Horses First came the ponies and light horses—so much a part of the culture of Britain and Europe, where they worked on well-worked fields in smallholdings. They were strong, hardy, easy to keep and trusty partners on the plow or on the road. In their homelands, they had been bred in their own regions and their blood remained more or less pure. By the mid 1800s there was an interest in establishing breed societies in England and Scotland, and soon Canadian breed societies were organized—for Clydesdales in 1886, Canadians in 1895 and Ponies in 1902. We owe much to our rare equines, but the truly rare species are the owners, who preserve their bloodlines and continue to train them for traditional work and in new disciplines. Supporting Articles: Merlin Ford, Equine Coordinator |
