Importance of Breed Description
Breed description under the Animal Pedigree Act (APA) is a critical requirement to determine who may be considered a "breeder" of a breed and therefore subject to the responsibilities and the protections of the APA. Breed description is crucial for establishing the legally defined exclusive authority of a breed association to represent a breed for purpose of enforcement under the APA. The breed description is also a key requirement to establishing the proper basis for registration of animals under the APA, for establishing the manner in which breeding animals may be represented for sale and as a basis for systematic genetic improvement of the breed’s population in Canada.
Considerable efforts have been made to review all the options under the APA for an acceptable breed description of the sport horse. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with the assistance of an industry-based Advisory Group created for that purpose, has identified breed description criteria which would be acceptable as the basis for recognition and operation under the APA. Sport Pony Canada has, with permission and invitation from Canadian Sport Horse, used a parallel breed description to keep uniformity within the registry, which will now be partnered with Canadian Sport Horse. This partnership will enable both Sport Pony and Sport Horse to register and use otherwise undesirable horses/ponies with reference to height, as all other conformation, type, and inspection criteria will be parallel. A breed description for the sport pony is proposed below.
Factors for Breed Description
Breeds under the APA, including the sport horse, may only be recognized if they can be determined in accordance with genetic principles. There are three critical factors for determining breed status under the APA:
(1) Common genetic make-up of the population which is to be considered a breed.
(2) Physical resemblance of animals of the breed in a way that would be distinguishable from other breeds.
(3) Genetic stability or the possibility of creating a genetically stable population, which would be amenable to systematic genetic improvement.
Genetic Make-up:
Genetic make-up of animals within a breed may be defined according to the original stock giving rise to the breed and according to specified genetic criteria. The genetic make-up of the sport pony lends itself to definition according to three criteria:
(1) By specifying the mix of typical "pony" parental stock versus refinement parental stock contributions.
(2) By specifying breed populations and genetic characteristics which are not acceptable.
(3) By specifying genetically-determined characteristics as a basis for refining and stabilizing the population over time, characteristics considered important for producing a functional animal for performance in Olympic or sport disciplines.
a) Acceptable Primary Parental Stock [contributors]
(i) European "warmbloods" [commencing with original list of European registries from 1991 articles of incorporation or other equivalent registries] – Holsteiner, Westphalen, Hanoverian, Hungarian Warmblood, Dutch Warmblood, Swedish Warmblood, Oldenburg, Belgian Warmblood
(ii) Purebred animals of Other Parental Stock breeds (sometimes referred to as refinement breeds) – Thoroughbred, Arabian, French Anglo-Arab, Trakehner
[Other breeds may be considered on individual merit.]
(iii) Purebred animals of the following Pony Breeds – Welsh (sections A, B, C, D, and Cob), Connemara, Exmoor, American Sport Pony, American Shetland, German Riding Pony, Dartmoor, British Riding Pony, French Riding Pony (Poney Français de Selle), New Forest Pony
[Other breeds may be considered on individual merit.]
b) Animals of the following breed backgrounds [which may impart undesirable characteristics] may appear as no more than 1/16th (i.e.4th generation ancestor) in any primary parental stock animal – Quarter Horse, Quarter Pony, POA, Appaloosa, Paint, Canadian, Morgan, Saddlebred, gaited breeds. Draught horses (except registered Irish Draught), Standardbred, Fjord, Icelandic, Haflinger, Friesians, Lipizzaners, Andalusians, Lusitano, Gypsy Vanner, Curly, crosses or grade animals.
c) Animals from other identified Sport Horse Registries which are identified as unacceptable may appear as no more than _ (i.e. 2nd generation ancestor) of any parental stock animals. [List to be developed e.g. Irish Sport Horse]
For purposes on ensuring development of the sport horse towards a distinct end-point, it is especially important to clarify and ensure genetic and physical differences between the sport pony and the "refinement breeds".
Draft Physical Characteristics (Breed Standards):
General Characteristics
A pony of "sport" body type; free of "draught" or "stock" body types.
A pony which has natural ability to walk, trot and canter.
Withers must be level with or higher than the croup.
Pillar of support should emerge in front of the withers on the top and bisecting the rear quarter of the hoof.
Specific Characteristics
Ponies must be free of excessive leg feathering. Feathering must be confined only to the rear of the fetlock and may be no more than 5 cm long.
Femur should not be the shortest stride of the rear triangle (=from point of hip, to point of buttock, to stifle)
Must be no more than 14.3hh, measured at the withers. If over 14.3hh at the withers, the pony may be conditionally accepted as breeding stock (PO) from either side.
No pony shall have a lumbo-sacral position variance, in respect of a line drawn from the point of hip on either side, of more than 6 cm.