Welcome to the Fell Pony Life
Interest in the Fell Pony breed is notably increasing in North America. Most who own one will tell you that trying to find one is a worthwhile challenge. Some of the most popular reasons were recently stated by some new Fell Pony owners in North America:
I love how social my pony is! He is the first to the gate to meet any person and he loves other horses and ponies.
(I'm delighted by) His loving , smart and kind nature........
(He)..... is very people oriented. He is looking to engage all the time. He is forward thinking and cheeky as can be.....
His personality! He is an absolute love and respects everyone who works with him.
(She).... is so smart and loves attention. She's also very stunning!
She is so calm and willing and quick to learn. She's an absolute sweetheart. Even when she was sick and kept having to get meds and her temp taken she was still so friendly and calm and met me at the gate. I didn't even have to halter her to do any of that. She always meets us at the gate, loves being out with us, loves attention and is absolutely amazing with my 4 young kids. She seems to understand if the 2 year old is around her or on her and is very careful. I feel like she takes care of her rider's, her "kids". After having her, I want like 10 more Fell ponies! She really is just amazing!
If you have yet to find the pony for you, The Fell Pony Connection encourages you to stay connected to owners, breeders, and trainers in North America and hopes your pony is just around the corner.
Recently FPC did a social media call for recent first time Fell Pony owners in North America. We got seven enthusiastic responses from people willing to answer a few questions regarding their new Fell Pony journey. Seven responses is definitely a small scale survey. However, with roughly 30 foals born in all of North America last year and only a few more trained that came available, we feel grateful to have seven responses to summarize for this post.
With 4 of the 7 new homes bringing in young ponies under the age of 4 years, we were thrilled to hear the variety of future plans each new owner has in mind for their ponies. Many mentioned trail riding and hiking. Three homes have interest in their pony being utilized for youth, 4-H, and therapy for special needs. Some more notable new interests were certified police pony, rodeo, carrying flags, driving and fox hunting. We really look forward to seeing these visions coming to reality and know the Fell pony has by nature the versatility to make it happen.
Lastly we asked our new Fell Pony family members to share some advice or thoughts to those who are considering investing in a Fell Pony:
The main reason I wanted a Fell pony is for their solid minds and versatility. It's like having the great personality and temperament of a draft horse, but in a compact package!
They are the best insurance policy you will ever have. They may be expensive but what you get is so much more. They will keep you safe.
It is worth the time and and investment, don’t shy away from the yearlings- it’s worth the time to raise and train them your way. There is so much enjoyment to be had before getting to ride them.
They are a very loving and sweet pony’s. But they are also very active and need a place to run and play.
I can't say this is true of all Fells as I only have (my first one). But she's a cheeky bossy girl with the other horses. She has so much personality. She has to investigate everything.
That's hard but that would be how intelligent and compassionate they are!
That they are absolutely amazing and worth their weight in gold! I really have nothing bad to say about the breed.