Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center
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 Villi Poni Farm Newfoundland Pony Sanctuary has received an anonymous grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The grant of $1200.00 dollars was given for the general operation of the Sanctuary and comes just in time for hay cutting season. This is the second time we have received this grant since 2017 and we are humbly grateful for this recognition of our efforts.
Villi Poni Farm works to keep the critically endangered Newfoundland Pony from extinction. We do this by opening our doors to the public to introduce these incredible ponies and to educate people about conservation breeding. We also seek to find conservation minded folks who are interested in fostering or adopting a pony, learning, and participating in responsibly increasing the breed’s numbers. We believe that the Newfoundland Pony's traditional draft use should be preserved and promoted. They were used for plowing, hauling wood or fish nets, pulling wagons and carts and for four legged transportation. Ponies also worked fearlessly alongside men in the iron mines. Faithful and hard-working, ponies perished in mining accidents as well. Today our ponies also work alongside people in Equine Assisted Learning programs that we have available for children, challenged adults, and businesses who wish to enhance teamwork and communication skills for their employees. We also offer a women’s empowerment program and a program for Veterans and their families. We currently have Equine Assisted Learning programs running for local summer camps. We have partnered with the Jaffrey Conservation Commission to promote conservation of endangered species amongst plants, animals, and the conserving of open space. The story of the Newfoundland Pony embodies the importance of all. On Memorial Day weekend of this year we held the first annual open barn Heritage Conservation Day in conjunction with the Conservation Commission. This included a variety of informative displays, other rare breed animals and of course the Newfoundland Ponies. In 2013 when we started as a not for profit organization there were approximately 20 Newfoundland Ponies in the United States. Now through the efforts of our Executive Director, Board of Directors and many unpaid volunteers of various ages, those numbers have doubled and hopefully will continue to grow. We are now working with other groups outside of the horse world to bring these wonderful ponies and their lessons for today to the public. Thanks to grants like this we are able to continue with our efforts. Thank you so very much!
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 There are so many challenges with rare and endangered breeds, the effort can be very confusing. One especially difficult challenge is deciphering what is good advice from what is incorrect advice.
This is a list of statements and advice you may hear from a variety of resources, presented here in a True or False format. We hope this helps with navigating the winding road ahead, bringing the past into the future. Breed as many Newfoundland ponies as possible and sell them to anyone and everyone. We need to get those numbers up and fast. True or False? FALSE History has shown that doing just that has NOT helped this breed. There were approximately 400 ponies twenty years ago and that number is about the same today. Just breeding and selling and breeding and selling does not work - we know this first hand, having been involved in rescuing and rehoming of many Newfoundland ponies. Though the incidence is much less the last couple of years, ponies still end up on the meat truck. Ponies still end up being sent to auction. Pony breeds in general have a tendency to be passed from home to home when children outgrow them or owners lose interest or move on. More often than not, ponies are passed on simply as just ponies; their personal history, their registration status as a Newfoundland Pony isn't passed on with them. Ponies then become lost to the cause of saving this breed. Stallions often get gelded without ever having offspring. Registered Mares are often not bred or instead are used for cross-breeding which does nothing to save the breed. And offspring of registered parents don't always get registered. In that instance, when 2 registrable but unregistered parents have registrable foals, those foals will not match the DNA database because their parents are not in there. These are what end up being "mystery ponies". Solution: Ponies need to go into a home that understands the challenges of rare breeds. Registrable Ponies need to be registered and kept within a network of responsible owners and breeders. Life happens, situations change - breeders and other owners need to keep being there for ponies in need. Add similar breeds to the gene pool to grow the numbers quickly. As long as they look similar, it's OK. True or False? FALSE No, it is far from OK. Looks are not what the pony is about. When you add the genetics of modern breeds to a rare breed you risk adding a lethal gene which with low numbers a rare breed may never recover from. And once you add other genetics, that breed is no longer the same breed. History has also shown what happens when you add other genetics with one rare breed whose numbers were like the Newfoundland Pony's. The push was to get more of those equines, more quickly. Breeders were advised to add a breed with a similar color. What else did they add? A lethal gene. Their numbers are even lower now. What do most people love about the Newfoundland Pony? Their sane, sweet, friendly temperament and their personalities. Unfortunately that disposition is often the first thing lost when outside genetics are added. If someone owed you $100 but paid you $80 in cash and $20 in Monopoly money, did you get your $100? No. Lets say that person again owes and gives you another $100. Did you get $200 total? No, you got $180 and $20 Monopoly money. That monopoly money does not go away no matter how much cash you get. That is the same as genetics of outside breeds - they never go away, they are always there. Don't breed but use them as "ambassadors" for the breed. Surely someone else is doing the breeding. True or False? FALSE Fact is not everyone wants to breed. That is totally understandable. Another fact is every pony's lines/genetics need to be carried forward for the future of the breed. We need them all. Ambassadors are great but having a breed with mostly Ambassadors, ie not breeding, is not. Ponies can be Ambassadors and still be bred. Stallions can be gelded after putting a few foals on the ground. Newfoundland Stallions are also docile as compared to other breeds. Because of their surprisingly sweet temperament, Newfoundland Stallions do not necessarily have to be gelded. With low numbers we do not cull. We do not select out for one trait or another. We also don't have the option of not breeding, but we need to breed responsibly. Each pony at the very least should have a foal to replace itself and another to add to the overall herd numbers. Breeders and owners need to ensure that every pony goes to a home whose owners will also be a Newfoundland Pony team player. Our ponies go to carefully selected homes, who we teach about the breed and about conservation