Talk to me about Exmoors Ponies

Potato!

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I'm possibly going to be taking on an exmoor pony for a companion pony. Ive had Haflingers and and a couple of native types. My gelding has decided all of a sudden that he can no longer live on his own after being perfectly happy even with horses nextdoor as when they disappear out of sight he has started fence running and its driving me nuts.

Please tell me the breed traits etc
 

gunnergundog

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I know nothing about Exmoors but will always remember the fantastic photo of one in H&H this time last year (or was it the year before??) jumping loose out of its field over a humungous hedge.....just because the hunt had passed by! :)
 

HeresHoping

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I know next to nothing either, other than recalling that Thelwell cartoon from 'A Leg at Each Corner' which says 'Exmoors can be mealy mouthed'. Which I thought was hugely clever - given their mealy muzzles - and from what little I have learned since, hugely apt.
 

Fransurrey

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I have two exmoor ponies. Not a breed for the kiddies and they definitely retain their wild traits. They're the kind of pony to stick two hooves up at you if they think you're an idiot, as they don't suffer fools. Very clever and very trainable. Very social, too, so you may have problems when you take your cob out, so beware! Very easy to feed and will do anything for food of some sort. Don't bother with rugs unless he's a sweet itch case. Don't wear fleece during moulting time unless you want to look like a yeti! :D
 

Potato!

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Well I’ve had a chat with the lady that had the little Exmoor mare, she said she would make a great little companion as she’s not bothered if left alone which would be good as I hunt my gelding so there will be times when she will be alone. She’s not a cuddly pony and doesn’t like lots of attention but is good to handle and with the farrier etc. She can be strong when ridden so is ridden in a jointed Pelham but she knows her job and pretty bombproof.
 

ralph and maverick

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I know nothing about Exmoors but will always remember the fantastic photo of one in H&H this time last year (or was it the year before??) jumping loose out of its field over a humungous hedge.....just because the hunt had passed by! :)

Oh yes i remember that too, was a fantastic pic!!

Sorry cant help op, i dont know anything about exmoors, other than i think they are pretty!!
 

MotherOfChickens

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I have two, one is 20 and one is 4. Great ponies, make me laugh out loud every day. Insanely good doers-when it comes to feed them think of what would be a small portion and give them a 1/4 of it.They are beyond hardy-never worry about mine in awful weather.

They are very clever, very trainable but not always terribly forgiving and they never forget. Both of mine can be left alone when the other is busy. They can make superb kids ponies (I grew up on an Exmoor) if trained right-there are a fair few very successful kids Exmoors around competing atm.
 

shmoo

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I have two exmoor ponies. Not a breed for the kiddies and they definitely retain their wild traits. They're the kind of pony to stick two hooves up at you if they think you're an idiot, as they don't suffer fools. Very clever and very trainable. Very social, too, so you may have problems when you take your cob out, so beware! Very easy to feed and will do anything for food of some sort. Don't bother with rugs unless he's a sweet itch case. Don't wear fleece during moulting time unless you want to look like a yeti! :D

Ditto :O) My first pony was an Exmoor. A real naughty chap. Used to fly buck or bronc every time you tried to gallop, never wore a rug or shoes. Lived on fresh air, very hardy. Good sorts, wish they grew to 15.2 ish I'd have another in a flash.
 

KidnapMoss

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Ahh my favourite subject! Well I've got two, for my sins. Both incredibly cheap to keep, my nine year old and two year old. Nine year old is not shod and nor will baby, farrier always says what fantastic feet they have and sometimes I see her three times (she comes and shoes the big horse) before they need another trim. No rugs, no feed, bit of hay in winter and I do give them some baileys lo cal just for a bit of something. I'm constantly trying to buy them stuff but can never justify it!!! :D

Nine year old is VERY quirky and has his own very special rule book that has to be kept to ;) trust was a mega issue for a couple of years, he's now my pony of a lifetime and my best friend. The two year old is very much meeee meeee meee and incredibly friendly, slightly in your face and cheeky.

The two of them are double trouble! I have never known anything like it. They CONSTANTLY search out mischief, testing everything, any weak spots on a fence and they will find it. They pull things down with their teeth, stable signs being the latest thing...baby Exmoor even had a great game one day of running off with husbands ratchet straps between his teeth, pulling them all through mud, husband turned air blue that day!!

I say my husbands horse is boring compared to them, he just says he's normal! Honestly they are fab, I still don't think I'd like a 15.2 one though :D

Just some pics, to back up why they are the best breed ever!!!!!!

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exmoorsmeetingmiller_zps6fb75753.jpg


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Sugarplum Furry

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I've got one, Scrumpy to his many friends, I bought him as a 6 month old straight off the moor. He's 6 now, everything KidnapMoss says about the breed is true (lovely pics by the way). Cheeky, full of character, highly intelligent, very hardy, when the temp is minus 10 and my other horses are rugged to the eyebrows Scrumpy skips around them all nekkid and fluffy shouting 'what's wrong with you, you bunch of softies, it's like summer'. Which really annoys them. A lot.

I might have to PM you KM if you don't mind, rule number one in the Scrumpy rulebook is 'Don't Ever Ride Me'. Oh the fun we've had and he's still not backed.

Potato welcome to wonderful quirky world of Exmoors!

Oh, the pic of the Exmoor jumping the hedge that someone mentioned, it's one of Scrumpy's close relatives. Gulp!
 

