Pony of the Americas weight and height, with the leopard complex night vision test

The Minnesota ponies are not all POAs. They are shown because their average height matches the middle of the POA range.

A pony made to fit a child’s next size

Oklahoma State says the breed began in 1954 to give young riders who were too big for a small pony, and not ready for a full-size horse, a pony with good looks, speed and stamina. It names the foundation stallion Black Hand, sired by a Shetland out of an Appaloosa mare. The club’s history says the first standard allowed 44 to 52 inches and that the limit has since risen, so older ponies may be smaller than the current range.

Daily hay for a 722 pound Pony of the Americas

Replace the estimate with your own pony’s weight and the amounts scale with it. Merck gives 2 to 2.5% of body weight in dry matter as the usual daily maximum, with at least 1.5 to 2% from forage, and lists most ponies among the easy keepers. These figures are our arithmetic, counting hay as 90% dry matter.

• 1.5% of body weight: 11 lb (5 kg) of dry matter, about 12 lb (5 kg) of hay
• 2% of body weight: 14 lb (7 kg) of dry matter, about 16 lb (7 kg) of hay
• 2.5% of body weight: 18 lb (8 kg) of dry matter, about 20 lb (9 kg) of hay

A weight tape example for a Pony of the Americas

The horse weight calculator uses the adult equation in the Merck Veterinary Manual: heart girth squared times body length, in inches, divided by 330. With a heart girth of 65 inches and a body length of 54 inches gives 65 x 65 = 4,225, times 54 = 228,150, divided by 330 = about 691 lb (314 kg). Those measurements are our illustration, not a real pony.

Merck says weight tapes can be used on ponies and horses, tend to underestimate, and are most useful for tracking change.

The leopard pattern and night vision

The Pony of the Americas Club says a POA needs an approved coat pattern, and the University of Kentucky adds mottled skin, visible white sclera and striped hooves. UC Davis says horses with two copies of the leopard complex variant have congenital stationary night blindness, the inability to see in low light, and its laboratory lists the Pony of the Americas among the breeds that can be tested.

The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory adds that horses with two copies are at elevated risk of equine recurrent uveitis, the leading cause of blindness in horses. Ponies with one copy see normally but pass the pattern on. There is no cure for night blindness, and affected horses are managed under low light, so talk to your vet about testing and about any eye changes.

Laminitis in ponies

UC Davis reports that ponies make up more laminitis cases than other groups, and Merck says equine metabolic syndrome is most common in ponies. Merck links pasture-associated laminitis to large amounts of nonstructural carbohydrate in grass. A POA that gains easily is a reason to limit grazing time with your vet’s advice.

Body condition

Merck advises a score of 4 to 6 on the 9 point Henneke scale. The University of Minnesota found that ponies averaged 6.0 and that 14% of stock horses, ponies and Arabians scored 7 or more. Log the score with each weight.