Rare Kerry Bog ponies to be introduced to US
Date: 11-Apr-03
Country: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Five Kerry Bog ponies are due to leave Ireland for Ohio later in the week where they will take pride of place on a farm devoted to Irish breeds.
Mainly chestnut in colour, the Kerry Bog pony is slightly bigger than a Shetland but more graceful, and is believed to date from Neolithic times.
Numbers dwindled to just a handful by the mid-1990s but have since swelled to around 200 after the ponies were registered as a rare breed to preserve them.
"They'll be supplied to stud farms around the States in time," said John Mulvihill, honorary president of the Kerry Bog Pony Society of Ireland.
"The ponies are ideal for children who want to get used to the equine world before moving onto thoroughbreds," he added.
The ponies were originally used for pulling seaweed from the shore and also carrying turf (peat) in the southwest of Ireland.
