The Fell Pony shares a close relation and resemblance to the Dales Pony, but it has changed, particularly in the past 100 years after Clydesdale blood was introduced into the Dales and it gained four inches in height and a more draft look. Originally, the Fells Ponies come from the north of England, but today they can be found on the west side of the Pennines.
The Fell Pony actually gets its name from the Norse word that means "hills."
The Fell is thought to be a descendant of the Celtic Pony from a foreign stock, which was imported during the times of the Romans. They were actually very commonly employed as draft ponies for the Romans taking part in building the Roman walls; they were also very favored in Northern England. Aside from the Exmoor, the Fell Pony is considered one of the last remaining purebred ponies native to Britain.
The Fell was often considered the "jack of all trades." They were mostly known for being great pack ponies; they carried goods of all kinds and sizes over various terrains and distances. In particular, they transported quantities of wool to the merchants in the Lake District and carried lead from mines to the coastal smelting works.
The Fell Pony's numbers began to fall during the first half of the 20th century, but concern from such figures as the Queen of England changed that as well as the mass development of riding schools. Towards the end of the 20th century, the count of the Fell Pony was up around 6,000 around the world, so they aren't in any particular danger. A majority of the breed can be found in Britain; but they are also found Germany, Holland, France, and the United States.
The Fell Pony had many uses in many different cultures, some of which have already been mentioned; the Vikings also used them quite frequently and for a few different jobs like pulling sleighs and plowing. They were used for shepherding by the Normans. In the 13th century, they were widely being used in the wool trade in Belgium.
When the use of the Fell Pony and other ponies became less common thing, many of them just up and disappeared, many of them were unknowingly sold to be slaughtered both near and abroad.
Unlike the ponies of the times before the Romans, the Fell Pony was large enough for a man to die and could perform a number of different tasks at the same time, many of these jobs which had to be done by two or three different special animals previously. The Fell Pony also tends to have what some people believe to be a sixth sense. The breed often becomes alert to the possibility of danger. In circumstances where the horse is used for mountain transport, the breed can actually gauge the safer way to negotiate the trail. It is possible to ride the Fell Pony through such areas that others can't pass, and the horse can tell when a track is safe through soft muddy or mushy ground or even what the safest decent of a rocky hillside.
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