TOUR OF THE MUSEUM Part 3 The Pit Pony

An Act of Parliment in 1840's made it illeagel for women and children to work down the mines which, while it was good news for them, ment that mine owners now had to rely on small ponies to work underground.
Welsh Mountain, Fell, Dartmoor and Shetland ponies were all used to do this hard and dirty work, which at one time employed over 70,000 ponies.
They were from all reports well looked after by the miners and had special bridles made by the saddler to protect their faces especially the eyes. There were several different designs and the one shown here on our miniature Shetland pony, Rambo, has producing pieces of leather for added protection and is on display in the Museum.
In February 1994 the last of British Coal's ponies came up from Northumberland's Ellington Colliery where they had worked six miles under the North Sea so ending a long tradition stretching back to the 17th century.