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Charly shows you:

The Pottok

the little horse from the Basque

black and white Pottok Pony mare Mirabelle

Not much is known about the origin of this breed. What is known, is that horses appear in prehistoric cave paintings both, in France and the Basque mountains, Spain.

The majority of the world's Pottoks are still living in the wilderness. The natural resistance they have developed to survive in the harsh mountainous conditions, has made them the resilient breed they are today.

The Pottok Pony mares Datzia and Kattalin in the snow

This, combined with their adaptability, made them ideal for a diverse range of tasks. This included smuggling between Spain and France and wagon pulling in the coal mines.

The Pottok has been an officially recognised breed by the French National Breeders Association since 1970.
The "Association Nationale du Pottok (A.N.P.)" is the horses official governing body. They keep herd records in which the horses are separated into two categories. Horses reiterated in group A are purebred. Those in group B are those resulting from crossbreeding with Arab or Welsh stallion and Pottok mares.

The thoroughbred Pottoks in group A are described as follows:

   Very robust pony;
   straight line profile;
   short, high based and forward fixed ears;
   attentive and intelligent eyes;
   short neck with dense mane which reaches up to the withers;
   slight slanting shoulder;
   broad chest;
   Long back;
   short, sloping croup;
   thick, deep based tail;
   correct leg position;
   dry and strong extremities;
   small hard hooves.
   The coat colour can be brown-, sorrel - and black shade.
   As well as all piebald with one or more of these colours.
   White Pottok horses do not exist !!!
   They are between 45 and 58 inches high. (115 cm - 147 cm)
   The average height for purebred ponies living in the mountains is 51 inches (130 cm).
   The horses which grow up on the plains and feed more in the winter grow higher.

The horses in stud book B are also generally taller because of the Arab stallion in them.
In addition, their build is more sportive.
To qualify for group B, the pony must have at least 50% pure Pottok blood.

Today, the Pottok is proving a very popular breed. The number of breeders in France has been steadily increasing and breeders in Switzerland have been making their presence known since around 1998. The number of registered horses in the Swiss herd book reached 80 at the end of 2003, including two recognized breeding stallions. The Swiss Pottok foals get their name with the first letter, which is tied to the year of birth. 2003 it was "Q". 2004 it was "R" and 2005 it is "S".

Most of the ponies are kept for fun and used for leisure-time activities. Some Pottok breeder/owners compete in jumping and combination tests. Others ride dressage with their Pottoks or stamina and endurance-type activities including pony breeds. Some of these events call for the competing against horses! In driving events, the Pottoks in France often win the champion title.

The rare Pottok has a long history. The ponies which grow up in the charge of a respectable and conscientious breeder, are gentle, kind, resistant and uncomplicated to deal with.
In short, the Pottok is an excellent breed and ideally suitable for families looking for a small horse.

Karin Held is riding her Pottok Pony mare Kattalin

The Swiss Association of Ponies and Small Horses SVPK,
has a very interesting section 'Pottok Ponies' which is an excellent source of further information.

Karin Held is riding her Pottok Pony mare Datzia

Don't hesitate to contact us:

SVPK Sektion Pottok Pony

The Original-Text from Karin Held was translated into english by the kind help of Damien Hazelton, Erla & Flossie .