The Hanoverian began as a royal stud’s answer to a practical problem: what does a farming country need under saddle and in harness? Here is how a carriage and cavalry horse became one of the great sport horses, and what that means in the UK and the US.

The Haflinger began as a small, strong farm horse on the steep slopes of the Tyrol, and one stallion born in 1874 sits behind every registered horse today. Here is where the breed came from, the work that made it, and where it stands now in the UK and the US.

The Hackney was bred to trot a carriage fast over long roads, and its famous action grew out of that job. Here is where the breed came from, how it nearly vanished, and why it is still in the ring today.

The Friesian is a black horse from the wet, flat north of the Netherlands, and its story runs from armoured knights to carriage lanes to the edge of disappearing. Here is how the work it did shaped the horse we draw today.

The Fjord is a small, dun, unmistakable horse from western Norway, bred for work on steep farmland. Here is what we can say about where it came from, and where we would rather say nothing at all.

The Fell Pony is a small, hardy native of the north-west of England, shaped by centuries of carrying, herding and trotting over high ground. Here is where it came from, what its work made of it, and how it came through the twentieth century.

The Exmoor pony is one of Britain’s oldest native breeds, shaped by weather, poor grazing and hard work on a west-country moor. Here is where it came from, how close it came to disappearing, and why it still matters.

The Eriskay pony is a small, tough island pony from the Outer Hebrides, once found on every croft and now among Britain’s rarest breeds. This is where it came from, the work that shaped it and how it was pulled back from the brink.

The Dartmoor pony is a small, hardy animal shaped by wet granite, bad weather and centuries of moorland work. Here is how it came to be what it is, and why its story is still being written.

The Dales Pony was bred in the Pennine dales to carry lead, pull carts and work the hill farms. Here is how that work made its build and its temperament, and how the breed came close to disappearing.