Polo pony

Polo Pony

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Polo pony

A polo pony is a type of horse used in the game of polo

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score Goal s against an opposing team. Riders score by driving a small white plastic or wooden Ball game into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet....
.

nding on the period and location, the height of polo ponies has varied from about 13 hands in the sixteenth century to 16 hands and over. Today, most polo ponies stand around 15.1 hands high, although it is not unusual to see a horse over 16 hh.

Although they are called a "pony", that is in reference to their type, rather than their size.

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A polo pony is a type of horse used in the game of polo

Polo

Size

Depending on the period and location, the height of polo ponies has varied from about 13 hands in the sixteenth century to 16 hands and over. Today, most polo ponies stand around 15.1 hands high, although it is not unusual to see a horse over 16 hh.

Although they are called a "pony", that is in reference to their type, rather than their size. True pony breeds typically stand a maximum of 14.2 hands high.

Breed

Variations in breeds used, include mountain ponies from the Himalayas

Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow" ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau....
, Manipur ponies from Assam

Assam

Assam ) is a North-East India state of India with its capital at Dispur, in the outskirts of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak River river valleys and the Karbi Anglong District and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles ....
, Arabians and the ever popular Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds best known for its use in Thoroughbred horse race. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed....
and its crosses. In the United States, Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds best known for its use in Thoroughbred horse race. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed....
s and Quarter Horses are often crossed to make polo ponies, while in recent years crosses of Thoroughbreds and Criollo horses from Argentina have become popular. In Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Australian Stock Horse

Australian Stock Horse

The Australian Stock Horse , has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy list of horse breeds of horse noted for endurance, agility and a good temperament....
s are the commonest breed to be used in polo.

During the early 20th Century in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
a polo breed association was formed, complete with a stud book. The principal foundation sires were Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

Preparation

Polo ponies need to be almost fearless, and not afraid to bump into other horses, and they can't shy at mallets swinging near their heads. They need to be quick and agile so they can turn and follow the ball through its many changing movements.

Polo ponies have their mane

Mane (horse)

The mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop....
s hogged

Hogging

Hogging refers to the practice of groups of men who target overweight or obese women, typically for sexual encounters.Unlike fat fetishism, men who participate in hogging are not necessarily sexually attracted to obese women's bodies; they aim to take advantage of a female's stereotype low self esteem or to provide comedy to themselves and...
before a match and their tails are plaited up. This is done so that the polo mallet will not get tangled. Formerly, their tails would be docked

Docking (animal)

Docking is used as a term for the intentional removal of part of an animal's tail or ears. The term cropping is also used, more commonly in reference to the docking of ears, while docking more commonly—but not exclusively—refers to the tail....
and banged

Horse grooming

Horse grooming is hygienic horse care given to a horse, or a process by which the horse's physical appearance is enhanced for horse shows or other types of competition....
. Today, polo ponies in competition often have their dock trimmed or shaved, and the skirt of the tail is braided and folded up against the tailbone. The braid is tied off with a lock of hair excluded from the braid, or taped, or both tied off and taped.

There are several different quarters in a game and so each rider has one or two horses per quarter, called chukkas. There are usually 4-6 chukkas per match, each lasting 7 minutes.