The Gallery
Learning about and practising commoning on the New Forest.
In medieval times a forest meant an area preserved for royal hunting, and not a wooded area as it does today.
The Agisiter ensures welfare standards of the free-roaming animals are maintained.
The ‘architects’ of the New Forest.
The New Forest landscape supports many species of plants, insects, birds and mammals. It should be valued as a reserve for nature.
One of many gatherings where Commoners can exchange news, information and knowledge.
Pannage season is part of the ancient commoning rights and a popular tradition.
Traditional management practices, particularly commoning, have conserved the ecological diversity of the Forest.
Category Archives: New Forest
New Forest Stallion Areas 2017
New Forest Stallion Turnout Areas 2017 Each year stallions are released onto the Open Forest to run with the free-roaming mares and sire the next generation of New Forest pony. The stallions are carefully selected by the Verderer’s of the … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Stallion
Tagged areas, mare, New forest, pony, season, stallion, turn out
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New Forest: itchy, scratchy, lousy!
I went for a walk this week, in a part of the Forest that I don’t usually visit. I wanted to see if the bluebells had bloomed, so went on a route that took in one of the Forestry Commission … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Damalinia equi, donkey, equine, filly, horse, itchy, lice, louse, lousy, mare, New forest, pony, scratchy
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New Forest: Look, but don’t touch the animals
This week I had a long Twitter conversation with someone concerned about the amount of people feeding and petting the donkeys at Hatchet Pond, near Beaulieu. In one incident a family went even further, and were trying to force a … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents, New Forest pony
Tagged animal food, bite, cars, colic, cows, danger, don't touch, donkeys, fatal, food, hand feeding, Hatchet Pond, human food, injury, kick, look, New forest, no-no, picnic, pigs, poison, ponies, prohibited, roads, sheep, toxic, traffic, treat, Verderers, verge, waterfowl
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New Forest: animal accidents – multiple causes/multiple solutions
This week (April, 2017) the subject of animal accidents on the Forest roads has been very much at the forefront of my mind. I’ve been watching with interest the comments on various social media forums, reading newspaper reports, listening to … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents
Tagged accidents, animal, car parks, catchment, cattle, donkeys, drainage, drivers, environment, feeding, flood, grazing, landscape, New forest, nutrient, Open Forest, pigs, restoration, river, roads. ponies, sheep, speed limit, speeding, stream, timber, traffic, water, wetland
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New Forest: spring-time musings
I was going through my diary to see what I was doing this time last year. I was wondering when I had moved the home-kept ponies off their winter grazing and into their spring paddocks. When did I begin to … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged Africa, British Trust for Ornithology, BTO, cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, fields, Gilbert White, grazing, Hampshire Ornithological Trust, harvest, hay, haymaking, herald, Hirundo rustica, HOS, martin, New forest, NORAD, poached, ponies, pony, Santa, Selborne, spring, swallow, Wet!
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New Forest: being called a ‘nimby’ is no joke!
I was teasingly called a ‘nimby’ this week. It was during a conversation about the New Forest when I happened to mention that I was a commoner. The person I was talking to laughed and casually said, “Oh, you’re one … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged affluent, anti, backyard, benefits, biodiversity, Cycling, democratic, developers, ecology, economy, environment, faux pas, Government, green, health, housing, jobs, joke, Middle England, mimby, New forest, nimby, Not In My Back Yard, prejudice, prosperity, special qualities, unique
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New Forest: commoning generations
While visitors to the New Forest, and those lucky enough to reside here, undoubtably appreciate its magnificent scenery, free roaming livestock, and exceptional wildlife, not many would consider the significance to the landscape of the unbroken chain of Forest ancestry … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged ancestors, ancestry, commoning, families, family, generation, generations, heritage, landscape, livestock, New forest, Purkis, Rufus, Saxon, scenery, symbiotic, wildlife, William I, William II, Winchester, Ytene
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New Forest: Do you have ‘Second Person Power’?
Just recently I’ve been travelling the length and breadth of the New Forest to attend various events and business meetings. These journeys have given me a chance to ponder the topical subject of traffic and speeding across the Open Forest, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged animal, car, collisions, donkey, New forest, overtake, pony, Power of the Second Person, road, speed, traffic, vehicles
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New Forest: where’s the her-story?
Of all the books I’ve read about the New Forest, it occurs to me that very few relate the New Forest from the feminine perspective or, indeed, tell women’s stories of living or growing up in this unique environment. It … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged ailments, children, donkey, feminine, Forester, Gilbert Smith, her-story, his-story, horse, Keeper, myxomatosis, New forest, physical, rabbits, remedy, self-sufficient, women, wood
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