Polo pony

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A horse used in the game of polo is called a "pony", but is almost always bigger than the official maximum height for a pony; 1.47 meters

(14.2 hands). Most polo ponies are between 14.3 - 15.3 hands. In the United States, Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses are often crossed to make polo ponies, while in recent years crosses of Thoroughbreds and Criollo horses from Argentina have become popular.^[1]

Polo ponies need to be almost fearless, and not afraid to bump into other horses, and they can't shy at mallets swinging near their heads. They need to be quick and agile so they can turn and follow the ball through its many changing movements. Polo ponies have their manes hogged before a match which means to cut it down to the neck of the horse. This is done so that the polo mallet will not get tangled. There are several different quarters in a game and so each team has one or two horses per quarter, called chukkas. There is usually 4-6 chukkas per match, each lasting 7 minutes.

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