MotherOfChickens

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Ha ! You know as soon as I pressed the post button I thought this too. Sooo, wish I was 5 foot tall again, and thin so I could have another ??!?! There. Better :O)

I'm 5'6 and ride them-the youngster is 13.1h so big for an Exmoor. The other is a bit wee but keeps me grounded-I wagged my finger at him the other day and he tried to eat it :D they are both awesome.
 

Kallibear

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We used to have quite a few round here.

Untrusting, quirky and difficult is a general description. Catching seems to be a very commom problem as is sweetitch and being an opinionated little wotsit. They've often got poor conformations for a riding pony but are as tough as old boots. Greater ponies if you're small enough and can be bothered with them. Pain in the asses if you can't. There are plenty of easier, more talented breeds avaliable but for some reason they seem to be addictive (you either hate them or have 4 (prob cos they're cheap to buy and keep and hard to get rid of!))
 

mulberrymill

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I have one, my daughter has 2, as already said, ridiculously cheap to keep, would live on air, but totally governed by food. Never need rugs, other than to keep them clean, dont need shoes or even trims very often. Unfazed by anything, my mare when not long off the moor, was showing my supposedly nearly grown up New Forest how to go past all the scarey things, and didnt bat an eyelid. Having said that, they are very strong and can be bargey, really more suitable for small adults than children, although i know of some that carry men of nearly 6 foot tall. They are wicked jumpers and rely totally on self preservation, so if you can stick with them they will look after you as well. The moor bred ones have no respect for boundaries at all, and with their stupidly thick winter woollies wont even feel a zap from electric fencing, so keeping them in isnt the easiest. If they dont want to be caught then they will win, unless a sneaky bucket or two can be used as bribery, cos dont forget they are literally starving to death ALL the time
 

atropa

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LOVE them! Fantastically fun and hardy little ponies, as with Brochdoll I had a great trek on one with EUEPTS earlier in the year, the pony I rode was the smallest of the lot but what a gallop he had on him. Definitely have an Exmoor on my wishlist
 

MotherOfChickens

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I have two moor bred ponies, one from weaning and one since he was 14-both have a superstitious respect for electric fencing, both are great to catch, neither are spooky at natural objects or in the wind (older one is rubbish in traffic due to lack of exposure, youngest one totally unphased by combine passing us tonight), older one is reactive and 'busy', younger one is more measured and stoic, older one would throw me under the bus metaphorically, (so would the WB, Section D and arab on the yard), younger one is a team player, both are good at jumping and the older one went from hardly being backed to lateral work in longreins at 14 in one summer. Older one doesn't have great conformation, younger one is very nicely put together.

So both quite different character wise but both had very different early lives (from same herd). They both like their food but only the older one would sell his soul for it! Both were late cut for different reasons and apart from some 2yo nortiness, the youngster has been a model citizen and even when the older one is scared or full of it, he's quite biddable. Both have been excellent with my disabled stepkids on the ground and the older one gave pony rides to them when they were smaller. Neither thinks they should have to hold their feet up for longer than a couple of minutes at a time but they don't do anything. The older one has been ear twitched at some point and was a little head shy-I just hold his bridle in front of him and say 'head in' and he does, I hold the bridle and say 'head out' and he does. Silly, quirky pony :D

each to their own, I wouldn't give paddock room to quite a few breeds but usually only try to judge when I have first hand experience of a few.
 

lachlanandmarcus

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There's one that does a lot of endurance rides up by me, brilliant pony and his owner always has a huge grin on her face :))

The pentland ones are the Royal Dick vet school owned I think, their riding club has the herd and the vet students ride them and run treks. They have a web page I think !
 

Brochdoll

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There's one that does a lot of endurance rides up by me, brilliant pony and his owner always has a huge grin on her face :))

The pentland ones are the Royal Dick vet school owned I think, their riding club has the herd and the vet students ride them and run treks. They have a web page I think !

Yeah they're the ones we went with. Put their website in my other post. The ponies (and the girls) were fab!
 

Blanche

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I know nothing about Exmoors but will always remember the fantastic photo of one in H&H this time last year (or was it the year before??) jumping loose out of its field over a humungous hedge.....just because the hunt had passed by! :)


Me too ggd , I have wondered who it was as would love one of the breeding .
 

MotherOfChickens

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There's one that does a lot of endurance rides up by me, brilliant pony and his owner always has a huge grin on her face :))

That pony is brilliant-he must be in his late teens/early 20s by now. Lovely to see one so fit. It's not so unusual to see adults on ponies up here-there's alot to be said for not riding somethign 17.2 when you have horizontal rain to contend with!
 

mmt

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They are just amazing as everyone else has said hardy and clever and make great companions if you ever need any help or want another one people who have exmoors always seem to get more the Moorland Mousie Trust takes unhandled foals from the moor in October handles them, gelds them and then supplies them on loan to suitable homes.
 

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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I had an Exmoor when I was a kid. Horrible little pony bucked me off whenever it suited him and he was a total nightmare.

Didn't know till years later that Exmoors are notoriously hard to manage:)

Personally I'd only have one if it was going to be worked to death - which is what they would thrive on, that and a very reduced diet, not a rich field. Exmoor ponies have traditionally carried the hill-farmers on a good days hunting across challenging terrain, and are hardy little beasts.

But as a companion? Nope, no way. I would avoid like the plague TBH.
 
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