Treat yourself, give us pleasure and, above all, help us to preserve an almost extinct breed!

A spot of history

The Skyrian Horse is a breed of miniature horse from the Greek island of the same name. Long used for threshing, Skyrian Horses lived in semi-freedom on the island where they cohabited with other local species. With the mechanization of agriculture and over-grazing by goats, their place within the island has gradually been reduced. Today there are no more than 200 Skyrian Horses in the world.

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What is Bouillon de Poney?

Bouillon de Poney is an association which was created in February 2014, one of its aims being to help preserve the Skyrian Horse. It brings together a group of enthusiasts from many different walks of life around a common goal: the survival of an immense cultural heritage.

Step 1: Showing what the breed is capable of

For Bouillon de Poney, the main issue for the survival of the race is showing what it is capable of. It seemed important to us to find a new goal for the Skyrian Horse, to make it known to as many people as possible, and to get the riding world to take an interest in it. Because the Skyrian Horse is small, extremely sociable, curious and very gentle, it seemed to us perfectly suited to equine therapy. It was at this point that we acquired Achilles and Orion, two young Skyrian Horses born in Scotland and generously offered to our association.

Here is a short summary of Achilles' work. Orion does the same with another association the Poney Instituteur (the Pony Teacher).

Step 2: Breeding Skyrian Horses in France

The work carried out over the past two years with our two ponies was in preparation for a far more ambitious project: to start breeding the Skyrian Horse here in France.

Our aim today is to import from Greece a herd of breeding stock (two stallions and three mares) whose lineages are distinct enough for us to be able to enlarge the population of Skyrian Horses. We want to do this for three reasons:

1. to meet the emerging demand here, in France, as well as in Belgium,

2. to develop equine therapy projects, to emphasize the immense potential of these rare ponies, and to bring happiness to handicapped people such as Coline with whom we have been working with Achilles,

3. to support the Greek breeders by aiding their production through the sale of poneys, and by helping to increase the genetic inheritance and encourage scientific research which remains for the moment all too rare.

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1, 2, 5... Poneys Skyros !

The publications