Welcome to the Irish Kerry Bog Pony Society

The Irish Kerry Bog Pony Society was formed by a group of long term experienced Kerry Bog pony breeders including Arlene Aston, the Society's Secretary who was formerly the Secretary of the Kerry Bog Pony Society Of Ireland. Other members of the committee have owned and bred Kerry Bog Ponies for over 10 years, since 1996.

The aim of the society is to maintain the purity of the Kerry Bog Pony and therefore the Society's Register is a 'closed' Stud Book. Therefore ponies eligible for registration must be, on maternal and paternal sides of the ponies pedigree, a direct descendent of the original foundation stock. The foundation stock were already approved on type and accepted as Kerry Bog Ponies by John Mulvihill who re-discovered the Kerry Bog Pony breed. Their DNA was stored and recorded by Weatherbys, Ireland and the ponies are recognized as a breed, not a type.

The sole criteria for registering a pony in the IKBPS and the IKBPS Stud Book is that they successfully parentage test to the original foundation stock list. Therefore no inspections are necessary and no colour or height discrimination is possible as a Kerry Bog pony that passes a parentage DNA test cannot be denied its rightful place in the IKBPS Stud Book as no pure Kerry Bog Pony can be denied its true heritage. As no pony on the official foundation stock list exceed 12hh / 12.2hh and many are 10hh to 11hh therefore there is little chance that the height range of any pure bred Kerry Bog Pony will be outside of the height range of approx 10.2hh to 12.2hh. Therefore it would be impossible to insist on a upper or lower height limit, because once again, a purebred Kerry Bog Pony that meets the societies criteria by DNA testing to the original OFFICIAL foundation stock list, will not be denied it's true heritage.

As all the ponies accepted for registration in the IKBPS will therefore have been proven, by DNA parentage to be purebred Irish Kerry Bog ponies, no pony can be denied registration on the grounds of colour. This would be considered discriminatory and the policy of the IKBPS is to strictly adhere to the main overall rule that all ponies must be direct descendants of the foundation stock list, regardless of their height or colour.

A Stallion licensing scheme is to be introduced for stallions aged 3 years and over where a qualified vet will be required to complete the Society's official stallion licensing form verifying that the pony is free from any deformities, abnormalities or genetic disorders and is of sound conformation, therefore suitable to breed.