The Dulmen Pony is the only pony breed that is considered native to Germany. There was originally another native pony breed, the Teutoburg Forest Pony (Senner), but it is now extinct.
The Dulmen Pony has been found in the Meerfelder Bruch area of Germany where ponies have been documented and domesticated since the early 1300s. Historically the herd was much larger, but currently about 100 mares and four to five stallions per year are left to graze on the reserve.
These ponies literally lived in wild herds all across the area now known as Westphalia until the 19th century. At this time the land was all divided into parcels, and the wild ponies lost their ability to graze and move about. The Dukes of Croy established a grazing reserve of approximately 860 acres where the last surviving wild herd still grazes and lives. Other ponies were captured and domesticate at this time and continue to influence the working pony type of Germany to this day.
The Dulmen Pony is rather primitive in appearance even to this day. Some other horse and ponies have been introduced into the herd and this has led to a higher variety of colors and sizes within the herd. Most of the true Dulmen Ponies are still caught from the one remaining wild herd. The most common color is the dun coloration with the semi-erect mane and shorter neck also seen in the more primitive pony types.
The last Saturday of May is the traditional date for the round up of the Dulmen Ponies. At this time all colts are taken out of the herd and sold, then the mares and fillies are returned to the Meerfelder Bruch reserve to breed and live for another year.
The wild or semi-feral Dulmen Ponies are provided no human support on the reserve. They are naturally disease resistant to common health problems, however only the strongest and healthiest will live to reproduce, thereby keeping the genetic base strong for the breed.
Surprisingly the Dulmen Pony is very calm, well behaved and adapts easily to domestication. They are small enough to make ideal children's ponies and are known to be affectionate and loving towards their owners.
The Dulmen Pony can also be used as a light pack pony and they are strong for their size. Despite their smaller hindquarters they have a tremendous amount of pulling power and have historically been used as both driving ponies as well as for light agricultural work.
The Dulmen Pony resembles the New Forest Pony of England and has been used in the development of the Hanoverian horse breed at the very early stages of the breeding programs.
British and Polish pony stallions have been used throughout the years to prevent inbreeding within the Dulmen Pony herd. There is less emphasis placed on retaining any specific lineage but rather in considering the qualities of the individual pony stallions and how they will impact on the next crop of foals.
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