Kirkcarrion Highland Ponies

Disclaimer: this is my personal home page: any views expressed here are purely my own, not representative of the University of Dundee, the Highland Pony Society, or any other body.

Tack and equipment for Highland Ponies

Don't be misled by the fact that they are a pony breed - Highlands tend to be full size in bridles and headcollars and need wide, extra wide or even wider(!) saddles depending on the individual pony. For bridles, a thin strap is generally not a good idea, avoid plaited and fancy browbands and go for good quality plain or stitched leather in a nice wide size. Hunter style cavesson nosebands in 1.25 inch leather seem to fit mine well - workmanlike and smart results rather than making the head look big and plain.

For showing in hand, a good inhand bridle can be made up with brass buckles, wide leather strapping and stitched noseband, and it really does make a difference. If using one of these, with brass buckles etc, a smaller bit ring is helpful to get the proportions looking good - a huge D ring snaffle might hang all wrong and detract from the overall picture. Only use a brass horseshoe bit with a stallion though! Good quality riding bridles, hunter type with cavesson (not flash, grakle or drop nose) are also acceptable, you may find it easier to attach a leather leadrein through a brass newmarket chain to the 2 bits rather than try and use riding reins to lead with but don't worry if you don't have all the kit, just make sure what you use is clean and smart.

Your best bet for a good saddle is a qualified saddle fitter but I've found a Farrington (also available via Derby House - the working hunter model) fits Rosie superbly and the lady that fitted her with it says it is generally a good one to try for a Highland shape. Aidan is in a Thorowgood synthetic Griffin Endurance saddle which fits him just fine, though he hasn't finished broadening out yet so I haven't gone for a leather one for him at this stage.

Rugs I don't generally use but I am about to test a Boett Native Raincoat on Portia to give her a little added wind and weather proofing without flattening her natural winter coat or making her too warm. If this works out it may also be a useful rug to use after washing a pony for a show as it should keep them clean in the field and save me having to keep them in for a night. Fingers crossed, it hasn't arrived yet but their sweet itch rug has worked wonders on Dan my Sec A and I'm looking forward to seeing what they've come up with now.

The rugs I do use are stable/cooler types, primarily for showing and post-washing. My own ponies range from 5'9 to 6'3 so again don't be misled into buying something for a "14'2 pony" without checking it!

E-mail: a.douglas@dundee.ac.uk
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