History and Evolution

Today’s Newfoundland Ponies are the direct descendants of the native British breeds that came to the New Founde Land with the early English settlers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Founding breeds include the Exmoor, Dartmoor and New Forest ponies from England, the Welsh Mountain pony from Wales, the Highland and Galloway (now extinct) ponies from Scotland, and the Connemara pony from Ireland.

From the beginning, families from England’s West Country, which included the Exmoor, Dartmoor and New Forest regions, were heavily involved in the Newfoundland fishery. Interest in Newfoundland’s rich fishing grounds also extended to a lesser degree to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Early adventurers, entrepreneurs and merchants brought their local ponies with them to Newfoundland to help establish themselves on the other side of the North Atlantic.

These ponies were fully accustomed to the plough, harrow, back pack, cart, and heavy work. What better helpmates could one imagine in Newfoundland’s harsh climate and rocky terrain than those very same ponies that had worked side by side with the moorland and highland crofters over the centuries in the British Isles?

In time, the resident pony population of Newfoundland increased to the point where local supply could satisfy demand and further British imports were no longer necessary. Isolated on the Island, these various British native breeds interbred and have evolved into the Newfoundland pony of the modern day.

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