Breeds · breed profile
Landais pony
The Landais pony, from south-western France’s wet grasslands
The Landais is a French pony breed with a small population, associated particularly with the Adour floodplain. It is bred for pony clubs, leisure riding and driving. Its studbook traces each foal’s parents. To conserve the breed, breeders seek to produce ponies from several families rather than concentrating breeding on just a few animals.
- Category
- Pony
- Country or region of origin
- France
Landais ponies in harness at the 2010 Paris agricultural show.
The Landais pony: From Landes habitats to an organised studbook
The Landais pony: the particular importance of the Adour floodplain
The Landais pony breeding programme distinguishes coastal heathland ponies from the population retained in the Barthes, the flood meadows beside the Adour and its tributaries. Drainage, forestry and changing land use altered their habitats. The Landais studbook was established on 15 November 1971 and is the original studbook of the modern breed. The present population should be understood within that documented breeding history.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1]
The Landais pony: a balanced riding pony
The Landais pony: an adult height of 1.15–1.48 m
Association nationale du poney Landais describes the desired traits of the Landais pony in its breeding programme. This document guides the choice of breeding animals. The Landais pony breed standard gives a height of 1.15–1.48 m, measured without shoes at the adult age of six. The head is refined with a broad forehead and expressive eyes; the neck is long and well set. A sloping shoulder, supportive back and powerful hindquarters accompany clean, correctly aligned limbs. Conformation and movement are considered together to maintain a functional pony.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1]
The Landais pony: Bay, chestnut or black
The Landais pony: White markings are allowed in moderation
The March 2023 programme accepts only bay, chestnut, black and their shades. Facial and leg markings are permitted, but restraint is preferred; excessive white is not accepted in stallions. Other colours fall outside the standard. These are breed-selection rules and do not mean that an excluded colour is inherently a disease.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1]
The Landais pony: Riding, driving and leisure activities
The Landais pony: Finding uses while maintaining breeding
The Landais pony is ridden in pony clubs and for leisure, and is also used for driving. Breeders prepare young ponies for these activities and introduce them to prospective riders or drivers. Finding suitable users helps breeding continue and supports the production of new purebred foals. The breeding programme therefore seeks to retain a versatile pony while supporting the breeders who maintain the breed.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1]
The Landais pony: the Landais original studbook
The Landais pony: a programme run by the national association
The studbook is the register that records the identity and ancestry of animals admitted to the breed. The Association nationale du poney Landais runs the breeding programme, dated 22 March 2023 in the document consulted. The studbook provides registration by descent and certain initial-entry routes, with stallion approval by a commission. That commission can control use and reassess animals under the rules. Living in the Landes or resembling the standard does not alone establish breed membership.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1]
The Landais pony: a small annual replacement generation
The Landais pony: 62 births recorded for 2022
The Landais pony breeding programme records 62 births in 2022, alongside 100 females covered and 28 active male breeding animals. These are three different indicators and cannot be added together. Breeding is concentrated in south-western France, with another group in Pays de la Loire. Support for artificial insemination in selected matings helps more distant breeders gain access to different origins.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1]
The Landais pony: Family diversity and dermatitis monitoring
The Landais pony: Interpreting distinct selection criteria
The Landais pony breeding programme seeks more combinations between bloodlines and encourages matings that avoid close relationships. Its standard also lists summer dermatitis as a disqualifying condition. This is assessed in the animal; the document does not define a simple DNA test that establishes its status on its own. Pedigree conservation, clinical assessment and coat requirements therefore remain distinct parts of selection.
Sources for this section: Association nationale du poney Landais [1] · IFCE — Equipédia [2]
Sources and updates
Profile updated on .
The documents below were used to prepare this profile of the Landais pony. They explain which animals can enter the studbook and how breeding animals are selected.
- Association nationale du poney Landais — Studbook rules and breeding programme, 22 March 2023
Programme dated 22 March 2023: history, standard, sweet itch and 62 births in 2022.
- IFCE — Insect bite hypersensitivity, February 2026
Insect bite hypersensitivity and clinical diagnosis; does not establish a breed-specific frequency.