynfe Hero, a spotted Welsh Cob foaled in 1916, features in some of the oldest pedigrees of the British Spotted Pony.
There have been some importations of European blood down through the centuries. The Roman army brought with them their elite officers' mounts, some of which were spotted Spanish horses of great elegance. Also there were many gifts of fine horses sent between the royal families of Europe, and we know from paintings and documents many were spotted. There is a mid nineteenth century print of a lady beleived to be Queen Victoria driving a beautiful little Welsh-type spotted pony with a spotted Dalmatian dog running behind. Another recorded import (again of Spanish decent) were some Danish Knabstruppers in the early 1960's. Some stalions were also imported by Chipperfild's circus for liberty work and some found their way into private hands.

The British Spotted Horse and Pony Society was formed in 1947 to keep a register and preserve them, and in 1976 the society split and the ponies under 14.2hh were looked after by the British Spotted Pony Society.

After the last war there was a great awakening of interest in the spotted pony and many were exported to Australia, the USA, Canada and to the European Continent. Top-class British Spotted Ponies of show quality are very much in demand.

A quality pony with adequate bone and substance, hardy and active with real pony character,
of small, riding pony or cob type, up and including 14.2 hh.

All ponies must display some of the following:
White sclera round the eye, mottled skin (most evident around genitals, muzzle, eyes and iside ears), striped hooves.

Leopard spotted	Spots of any colour on a white or light coloured background
Few spot	Cream base with few tiny spots. Strong characteristics often accompanied by varnish marks, very dark eyes, white hooves
Snoflake	White spots on a dark base coat
Blanket	An area of white over hips and hindquarters with of without spots. Any base colour. The blanket can extend over the entire back and shoulders

Solid colours are eligible for a separate register but must be of proven spotted breeding.
Piebald and skewbald markings of any kind are not eligible.