About Australian Highland Ponies

The Breeding up or Foundation section of Highland Ponies in Australia

This document provides an explanation of the rules & processes that support the breeding up of Highland Ponies in Australia and the difference between a purebred Highland pony & an Australian Highland pony.

A Highland pony is a purebred Highland Pony who's parentage traces directly to the Highland Pony Society Stud Book in Scotland. These ponies are registered in Section 1 in the APSB. (Australian Pony Stud Book Society)

An Australian Highland Pony is the resultant progeny of a pony that has been bred using the breeding up program in Australia. Hence it's pedigree does not trace directly to the Scottish stud Book. Somewhere in it's lineage will be a pony of unknown breeding or another breed. So we call these Australian Highland Ponies. They are registered in section 2 in the APSB.

A breeding up program was introduced due to the very small numbers of Highland ponies in Australia and the very limited gene pool. As only 2 stallions were originally imported to Australia and 4 mares, it was necessary to introduce this program to ensure the survival of the breed in Australia.

The breeding up program works as follows:

An Appendix Highland mare is the bottom of the ladder so to speak. This pony is the female progeny of a Purebred Highland Stallion or Mare by or out of a pony (of pony type) registered in a stud book. If you get a male foal as a result of this cross then it must be gelded and registered as a part bred within the APSB.

You then take your Appendix mare and join her to a purebred stallion. The female progeny is then classed as Foundation stock (FS).

You then take your FS mare and join her to a purebred stallion. The female progeny is then classed as Foundation stock 1 (FS1).

You then take your FS1 mare and join her to a purebred stallion. The female progeny is then classed as Foundation stock 2(FS2).

Finally you take your FS2 mare and join her to a purebred stallion. The female progeny is then classed as Australian Highland Pony (AHL).

If you have colts during any of these stages they MUST be gelded and the geldings are recorded in the stud book as geldings with the suffix AHL.

As you can see it is a very long process to get to AHL for females and will take many years of breeding. But the idea is by the time you get to 5 generations of continually joining to purebred stock the pony is essentially pure and has the full characteristics of a purebred pony.

Pictured below is Harkaway Lodge Eve an FS Highland filly 2yrs. She is out of an Appendix Highland mare who is by a Haflinger stallion by a purebred Highland stallion

Pictured below Australian Highland Pony Mare class at the HPS Championship show in December 2004

Pictured below Haven Gabby an Appendix Highland pony mare. She is out of a purebred Highland pony mare Taranganba Donia by a Haflinger stallion. There must be another 4 generations of females that stem from this mare before the pony becomes an Australian Highland Pony

Pictured below is Benacre Millbuie a FS2 Highland Pony Mare. When this mare breeds, her female progeny will be Australian Highland Ponies: