Episode 14: All About Fell Ponies
Hello! Welcome to Flip N Tails: a tiny podcast for BIG horse lovers! I’m a horse girl who loves to ride and each week I’ll share about what I learn and love about horses. Today is episode fourteen and it’s all about the Fell Pony.
What makes them so cool?
When they first originated they worked for the Roman Legions. When I first heard about Roman Legions, I had no idea what that meant. I learned that the Roman Legion was like a Roman army that had 300 horses. And it was around two thousand five hundred years ago. So imagine you’re walking in the fields and you see 300 Fell Ponies all lined up at battle. And they’re racing, they’re running and you see all of them and you’re like, “That is three hundred horses! What the heck?!”
Describe them
So Fell Ponies are really strong. They’re good for war, they’re also good for like strong pull horses. Also good for plowing fields.
Some of their influences
Friesians are one of the influences for Fell Ponies. They come in similar coloring, they have long flowing manes like that and tails. And they also have feathering. Because they’re so strong, Fell Ponies are really good at any endurance work.
What are they, a horse or a pony?
Well consider them like a large pony. Fell ponies are 14.2 hands high usually. So what is a pony? If you ever say horses you might envision like all of the Equidae family which is like, horses. But there are different sizes that define different types of horses. So a horse might be in the middle, a draft horse might be at the top and the pony might be at the bottom. There are other differences between the horses and the ponies, but the biggest is size.
Average Size
14.2 hands is still considered a pony. Similar to one of our favorite breeds, the Norwegian Fjords. And it makes sense because they’re both large ponies. If you want to learn more about the Fjords, go to Episode 11, All About Norwegian Fjords.
What makes them different?
So Fell Ponies are mountain ponies or hill ponies. And their name also means hill. So we found out that the ponies that have feathering actually came from the mountains.
Famous Example
A famous example is a Fell named Lingcropper, a stallion who was found on the moors during the Jacobite Uprising in 1745. The Jacobite Uprising was a really big battle in Scotland.
Fun Fact
Queen Elizabeth’s favorite riding pony was a Fell Pony named Emma.
So that’s it! Now you know a tiny bit more about this special horse. Join us next time and subscribe for another episode of Flip N Tails: a tiny podcast for BIG horse lovers!