The famous, indigenous horses of Cheju-do, "Cho-rang-mal", can be seen grazing while walking leisurely on the expansive grassy slopes of Mt. Halla. As becomes readily evident in the old saying, "Send your son to Seoul and your horse to Cheju", Cheju has been famous for its native ponies for quite a long time. The Cheju ponies (Equus caballus), a breed of native ponies, are an important part of Korean heritage. It is believed that the Cheju stock of ponies which had been distributed on the Korean peninsula a long time ago, were cross-bred with horses brought to Cheju from China by the Mongolian army, after the Mongol invasion during the Koryo dynasty(1276-1376). The Cheju ponies have evolved into a truly unique breed of horse well-ajusted to the natural environment of Cheju.

Since the Cheju native ponies are considerably smaller than their western counterparts, they are also called "Kwahama" (horse that is able to pass under a fruit tree without touching it), or "T' ojongma" (indigenous horse). A full-growm Cheju pony stands about 115 to 120 cm high and has a sandy-colored coat. It has a big head, big round eyes, a thick neck, and short thick limbs. It is characterized by very strong hooves. As they are very docile, the Cheju ponies were used as beasts of burden in farming or transportation. These days, however, their number has sharply fallen as farming operations and transportation have become increasingly mechanized. Pure-blooded Cheju ponies are also in serious danger of being bred out of extinction due to increasing crossbreds, as a result of a lack of an effective breeding program. For their preservation, the Korean government designated the Cheju pony as National Mounment No. 347 in 1985.