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 pony
New Forest: ‘animal aware’ road users.
In 1903 at Brook occurred the first death of a New Forest animal, a pony, caused by a motor vehicle. Since then livestock injuries and fatalities have become a sad but regular statistic. Information about road traffic incidents, involving commonable … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents, New Forest pony
Tagged animal aware, animals, cattle, donkeys, florescent, Forestry Commission, Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire County Council, high-viz, luminous paint, New forest, New Forest District Council, New Forest Trust, ponies, reflective, road deaths, traffic incidents, Verderers
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New Forest ponies: search and find or hide and seek?
The New Forest has taken on a completely different look and feel since the onset of late autumn. Many of the birds that were regularly encountered over the summer months have, like the tourists, migrated elsewhere. The atmosphere is tranquil … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna, New Forest pony, Uncategorized
Tagged Commoner, Cow, deer, Fallow, fawn, find, foal, genes, New forest, pony, search, trees
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Why did the New Forest pony cross the road?
When travelling across the New Forest have you ever wondered why the free-roaming ponies will cross the road in front of you, even if they have seen you coming? Their hearing is excellent and they have good all-round binocular vision, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged brain size, cross, equine, foal, free-roaming, Hampshire, horse, instinct, learning, logic, memory, New forest, pony, predator, prey, road, Wild horses, wolf, wolves
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New Forest: mucky talk!
Being a commoner enables me to practice a method of farming that pre-dates recorded history. The ancient commoner would have orally passed on his or her learning and wisdom to the next generation. This ensured that the chain of folk-knowledge, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, droppings, dung, dung beetle, dung fly, excrement, ivermectin, mucky talk, Nail Fungus, New forest, parasites, pony, toilet, wild horse, wild pony, wildlife, wormer, worming
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New Forest: the truth about the ‘wild’ ponies.
Without doubt one of the best things about visiting the New Forest is seeing the ponies that inhabit the heathland, woods and lawns wandering freely about. Although the New Forest ponies are often referred to as ‘wild’ this is not, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged Common Rights, Commoner, domestic, horse owner, horse rustler, horse thief, New Forest pony, owned, semi-feral, thieves, truth, wild pony
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New Forest: winter is coming
The warm weather of late (September 2015) has been a welcome accompaniment as I perform the last of the autumn harvesting. Most of the vegetables from the raised beds have been picked and preserved ready for use over the winter. The … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift
Tagged blackberries, bylaws, cobnut, commoning, drift, elderberries, glut, good condition, harvest, largesse, Lucifer, New forest, Old Michaelmas, rosehips, round-up, sloes, squirrels, sweet chestnut, winter
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New Forest: poachers, smugglers and amorous donkeys!
During a trip to the New Forest recently I happened to pass through a village where a cricket match was taking place. All the players were dressed in white and the pitch was a manicured village green that was surrounded … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, amorous, bandits, Boldre, burglars, cattle, civilised, courtship, cricket, donkeys, East Boldre, immoral, J W Gunning, jack, jenny, John R Wise, lawlessness, New forest, pony, smugglers, stallion, thieves, vagabonds, Verderers, vicar, William Gilpin
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New Forest: autumn is here and the drifts are underway
Autumn has arrived. The heathland, woods and lawns wear a pale blanket of mist in the early mornings and the heathland is mantled in purple heather. The blackberries shine like jewels in the hedgerows and great quantities of sloes decorate … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift
Tagged Agister, Commoner, drift, galloping, New Forest pony, pound, round-up, traditional, Verderers of the New Forest, working forest
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The Spanish Armada and the equine invasion
In August 1588 Queen Elizabeth I delivered one of the most famous speeches of her reign in which she is said to have declared; ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Asturcón, Calais, galleons, Gravelines, horses, invasion, Medina Sedonia, mules, New forest, North Sea, pony, Pottok, Queen Elizabeth I, Spanish Armada
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Facial expressions clue to horse talk
Researchers have recently (August, 2015) confirmed what many horse owners intuitively knew, that horses display complex emotions in their facial expressions. However, using a system known as EquiFACS (Equine Facial Action Coding Systems) the research team were able to use scientific methods … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged action units, body language, body talk, communication, domestic, emotion, EquiFACS, Equine Facial Action Coding Systems, facial expressions, feelings, horse, horse talk, New forest, pony, pony etiquette, predator, prey, social, wild
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