Exmoor pony

The Exmoor Pony is a British breed of pony or small horse. It is one of the mountain and moorland pony breeds native to the British Isles, and so falls within the larger Celtic group of European ponies. It originates on, and is named after, the Exmoor area of moorland in north-eastern Devon and western Somerset, in south-west England, and is well adapted to the climate conditions and poor grazing of the moor. Some still live there in a near-feral state but most are in private ownership.

Written records of ponies on Exmoor start with Domesday Book in 1086. After centuries of being a Royal Forest (not an area of trees but a hunting ground), most of Exmoor was sold in 1818. Thirty ponies, identified as the original old type, were moved to neighbouring moorland and were the foundation stock of the present-day breed. A breed society, the Exmoor Pony Society, was formed in 1921 and the first stud-book was published in 1963.

The ponies came close to extinction during the Second World War when some were stolen for food. After the war a small group of breeders worked to preserve the remaining stock. During the 1950s small numbers were exported to continental Europe and to Canada. In 1981 the vulnerability of the breeding population received publicity and numbers recovered somewhat.

In the 21st century it is a gravely endangered breed, with a total of 95 head reported in the United Kingdom in 2021, and an estimated population world-wide of 330. Its conservation status is listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as priority, the highest level of concern of the trust. Inbreeding has also become an issue for the breed, and a 2013 study found that the Exmoor pony had one of the highest inbreeding coefficients of all horse breeds.