Distinctive Breeds Cont.

The Hackney pony is a breed of pony closely related to the Hackney horse. Originally bred to pull carriages, they are used today primarily as show ponies. The breed does not have its own stud book, but shares one with the Hackney horse in all countries that have an official Hackney Stud Book Registry. 

History

The Hackney Pony was originally developed by Christopher Wilson. He used Sir George, a Hackney stallion foaled in 1866, to breed with Fell pony mares, and then interbred the offspring to make a fixed type of pony. He desired to create not a miniaturized horse, but rather a true pony with such characteristics. Extracting the large trot and other characteristics of the hackney horse and applying them to this true type of pony, he was successful in creating the form which was desired. This is one case of an entire type of breed that is formed in a controlled, private environment. In addition to the mixing of Fell ponies and Hackney horses, the Hackney Pony probably also has much Welsh pony blood.

First known as Wilson Ponies, they were usually kept out all year, wintering in the inhospitable Fells with little food or care. This developed the breed's great toughness and endurance. By the 1880s the breed was established, and was very much liked for its great trotting ability and class.

The breed was used in Great Britain as carriage horses and were also imported into the United States. They were considered to be very stylish to drive during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when automobiles were still uncommon. After horses were replaced by cars as a primary means of transportation, Hackney ponies, along with many other horse breeds, were deemed unable to contribute to society and declined considerably. After World War II, however, the Hackney pony developed into primarily a show pony, and remain being bred for that purpose today. Thus their drastic decline in numbers and plight toward extinction came to an end, and the breed was popularized once again.

Many Hackney pony breeders today continue to develop a quality, refined pony. In the United States, Hackney ponies have also had considerable influence on the American version of the Shetland pony. They were crossbred with Shetlands to produce the American Shetland show pony of today, a type which displays many of the refined characteristics of the Hackney pony. The Hackney has also influenced the miniature horse, adding refinement and action.

Characteristics

General Appearance

The Hackney pony may not be above 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm) and usually range between 12 and 14 hh. It should have true pony characteristics, and should not be a scaled down version of the Hackney Horse. The pony should have a small pony head, carried high, with alert and pricked ears and large, intelligent eyes. The neck should be muscular, arched, and carried proudly. Hackney ponies should have powerful shoulders, a compact back, and a light frame. The legs are strong with good joints, but the bone is usually fine. The feet are very hard, and are usually allowed to grow long in the toe to accentuate the action of the pony. The tail is often set and is carried high. They usually have even more exaggerated action than the Hackney horse, knees rising as high as possible and hocks coming right under the body. The action should be fluid, spectacular, and energetic.

Colours

Hackney ponies may be black, bay (which includes brown), or chestnut. Bay is by far the most common color, but black is also relatively common. Chestnuts, on the other hand, are extremely rare; their color is usually particularly light, and chestnut ponies often possess flaxen manes and tails. Many hackneys also have some white markings. Due to the sabino gene, common in the breed, the Hackney Pony may have white markings on its body as well as on its legs and head. The sabino gene (possibly a gene complex), is generally unpredictable, so breeding solely for body white marks can be difficult.

Temperment

The Hackney Pony also has a reputation for being tenacious and fearless, qualities that are seen in top-tier show ponies. They are very brave, alert, and active, and possess great stamina. Generally, they have pony character. Hackneys have a reputation for being friendly toward humans, and are suitable for both show and as companion animals.

Show Types

In the show ring, the Hackney pony is most commonly seen being driven in harness. They are also shown under saddle, usually as road ponies, and in hand as weanlings or yearlings. The Hackney pony division recognizes six categories of harness exhibition: Hackney Pony (cob tail), Harness Pony, Hackney Roadster, Park Pleasure Driving, Show Pleasure Driving, and Country Pleasure Driving. Their world's championship is the Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky, and their national championship is the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri.

Most classes require both a “Park Trot,” executed in a highly collected manner and then exhibitors are given the command, “Show your pony,” which permits an increase in speed to exhibit each pony to its best advantage. Excessive speed is undesirable and is penalized.

Hackney Roaster

Hackney roadsters, or Road ponies, like roadsters, are shown to a two-wheel bike, or sulky. The driver always wears racing silks, usually with their barn represented by the colors of the silks. Road ponies are judged upon their action when trotting, as well as their speed, conformation, and temperament.

In addition to being shown with a bike, road ponies are shown under saddle by junior exhibitors or hooked to a four-wheel wagon. Wagon classes are relatively new but growing in popularity; the World's Championship Horse Show offered a wagon class for the first time in 2006.

Hackney (Cobtail) Pony

In the Cobtail pony division, ponies are shown with a tightly braided mane and appear to have a docked tail(though usually created only by trimming the tail short, not actual docking). They are generally taller, for any height of pony is permitted to show in the division as long as it is still a pony, not exceeding 14.2 hands.

Harness Ponies

Harness ponies are perhaps the most elegant and beautiful of the hackney ponies. Whereas speed is a major factor among road ponies, harness ponies should be more collected, exhibiting a very animated and airy trot. A Hackney must be smaller to show in the harness pony division, because it is required that the pony be 12.2 hands (50 inches, 127 cm) or under. They are shown to a four-wheel viceroy and possess a full mane and tail. The typical apparel for driving harness ponies is a suit for men, and a dress or other formal wear for women.

