Is it a dalmation? No it's Spotty the British Spotted pony

Possible to mistake for a Dalmatian, a British spotted pony was born last week in Wembury Point, near Plymouth.

Rather unoriginally named, Spotty the foal gets his colouring from his sire who shares his "leopard spot" colouring.

Around 170 British spotted ponies are born every year and they can have several different colour variations. This includes "leopard spot" which consists of black spots on a white background and "snowflake" which is white spots on a black background.

The breed is renowned for their wonderful temperament which helps make them an ideal and very versatile children's pony.

The distinctive markings formed a natural camouflage for ponies roaming the heaths and forests of ancient Britain and are depicted in several Stone Age paintings.
[Image © Linnéa Gröndalen's via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence]