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| Conservation status |
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| Other names | Deutsches Classic Pony[3] |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Distribution | Germany |
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The German Classic PonyorGerman: Deutsches Classic Pony is a modern German breedofriding pony. It derives from the traditional Shetland Pony of the Scottish Shetland Isles, but is principally influenced by the taller and more elegant American Shetland Pony.[5]
From about 1965 breeders in Germany began to selectively breed the traditional Shetland Pony with the taller and more athletic American Shetland Pony, with the aim of creating a more elegant pony better suited to use for riding and driving.[5] The 1961 American champion stallion Jiggs was imported, together with several mares. In the 1990s the Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society declined to register any pony with American bloodlines; the name 'Deutsche Shetland Partbred' was proposed for these ponies, but some breeders did not accept it. They formed their own breed society, and the Deutsches Classic-Pony was officially recognised as a German breed in 2001.[4]: 176 [6]
In 2007 the conservation status of the breed was listed by the FAO as 'endangered'.[1]: 49 In 2017 there were 58 stallions and 337 breeding mares, and the conservation status was listed by the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung [de] as 'not endangered'.[7] In 2024 it was listed in DAD-IS as 'at risk/critical'.[2]
While all coat colours are acceptable, the traditional German colours fuchs (flaxen chestnut) and dunkelfuchs (burnt chestnut with flaxen or silver mane) are among the most common.[5]
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These are the horse breeds considered to be wholly or partly of German origin. | |
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