The American Walking Pony is a relatively new breed, which was developed mainly for the use as a show horse in gaited competitions. Although it has three unique gaits, it is able to compete in seven. Due to its Welsh Pony

Welsh Pony

The Welsh Pony and Cob are closely related horse breeds including both pony and cob types, which originated in Wales in the United Kingdom...

 heritage, the pony also makes an excellent light hunter.

History

The American Walking Pony is a cross between the Tennessee Walking Horse and the Welsh Pony. The registry for the American Walking Pony was first established in 1968. It regulates the breed by only allowing horses that have been registered with both the Walking Horse and the Welsh Pony (or a cross between the two). The first stallion to be registered in the American Walking Pony Registry was BT Golden Splendor and the first mare was Browntree's Flicka.

Breed Characteristics

Standing up to 14 hands high at the withers, the American Walking pony is a relatively large pony-type. It has a clean, smallish head on a well arched and muscled neck. The shoulder is slightly sloped, the hips are well muscled and the back is relatively short. It can be most colours.

The American Walking Pony is capable of performing up multiple gaits

Horse gait

Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...

, including the walk, pleasure walk, merry walk

Ambling

The term amble or ambling is used to describe a number of four-beat intermediate gaits of horses. All are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter or gallop...

, trot

Trot (horse gait)

The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....

, canter

Canter

The canter is a controlled, three-beat gait performed by a horse. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot but slower than the gallop, and is used by all riders. The speed of the canter varies between 16-27 km/h , depending on the length of the stride of the horse...

, slow gait and the rack

Ambling

The term amble or ambling is used to describe a number of four-beat intermediate gaits of horses. All are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter or gallop...

. The pleasure walk and merry walk are unique to the breed. Both the Pleasure walk and the Merry walk are four-time beat gaits

Ambling

The term amble or ambling is used to describe a number of four-beat intermediate gaits of horses. All are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter or gallop...

that are faster than a regular walk, and are described as being very light and free. The Merry Walk is the faster of the two.