practices. We stay close with everyone and are there for them when life happens, things change. Our ponies always have a place to come back to, always have a safety net. Treat them like the finest china, pampered. Breeding them is too risky! True or False? FALSE The Newfoundland Pony was the common person's pony. Tough, hardy, thrifty, and adaptable - why would we want to change any of that? That is what makes this pony so special. They do not need to be pampered. Pampering in fact inhibits these qualities. We must be humane of course but stalling, blanketing, clipping, cutting off manes and whiskers is going against all that these ponies are, and can over time change the breed. Strive to make them fit today's breed standards, make them more uniform in appearance and to fit the market trends. True or False? FALSE This is the purposeful changing of animals to meet human needs. This defies the very reason why we want to save a rare breed. The world is full of bred to the market animals, most of them now a fraction of what they used to be. Changing vs preserving is simply the worst thing to do to a rare breed, hands down. We have heard horse people say they have less than perfect conformation. As compared to what? The Newfoundland Pony's conformation is what nature made and created for a reason, suitability to their environment. Newfoundland Ponies have no issues and nature made sure of that. Their conformation is the original, the real deal, the precursor to what people consider conformation today. They are truly gems. Don't like how the pony looks? Solution is simple - find another breed. Breed and promote them for a specific purpose, such as the show ring, making them conform to show standards to look like the other competitors. True or False? FALSE Five simple words apply here: Blue Ribbons Don't Save Breeds. This falls under breeding for the market, the show market. While it is ok to show, it is not ok to turn the Newfoundland pony into yet another show pony. Again, look at history. Look at "improvements' made to breeds for a certain show market. Some bred for height, longer legs, and forward personalities. That's not a Newfoundland Pony. Many of those breeds bred for a specific purpose are nothing like they used to be, in a negative sense; some have serious health and temperament issues. Less that 30% of horse owners show. Apparently 70% don't want or need show ponies. We need to keep the pony well-rounded, to keep all of it's abilities as they are. This is truly a capable pony, as is, and that is what we need to preserve. Breed for color. True or False? FALSE With 400 ponies on this earth, to select out for any one trait is unhealthy for the overall breed. Color is not aimed for in preservation practices for critically endangered breeds. Historically, breeding for color in other breeds has weakened their gene pools. The same can happen here. Use breed profiling methods to determine what is or is not a Newfoundland Pony. True or False? FALSE Genetic researchers have as recently as this year stated that breed profiling is so inaccurate that they will not assign a percentage of accuracy to it. There may be times on a case by case basis to use it as a stand alone test to rule out an animal but not to confirm purity. Because of its inaccuracy, using breed profiling will put the entire breed at risk of introducing non-Newfoundland traits and/or genetic maladies to the breed. DNA parentage testing is accurate and the perfect tool to verify pedigree, lineage. Allow ponies that are 7/8 Newfoundland to be registered as Purebred. True or False? FALSE This refers back to the Monopoly money analogy. You are again introducing other breeds to the gene pool. Looks are not what truly makes a breed such as the Newfoundland Pony. Its the combination of the inner and out traits that took centuries to become the Newfoundland pony. Breeding Newfoundland Ponies to ponies from their ancestral/foundation breeds is also very risky. Why? Many of the Newfoundland's ancestral breeds have been greatly "improved", changed over time and those breeds are not the same as what originally made up the Newfoundland Pony. Reintroducing the altered genes of their modern day foundation breeds will in turn alter the Newfoundland Pony breed as we know it today. Start different registries than the original "mother registry". That way you can get your pony registered if it doesn't fit the original foundation registry's requirements. True or False? FALSE This is the downfall of many a breed. It is important to work together, to use the same gene pool and mission in order to preserve a breed. Adding more registries fragments the breed, and may confuse and confound conservation efforts. With so few numbers, the changes these other registries may make to the breed by changing registration process and requirements (like allowing a pony that is 7/8 Newfoundland Pony in as a purebred, will change the overall herd's gene pool and essentially lower the numbers of true heritage ponies. Some people get pretty upset when their pony is rejected from the purebred registry since it doesn't match both parents to the official database. That can be the impetus for forming a new registry, to allow those ponies in. But ask yourself, what is more important - that your individual pony get registered or that you don't risk the breeds entire gene pool and preserve what we already have? If you wish to help the breed, you need to help it stay the same. True or False? TRUE. That is conservation. That is preservation. That is how you save an endangered breed.
Check out our fabulous prizes courtesy of Old Sturbridge Village, Davis Farmland, and Plimoth Plantation. Click on the links for each prize raffle and learn more! Drawing is 6/15, just in time for Father's Day!
Join us for our Annual Open Barn Day, 5/26/18 from 11 to 3! Spend time with our Newfoundland Ponies, and other heritage breeds such as critically endangered (and adorable) Kerry Heifers, and Ancona Ducks.
You'll see things such as a Native American "Three Sister's Garden" courtesy of the Jaffrey Conservation Commission and a Newfoundland Pony showing off its traditional use. Meet Loretta, beekeeper, and learn why bees are SO important for all. You can even try on a beekeepers suit! We'll have information on endangered wildlife species as well. It's also our Newfoundland colt Lucky Ace's 2nd birthday celebration, but shhhhh, it's a surprise party! What does he want for his birthday? Who knows! We have some terrific Raffle items like tickets to Davis Farmland and also for their Megafarm Festival, a family membership to Old Sturbridge Village, tickets to Plimouth Plantation. All are great family things to do this summer and fall! Funding for public open hours is provided by visitor donations. There is no charge to visit the farm. We only ask that visitors give as generously as they can so that we may continue to be open to the public. Thank you! Questions? Email us at [email protected] PS - while we LOVE dogs, our guard donkeys do not. Please leave pooches home. Cant make the event but want to enter our raffle? Well here you go! $1 a ticket. |
Hello, and welcome to our blog covering great things going on here at the Farm! We also share news & information on the breed and our ponies. Archives
July 2025
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