One of the long standing native breeds of England, the Fell Pony is noted for its hardiness, courage, adaptability, and good looks. Resembling a very small Friesian, he is docile and popular for riding and well suited for driving. He has been used for jumping and has the ability to trot for long distances at a steady speed. Unfortunately he suffers from a inherited disease in a small number of the population. A brief summary of what is known about Fell Pony Syndrome is presented here.

The Fell pony immunodeficiency syndrome occurs in the United States, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. It is a inherited fatal syndrome associated with immunodeficiency characterized by a lymphopenia and severe anaemia as the predominant problems. The pattern of inheritence appears to be a single autosomal recessive gene.

Foals are normal at birth but from the age of 2-4 weeks they progressively lose condition and become severely anaemic. At about 3-4 weeks of age clinical signs associated with infection begin. Mortality is 100% despite intensive treatment and foals die or are euthanized usually before they reach the age of 3 months.

In one study on this disease foals' circulating subpopulations of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes are unaffected but the mean population of B lymphocytes in 10 affected foals was less than 10 per cent of that in normal foals. This lymphocyte profile might be used to confirm a suspected diagnosis.

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