The original home of the Welsh Mountain Pony was in the hills and valleys of Wales. They were there before the Romans. There lot was not an easy one...winters where severe and vegetation was sparse. Shelter, most often was an isolated valley or a clump of bare trees.
Yet the Welsh Pony managed not only to survive, but to flourish. Led by proud stallions, bands of mares and their foals roamed in a semi-wild state climbing mountains, leaping ravines, running over rough terrain. Hence, the development of a pony with a remarkable soundness of body, tremendous endurance and a high degree of native intelligence. Down through the years, the Welsh Pony and Cob has served many masters.
On the upland farms of Wales, Welsh Cobs would often have to do everything from ploughing a field to carrying a farmer to market or driving a family to church on Sunday. Welsh ponies have been pampered by royalty and served on the farms of the poor. That the Welsh pony carries a trace of Arabian blood seems beyond a doubt. However, he has maintained his own dominant physical characteristics over the years.
It has been demonstrated that Welsh crosses well with many other breeds, and this is, to breeders, an important aspect of his unusual versatility.