Pleasure Ponies

There are also three pleasure driving classes for the breed, Park Pleasure, Show Pleasure, and Country Pleasure. There are no height requirements except that the Hackney be a pony, and the pony can have a long or docked tail. Pleasure ponies are shown to a two-wheeled cart, and the driver usually wears more casual dress. They are shown at a road gait, pleasure trot, and flat walk. Temperament is a more primary factor for judges; the pleasure pony should indeed be a pleasure to drive.

Other Types

Some Hackney ponies are shown in one or two pairs in harness, though classes which are designated for this are fairly rare.

Source - Wikipedia

 The Hackney is a recognized breed of horse that was developed in Great Britain. In recent decades, the breeding of the Hackney has been directed toward producing horses that are ideal for carriage driving. They are an elegant high stepping breed of carriage horse that is popular for showing in harness events. Hackneys possess good stamina, and are capable of trotting at high speed for extended periods of time. 

Breed History

The Hackney Horse breed was developed in the 14th century in Norfolk when the King of England required powerful but attractive horses with an excellent trot, to be used for general purpose riding horses. Since roads were rudimentary in those times, Hackneys were a primary riding horse, riding being the common mode of equine transportation. The trotting horses were more suitable as war horses than amblers with their pacing gaits. As a result, in 1542 King Henry Vlll required his wealthy subjects keep a specified number of trotting horse stallions for breeding use.

In about 1729 a Norfolk Trotter stallion and an Arabian stallion contributed to the foundation stock for the modern Hackney Horse. The resulting Norfolk Roadster, as it was known, was a heavily built horse that was used as a work horse by farmers and others. It was also a fast horse with good stamina.

Another famous horse was the stallion Original Shales, foaled in East Anglia in 1755. He was by the stallion Blaze, the son of the famous undefeated racehorse, Flying Childers who was a grandson of the great Darley Arabian (one of the three foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed). Original Shales sired two stallions—Scot Shales and Driver—both of which had a great influence on the Norfolk Trotter. Messenger (GB), a 1780 grandson of Sampson, was a foundation sire of the present American Standardbred horse. Hambletonian 10 had at least three crosses of Messenger in the third and fourth generations of his pedigree (3x4x4). In the 1820s "Norfolk Cob" was recorded as having done 2 miles in 5 minutes 4 seconds and was one of the famous horses of that breed along with "Nonpareil," who was driven 100 miles in 9 hours 56 minutes 57 seconds.

In 1820 Bellfounder a Norfolk Trotter stallion who was able to trot 17 miles in an hour with 14 stone up, was exported to America where he was the damsire of Hambletonian 10. In this era, match-trotters competed under saddle, not harness. Later with improvements in roads, the Hackney was also used in harness, and he was then a riding and driving horse of high merit.

Robert and Philip Ramsdale, father and son, took the Norfolk horses Wroot's Pretender and Phenomenon to Yorkshire, where they bred them with Yorkshire trotting mares. In July 1800, the celebrated Hackney mare, Phenomenon, was backed to trot 17 miles in 56 minutes for a bet of £400, which she did in 53 minutes. In 1832, one of Phenomenon's daughters, the 14 hands Phenomena, trotted 17 miles in only 53 minutes. During the 19th century, with the expansion of the railway, the Norfolk breed fell out of favour, to be revived later by the Hackney Horse Society. The Norfolk and Yorkshire Trotter were selectively bred for elegant style and speed, and were developed into the modern Hackney Horse. The brilliant gaits of the Hackney Horse, however, saved it from extinction, and began its use in the show ring. They are still extremely successful in harness, and can also produce very nice riding horses, many known for their ability in show jumping and dressage competition.

In 1883, the Hackney Horse Society was formed in Norwich and the society’s stud book has records dating back to 1755 in the Hackney Stud Book.

Alexandra Cassatt was responsible for the introduction of the Hackney Pony to the United States. In 1878 he acquired 239 Stella in Britain and brought her to Philidelphia. In 1891, Cassatt and other Hackney enthusiasts founded the American Hackney Horse Society which is based in Lexington, Kentucky.

Hackneys come in both pony and horse height ranges, and are one of the few breeds that recognize both pony and horse sizes. The Hackney pony was developed in the late 19th century, when Hackney horses were bred to various pony breeds in order to create a very specific type of show pony.

Breed Characteristics

The Hackney Horse's height ranges from 14.2 hands (147 centimetres) to 16.2 hands (168 cm) tall. They may be any solid colour, including bay, brown, chestnut and black. Hackneys often have white markings, often due to the influence of sabino genetics.

The Hackney has a well-shaped head, sometimes with a slightly convex nose. Their eyes and ears are expressive and should show alertness. The neck is crested and muscular with a clean cut throat and jaw. The chest is broad and well-defined, the shoulder is powerful, long and gently sloping. The Hackneys have an average length of back, muscular, level croups, and powerful hindquarters. Their ribs are well-sprung. The tail is set high and carried high naturally. The legs are strong with broad, clean joints, long forearms and gaskins, with strong hocks, and pasterns medium in length, and are attached to round, fairly upright hooves.

In the trot, they exhibit showiness and an exaggerated high knee and hock action due to very good flexion of their joints. Their action should be straight and true with a distinct moment of suspension. The front legs reach up high with sharply bent knees that are stretched well forward with a ground covering stride. Their hind legs are well propelled underneath them in a similar exaggerated action. In addition to inherent soundness and endurance, the Hackney Horse has proven to be a breed with an easy, rhythmic canter, and a brisk, springy walk.

Hackneys have been exported into Australia, the United States and the Netherlands.

Source - Wikipedia

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