German Classic Pony

German Classic Pony
Conservation status
Other namesDeutsches Classic Pony[3]
Country of originGermany
DistributionGermany
Traits
Height
  • to 112 cm[4]: 176 
Ponies showing typical colouring

The German Classic Pony or German: Deutsches Classic Pony is a modern German breed of riding pony. It derives from the traditional Shetland Pony of the Scottish Shetland Isles, but is principally influenced by the taller and more elegant American Shetland Pony.[5]

Characteristics

While all coat colours are acceptable, the traditional German colours fuchs (flaxen chestnut) and dunkelfuchs (burnt chestnut with flaxen or silver mane) are among the most common.[5]

History

From about 1965 breeders in Germany began to selectively breed the traditional Shetland Pony with the taller and more athletic American Shetland Pony, with the aim of creating a more elegant pony better suited to use for riding and driving.[5] The 1961 American champion stallion Jiggs was imported, together with several mares. In the 1990s the Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society declined to register any pony with American bloodlines; the name "Deutsche Shetland Partbred" was proposed for these ponies, but some breeders did not accept it. They formed their own breed society, and the Deutsches Classic Pony was officially recognised as a German breed in 2001.[4]: 176 [6]

In 2007 the conservation status of the breed was listed by the FAO as "endangered".[1]: 49  In 2017 there were 58 stallions and 337 breeding mares, and the conservation status was listed by the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung [de] as "not endangered".[7] In 2024 it was listed in DAD-IS as "at risk/critical".[2]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deutsches Classic-Pony.
  1. ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed May 2014.
  2. ^ a b Breed data sheet: Deutsches Classic Pony / Germany (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2024.
  3. ^ Breed description: German Classic Pony. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. Archived 6 January 2008.
  4. ^ a b Élise Rousseau, Yann Le Bris, Teresa Lavender Fagan (2017). Horses of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691167206.
  5. ^ a b c Was ist ein Classic-Pony?. Interessengemeinschaft Deutsches Classic-Pony. Accessed February 2019.
  6. ^ How did the Germann Classic Pony come about. German Classic Pony Society. Archived 5 November 2013.
  7. ^ Rassebeschreibung Pferd: Deutsches Classic Pony (in German). Zentrale Dokumentation Tiergenetischer Ressourcen in Deutschland. Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung. Archived 27 February 2019.