A type of small horse, with a thicker coat, mane and tail, shorter legs, heavier bones and a wider body than larger horses. In most competitions a pony is any horse up to 14.2 hands (147 cm) at the withers when fully grown.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?Yes
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?Sometimes
Do people eat it?In places
At a glance
Found inWorldwide
ColoursBrown, Black, White
SizeLarge
HeightUp to 14.2 hands (147 cm) at the withers
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for25–35 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Kept worldwide; ponies first developed as hardy landraces in harsh climates, typical of Northern Europe.
- What it eats
- Hay and grass; ponies need about half the hay of a horse for their weight.
Did you know
Not a baby horse: a pony is fully grown and stays under 14.2 hands.
Pound for pound, ponies can pull and carry more weight than a horse.
The word pony comes from the old French poulenet, a little foal.
Often confused with
- Horse
A pony is a small horse, not a young one: for competitions it measures 14.2 hands (147 cm) or less.
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