British Spotted Ponies?

No_Angel

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2003
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Ireland
Anyone have any experience with British Spotted Ponies?

Considering they are a British Native Breed I haven't seen as many about as other Native Breeds.
 
I used to ride one, she was a really sweet mare, daft as a brush, couldn't jump for toffee though! :D :D
Karen Bassett used to drive a team of them.
 
I've noticed the majority seem to be around Shetland size, there maximum height is 14.2, so I wonder why there aren't more that are larger?
 
The one I knew was a good 12.3hh maybe 13 plus. Built like a brick outhouse. Karen Bassetts were bigger than Shetland sized.
 
Where I used to work were two british spotted's. They were driving ponies and did very very well from what I know. One was called Boris, can't remember the other one's name. Both stallions but calm, gentle, easy to handle and fab personalities.
 
It was my understanding that the British Spotted Pony was a British Native breed?:confused: Just not a popular one, like an Eriksay pony?
 
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I had one few years ago bred by Mary Bassett (I believe she is or was quite local to me),have to be honest it isn't a type of pony I would ever have again.

Mine was solid coloured (quite common bizarrely!!),and around 12.2hh.Lovely looking pony,nice build and lovely,defined,pony head.
I'm afraid IMO that's where the niceness ends.He could be sly,unpredictable,opinionated and fiesty as hell.Could be fine 85% of the time,and then have 'moments' the rest of the time:rolleyes:.Perhaps if some are like that it would explain why they're not very common/popular?? Right size for kids,but totally unsuitable for them temperament wise.

Can only go on my own experience of course,and maybe I just had a bad one,(although I know a lady local to me who breeds shetlands and she's not keen on the spotted ponies either,for much the same reasons as I mentioned),but personally I wasn't impressed!!
 
Sounds like a welshie to me? My welsh cob is fine 10% of the time and has moments the rest of the time :D

With regards to the colour, 2 spotted ponies can produce solid colours, it's only few spots who have 2 copies of the spotted gene (Lp) that can produce spots every time :)
 
'The Native British Spotted Pony with its exotic coat pattern has survived in this country for thousands of years. With her wealth of practical experience and historical research, the author traces this unique British breed form the earliest recorded times, explains its many virtues, and provides numerous colour photographs of these delightful ponies, both at work and play. Although the popularity of the breed, and hence its numbers, has increased over recent years, the author hopes that this book will bring the many advantages of such a distinctive breed to the attention of a much wider audience.'

:confused:
 
There is a similar paragraph on the homepage of the BSPS and there have always been ponies with spots around but they are not a breed - anymore than sporthorse is a breed.

Think how silly it would sound if we changed the spotted part of the registration requrements above to bay.
A colour registry that open does not make a breed.
 
Well the British Appaloosa Society register takes horses that display appaloosa characteristics that are not registered appaloosas, does that means that appaloosas are not a breed? :confused:

http://www.appaloosa.org.uk/registrationinformation.htm
Appaloosas are a breed and the partbreds/unknown breeding can't upgrade to the full register except under very special circumstances unlike the BSPS where a pony on the full register could have eight different breeds for great grandparents.
 
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No angel - I found a (very old) pic of Boris...here you go

boris.jpg
 
I still don't really get where you are coming from?

Surely as a fairly rare breed it needs to have horses upgraded, as if you only relied on completely pure for 10 generations horses into the full register there wouldn't be any to register?

If the horse is then 87% British Spotted it pretty much is a British Spotted, and so can be used to rebuild the breed? Maybe in another 50 years when there are as many British Spotteds as Appalooas then you wouldn't need to upgrade them?

Have you ever looked at an Appaloosas pedigree? I have a registered part bred Appaloosa and back in her family tree there are Saddlebreds, Thoroughbreds and Quarter horses, but her family are still in the purebred registry of the British and American Appaloosa societies.
 
Yes, I'm finding this confusing too... :rolleyes: do you mean that the spotted pony can register as long as it is spotted? So, ok it's not a breed but it's a marking/trait club :confused:. Whereas Appaloosa is a breed as it is an originally american breed. Then, when I read my book on Appy's it said only a few original bloodlines remain of true Ap. (distinguished by indian shuffle gait). The first Aps were andalusian x native pony "breed" (the spotting being an andalusian trait). Anyway, before I go off on a tangent, my view is that once breeding of a certain trait is started then it should be deemed as a "breed". For example, Warlanders. AndalusianxFriesian which is now a "breed".

Lordy, I think I'm in a right mucking fuddle! :D
 
I must be reading a different website, where does it say they are 12.5 %?

It says you are allowed a native outcross (the british spotted is a native breed with spots so british native breeds are an allowable cross) or a british riding pony (which is a native pony with lighter blood such as arab or tb I believe?)

From reading the website I get the impression they have a full register for british spotted ponies with parents or grandparents who are registered british spotted or have an allowable outcross of a british native pony or british riding pony.

There is a partbred register for horses who only have one british spotted parent and their offspring can be bumped up to the full register if they are 87.5% .

They have a register for solid coloured horses ( 2 spotted horses can produce solid horses,if it was a colour register they surely wouldn't have a section for non spotted horses?)

The provisional register looks like it is for horses who say only have 2 grandparents that have allowable crosses, but both parents are registered british spotted then their offspring could be in the full register.

I believe this is a breed,not a colour register, but of course everyone else is entitled to their opinion, so I will stop replying now:)
 
From the BSPS website
The Full Register:
This is for spotted ponies who have two parents and four grandparents registered with the BSpPS or in a place of one parent and two grandparents have an allowable British Native breed or Riding Pony outcross.
So only one parent needs to be on the BSPS and this can repeat down the generations.

It is quite possible for a British spotted pony on the full register to be only a 16th or less spotty as long as the colour as passed along and approved breeds or crossbreed are used.
Compare this to breeds that upgrade where partbreds don't go on the full register.
 
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