Dartmoor Hill Ponies at Bronze Age Settlement
Archaeologists unearth ancient hoof prints
Evidence suggests ponies were roaming Dartmoor as far back as 500,000 years ago, during the Ice Age. Dartmoor Hill Ponies have been living and working alongside humans since the Bronze Age. There is archaeological evidence that cattle, sheep and ponies were being farmed together on Dartmoor around 1350 BC.
The Dartmoor Pony became a registered breed at the start of 20th century. Humans began to impose rules on what this new breed of pony should look like, mixing the pure bloodline of the semi-wild ponies with breeds such as the Hackney to make them more saleable and showable. At this point, the life of the Dartmoor Hill Pony separated from the life of the Dartmoor Pony.
While the Dartmoor Pony is a name given to a type of pony whose life is almost completely controlled by humans, from where it is born to who its breeds with, the Dartmoor Hill Pony is born and breeds independently of humans, running free on Dartmoor.