Horses : Timor Pony

Country of Origin

Timor Island

Australian Status 

International Status

Popular in its home country but outside blood is common and are not as pure as the ones still in Australia.

Uses

Racing, riding, packing, pony club.

Breed Traits

Small, light, strong pony. 11-13 hh. All solid colours and tobiano. Most have a developed under neck, perhaps from centuries of being ridden one handed. Although lightly built they are very strong and hardy. Willing, speedy, exceptionally good natures.

History

The ponies have been on Timor for centuries but it's uncertain how long. It's possible some evolved in the greater area (Indonesia) as Sulawesi has old cave paintings of horses being ridden, thus far the oldest such in the world. Ponies were traded along the Tea Horse Road from the 6th century. The Tea Horse Road ran through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, the Mekong River being part of the route. Ponies went across the straits to the Indonesian islands. They were a commodity, traded for tea, gold, silver, gems, sandalwood, silk, cotton, and spices etc. Like Sandalwood Island (Sumba) Timor's lush pastures became a big breeding ground. Timor ponies were shipped for centuries to other Indonesian islands, being a major trading commodity for Timor; Chinese and Arabs came to Timor for them too. On Timor they were used for racing, transport, and packing.

An Indonesian invasion by Kublai Khan in the eleventh century failed, and thousands of ponies of Chinese and Mongolian descent of the Yuan dynasty, were left behind on Java which may have had an influence on genes. For centuries Indonesian trade with China, and India after the monsoons, brought ponies in and out. Hinduism appeared about 5,000 years ago in Timor, showing the link to India. From the sixth century are recorded gifts of ponies from the Emperor of China to the Kings of Java. Greater horse traders than even the Arabs, the Portuguese, who traded on friendly terms with Arab countries for many centuries, took over Timor for some 400 years. They too took Timor Ponies far afield as a trade commodity. India plus Asia = Indonesia - thus the ponies went to and fro. Fashions of pretty colours caused ponies to be sent as gifts and expensive cargo.

The heavenly horse, "horses that sweat blood," came into fashion so China invaded the Ferghana Valley (Dayuan) to get some about 100 BC. This colour was seen not long after in Indonesia, showing the trade and tribute system was firmly in place. Iridescent coats came in, the sheen on some Timor ponies may stem from those times. Racing was one traditional use of the ponies, and recorded in old Chinese and Hindu records of the islands. As it was also huge in China, one can see an obvious market. Timor ponies were regularly traded about the islands and Thailand in the centuries before European colonisation of parts of Asia.

On Timor itself, there is no studbook or record keeping and the pony numbers are dropping. An iconic breed that needs protecting - it is diminishing fast.

History in Australia

After Australia was colonised many shiploads came here to help develop our country, many arriving even before 1800. The Timor Pony won many hearts, becoming part of the fabric of Australia, with countless accounts of them used both in remote areas and in towns. Pony racing was very popular here until the 1940s and many were used to cross with Thoroughbreds and Welsh ponies to produce a good racing pony and polo pony. Timor genes became part of Australian horse genes, contributing to the Waler and the Australian Pony.

Some taken to the Cobourg Peninsula were left there when an early settlement - Victoria Settlement, 1838-1849 - was abandoned at Port Essington. They formed a small wild population, from which the current handful have been taken, initially saved by Reg Wilson of Darwin. The Australian Pony Stud Book agreed to become a cover body for the register, started by Richard Crispin. The small wild population in Australia remains in danger as Parks frequently shoot them from helicopters. It is hoped either more can be taken off to form an Australian studbook, or a small wild population be protected, managed for population by mustering and selling excess, as other wild pony populations are managed about the globe. These events are very popular, the ponies find homes rather than go for meat, as determined by price.

Breed Organisation

Australian Pony Stud Book

Timor Pony | Facebook for pictures, history, discussion on the breed

Australian Population

2019:  2 stallions 2 mares.  Three stallions and four mares including the two mares at Crocodylus Park, Berrimah, NT.
2022:  2 stallions, 2 mares (estimate). Hopefully 4 mares if the Crocodylus Park ones are still there, and three stallions if the Qld one is still alive. 
2025:  2 breeding aged mares

Photo Credits

Richard Crispin and his Timor Pony stallion, National Museum of Australia.

Page by Janet Lane

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