Hi, I am looking at a 12 H section A Welsh pony for my daughter. After riding in a dressage clinic with a BNJ, and talking about the pony division, he has me thinking of possibly trying to breed the mare for the next pony too. Is it possible to get in the large size without putting the mare at risk? I am small and can ride ponies for the first few years, so I’m not worried about that aspect. I know I could always buy one when it comes time, but then we would miss out on all the fun! I just wondered how hard this is to achieve, and if possible, who would you guys recommend? TIA
In my years of breeding ponies, I have found it very difficult to “up-size”. JMHO
Sandy & I are always on the same page with this discussion. Using a larger mare to a smaller stallion is the #1 safest way (and the best decision for your mare) to achieve a larger result.
I started with two small pony mares. I bred them to large pony stallions and got medium pony mares, lol!
Now I have been breeding the medium pony mares to large pony stallions and I am getting large and oversize ponies.
Not sure if this helps you?
They have been going up in size but not a large from a small.
I own a large Wesser Ems pony produced by breeding a small medium (I think mom is 12.3) to Farscape, a 16.2 hand Westfalen stallion. My young gelding just turned two, and sticks at 14 hands now…I figure he may gain another inch. He is very leggy and looks like a small horse, and is not pony gaited. It worked in this situation, but my gelding’s dam was still three inches taller than your mare.
[QUOTE=arlosmine;7031897]
I own a large Wesser Ems pony produced by breeding a small medium (I think mom is 12.3) to Farscape, a 16.2 hand Westfalen stallion. My young gelding just turned two, and sticks at 14 hands now…I figure he may gain another inch. He is very leggy and looks like a small horse, and is not pony gaited. It worked in this situation, but my gelding’s dam was still three inches taller than your mare.[/QUOTE]
You cannot say it worked in your situation until your gelding is 5-6 years old and completely done growing. You have no guarantee that he won’t have a “warmblood spurt” and still keep growing in his 3rd or 4th year. You can say it worked, as far as meaning, you got a much larger foal, but if the end goal was to get a foal that finishes under 14.2 HH, the jury is still out on your gelding until he is a few years older. 
Our ponies tend to finish growing by the time they are 2 years old…but they are purebred Welsh…and that is a completely different story than when dealing with a crossbred pony, especially if one of the parents is a larger warmblood.
Good point, Daventry…I guess it will be a waiting game. Of course I have my fingers crossed for a top of the line large since the hunter market is my “plan b”, but since he’s supposed to be a dressage pony it wouldn’t be a disaster if he turns out to be a hony.
Thanks for the replies. I don’t know how tragic it would be that we got a medium. I have a small Hano mare that is my personal riding horse. It sounds like she would be the better candidate to produce a large from. Too bad her temperment isn’t as nice as the pony mare! I think we will ride the small until my daughter outgrows her, and hope by then that someone else has produced what I want. The good news is that we are little people, so riding the small ones for a while should work out great!
