The Mytilene Pony (also 'Mytiline,' 'Ege Midillisi,' and 'Ayvacik Midillisi') is a Turkish breed of a gaited pony. It is also the smallest Turkish breed.

The small pony from Mytilene Island:
Lesbos, also called 'Mytilene' after its capital, is a Greek island located at the Aegean Sea, right near the border between Greece and Turkey. Many centuries ago it was an Ottoman (Turkish) island, and it was during that time period when the Mytilene Pony was developed out of Anadolu horses.

The Anadolu is one of Turkey's smallest breeds, standing between 12hh and 13.1hh. The smallest Anadolus were brought to Mytilene and were bred to be even smaller, and stand around 11.2hh. Those small individuals became known as Mytilene Ponies and became the new, smallest native Turkish horse breed.

In 1913, the Ottomans surrendered Mytilene Island to Greece, but not their Mytilene Ponies which they brought to mainland Turkey.

Hazelnuts, olives, and the Mytilene Pony:
On mainland Turkey, Mytilene Ponies found their perfect role: serving as pack ponies during hazelnut and olive harvests. Their short height made them ideal, allowing them to walk easily beneath the trees, and their strength allowed them to carry plenty of crops on their small backs.

Another plus was their ambling gait, called rahvan, which gave them two advantages over mules and non-gaited ponies. First, it allowed them to traverse in a fast yet safe manner over the the rocky terrain on which hazelnut and olive trees grow, even when carrying heavy sacks of produce on their back. Second, it made them comfortable mounts.

The Mytilene Pony today:
Today, it is unclear to which extent the Mytilene Pony is used during olive and hazelnut harvests, if it's even used at all. This rare breed still exists, though, and is bred in small numbers in northwestern Turkey.

Conformation:
Mytilene Ponies have broad but short heads, small ears, and short necks that are broad at their base. The body is tiny and slender, although in Horse Isle Mytilene Ponies can appear too bulky due to technical limitations.

The mane is short or medium in length, and the tail is thin.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Mytilene Ponies in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 13.0-13.8, 13.4 (0.2), 0.04.
Sprint: 28-39, 33 (2), 0.4.

Accel: 0.77-0.96, 0.87 (0.04), 0.01.
Decel: 0.75-0.89, 0.82 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 4.42-4.68, 4.54 (0.05), 0.01.
Pull: 1.21-1.58, 1.39 (0.09), 0.02.

Turning: 35.08-48.19, 42.27 (2.93), 0.57.
Reverse: 1.8-2.4, 2.1 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 51.21-54.77, 52.74 (0.77), 0.15.
Reaction: 0.76-0.86, 0.82 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:
Colors: bay, chestnut, and in rare cases, grey.

Additionals: flaxen, sooty, dark mane & tail. The coat is always solid and white markings are minimal.

Height: 11.1hh to 11.3hh.
Note: due to its small size, the Mytilene Pony is not ridable in Horse Isle.