Pony Equus ferus caballus

Domestic horses and ponies are the same species with different breeds. Horses are generally defined as over 14.2 hands and ponies at under 14.2 (a "hand" is 4 inches, measured to the horse's withers - shoulder top; 14.2 hands is 14 hands plus 2 inches = 58", nearly 1.5 metres), but this isn't always the case and there are dwarf horses and very large ponies.

Ponies in the UK fall into three main groups: working ponies (farms, mines, etc. not so many as in former years), companion and private riding animals, and the semi-feral but fully-owned and supervised free-roaming herds, mainly in National Parks such as the New Forest, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lakeland Fells and others. All 3 groups are in decline.

Ponies shown in the two rows above are mainly on Dartmoor plus one photo of the New Forest.