The Canadian Rustic Pony is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of pony that originated in Canada, particularly Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The pony is the result of a crossing between the

Heck horse The Heck horse is a horse breed that is claimed to resemble the tarpan (''Equus ferus ferus''), an extinct equine. The breed was created by the German zoologist brothers Heinz Heck and Lutz Heck in an attempt to breed back the tarpan. Althoug ...

and Welsh pony-

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...

crosses.

History

The Canadian Rustic Pony was developed by Dr. Peter Neufeld of Manitoba, Canada.Tarpan
''Oklahoma State University'', retrieved February 10, 2009. Breeders developed the breed by crossing Heck horses from the

Atlanta Zoo Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoological park in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in ...

in Atlanta, Georgia with Arabian horse-Welsh pony crosses. On January 23, 1989, the Canadian Rustic Pony Association was formed, incorporated under the new Canadian federal Animal Pedigree Act, also known as Bill C-67. Prior to this, since 1978, Canadian rustic ponies had been registered through a registry based in the United States, and as of September 1989, 72 ponies had been US-registered. These ponies were eligible to become double-registered under the Canadian and US registries, and many did so. No ponies were found outside of Manitoba and Saskatchewan as of September 1989, but this was expected to change as more breeders became aware of the new breed.

Characteristics

These ponies stand between high. They can be gray, buckskin, dun or

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

, have primitive markings such as dorsal and zebra stripes, and have partially raised manes. The facial profile is straight or slightly dished, with a prominent jaw. The neck is thick but arched, the girth and shoulders thick, and the

croup Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms o ...

slightly sloping. The legs are strong, and the ponies are said to move fluidly, especially at the trot. The Canadian Rustic Pony is used mainly for jumping, driving or as family pets.

History

Characteristics

References

Further reading