The Carneddau Mountain range in the Snowdonia National Park is home to a small population of around 300 semi-feral Carneddau ponies whose history is thought to date back to the Bronze Age. Though they not designated as a rare breed, they are genetically distinct from the Welsh Mountain pony. They carry genes specifically related to hardiness and waterproofing.

Carneddau’s are slightly smaller than the Section A Welsh Mountain, standing at around 10 to 11 hands high. They are recognisable by a sturdy body, small ears shaped like sage leaves and big personalities!

The Carneddau herd ranges over nearly 13,500 acres or 20 square miles of common between Bethesda, Llanfairfechan, Capel Curig and Conwy, which includes mountains over 3,000 feet high, bogs, cliffs, rocky slopes and lakes. The scenery is spectacular and the ponies know every inch of it. They are owned and managed by the Carneddau Pony Society – a group of farmers from Bethesda and Llanfairfechan who are supported through a management agreement with Natural Resources Wales that helps them to maintain the herd, grazing to benefit wildlife on the mountains, from Chough to Dung beetles.

The ponies graze differently from sheep and have a wider, diet than domestic ponies. They will eat soft rush, Molinia, gorse and mountain grasses. Their grazing and trampling help to keep bracken and gorse under control and create pathways. They are essential in maintaining the landscape of the mountains.

Under the agreement the herd numbers must be kept steady to avoid overgrazing. To achieve this, draft mares, colt foals and surplus fillies are sold off each year. In the past they were sold as pit ponies but current economics now mean they have little value, so the graziers needed to find new buyers.

The Carneddau pony has now been recognised by the RBST as a feral population and appear on the Watchlist under the “Other” category. They can’t be recognised as a breed as there is no studbook or breed standard (which defines a breed), but this is still important recognition. Carneddau ponies are one of the purest forms of UK native ponies, they have not been selectively bred for looks or work, only for survivability on the mountain.

There‘s been little (if any) introduce blood since the Tudor times - they are the original Welsh pony and largely a product of nature. Legend has it that the ponies escaped a cull ordered by Henry VIII (as they couldn’t carry a Knight in Armour) by living in the mountains where they couldn’t be hunted. The truth is a little more boring. Henry VIII certainly wanted to “improve” the general quality of horses, and his Acts in 1535 & 1541 were more related to commons grazing. It seems Henry did not want good grazing to be taken by “poor” animals. He wanted poor, old, & infirm animals removed or culled - and this was done annually which is where the practice of gathering has its roots!

What is so unique is that these ponies have never been “developed” - there are no imported breeds in them unlike their close cousin the Welsh Mountain Pony (which had breeds like the Arabian & Barb introduced). They’ve roamed the Carneddau mountains for centuries where they’re still found today, managed in much same way as centuries ago. DNA studies show them to have a shared ancestry with Welsh Mountain (Section A) ponies, but they are genetically distinct enough to be a separate breed. They hold valuable genes that need to be protected. These ponies are incredibly important to the ecology of Eryri.

References:

Images and some text reproduced with kind permission from ©Ruth Chamberlain also known as Ruth on the Hoof. https://www.facebook.com/RuthOnTheHoof retrieved 20 April 2025

Carneddau Ponies Information Group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/201051980553452/ retrieved 20 April 2025

Carneddau ponies- wildlife warriors from Snowdonia National Park, https://www.pontcymru.org/carneddau-ponies-wildlife-warriors-from-snowdonia-national-park/, retrieved 20 April 2025

Winton, Clare L; Hegarty, Matthew J; McMahon, Robert; Slavov, Gancho T; McEwan, Neil R; Davies-Morel, Mina CG; Morgan, Charly M; Powell, Wayne; Nash, Deborah M (April 2013). "Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of native mountain ponies of Britain and Ireland reveals a novel rare population". Ecology and Evolution. 3 (4): 934–947.

Wild as the Hills – The protection of the Carneddau Mountain wild ponies., retrieved 20 April 2025