The Dartmoor Pony has lived in south-western England for centuries and is used for a variety of disciplines. Because of the extreme weather conditions experienced on the moors the Dartmoor is a particularly hardy breed with excellent stamina. Over the centuries it has been used as a working animal by local tin miners and quarry workers. It is kept in a semi-feral state on Dartmoor Devon. Despite this numbers have declined from an estimated 25 800 in the 1930s to about 5 000 today.