I smell trouble brewing Let s figure this out before an edit war starts I see a few issues here in dispute 1 Cold blooded stockier draft type vs cold blooded origin in cold climates I had learned it as the draft type definition but I have seen both definitions in use I don t necessarily think they are mutually exclusive While I think that the geographical terminology likely defined the core original breeds with years of interbreeding this becomes messy So many breeds have differing degrees of both types For example Warmbloods are not the only mixtures of European and Arabian blood Wouldn t this strict definition mean that Quarter Horses would be a type of warmblood My feeling is that we can say something like The hot blooded cold blooded terminology originally related to the geographical origin of the breed but now has come to refer to the overall character of the horse or pony 2 Ponies most if not all are cold blooded because they originated in cold climates vs some ponies are cold blooded because they are draft type Again I think we can finesse this without saying that one is right or wrong I personally think that most ponies are draft type and so could be considered cold blooded with certain hot blooded exceptions like the Hackney pony Although really come to think of it lots of ponies are more like little warmbloods 3 Ponies were not used for draft work in general because they were too small As I understand it some pony breeds flourished at times because they were useful as draft horses in the mines For example when the coal mining industry became extensively developed in Britain in the 1800 s Shetlands were imported in great numbers to haul coal cars in the pits From Shetland Pony Just my two cents