Conclusion:

I hope you enjoyed my blog on Connemara ponies and I hope you learned loads, Thanks for reading!

 

Me and my Connemara pony magoo.

My own Connemara pony Magoo:

Magoo is a bay Connemara gelding. He is aged 11 and is 15 hands in height.  His registered name also know as show name is Jim Delaney. His sire is the bay 14.2 hand stallion Westside Mirah. He has a special place in our yard as he is home bred. His mother is also still in our yard and is also ridden by me. Magoo has been a pleasure to work with since day one as he has a quite but quirky temperament. He has a cheeky face with a little white spot on it know as a star. He is mainly used as a jumping pony mainly competing in working hunter classes and Connemara performance classes during the summer and then during the winter months jumps on our school show jumping team. He has scope to burn and would jump all day if he had his way! To date Magoo is jumping tracks of 1 meter 10 centimetres and at home is show the ability to go higher. He has many titles and wins to his name. He competed in the Royal Dublin Horse show this year for the first year and taking home fourth place in the 153 working hunter class section A. This year he was also performance champion at the national championship show, he was also novice working hunter champion at Wicklow area IPS Summer show and second place overall novice 153 working hunter. He is a great pony and has been in our yard for 11 years and hopefully many more!

 

 

Magoo in the RDS this year.

Magoo as a foal. Magoos mother

      

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biEQlfbcZlI

Connemara pony facts:

The Connemara Pony is said to be one breed that really does bond a lot with their owners. Studies have shown that most Connemara ponies remember a voice or a person for years after even if they have been separated from the person.

The Connemara pony gets it's named from the area in Co. Galway, Ireland where it originated.

Connemara ponies were first used by local farmers to carry large baskets of rocks from fields or seaweed from the shores and this was then used as fertilizer.

 

The first Connemara Pony Breeders Society (CPBS) was made and started in 1923 in Cliften, Co. Galway, Ireland by the local horse breeders and farmers.

 

Connemara ponies do not fully mature until they are at least 5 years old and easily live well into their thirties.

Nowadays The Connemara Pony is found in most countries in Europe.

In Cliften, Ireland the Connemara Pony Show is held every year. This show tradition started in 1924 and is still running to this day. Breeders and buyers from around the world come and spectate at the show. Most years there is 400 or more ponies entered in the show. 

The Nugget was a 22 year old Connemara gelding measured in at 15 hands, who once jumped a 7ft 2inch jump at the International Horse Show in Olympia, London back in 1935.

Breed history of Connemara ponies:

Connemara ponies are the only native Irish breeds. People believe that the breeding started around the time of the ancient Celts. The Celts were skilled horsemen and they developed Connemara ponies from the Scandinavian ponies that first came to Ireland with the Vikings. Although in 1588 a ship of Andalusian horses sank and the horses and ponies on board were let loose and they swam to shore and they then interbred with the wild native ponies. In the 1700's Arabian horses blood was also added for strength and stamina. Too much cross breeding began to happen and as a result it started to dilute the ponies bloodlines, as a result of this the Connemara pony breeders society was founded in 1932, the purpose was to lead to the preservation and improvement of the Connemara pony. The ponies stud book also know as passport was established in 1926. Early Irish farmers often had large families to feed and could only afford one good pony. This pony would have come from a wild heard and the family would have to tame it themselves. Many families owned a mare so they could sell her foals for income for the family. Even while the pony was in foal she was still required to pull a plow or cart filled with rocks, turf or people. Any pony that couldn't preform these tasks on a daily basis were replaced. The Connemara pony breeders society was formed by the 30 most local Connemara men who were concerned about the population of Connemara ponies. The purpose of this society was to improve the Connemara breed. The Connemara breeders society selected the best stallions from the area and persuaded local farmers to only use these stallions. Today Connemara ponies are gaining popularity throughout the world, they are used as both children and adults ponies. The good temperament of the Connemara pony makes it suitable for all disciplines. Today Connemara ponies are bred worldwide.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Connemara_pony.jpg

source: http://www.theconnemarapony.ie/?page_id=28                        

Breed Description:

 The Connemara pony is famous for being hardy, strong and tough. It goes with no surprise as the breed began in the rocky coast of western Ireland.  The ponies developed an ability to move quickly across rough hard rocky ground in unpleasant, harsh Irish weather. Western Irish landscape helped to create this supple and flexible Connemara ponies are admired and valued for all of these qualities.           

 https://www.bol.com/nl/p/connemara-hengst/1004004004911926/

The average Height of a Connemara is 13 to 15 hands, but some can be bigger or smaller than this. The main most common  colour of a Connemara is grey.  The next most common colour is bay. Dark bay, Dun, Roan, Black and Cremello are slightly less common colours of the Connemara pony. Piebald and skewbald are not accepted by the Connemara registry this means that the pony will not get a green stud book or passport and are not accepted for registration.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/winterbald/2483079920

Source: http://www.theconnemarapony.ie/?page_id=28

Introduction:


Hi my name is Pippa Durham. I will be blogging to you about the geography of Connemara ponies.