You are visiting the "Fell Pony" page. The links in the box to the right will take you to other pages within
the "Working" section. The links with asterisks in front
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I am a proud owner of a Fell Pony,
which has been recognisable as a breed since Roman times.
These wonderful animals were one of Britain's nine native
breeds. Until the mid 1800s, they were used as
packhorses. Like the Beardies, they became scarce after the
world wars in the 20th Century. But they made a comeback in more
recent years. Today, there is the Fell Pony Society, of which a
patron is Her Majesty The Queen.
One writer, Bob Orrell from the Lake district, wrote about his good fortune in meeting
Eddie. "Eddie...never misses an oppportunity to let the world know that the herdwick is one of
the finest breeds of sheep and would have no hesitation in
telling a racehorse-owning Sheik that there is no equal to the
fell pony for temperament and looks." The words temperament and
looks can mean many different things. Eddie's words will
bring about a better understanding of the word "temperament" as
it relates to his Fell.
"My mare, Mowcop Black Bess was foaled in
1993. She belonged to a gentleman from Grange-over-Sands, who
had recently broken her to drive. It
seemed like Bess would be a perfect helper regarding chores for
the farm. Little did I
know that she had such a strong bond with her former owner that
she refused to do anything for me upon my arrival at home.
We discussed the problem. The next day it
became apparent to me what part of the problem was. She
responded to his Westmorland dialect, so I tried speaking in
this manner, and guess what? She responded to my commands
immediately.
Over the next year, we formed a bond. Bess not only engages in driving, but she
hauls hay/straw from the fields, learned to working in chains to
assist in snigging (Cumbrian word to mean extracting timber) Christmas trees from the
woods, moving gate stumps. Bess is happiest, like the Beardies
we own, when working. You only have to show her something once;
she takes pride in carrying hay out to the sheep in winter in
two very large sacks on her back. She loves to ride and to
jump. In the indoor school, when she is not harrowing, she is
schooled loose headed, which means no lunge line is used, to
walk trot, canter, stand, turn in both directions (play time to
her).
She and I have quite a bond, but she is a character. She does not like being petted,
nor does she show much affection. But she sees herself as my
'protector.' She takes exception to anyone getting too close to
me, i.e., other horses/ponies, dogs, and, yes, even my
own Beardies.
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